Welcome to the
ninth 
newsletter
21st October 2008
Cascais,
Portugal
Current Lat/Long Position 38:41.8N
9:24.86W
Latest
Exactly
one month, over 1200 miles, five throws of the dice and already, an entire
spectrum of weather conditions, people, landfalls, sunsets, wildlife, culture
and experiences…
…That’s
“Where to Next?” so
far!
Some
of you I know have been following my progress on the blog so I’m not
going to dwell too much on the details of previous destinations in this
newsletter – it’s all there for you to catch up on when
you’ve got a few minutes to spare ( http://www.w2n.co.uk/blogposition.html
)
When
I set off from Wicormarine on 21st September, I really had very
little idea of how the challenge would unfold. I had the basic principle of how
the dice would systematically randomise the route but how I would cope
personally, emotionally, physically – that was impossible to predict. So,
as I say, one month on and I’m going to try if I can to sum up what it
feels like to be realising a dream – living the Dice Life. Well, in the past few days,
I’ve eaten freshly grilled sardines in seafront cafes proudly watching Canasta rock on a gentle swell in the bay
amongst colourful fishing boats and a handful of yachts from all over Europe. The sun shines predictably on sandy beaches while
in the town, café seating spills out into the shade of the narrow streets.
What’s not to like about Cascais? For a tourist, of which there are
plenty, Cascais has everything you might expect; cobbled streets, beaches,
cafes and bars but it’s Europe, it’s false and for my taste,
it’s just a convenient stop on route to more exotic, mystical and…
well, cheaper shores. I’ve enjoyed being here but with the carefully
protected natural beauty of the Cias Archipelago still fresh in my memory,
I’m struggling to get excited about this quaint little fishing town
sculpted and defaced by the tourist formula. There will be more like it
I’m sure and to be honest, there are worse places to be but too many
times, without uttering a single word, I have been addressed in English and
each time, it saddens me. Yes, the ornately patterned black and white cobbled
streets are unusual. Yes, the elaborately tiled houses and the seafront villas
are striking but it’s cheapened by the Irish bars, MacDonald’s,
souvenir shops and fake Rolex sellers that lurk menacingly on every corner. And
this adventure was never about discovering well established tourist traps or
about pretending to enjoy the fake cultural experience.
On
Sunday, I was physically exhausted, irritated by the tattooed, overweight and
graceless crowds and baffled by the myriad of sports on the plasma screens in
every bar and café nagging to be watched at every turn. I felt invisible. Just
another faceless wallet in the commercial machine that I suspect was once alive
with the banter and barter of fishermen and their families under the proud gaze
of King Carlos I from his favourite retreat in the Citadel overlooking the bay.
Despite myself, I made the effort to contact the local yacht Club not knowing
that in just three hours, my spirits would be lifted, my faith restored.
Mario
Matos Rosa, the Director of the Clube Naval
de Cascais was intrigued by my story and invited me to visit him at
the clubhouse that dominates the western end of the bay behind the marina. I
arrived at the surprisingly modern building of glass and stone nestled under
the Citadel walls (www.cncascais.com).
Posters on the walls boasted of hosting the 2007 ISAF World Sailing Championships
and I wondered if the facilities here had been built specifically for the event
of if Cascais had been awarded the honour in recognition of their obvious
passion for our sport. I concluded that it is both.
Mario
and I, joined briefly by Jose, the club President, discussed and selected six
possible onward destinations and having accepted the role and responsibility of
throwing the dice for leg 5, Mario suggested I waited for the crews to return
from the water where a fleet of Laser SB3’s were racing. I spent an
anxious couple of hours wandering through the municipal park knowing that the
dice could, for the first time, take me beyond European shores and into the
unfamiliar territories of North Africa. I
returned to the clubhouse and within minutes, was briefed on how the SB3 crews
would be presented with their awards. Incredibly, I realized not only that I
was going to be the guest of honour, I would be presenting the medals and that
the prize for the winning skipper would be the dubious honour of throwing the
dice!
I
gave a short speech apologising first that it would be in English although that
didn’t seem to be a problem. I was nervous and slightly bewildered by the
turn of events but soon relaxed as the group of maybe about forty or forty-five
very accomplished sailors listened intently and seemed genuinely fascinated by
the project. I then ceremoniously presented each crew of three with their
medals and posed for photographs – a real celebrity!
I’m
still waiting for the winning skipper to email me with his details so I’m
afraid I can’t credit him personally but needless to say, of the six
options ranging from Sagres and Lagos on the
Portuguese coast to Tangiers, Casablanca,
Porto Santo and the Canaries, the dice fell perfectly…
A
four – Casablanca, Morocco!
To
conclude proceedings, I was presented by Mario with a club burgee that now
shares pride of place on the port side spreader with the SBYC burgee and a book
The Wind is Calling detailing the
2007 ISAF World Sailing Championships. Casablanca is of course synonymous with
the 1942 movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman but it was pointed
out to me that in the final scene, Rick Blaine (Bogart), boards a plane bound
for Lisbon. It’s a tenuous link I know but I think it’s quite
fitting then that a connection between these two cities already exists and that
I will be making the same journey albeit in reverse, by boat and in entirely
contrasting circumstances.
So,
to sum up, I encountered challenging conditions in leg two that tested Canasta as much as it tested my own
commitment to the project. Ironically, there have been numerous times since
then when the wind has reduced to barely a breath and I’ve longed for the
35 knot gusts that at the time, conspired with steep waves to make life pretty
uncomfortable. Perfect sailing conditions are rare but it seems that the last
two legs have been plagued with light winds from the wrong direction and
it’s during those times that the scale of this challenge becomes evident.
There have been a few times when the wind has shifted onto the beam for some
very satisfying sailing and the forecast looks promising for leg 5. I’ve
found it difficult to establish any kind of routine for sleeping as most of the
voyage so far has been coastal and never very far from a fishing boat or a
lobster pot or commercial traffic. I’ve just had news of Alex
Thompson’s Hugo Boss
getting hit by a French fishing boat and I’m reminded of the potential
dangers even when the conditions are light. However, when the coast is clear
for as far as I can see, I am risking short one-hour naps using a cooking timer
to wake me but I never settle comfortably and awake at every bump or unexpected
motion of the boat. I’m using electronic charts and an AIS receiver to
see the larger vessels clearly from up to about twenty miles away and the radar
works incredibly well for spotting the smaller vessels that don’t
transmit an AIS signal. So I’m never very far from some useful technology
and I’ve not had any near misses yet. It is incredible though how, at
night, the horizon can be dotted with lights from commercial traffic that in
daylight cannot be seen. That’s something I shall just have to get used
to as there will be very few opportunities to relax enough to get more than a
couple of hours sleep at a time but so far, the legs have been no more than
four days at sea and as such, I’ve been able to catch up on sleep once
I’ve been anchored.
By the way, the latest news on Alex is that he’s
recovered the mast and incredibly, the sail is not damaged. There is of course
a huge hole in the hull just above the waterline that’ll need some
attention but according to his website, the team are racing to get the boat
ready for the start of the Vendee Globe. For Alex, the Vendee is the pinnacle
of four years work and I for one offer my very best wishes and every success in
the race. Nobody was hurt.
Canasta is in great shape and ready for
the next 300 mile leg to Casablanca.
I will spend the rest of today provisioning for the trip and will head off
probably tomorrow morning. That leaves just this evening for Cascais to redeem
itself although, to be honest, I have been meaning to get to the casino in
Estoril that I’m told is the largest in Europe.
What better way of testing the will of the dice than to let it gamble with my
money at the roulette table!? Seriously, Estoril is just a short walk along the
coastal path and when I walked up there on Sunday, it looked to me as though
Estoril is the casino. I will
have a bit of fun with the dice though and who knows, maybe I’ll even win
a couple of Euros and will remember this place fondly! Ah, I know, I’m
not really being fair to Cascais. It is a pretty little town with some original
features and would be a great place for a family to holiday just a short train
ride from Lisbon.
My opinion was tainted though from my first day ashore on Saturday when I
managed to sink the inflatable tender under the pier! I’d been ashore all
day and when I returned to the tender, all I could see of it was the rope still
tied to the railings. Now, I’m fairly experienced in these matters and I
know about tidal heights and about leaving enough rope to account for the rise
and fall. What I failed to appreciate though was that the tide rises almost to
the concrete structure. Harmless enough – I thought. As the spring tide
flooded though, the dinghy had floated under the pier which has a concrete lip
along its edge. When I returned to the dinghy, all I could see of it was the
bow just visible under the lip and knew without looking that the stern and the
outboard motor were not only submerged but held firmly behind the concrete lip.
To get it clear, I would have to sink it further or wait for the tide to fall
and deal with the consequences. I waited. When I returned a couple of hours
later, the dinghy had floated clear but was full of water and the motor was
badly scratched by the concrete. Incredibly, although it started without
hesitation, the motor has been unreliable since and I will have to strip it.
Well, maybe later after a bit of fishing, a leisurely lunch and… ah I
know, maybe I’ll just row!
That’s
all for now. Thanks for your interest in the w2n project and please don’t
hesitate to contact me with your comments and thoughts. Please feel free to
participate in the forum on the w2n website (www.w2n.co.uk) and
introduce your friends to the project.
All
my very best,
Rob
(Bee)
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