Thursday 14^th February – Ilha da Culatra - Vilamoura

37:04.567N 8:07.191W

A much better night except for one blow around midnight when winds reached 29-30 knots.

Today there was finally an easing in the gales that have been blowing through Cadiz and in the winds generally across the Bay, though the gales continue in the Gibraltar Strait and beyond. However, the winds are due to start building again tomorrow evening for a major blow over the weekend in the Bay.

This afternoon, after the wind finally eased for a period around lunchtime, Richard determined we should make the short run back down wind and down swell to Vilamoura and re-group rather than gambling on the weather in the morning or sitting it out over the weekend.

The anchor took some getting up – after a week and a half it was well buried and definitely not going anywhere. Two of the local fishing boats which have sat on moorings just across from us since we arrived also decided that conditions had improved sufficiently to go out.

The swell was still quite significant as we came out of the lagoon at Cabo de Santa Maria but eased as we rounded the headland towards Vilamoura; a call to the marina had determined that the swell was not a problem at the far end.

Having motored out part of the way, we set sail and had a good run down on just the genoa in F4/5.  The watermaker also got another run as we went along.

We are now back on our previous berth. One of the yachts we met at Lagos ‘Big Sky’ has arrived on the same pontoon whilst we have been away, whilst one of the yachts which we shared the anchorage at Ilha de Culatra with for a few nights is a couple of pontoons away.