Having successfully traversed Cabo de Sao Vicente from Sines,
yesterday (Sunday) our arrival in Lagos
was timed at approx Paul’s phone call time – well, he keeps doing
it! Seriously, got in early evening, and as we were registering,
were administered a rude shock in terms of costs here. The Marina is very
expensive; especially for us big chaps, over 50ft is charged at one rate irrespective
of length and it’s more expensive than anywhere we’ve come across -
even on the South coast of the UK. We have a more favourable rate because
of being with the ARC, but even so will only remain here for a couple of
nights, then anchor, as we think this is a foretaste of how much more expensive
the Algarve is than Atlantic Portugal.
Our second trip two-up was fine, though we had to motor sail
as the wind was dead astern. The Cape saw us with contrary winds
and the sail down to Lagos
was fraught with 25 kt winds (typical of the time of day and the coast) and an
over-abundance of poorly marked fishing pots. We are now about to become
tourists for a couple of days – in a very touristy resort at the height
of the holiday season!
We’ve caught up with other ARC boats, and others in
transit and its very much a self-help community. For those who have
been with us, the SSB still is not behaving itself and we hope that someone in
the marina, who has similar problems, will join us in head-bashing a
solution. The satphone arrives tomorrow, with Barbara and Mick, so we
will be able to let everyone know the way to text us whilst on the high seas.
Here’s a picture of the Cape, plus a Brit boat
going in the opposite direction at the Cape.
