We left Sines to the thumping music coming from the stage next to the beach, the party was still in full swing. Unfortunately it kept Amanda awake all night but we were on our way at first light so that we could gybe around Cap St Vincent before the afternoon wind got up. As it happened our old friend The Fog accompanied us almost until we got to the headland where it cleared to give a spectacular view as we rounded. We had heard all the reports about this being a wind acceleration zone but were still almost caught out as we approached under motor and 5knts of wind. Within about 1 NM we had 30knts and were sailing along under staysail and full main, a great way to finish as we sailed into Sagres bay where we anchored. Cape Vincent was the location of a sea battle between the Spanish and English in 1797 and where Nelson, captaining his own ship, interpreted his orders very loosely to ensure the Spanish didnt get away. It was a victory for the English but it is said that Nelson would have been courtmartialled if they had lost.
It was a windy night at anchor but we slept well and rose early to get to Portimao, we had to cut the trip 7 miles short and dove into Lagos marina as there was no space in Portimao. we had a lovely afternoon meal in Lagos, lovely marina, expensive though, but included a swimming pool. Not that we tried it out. A quick shop to empty our wallets in the large chandlery there and we were off, heading to Culatra. Unfortunately an unforecast gale provided us with a strong headwind and we decided to anchor inside the breakwater at Portimao. We enjoyed the time at anchor there watching huge numbers of other boats also seeking shelter until the anchorage was quite full. The Port police came along and told us to move as we were blocking the entrance too much for their liking, fortunately a large tourist party boat had just moved on giving us a space to use.
Watching the Olympics in Mazagon.
The next day we headed off to Culatra which was the first decent sail since we set off. A lovely broad reach in around 12 knots in full sun took us on a 37nm sail to an anchorage in an unspoilt part of Portugal with loads of birds. Rumour has it one can see deer and wild boar there too. Schengen days always in our mind, it was a quick stop, it was very peaceful but we had to go. Our next stop was Mazagon. Sadly we didn't get the full distance under sail and ended up motoring into an anchorage behind what is/was Europe's largest breakwater. Next stop was Rota, near Cadiz. We found an anchorage off a beach next to a military base where there were Spanish and US ships moored. After a dragging anchor session and reading about dinghy thefts in that anchorage we didn't sleep too well and were up before 6am. Perhaps it was also the thought that this day was the day we were going to sail into the main Orca hotspot. News that a yacht had been sunk just 2 days earlier after being battered for over 2 hrs by Orcas who put a hole in the side of the boat didn't help. We prepped as best we could, emergency rudder assembled for quick deployment, tools on deck, fenders inside the boat to allow quick access to our rudder post supports, rudder post top exposed so we could bang on it to create noise and lifejackets on. Emergency towing company numbers were programmed into phones and off we went. Contact with the guy running the Orcas location website Orcas.pt gave us good advice, including not to anchor in Barbate but to use the marina. We hugged the coast tighter than we ever had and relaxed in Barbate marina by mid afternoon. Barbate isn't a great marina but a 20min walk into town resulted in a spectacular tuna dinner, it is the centre of tuna fishing and is what the Orcas are there for so it had to be done.
Amanda on Orca watch.
We were now right in Orca land epicentre and just had to get to the other side. A great forecast and good tide timing bode well, but our hearts fell when we woke to see our old friend was back. THE FOG. The thought of tackling fog and mischievous Orcas at the same time was too much and we hung around for 4 hrs looking at any webcam of the coastline enroute we could find. Finally we set off just as the fog cleared and, if our engine has worked hard since we got the boat, it put a great shift in getting us out of Orcaland. With a theory of fast in, fast out we had it at a fast pace, giving us 8 knts at times. Gatecrashing a convoy of 3 German boats just as we rounded Tarifa in flat calm, we had the inside line. There being just a boat length between us, we were able to hear the outside boat shout that we had to turn immediately as he was in 38m of water. Our response that we were at 5m deep soon stopped that discussion!! The contours there are packed together. We arrived safely at La Linea just across the border from Gibralter with a huge weight lifted from our shoulders. Our focus has been so much on getting through the Orcas and into Gib safely that we don't have a plan for where next. We are having a 3 night break here to enjoy Gib and the local area and decide the next direction. Probably Morocco.
Comment if you recognise where/what the header picture is of.
