Anchored in Portimao

For the last two weeks we have spent a very enjoyable time at anchor just inside the entrance to Portimao.
This was the first time that either of us had spent so long 'on the hook' and it took a little getting used to. At first our biggest fear was waking up in the night to find Scarlet had drifted onto other boats or the nearby rocks. We took a 3 point fix and switched on the alarm facility on our chart plotter. As it turned out, the holding was excellent and we always had at least 4 metres under the keel.

Part of the anchorage at Portimao



Anchorage as seen from behind the marina

















The anchorage was very busy with more than twenty other yachts at any one time. Despite the fabulous surrounding, two issues perhaps just took the edge off a little. The first was the swell from the passing fishing boats and the other was at weekends, when the local clubs/bars in Praia da Rocha opposite would play music at full volume until 4am in the morning.

Scarlet at anchor

Other than this, everything was fine and we used our tender just about every day to visit the nearby beach at Ferragudo. The main beach was full of holiday makers which was fine but having the inflatable boat meant we could access a lovely beach that you could only walk to at low tide.

Robinson Crusoe?

This gave Lynne a chance to use the outboard motor and get used to 'beaching' the tender. Of course when the tide goes right out it means it is a bit of a struggle to get the thing back in the water!

Did you lock the boat up Steve?

One day we decided to pay a visit to Portimao town and parked the tender outside the nearby marina office. Our pilot book says that for a small fee they will look after it for you but that small fee turned out to be a staggering 20 euros!! Unsure of anywhere else we could leave it securely we paid up and set off for town.

Compared to the cosmopolitan resort town of nearby Praia da Rocha, Portimao felt much less touristy and we noticed that in August there would be a sardine festival!

Portimao town

Portimao looking back from the waterfront

Of course all the sightseeeing was thirsty work so the hunt began to find a place to eat. Being on a cruising budget means you have to watch the pennies so eating out is not something we do very often.  However, we spotted a deal that was too good to refuse, an 'all you can eat buffet' for 7 euros each. The food was really good and we both agreed that the chicken was some of the best we had ever had.

Grill Brazil, great food, great value

One of the things about being at anchor is it helps to be as self sufficient as possible. This was the first real test for our solar panels. The panels we have can be angled througouht the day, providing you are not getting a suntan on the nearby beach of course. Just about every day they gernerated enough power to run the fridge and allowed us to use the inverter to watch telly or charge up the mobiles and of course, run our anchor light at night.

We had a lovely suprise one afternoon when we were joined at anchor by friends from the Rally on Moonstream and we had a lovely evening meal together. The next day we planned to have a bar-b-cue on the beach but in the afternoon the wind had whipped up a sandstorm on the beach so we decided to hold it on the boat instead. Lynne put our new Cobb barbie to good use.

Chicken, yummy!

After two weeks at anchor we started to run low on fresh water. We reckon that each of the two tanks would last about a week and this includes showering on board. Clothes needed washing and we had almost run out of cornflakes so we headed over to the nearby marina and booked in for two nights. The price is high (it is high season), but we did get a 5% discount for having RYA membership. For anyone thinking about buying a yacht, size is everything when it comes to mooring fees, stay below 12m and you would be amazed how much you can save. Scarlet is 12.93m but we often have to pay the same price as you would for a 15m boat.

Marina de Portimao

Tomorrow we will leave early to go to Faro and anchor for a while but for now it's off to the local supermarket for cornflakes.

Steve and Lynne x

Sines to Lagos-The final Leg

There was a 'gate start' to today's race, meaning that all boats had to pass the start line between 6am and 6.30am. We passed the line at about 6.15am. Sadly, there was very little wind and the sea was glassy calm, so we all had to motor sail for several hours before we could switch off the engine.

Fortunatley the tide was with us for some of the way and even though the engine was barely at tickover we managed over 7 knots over the ground.

Chartplotter showing AIS targets of Rally boats in front

As we approached Cape St Vincent, the wind picked up dramatically and we had an exciting sail, with gusts of over 30 knots at times.

Cape St. Vincent

When we were at 90 degrees to Cape St Vincent, we dropped our ensign in the age old tradition, as a mark of respect to Admiral Nelson.

A short while later, we rounded the corner into the Algarve. This was when the wind calmed down again. We continued to sail for a little while, but it meant tacking several times. There is a bridge just before you enter Lagos marina and the last time it is opened to let boats through is 9.30pm. If we arrived after this time, it would mean having to spend the night on the arrival pontoon outside the marina. At about 6.30pm, we decided to put the engine on again and motor sail the final few miles, to ensure we made this deadline. Many other of the boats followed suit, although one or two of the quicker boats succeeded in sailing this last few miles.

Rally Boats in Lagos Marina

We were allocated a berth next to Moonstream and Caroline, Tim, Jim, Ken and Sue invited us over for a delicious supper of Coq-au-vin. We had a fantastic evening and shared our most memorable moments from the Rally. One of the highlights of the evening was when Caroline produced a home made Christmas Cake she had brought with her from Mexico City, prior to the Rally! It was quite surreal eating Christmas cake in June when the weather was so warm.

Caroline and John - Dinner on Moonstream

Before we bid our farewells for the night, Steve and Tim agreed to set a time for their long overdue game of chess the following morning. They had both spoken about this game since Plymouth but had somehow never got around to playing a game.






Steve and I went to bed exhausted but proud of the fact that we had made it all the way to Lagos in Scarlet Lady.

The next day we went into town to do a spot of sightseeing and then came back to the boat to wash the rest of the salt off and catch up with the laundry. The temperature was just nudging past the 30 degree mark so we used the blackout blinds and switched on the cabin fans to keep the inside of the boat cool.

Later that evening we attended the final Rally dinner and presentations. This was the best meals of all and each boat received a commorative plaque.
It was great to see that Nick Martin (our WCC guide throughout the Rally) get the biggest cheer of the night. Nick did a fantastic job and we wish him luck in his new life in Sydney.

Nick Martin standing on left receives a signed Rally Portugal Flag from Jim Humphris of Moonstream as a token of all our appreciation for his hard work.

It still is difficult to comprehend we had actually crossed the Bay of Biscay and sailed all along the Atlantic coast of Spain and Portugal in just under a month.

The Rally Portugal has been great fun, a little tiring at times but we have learned new skills and made many new friends. Anyone looking for a fun way to go to the Algarve in company should take a look.

We are now looking forward to continuing our adventures on Scarlet Lady albeit at a slower pace, as we plan to carry on and sail into the Mediterranean.

Of course, some of the Rally participants are going to do the Atlantic crossing to St.Lucia......

We intend to head off in the next day or so, slowly along the Algarve coast to Gibraltar before heading though the straits in late September to Spain.

Before we sign off for now here are some pictures in and around Lagos.