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.