Jackie and Stu’ (of MYMAX fame, the winners of the 2007 Aberystwyth yacht race) arrived for ‘The CAPE Experience’, and the whole crew went into holiday mode again. We walked on the beach and paddled, went dinghy sailing, lunched in Lagos, checked out wetsuits, surf boards, floatation vests and sailing fleeces, did a lot of eating and drinking, and had a brilliant impromptu karaoke evening singing along to our whole collection of Best of the 80’s CDs. Sore throats AND sore heads for all of the adults the next day!

Jackie, Stu’, David, Bethany and Bryn waiting for dinner to arrive.

Stu’ sailing the Walker Bay past Ferrogudo Castle.

Jackie catching the prawns on film before they disappeared.

Christmas arrives on CAPE

With invitations to quite a few Christmas events lined up, I gave in and let David and the children decorate the boat. As we don’t have room inside CAPE for a Christmas tree, we have decorated the mast instead. The fairy lights we had bought with us had survived, and the decorations were fine once we had wiped off the mould. I am now under pressure from three sides to have blue flashy lights up the mast, but have resisted so far…

CAPE’s Christmas mast.

We walked into Portimão one evening to a Christmas Fayre that promised ‘40 Christmas stalls, mulled wine and seasonal snacks’. We never found the Fayre, but we did find compensatory beer, ice cream and Christmas lights galore.

Christmas lights in Portimão.

A tree of light in a deserted town square.

We went to the Surf School Christmas Bash (a Brazilian BBQ), and the Marina Christmas Cocktail party (I knew I should have brought my cocktail dress and strappy sandals with me...).

CAPE’s water babies

‘SURF BORED’ [sic] appears high on both Bethany and Bryn’s list for Father Christmas. After some discussion, however, it was decided that Father Christmas was unlikely to be able to get one down the mast, so we decided to spend our Christmas money on a family surf board. We will also be working a bit harder to help the children with their spelling!

Our new ‘SURF BORED’.

David hummed the theme tune from Hawaii 5-O all the way to the beach. The children had us warming up on the beach and practicing paddling on a surf board drawn on the sand before they would let us have a go at the real thing. I have to say that it IS as hard to get up on that board as you think it might be – David managed to stand up once for 1 or 2 seconds before falling off again and again and again, while I managed to get to my knees a couple of times before being bucked off unceremoniously into the foam… Maybe 44 is a bit old to be starting out on my career as a surf chick!

X marks the spot

On Saturday morning the children found a pirate treasure map in a bottle in the Walker Bay – obviously lost by some careless pirate staggering down the pontoon at the dead of night.

The treasure map in a poison bottle.

X marks the spot…

Pirate Captain David (ONS JOOL) called a pirate meeting to plan an expedition to find the treasure. At 1 pm on Sunday, the Jolly Roger was raised on the Walker Bay and the pirates (Bethany, Bryn, David ONS JOOL and Aline) brandishing swords, daggers, wooden spoons etc., set off to find the treasure attended by Pirate Nancy in a safety boat.

The Pirate gang.

Not to be left out, David and I got on our pirate gear, blacked our teeth (what else do I need my 100% waterproof mascara for these days?) and set off to attack the pirates. We hassled them a bit and after they had found the treasure (a casket of jewels and pieces of eight) buried on Ferrogudo beach, we managed to nick it. David managed to escape to sea with it, but in the battle, I got left behind and he abandoned me to my fate in the hands of the pirates. The Maritime Police came to investigate the fuss as David (in our dinghy) and Nicholas (in his dinghy) circled and splashed the pirates as we made our way back across the river – fortunately they left (killing themselves laughing) when Bethany threatened them with her sword. Later that evening everyone came to CAPE for a pirate feast (of ‘long pig’, hunks of bread and butter, grog and chocolate biscuits) and to divvy up the treasure.

Captain Lilo – any excuse to dress up! (Yes Lawrence – that is your shirt!)