Anchored at Cascais

Tillymint.fortescue
Fri 21 Aug 2009 08:59

38:41.8N 009:24.8W
 
Friday 21 August - yesterday evening at 10.45pm we dropped anchor in Cascais harbour, 14 hours and 125 miles through the water (132 miles over ground; confused - I was!) on from Aveiro - phew! The day went by in a very relaxed fashion, lots of reading up deck and the little people whiled away a few hours down below with several episodes of the TV programme "Coast" on dvd - a metaphorical day at sea! The wind eventually got out of bed and we had a few glorious hours of goose-winged force 5 to waft us along the coastline and then a 10 knot screaming reach finale into the shore. En route we passed Isla Berlenga with it's lighthouse, fortified monastery and campsite. Just outside Cascais we rounded Cabo da Roca which is infact, officially, actually the most westerly point on mainland Europe (not Cap Finisterre as previously reported), only by a fraction of a degree though. As we approached the Cabo there was a quite sudden change in sea state, the swell and rollers came out of nowhere, the washing up re-arranged itself on the draining board and Tilly Mint did a "just caught in time" gybe...
 
The conversation between decks went like this:-
 
Skipper - does anyone want to come up top to see the Cape
Immy - cake, ooohhhh yes plesae
Skipper - no Immy, the Cape
Laurence - what, Cape of Good Hope?
 
Not quite there on the geography but says something about the bouncing down below!
 
Anchoring in the dark was another first. All ways round though it was easier than going into the marina, all that fuss with fenders and lines and reverse parking in the dark. Anchoring is the boat equaivalent of arriving home from school, throw down your school bag and shoes (anchor) and straight off into the garden (wine & crisps)

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