Marina de Cascais 17^th July – 1^st August 2014

So what have I done with my time? Caught the train from Cascais to the airport in Lisbon (5 Euros return) to wave goodbye to Jason and then Steve K. Visited the Old Castle of St. George in Lisbon/Lisboa, the old cathedral, listened to ladies singing Fado (traditional Portuguese singing). Was given a bracelet and necklace by a big black guy in the Alfama district. He said he wanted to practice his English. Then he wanted to give me a present which would give him luck and me strength. I then bought three more bracelets for Josh, Theo and Oscar. I hope they like them. I understood the the symbol on them would bring me strength and good luck. This was a good sales pitch and if the rest is true that will be a bonus!

Jobs done on Wandering Dream:

·         Fitted a new anchor locker clasp – to stop it opening in big seas.

·         Removed long mirrors and refitted them with double-sided tape and silicon – to make them more difficult to break.

·         Added more screws to the hanging tidies – they would swing out when we were canted over.

·         Sanded down and painted six coats of varnish to the toe rail capping and companion way hatch.

·         Diesel generator: Inspected exhaust for damage and found no problems. Started it and found raw water cooling wasn’t working. Replaced broken impeller. All now working properly – Thank you God!

·         Fitted liquid soap holder in Heads sink – to stop it ending up on the floor.

·         Added bungee to hold chopping board, thermos and wine bottle.

·         Tested SSB radio, found the aerial broken, soldered and found all working ok.

·         Topped up stern-gland and prop-shaft greasers.

·         Topped up engine oil and bought more.

·         Drained water from fuel filter.

·         Re-sited handheld VHF dock, so that recharging leads reach.

·         Removed Henderson manual bilge pump and checked it was working.

·         Opened and closed sea cocks to ensure continued smooth operation.

I also got one of the folding bikes out and went for a couple of rides to Guincho Beach, was location of wind surfing national championships. Found cliff top open air gym and incorporated that into my morning run. Explored Cascais, galleries and museums, went to a jazz club until 2am.

Went for a meal with Nick and Jay, they collected me from the fuel pontoon, it was blowing a F6. I arrived soaked to the skin, but dried out quite quickly in the sun and wind. Later in the week I reciprocated and hosted them, plus a Dutch guy called Sten. He was on his own and feeling a little down as his relationship had just finished. I cooked lamb Tagine in the pressure cooker, with couscous, followed by Banoffee Pie – I even cooked my own caramel from scratch. It is amazing what you can do with two burners on a stove.

Vacated and prepared my cabin for Peter and Sheryl, who are arriving just after Penny for a week. Penny and I will use the fore cabin. She arrives tomorrow Saturday 3^rd August….can’t wait to see her! My plan is to sail to Sines (pronounced Sinch) and then on to Lagos (pronounced La gosh) in the Algarve. I think Gibraltar will be too far unless they want to sail through the night.