37:57.03 N, 008:51.98 W

 

We are tied up in Sines which has a huge set of modern harbour walls enclosing a port for oil tankers, but a snug marina right in the old bit and convenient the old town. It’s where Vasco de Gama comes from so it has a long sea-faring tradition.

 

We chose to come here rather than go to in to Cascais because the latter seems not to be certain to welcome visiting yachts, because we’d be passing at 3am when it’s dark and presumably there would be no fuel to be had and because the 3 sources of information we have – the CA handbook / pilot guide, the printed chart and the electronic chart-plotter all disagreed about where to go yet said that it was full of rules and restrictions.

 

So we had another fine night of mostly light winds with the engine on and off. There were lots of unlit lobster pot markers as a hazard to night sailing – during one of Fe’s watches we passed only a few metres from one. We were also disturbed by a strange noise, like the sound of someone slapping wet fish down on a marble counter; Fe got the torch and shone it at the water surface and there were thousands of fish leaping and jumping to escape their fate from the predators below, but whether tuna fish or dolphins or both we couldn't tell. Just before dawn it grew foggy which lasted until around 11am when it burnt off, but we didn’t see land until less than 5 miles from Sines.

 

We topped up with diesel and got updated forecasts and will set off again tomorrow morning: the forecasts show much of the same with favourable but light winds for at least 7 days more. We are 450 miles from Madeira.

 

Sines marina from the Praia Vasco de Gama

 

And here here he is, staring out to sea.

 

Some photos from the trip between La Coruña and here:

 

Shoals fo grey mullet in La Coruña harbour

 

Dutch square rigger off Finisterre

 

Fiona using the results of the flour packing (see below)

 

Juvenile Fulmar

 

The wind was strong enough to sail for nearly 2 hours!

 

The Islas Berlengas from 5 miles off

 

 

Lobster pots, Portugese style. Some are in 1000m of water!

 

Fiona’s notes. Before leaving Falmouth we bought a vacuum packer and packed up portions of flour, rice, pasta and beans to save space and also to have in convenient 1 Kilo bags. This has proved to be a good move. To get to our dried food locker we have to dismantle the sofa. However knowing you can open the locker dootr and not find burst bags of food everywhere is great. Plus, bread making means we just open the bag and tip the flour into the bowl. No weighing it out whilst tilted at 30 degrees.

 

Vacuum packer in action, and stores cupboard full of its work

 

Note the date mum!