Blog #31 Any plan is a basis for change
Cassini's blog
Simon and Sally, Nigel and Catherine
Wed 27 Sep 2023 17:31
| Any plan is a basis for change As we are in the land of the famous Portuguese navigator, Vasco de Gama, it is appropriate that our navigation plans are constantly being reviewed. On arrival in Lisbon we discovered that the preferred marina and the World Cruising Club partner in Oeiras was full so we had to anchor in Cascais bay instead. We could go into the marina here in Cascais but it is the most expensive in Portugal. We could get 4 nights elsewhere for the price of one night here. It is a pleasant, sheltered anchorage and the fuel berth lets you park your dinghy there so there is easy access ashore. As I am constantly reviewing the navigational plan, I decided to check our next stop in Sines. It's a good job I did - apparently the marina at Sines has been closed since July with no prospect of opening anytime soon. So much for our jumping off point from mainland Europe to Madeira. It now looks like we will need to leave from here direct to Madeira. Distance wise it is not much different (only about an extra 10-15 miles) but it does mean that we are having to make preparations for a long voyage (just over 500 miles) sooner than we had planned. Fortunately, Cascais is equipped with a massive Auchan supermarket for stocking up and we can fuel at the marina without paying exorbitant prices. All we need now is a 5 day weather window with favourable winds to whisk us down to Madeira. They are not here yet so we will just have to enjoy a few days in Cascais and make sure all our preps are complete. Today we have done a big shop and a load of laundry (including bedding). Nigel Well deserved cocktails and tapas ashore! Cassini anchored in the background (circled).   Not Portuguese Man-o-war jelly fish, although we did see these in northern Spain, these are about 50cm long and best avoided! |
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