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. For those who wonder why we have a different measure, 1nm = 1 minute of latitude, or 1/60th of a degree.
Anyway, having been toasted in the sun for around 10 hours, it was good to tie up even if we were the last boat in. Apparently the others mostly chose to use engines when the wind was light.
This morning was a guided walk round the town, followed by a meet at the castle. The Portuguese are rightly proud of their heritage, and welcome the opportunity to show visitors round. I was grounded for this walk, having messed up my feet on the walk to/around Lisbon, (sandals became carnivorous), so Annemarie went. Culture here was perhaps a bit thin and unusual, the maritime exhibition consisting of some derelict boats in the bottom level of a multi-storey car park!
Tomorrow is the last leg of the Rally Portugal, a 75nm run down to Lagos on the Algarve. The forecast is for very light winds, so it may be a case of the iron sail and an 0500 start. As the end of the rally approaches, there is a wistfulness creeping into the crews. It is difficult to capture the fun across the very disparate boats and people, but it has been so enjoyable to do this as a crowd. The long passages have been broken up with irreverent banter over the radio, and there has been universal good humour. It will be missed!
Freebooter 