38:40.55N 09:19.05W

Wednesday 18^th June

50+ mile race today from Peniche to Oerias, which is close to Lisbon.

We have been joined now on Serafina by Ray & Bev who are escapees from Blue Beyond (Moody 54). They are also the parents of Robbie who came as crew on the last leg.

This has to have been the very best day’s sailing we have ever had in our lives.

Exciting race start at 9.00am with the entire fleet of 16 boats crossing the start line within 30 seconds of the gun. We made a poorer start than usual and were in 12^th place, but quickly began to take advantage of the stronger breeze and worked our way up to 4^th or 5^th, choosing again to head further offshore than most. At this point however, most of the boats with coloured sails (spinnakers and chutes) hoisted them for the 30 mile downwind leg and promptly raced away from us. This left us leading the rest of the pack, but in 6^th place overall. The wind gradually increased and although we were sailing goose-winged, directly downwind, we had a fantastic roller coaster ride making 6 to 7 knots all the way. Around midday a pod of over 20 dolphins raced up to the boat from all directions and treated us to an unbelievable two hours of entertainment. We believe (can anyone enlighten us?) that their antics today were probably to do with mating. Some were jumping and deliberately slamming their bodies onto the surface of the sea, whilst others leapt out and corkscrewed in midair. Pairs would race alongside then roll over and brush against each other before diving fast under the bows. There were the (now) usual groups of 4 or 5 locked together almost as one, that race towards you, turn and then swim alongside you before also playing on the bow wave. And finally there are those that simply leap gracefully clear out of the water just metres away.

Many thanks to Maxine (Blue Beyond) for these photos.

As we approached Cabo de Roca the boats at the front of the fleet called up on the radio to warn us of much stronger winds (23 knots) off the headland that marks the entrance to the River Tejo, which leads up to Lisbon.

We elected to press on under full sail as we were now broad reaching and a boat like ours revels in the stronger conditions. In the event, we experienced 35 knots of wind which drove us on at 10 knots up towards the finishing line at Oeiras. Although this localised wind reduced a bit, we still crossed the line at 9 knots, in 6^th place!

The marina, which is very smart and new, proved a tricky place to moor with the very strong diagonal cross wind blowing. We slid neatly into our berth, but the two boats either side of us sadly fared less well and both struck the pontoons damaging their hulls.

The only downside to the whole day was at lunchtime when Sarah suddenly announced that she had just broken a tooth (soft rolls and pate) and at first thought that it was one of her crowns. As soon as we arrived at the marina, we were met by a young lady with a bag of goodies for the crew and a cheerful welcome from the Marina and town. Sarah asked her if there was a chance of seeing a dentist whilst we were there. She went back to her office and returned 5 minutes later to say that they had fixed an appointment in one hours time (7.45pm) and that they would drive her there. By 8.30pm Sarah was back with a repair done and a bill for just 15 euros.

We then joined up with the crews of Blue Beyond (Moody 54) and Scott Free (Contest 43) and went for a meal in a restaurant in an old railway carriage!

Thursday 19^th June

Clear blue sky again....

Free day today with a trip planned for the afternoon and a prize giving and dinner with the Mayor and various dignitaries from the region.

The day slipped away with coffee on Scott Free, lunch on Blue Beyond and an incredibly dull coach tour of the area in the afternoon. Ray and his son Robbie went up Blue Beyond’s mast to drill and bolt their radar dome back on! It got tangled with their staysail during the race and was torn clean off the front of the mast.

We hosted drinks on Serafina before we all walked up to the venue for the prize giving and dinner. This was a stunning location with a fantastic view across the bay, flanked on one side by a fort which serves as the official residence of the Minister of Defence. The meal was by far and away the best on the whole trip so far and the icing on the cake was that Sarah again won the prize for the most accurate calculation/guess of the time we would cross the finish line on yesterday’s race.  We took roughly 9 hours and she was 19 seconds out!

Friday 20^th June

A second rest day here in Oeiras, which gives everyone a chance to take the short train ride into Lisbon for the day. Tomorrow is another 50 mile race to Sines, but we might now be taking all this a little less seriously now that we have discovered that the handicapping system is set so squarely against us ever winning a race!