Bayona to Povoa de Varzim

An early morning start was needed to try and get into Povoa before a cheeky low pressue system reached the coast later in the afternoon.
As dawn broke we slipped lines and began to leave Bayona. The night pilotage had been awesome but it was a relief to leave in daylight, if nothing else to try and spot the many lobster pot flags which lay in wait to snare unobservant boats.

Leaving Bayona at first light

Enterprise (Russ and Jazz)

Most of the morning was a mixed bag but the winds got up in the aternoon and we had a great sail to Povoa. As the winds had picked up, the marina entrance was a little tricky but within a short while we were safely on our mooring and looking forward to relaxing at the rally dinner which was starting shortly, or so we thought....
As we had developed a small tear in the mainsail on passage, we were one of the last boats to arrive but still out at sea was Chris and Frances on Usqubae. The Rally used Channel 77 as a ship to ship frequency and we heard a call from them to say that the engine had failed and they were 6 miles away, requiring help.
A few minutes later, Nick from the WCC put out a call to all boats to see if any would be able to assist. Steve responded straight away and picked up Andrew Bishop (MD of the WCC) who had experience in towing. Lynne had already left the boat and did not hear the call but John was on board to help.
Under Andrew's expert guidance, Scarlet Lady made her first pass to get the tow on board Usqubae but the motion of the sea was too strong, so a second attempt was made. This time is was successful and within an hour Usquabae was safely moored on the waiting pontoon. This would have been the end of the story but for a sudden rapid increase in wind gusting 25-30 knots. Scarlet ended up going into her downwind berth in almost full reverse but thanks to all those on the pontoon, managed to get on safely. Sadly no pictures. A bit busy at the time!

The next day we joined a coach tour to Porto and a visit to the Taylor Fladgate Port Lodge.

Sign at the entrance to the lodge

Port as far as the eye can see!

Taylor, Fladgate and Yeatman or Taylors for short, is one of the best known of all the Port lodges. Situated in Gaia, the town facing Porto over the Douro river, it was one of the highlights of the Rally shore based programmes, especially the chance to have such an interesting guide and the opportunity to have a taster at the end. If you like Port and happen to be in Portugal this is definatley a tour for you.

Porto is a fascinating place, steeped in history and in many ways it would have been nice to spend a little longer looking around.

Porto

On return to the marina we had a lovely meal on board Katerina with Scott and Julia and Scott kindly repaired the tear in the mainsail. We thought we had most things on board for emergencies but a sewing machine was not one of them.

The next day we will head to Figueira de Foz.

Steve and Lynne x