27th June – Lagos
After the early start on Tuesday, we ended up motoring almost all the 75nm to Lagos. The highlight of the trip was a very keen pod of dolphins playing by … Continue reading
24th June – Sines
A nice but slow sail from Oeiras (Lisbon) to Sines, again just about 50nm. For the non-sailors, ‘nm’ is the abbreviation for nautical miles, about 1.15 times the normal mile. … Continue reading
22nd June – Good and Bad Fortune and Lisbon!
As the 2nd boat to leave the port, we set off with a modest northerly wind. There was noticeable swell, but not so much as prevent us trying out the … Continue reading
19th June – A Windy Run to Peniche
The winds abated enough to make the run after the days delay. However there was still a substantial swell, as can be seen from the photo of the disappearing boat. … Continue reading
16th June – Figuera da Foz plus minor disaster!
Just to impress the natives, the rally had a racing start in the river. As with all great ideas, this was affected by the light wind. We had the bright … Continue reading
14th June – Porto
We had a really lazy short downwind sail from Povoa. The surprising element was the occasional large swell (3 metre’ish) that blotted out everything around us. Anyway, it was something … Continue reading
13th June – Povoa de Vazim
After saying goodbye to Claire and William, we left Bayona after the best part of a week there. The wind was against us, but the first indication of what was … Continue reading
9th june – Friends & the Monte Real Yacht Club
We were delighted to get an email from fellow MOA (Moody Owners Association) members Claire and William Philpot a couple of days ago. They had spotted us on AIS, and … Continue reading
8th June – Santiago de Compostella
Santiago is a place many people have heard of, and is visited by thousands every year. It is held to be the place of burial of St James, and is … Continue reading
Day 5-ARC Portugal
To those who wonder why the posts are all arriving at once, the answer is boringly simple. To post an email at sea, we have to use a long range … Continue reading
Day 4-ARC Portugal
And the day started so well, with the usual dawn and good wind, albeit with a largish following sea. Strange, but photos never quite reflect the reality of the sea … Continue reading
Day 3- ARC Portugal
A cracking day’s sail! Stayed on a single course for the last 24 hours with only minor tweaks for the wind, and maintained great speed throughout. We only saw one … Continue reading
Day 2- ARC Portugal
After a gentle night, dawn arose with the light winds continuing. Rather surprisingly, there were still about 6 other rally yachts in sight. By 0600, the decision was taken to … Continue reading
Day 1- ARC Portugal
The start of the sailing! With glorious sunshine we were all up early and managed to cross the starting line on time. I say on time, because we hung back … Continue reading
Chutes Away!
Of course it’s all very well us taking pictures on board, what about the view from land though? Well here are some fantastic pictures, taken by our nephew Max as … Continue reading
Wind!
Weehee, we’re moving! Had the chute up initially, then the wind changed. Now on to headsail and we’ve got the self steering set up and it’s working. Self steering means … Continue reading
Watch Them Go!!
If you want to keep an eye on our whereabouts to see how we are getting on then this is the link to go to. It updates about every 4 … Continue reading
The Start of the Passage to Spain!
We are on our way, albeit only at 1.3 knots! Glorious morning with very little wind.