Fai Tira in Faro, Portugal.   36:58.63N 07:52.28W

28^th  August 2011

After saying our goodbyes and thank you’s to the marina staff for a pleasant stay and Champagne breakfast,  we left Gibraltar at 3.00pm to catch the west going current through the straits of Gibraltar.  We headed west along the strait bucking the tide for quite a while, but with a 15knot wind from the east we were happy.  The Lavante (winds that come down the east coast of Spain) had kicked in for a few days giving us favourable winds as far as Cadiz.

Goodbye Gibraltar. It will possibly the last time I will ever sail to or from here.

We were cracking along at about 6knots through the water (only a guess because our log was broken) but only 4 knots over the ground. We couldn’t wait for the tide to change in our favour.  As were approached Tarifa we were reminded of what Eyleen had told us at the Champaign breakfast “There are more suicides in Tarifa than anywhere else in Europe due to the constant strong winds, it sends them mad”.

(I know how they feel, Pete’s wind is sending me mad – Baz)

As we rounded the most southern point in Europe we had the fortune of the tide change giving us 7.5 knots over the ground. If only that would last!!!!

Baz was happy to be zooming along.

We turned North West and set a course for Faro.  After a while the winds decreased and the trusty old Vetus was switched on.  We had a good overnight motor although quite slow as the wind had moved around to the North and subsided.  Eventually the light house at Cabo De Stanta Maria, Faro came into view and we were glad to see our destination. 

Built in the 1930’s the 49 metre lighthouse. The red and white building in front is the lifeboat station.  I wonder if they need a tractor driver???

Fai Tira battled in against the outgoing tide and eventually we dropped the hook at 8.00pm had a meal a G&T and hit the sack.

My ex-crew from the Balearics, Simon, Tracey, Maisie and Ed were having a holiday in a villa not far from Faro so the next morning we arranged to meet.  We were safely anchored where we were so I decided to leave FT there and take the dinghy into Faro which was very nice saunter up the estuary of about 3 miles.

We had arranged to meet Simon at midday.  We went for a walk around a part of the lovely old town and rang Simon to see where he was.  He hadn’t left! Funny I thought why not! He said “It’s only 11am and we have only just finished breakfast”  Portugal is on the same time as England. We were an hour early, so we found a bar and ordered a beer in Gibraltar time (over the yard arm) or (beer o’clock).

We eventually met up with Simon and went back to his lovely villa and met with their friends Angela and Lee and their two children Charles and Poppy.

The pool at the villa.

They provided us with a lovely lunch and we headed off to the local beach which is within walking distance.

The gang on the beach worn out after a game of beach volleyball. 

After sunning ourselves we decided to have a quick drink at the beach bar before heading back to the villa for a BBQ.  Whilst eating dinner we were surprised to see a flock of six House Martins returning back to their mud nest built just above the outside dinning table.

What a great place to build a nest.

THE RETURN of JOHN.

John was flying in that evening so we headed back to Faro to meet him.  We had pre-arranged to meet in the bar we had been previously that day.  On the way we dropped some petrol cans off at the dinghy and found it high and dry.  We met John at 9.00pm and had a drink whilst we caught up on the past few months he had been away from FT and waited for the tide to come back in.  The long trip back to the boat was interesting in the dark but we made it back to FT at about half past midnight. 

The next day we got up at first light and set off for Dartmouth.