42:12.148N 008:54.158W

Whisper
Noel Dilly
Fri 24 Aug 2012 07:38
Tuesday - 21 August

We sent the night at anchor in Salvora and woke up to find ourselves in the company of 29 small dories lying at anchor, each with two fisherman on board.  Fishing off Salvora is only allowed by local fisherman who use traditional methods.  They collect shellfish by means if a large shovel shaped basket rake to which is attached to a stiff cane, like drain rods or a chimney sweep, extra canes are screwed on until the rake is on the bottom.  The rod is then pushed to and fro until eventually it is hauled up by hand, the long canes being passed over the boat and into the water the other side. The large shells are then carefully put into a bucket and the smaller ones tipped back into the water to grow larger.  It was fascinating to watch them, every so often they would pull up their anchors and move to another spot.  One dropped its anchor right beside us and motored away to fish.  When we went to leave, Whisper had turned so that her anchor chain was under the fisherman's anchor line.  The long boat hook managed to free it and our efforts were rewarded by a friendly wave from the fisherman.  The morning was a yactsman paradise, gentle winds and a broad reach as we sailed to  Isla Ons.  This island is inhabited but it is also part of the National Maritime Park so a permit is required to visit there.  Daily ferries from the mainland bring in hords of people who either enjoy the beaches and restaurants or walk the several circular trails.  We decided on a long walk so combined two of the walks bringing us back down to the village and refreshments!

We then decided to move on down to Isla Cies to anchor for the night, there was a good sailing breeze in the right direction which was fun for about 30 minutes then it died and once again we were motoring.  We had no sooner anchored when our German friends from the rally who had seen our approach, came over in their rib and ferried us to their boat for a pre-dinner drink. I love spontaneity but if I had known I would have prepared something different for dinner than the chicken which needed an hour to cook.  We had a smashing evening with them (they evidently had eaten earlier), they are leaving for Portugal and Madeira tomorrow, so we hope to meet up with them again on our journey.  We finally sat down for our dinner at 11 pm!