A CAR FOR SEAN

Now I know you are all sick of sailing news, so I thought I would take a little time to just put down some of the finds we have made while we are not bouncing away on the waves. We do think a lot of family and friends as we make our way southwards, and look forward for news from home from all of you marooned back in the workaday world (hint, hint.)
So we were wandering around Nzare musing on life when we discovered a 'just the thing' item for our Jo's Sean. Now we have left the world of car ownership behind, though Dave still notices the occasional super machine in the street, but Sean is particularly fond of a good motor vehicle. Just before our last visit to the two of them Sean had become the proud owner of a mercedes sports car with what I gather are all the bells and whistles. I got lost in the boy's techno speak, but did stare for ages at the folding and unfolding of the roof - could play with that for ages. Jo also has just got herself a new car, no folding roof on this one though, snd then there is the need for a work vehicle. Sadly we found the perfect answer to all the needs in one little vehicle too late - the above purchase had been made. It would have fulfilled all needs - economical, an excellent eye catcher, statement maker, and plenty of room on the side for advertising, and it can carry a bale of horse food. So we thought we would pass on the find for consideration when the next vehicle is needed. As far as we can tell it comes in 2 colours, red and green.
Just think of the savings on tyres - only 3 wheels to look after!

BAYONA TO GIBRALTAR

When I agreed to do this blogging extravaganza i never thought it would be as complicated as it has turned out to be - there is the need to co-ordinate the time out from the 'Jen can you come and hold this' jobs, housework (yes, I do do a bit of that too) internet access and a measure of brain power not completely zapped by the sun. So it has been a bit of a wait, but I hope quality makes up for the delay.
We are in Gibraltar now, the first internet stop since Bayona. To get here we had some great sailing, good winds and blues skies, some motoring when there was no wind but blue shies and some anchoring when there was no sunshine. The Atlantic has been kind to us so far, with a moderate swell that has been OK to cope with and have the brolly up - it copes with a breeze but tends to protest if there is much of a lurch on. Moderate lurch also means happy sailors who can make cups of tea and meals without being spread all over the galley. So here are the stops in order.

SINES
We left Bayona mid-morning by the time we motored out into the harbour and got the sails sorted and our act in gear, and set off for Sines, which was about 30 hours away. Had a lovely sail, the watch system worked well, Terry did the business, and we arrived outside Sines at the same time as a vast tanker. He was bigger than us so I decided to let him in first. Sines turned from a spot on the chart to quite a big harbour, with the place for little boats inside a second set of walls. In the outer harbour there were huge tankers and freighters looking to fill up on various goodies including Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG). Some were moving about, some were anchored just outside, and in between it all were the never ending fishing boats of all sizes from the mini to the ocean going. None of the above appear to like yachts or even see them, far less acknowledge their existence.
However, once inside the small boat entrance the scene changed to a lovely beach in front of an old town.


There were loads of people on the beach, including school children being bussed down for their PE lessons - what a life! Every day the beach was cleaned by this tractor with a big rake and garbage collection system ready for the next day's arrivals. No shops selling beach balls or other such stuff, only an ice cream kiosk and a small coffee bar with some umbrellas. Wonderful. we ignored the marina, except to do the customs work, and Dave had a great time rowing across to put the sheets in the washing machine, then rowing back for me to hang them on the washing line at the back of the boat. We rowed ourselves onto the beach - they have a marked out channel for little dinghies and jet skies etc. There is a lone of yellow buoys along the beach to keep the swimmers in and the boats out. and the sand was so clean and white, and the water so blue. You can see the beach and Spirit at anchor.




The town was up the hill (groan) and very old, with not all that many shops but enough for most needs, and a lovely old church and castle walls that we could not get in to see. Dave went on a walk the next day by himself and took a picture of his mate Vasco da Gama - just about every street and shop had his name mentioned somehow.

The second night here was some sort of festival and there was the most incredible music floating across the bay - the first was a male voice singing what were obviously folk ballads to a guitar, and then much later a wonderful deep and rich female voice came across to us singing the most soulful and beautiful songs to a guitar and flute background. It was music that was very old - the key and time signatures were at times almost oriental, and in the setting of a moonlit night were haunting.But soon it was time to leave and continue out travels.

CAPE ST VINCENT

We sailed off from Sines a bit reluctantly as it was so nice there, but we had an appointment in Gibraltar to meet the steel man who is going to make our bimini frame so needs must. We were doing remarkably well in a freshening breeze and moderate swell when we noticed Terry was not behaving at all well. A good look showed us that Harriet's leg was a bit lop sided and we were reminded that we had snagged a fishing buoy on the way in to Sines. This had caught around the rudder and Harriet and had caused a little more damage than expected. So off with Terry, up with Harriet's leg and hand steer for us. This meant a bit of a re-think as the shift system was not going to work with hand steering as it is impossible to stay on the wheel for that length of time, so the plan was re-worked for a stay a bit closer than Cadiz, at Portimao. We were nearing St Vincent, scooshing along under twin heaqdsails, wonderful. Had to put the pikkies in to prove it had been done. Dave says this is the european cape, like Good Hope and Cape Horn (he has an imagination), but is still landmark for sailing to the Med.


The wind began to get up as we went by, and the day was nearing its end, so we decided to anchor off in one of the little bays just under St Vincent and made it in just in time as we now had over 35 knots of wind (lots to you landlubbers) but it became more manageable as pulled in neared a little beach full of yet more swimmers. Down anchor, up green sheet and tuck down for the night. Morning broke lovely and clear, and off we set for Cadiz as the wind was in the right direction and we felt we could manage the long day and night especially as we had sorted out Harriet's leg and we should be released from the wheel. Another wonderful day and night and Cadiz bay opened up for us in the morning, all five miles of it! It is huge. We went left and found an anchorage off a beach on the north side at Porto Sherry, a bit lumpy but OK for the day we thought. Till the night and the scend came in and it was just so uncomfortable, rolling around like nobody's business.
'Jen, why are you up at this hour of day?'
'We are moving'
'Why'
'Can't stand up'
'Oh'. Then 'Jen, you can't stand up'
'That's why we are moving Dave'
'Before breakfast?'
'Before breakfast.'
Hmmmmmm
So up anchor and around the corner where there is a little marina. Now I had rung them the night before and found out in my fractured Spanish that there was no room for us. But Dave, not to be thwarted, insisted on a look see as he believes all Spaniards say no just for the heck of it. Nice little motor up the river, but it turned out to be true - there was no room for us. About turn and across to Cadiz proper and the marina. And that is the next story.

A STORY

Since the last marathon effort at the laundrette in Portosin, I decided not to use laundrettes ever again. Seeing Dave won't go naked and is a bit unhappy at the thought of having to look at my exposed wobbly bits, it is wash as you go for clothes and whenever we can we get a laundry to do the sheets and towels. It was a bit of a surprise to find the laundry was sheaper than the do it yourself was, and they come back all nicely folded with no waiting around to stuff ever more coins in the dryers. So todays offerings are on the washing line between the backstays, all flapping nicely in the sunny breeze, the cabin is tidy and swept, so I thought it was time for a little story.
Picture the scene The little yacht is bobbing along in the atlantic swell, the crew watching out for ships in the fog. Dave has just yelled down that it us time for Jen to get up out of the bunk and come on watch. Big groan from Jen, can't really be time, surely. But it is. So up on the knees, leg over the leecloth trying not to take the sheet too, watch the lurch before standing up, shuffle off to the loo. Brain still not quite there, but realises that something is not quite as it should be. That's it, water coming out from under the loo door. Boat leans left, no water. Boat leans right and there is a lovely waterfall over the sill onto the floor and doown into the bilge. This fascinating sight is watched for a few more times until it registers that this really ought not to be happening. Question is, to open the door or not. Decides not, as the only thought to come to mind is that there must be more in there and surely it can only be something amiss with the loo itself. Best plan is to share the discovery.
'Dave'
'Yes, Jen'
'Can you come down here?'
'If you come up here'
'OK'
'Why Jen'
'You'll see'
Swap places, Dave comes down, Jen goes to look for ships. Surprisingly quiet from below, as usually things like this bring out loud cries of 'nightmare' or 's****' or worse. Jen waits a bit and then after a good look to see there are no ships in the couple of hundred yards she can see, dives down for a quick look. There is Dave getting towels out of the loo cupboard and throwing them in the next room.
'What is it?'asks jen
'Some idiot left the sink tap on'
'We haven't used the sink. It is full of the shampoo bottles and stuff to stop them flying around'
'I used the sink when you were asleep'.
'Oh' says Jen
That explains the absence of sounds. No buck can be passed.
Jen back up to see if anything has appeared, thankfully no. So being trapped she has to let Dave carry on. At least it is clean water and not from the loo which would have been a bit on the unmentionable side. So the water level was decreased by sucking it out through the shower drain tray which meant the shower grate could stop floating about, and then lots of wipes with the sponge.
Turns out there was a need for the loo that could not wait for the shift change, and in his haste to be as quick as possible to keep the lookout in the fog, washed the paws but forgot to turn the tap off properly, so it kept up a nice drip. Ususally we would have heard the pump but the motor was on, so it quietly overflowed.
There is an up side to everything. The loo floor got the good wash it needed and I was looking forward to (not) when I got to the next stop, and I was able to diagnose the casuse of another problem. For quite a while i had been trying to chase the casue of a particular odour that remained in the heads no matter what I cleaned it with. I had emptied cupboards, wiped out every nook and cranny, put smelly stuff done the loo - all sorts, and still it lingered. But after this epesode it was not more. It dawned on me that there must have been stale water still in the piping from the shower tray and since we haven't used this as a shower for ages it has been gently festering. So problem solved.
And another problem also was found and dealt with. Some of the towels stored under the sink were found to be wet, and as they tend to stay there undisturbed as we recycle the in use ones, they too would have begun to ferment and fester. This was easily fixed as all it took was a tightening up of the clip on the end of the shower hose pipe. Towels dried and sweetly smelling in no time, and order restored.

And so the little boat and its merry crew poddled along the ocean waves to Nazare.

OFF TO NAZARE

Couldn't wait to fuel up and leave Bayona - another night of booming music would be the last thing we could cope with. So out we went and set off. We turned around about a mile out as the swell was going to be too awkward to set the poles and sort ourselves out, so we came in and anchored off the end of the third marina. Having had the obligatory cuppa, we started to mooch about and do the deck work, nd then I heard a little voice in my ear.
'Hey, Jen'
'Yes, Dave,'
'Time is getting on a bit'
'Hmmmmm, Dave?'
'We could stay here and go first thing in the morning when everything is tickety-boo and shipshape'
'What about the noise from the fun fair?'
'Might not be on tonight (flying pigs seen!)'
'Hmmm. OK, Dave' Not much persuasion needed here!
Maybe this is why we are a slow moving object!
And the noise was there but we were tucked away out of the direct line of maximum sound, so it was just bearable
It was a sensible decision though, as we were in for a 30 hour passage and the watch system does best if it is begun around the lunch time. So we chilled out and sorted ourselves and set off the next morning, all bright and shiny. At least it was all bright and shiny till the fog rolled in. We were aiming to be about 15-20 miles off the coast, and hopefully it would thin out, but in the meantime it would be more hazardous to go back. Eventually the wind died as well, so we were reduced to putting the engine on again. The fog continued through to the next day as well, and we had a couple of little flurries with close approaching fishing boats, and the AIS gadget told us ships were in the area but not near us; we did not see any of them. We approached Nazare in the early afternoon with just enough visibility to safely make the harbout entrance. As you can see it is a wee place, mainly for fishing boats and a few local boats and the occasional visitor. We had spoken to the chap in charge of the little nmarina before we set out, so we were expected and met on the pontoon. It was still foggy!
Evidently this fog is well known here, you just have to sit it out. It is one thing to be caught in it, but no way would we choose to be in it. The little harbour is great, and such a relief after Bayona. There is a little mini-supermercado on site which has a multitude of goods in the smallest of places, and wonderful home baked fresh bread twice a day. Next to it is the local bar, also in miniature, with one table and some chairs outside, but a huge TV inside for the local fishermen to watch the world cup football. The marina office is next door and has the showers and loos, and Captain Hadley and his wife Sally who run the place. I first spoke to Sally when she was in hospital as she had the work phone with her. She had had her hip replaced and was doing fine. We caught up with her the day after we arrived as she came out of hospital straight to the office! So we talked medical things, with her being a nurse and all, and when the chaps were getting bored got down to the business in hand, such as renting a car for our trip to Fatima and such like. Sally was ex-RN, her husband ex merchant navy, so you can imagine the banter going on. These two were on their way to Cyprus when they put in here for a night - that was 11 years ago and are firmly embedded into the life here.
We were in Nazare 4 years ago by car, when we were touring around during the trip Dave surprised me with for my birthday. Loved it so much it had to be a port of call. It too has become busy. It is more or less divided into two parts, the beach part and the upper part. The beach part is like any British beach gone wild and in the season is crowded. There are loads of little tent things in rows that you can hire, and so many beach balls for sale I cannot think they will run out before the next milenium.
The upper part is on the top of the cliff and is reached by cable car. There you find the large church and chapel, more houses and some governemt offices, and another row of shops all selling the same kind of unbelievable junk. It is disappointing that the local craft of lacemaking and crochet have been supplanted by this mass produced rubbish that is available anywhere.
We caught the local bus for the mile in to town, as I had banged my knee the day before and walking was not the best, and discovered the large market, ice cream shop and the cable car to the top. We found a copy of the Daily Telegraph (beggars can't be choosers!) to read with coffee and croissants, and then found we had just missed the bus back. So it was a slow toddle to the marina and a big feet up rest. Lovely day. Tomorrow we were to take possession of our hire car for more adventures.




These are the photos of the church and chapel up the top of the town on the hill. (And an example of the wares on offer)

MORE BAYONA

I have no idea what happened but the Bayona blog published itself before it was edited - so full of mistakes. So read it first then come back to this. One day I will understand all this.
Our new neighbours were able to help us change sails - we have the largest foresail in the world I think, and we needed to put the down wind sails on. So extra muscle and a tramp over their boat and life was made easier. A nice fold up on the jetty and back in its place. New ones up and the chap offered to do the winching - I think he regretted the offer about half way through the evolution, it is not easy winching up the 2 sails together. Must say I did not warn him, happy enough to accept any muscle power going. We were able to lend them a ladder to get off their boat, and the tools for them to try and concoct one for themselves. We did a book swap as well, but I think I am about to have an overdose of chick lit. Dave did remark on how pink most of the covers were. Have tried one so far and given it up due to severe indigestion. They will go to a good home at our next port of call.
We were then rudely awakened at 11 pm with the noise of a funfair and disco belting out over the water from Panjon. It was truly awful, awesomely loud and to add insult to injury there was the booming voice of a DJ and fireworks that went on for ages. I could not believe anything could be so loud, it even woke Dave. And on and on it went. I closed the hatches, which is miserable in the heat, but that really didn't help at all. So it was no sleep till 4 am. The just as we nodded off again, the drunken Irish in a boat over the way decided to have a sing song accompanied by accordian. I cried. That went on till 5am. Not the best night in the world, and a pretty crabby pair we were.
The town is a disappointment to me after the ones we have been to, and not the Bayona we remember from 15 years ago when we first came here. Mind you circumstances were different then too, as we were towed in in the middle of the night by a fishing boat. Our engine had failed off Lisbon, and we had flip flopped in no wind for over a week to get this far. Thinking we would be missed at work we decided to put in to Bayona instead of keeping on, at that time we had a breeze to do so. This however died as suddenly as it had appeared and we again left flip flopping, but not in such a good spot. However, rescued we were and royally looked after. Since then not only has this marina grown, but 2 others have sprung up beside it, equally huge. The town has grown too, and it is now obviously a tourist resort, with tourist resort prices as well.
Nights 2 and 3 also had us awake with the fair and fireworks, but thankfully the Irish had departed. It was all too much and we packed up the boat, did the last supermarket shop and set off for our next adventure.

The picture shows the very large statue on a rock, Our Lady of Bayona, which you pass on the way in and out of Bayona bay.


THE GREEN DOOR


A couple of times I had noticed a little green door set into the wall of a building set back of the narrow road we walked down behind the main drag. I had also seen the occasional person going in and out. So one day I was cutoius and went over to look at the little notice on the wall. There are so many little notices like this around you tend to ignore them. Once over there it was became clear this was a church, so slowly opened the door and peeped in. What a find. It was a small chapel, with the most amazing main altar and side altar, and the times I visited the Blessed Sacrament there I always found people of all kinds coming in, not to look, but to pray. It was a quiet place in the bustle of the people hustling you to buy things or have a meal.
The photographs do not tell all.
Mind you if I had approached it from the other direction I might have had a clue from the cross on the steeple!

BAYONA

Having had the delight of Panjon, we thought we had better get a move on and get over to Bayona and the marina to do the jobs and get the mail, so we motored over the bay and had a look around. Found a super berth on the outside alongside the pontoon, not rafted up like the others. Goodie, thought Jen. Until we found out that this berth was for bigger boats than us even, we were welcome to stay, but at 50 euros a night declined the offer and moved in with the hoi-polloi. Not the easiest of manouevres, but managed witht he help of the staff. The problem for us is getting the lines ashore over the back end when we can't get off. Anyway , we tucked up, Dave constructed his amazing drawbridge and we were set to do the work in hand. This amazing contraption is made from part of an old extension ladder, a plank and a set of wheels from a wheelie bi, and works a treat, either from the front or the back.

We wre soon joined by another boat lurching alongside, and made friends with the English couple on boards. We were able to offer mutual assistance as well,