36:11.02N 05:55.98W

 

Up at 5.30 am to get ready for a 6.00 am departure. Not quite light yet, but getting better by the minute.

 

Away on time and delighted to find a fresh breeze on our starboard beam, but this soon fell away as we edged away from the coast. Endless fishing buoys and fishing boats until we cleared the headland by Faro. Sun had now risen and we watched the steady stream of charter flights landing at Faro Airport, as we headed out in to the bay for our direct crossing to Cadiz on the Spanish coast. The wind came back for a while and we enjoyed a great sail, zipping along at 8 - 9 knots. Sadly it did not last all the way and we were reduced to motorsailing for a fair part of the day. Finally, of course, the wind came back with a vengence (and NOT as forecast) to combine with some hefty Atlantic swell to make the final downwind, with following seas approach to Rota very unnerving! In the event we edged in through the narrow, shallow entrance and tied up on the reception pontoon. Finally found the office, which despite what the books tell you, was still open and we were allocated a very spacious and comfortable berth in the main marina. Having tied up and bearing in mnd it was now 9.00pm (Spanish Time), we quickly set off to take a look round the town. Being rather amateur tourists we failed to take the camera with us, which was a shame as Rota is a wonderful town with so much to see that makes it quite special. It was clear from the outset, that in direct contrast to the ghastly Vilamoura, we were the only English people in town! This is a Spanish resort for the Spanish and the ambience of the place was fantastic. There was some sort of festival/fiesta in progress which added to the fun and it was with some reluctance (and a lack of sleep) that we returned to Serafina for the night.

 

Read Bali Hai's continuing log the other night and very amusing it is too, except perhaps if you are his new crew. He was very critical of their first 24 hours or so, and seems happy to say so, but we gather from meeting some other boats, that he had not expected his crew to read the blog (or even know of its existance). But life is not like that and they have now seen it and by all accounts were not too happy.

 

On the leg from Lagos to Vilamoura, we had discovered how the trip boats in Lagos had been able to give 100% promises about seeing dolphins. Dozens of rival operators set off in fast boats in the morning and then call each other on the VHF radio when one of them finds a pod of dolphins. It is so sad to hear them hounding the poor animals, who although they clearly enjoy playing with boats, cannot relish being hotly pursued by high speed tourist boats.