Fai Tira Alcoutim 37:28.35N 7:28.17W
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Fai Tira Blog
Friday 02/10 Fai
Tira Alcoutim 37:28.35N 7:28.17W Fai
Tira heads back to her second home. We
are now in a place called Alcoutim which is at the top of the navigable part of
the river Guadiana. This river is the border between Portugal and Spain
and is renowned for its beauty. We set off from Tavira at 7.30 with my friend
Colin Thompson on board. We needed to be at the mouth of the river at low
tide so that we could ride with the incoming tide the 22 miles to
Alcoutim. It was first light as we left Tavira motor sailing the ten
miles to the entrance of the Guadiana. The sea was littered with small
fishing boats which Colin skilfully negotiated his way around. We had no
wind until about 3 miles from the entrance when we pulled out the genoa just at
the same time Dee served up bacon and egg sandwiches to Colin and me. We
got to river just as the tide was turning and we motored past Vila Real and
proceeded along at 5.5knots with Colin on the helm with a big grin on his
face.
The
first obstacle was the suspension bridge that carries the motorway between the
two countries. We were told it had a clearance 24 meters. Fai
Tira’s mast is 16 meters so we should be ok to get underneath.
Video
Under the bridge. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnAb3B-TwGI <object
width="425" height="344"><param
name="movie"
value="http://www.youtube.com/v/EnAb3B-TwGI&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param
name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param
name="allowscriptaccess"
value="always"></param><embed
src=""
type="application/x-shockwave-flash"
allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"
width="425" height="344"></embed></object> It
all went quite on board as we sneaked under the bridge but I was quietly
confident as I knew she had been up this river a few times before. John
and Dee were in awe of the beauty of the river and the soundings as were Colin
and myself. We went past old deserted houses and ruins with fantastic
aspects. We eventually reached the jetty where Fai Tira spent a season or two
whilst Bill the person who built Fai Tira stayed while he converted renovated a
house in the village. We compared the photos we have on board and was
expecting the villagers to line the banks as we slid by. There was no one
to be seen as it was lunch time.
It
took us just under 4 hours to travel the 22 miles to Alcoutim where we dropped
anchor in the middle of the river. For
more information about this lovely village go to : http://www.portugalvirtual.pt/_tourism/algarve/alcoutim/index.html
We
meet Colin’s wife and son at the village and had a nice meal with them
before returning to the boat. The
last couple of blogs have been sent by Sat Phone so no photos. So here
are some photos of Tavira and our visits to our friends Colin and sue and Pete
and Linda. Not to forget Colin and Max and their three children.
Video Diary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYJkkoVCX9c <object width="425"
height="344"><param name="movie"
value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gYJkkoVCX9c&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param
name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param
name="allowscriptaccess"
value="always"></param><embed
src=""
type="application/x-shockwave-flash"
allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"
width="425" height="344"></embed></object> Bye for
now. Pete, John
and Dee |
