Terra firma

Vasco da Gama
Ian Strathcarron
Mon 30 Jun 2008 17:43
We had a terrific storm on Friday and we all stayed up all night.  The good news was that the northerly winds carried us down as far as 100 miles off Lisbon.  We planned to carry on to Cape St. Vincent and the Gulf of Cadiz but when we tried to start the engine in the afternoon, in order to top up the electricity supply, it failed to start and we think we have a problem with the alternator linking the battery to the engine.  So we have changed course and we are sailing to Cascais which is the yachting harbour for Lisbon on the Atlantic shore.  We will have to anchor off and dinghy in to get help.
 
It's quite warm today.  A whale sailed alongside for about half an hour.  You could hear the rush of air as he 'blew' about every 2 minutes.  Ian and I are looking forward to a few days' rest in Cascais.  The big questions are:  will we get into the harbour safely without an engine, and will we have a glass or two of wine - we have been 'dry' for a week.
 
P.S.  Arrived safely Cascais 1700 hours.