Welcome to the ninth   newsletter

 

21^st October 2008

 

Cascais, Portugal

 

Current Lat/Long Position 38:41.8N 9:24.86W

 

 

 

Latest

 

Exactly one month, over 1200 miles, five throws of the dice and already, an entire spectrum of weather conditions, people, landfalls, sunsets, wildlife, culture and experiences…

 

…That’s “Where to Next?” so far!

 

Some of you I know have been following my progress on the blog so I’m not going to dwell too much on the details of previous destinations in this newsletter – it’s all there for you to catch up on when you’ve got a few minutes to spare ( http://www.w2n.co.uk/blogposition.html )

 

When I set off from Wicormarine on 21^st September, I really had very little idea of how the challenge would unfold. I had the basic principle of how the dice would systematically randomise the route but how I would cope personally, emotionally, physically – that was impossible to predict. So, as I say, one month on and I’m going to try if I can to sum up what it feels like to be realising a dream – living the Dice Life. Well, in the past few days, I’ve eaten freshly grilled sardines in seafront cafes proudly watching Canasta rock on a gentle swell in the bay amongst colourful fishing boats and a handful of yachts from all over Europe. The sun shines predictably on sandy beaches while in the town, café seating spills out into the shade of the narrow streets. What’s not to like about Cascais? For a tourist, of which there are plenty, Cascais has everything you might expect; cobbled streets, beaches, cafes and bars but it’s Europe, it’s false and for my taste, it’s just a convenient stop on route to more exotic, mystical and… well, cheaper shores. I’ve enjoyed being here but with the carefully protected natural beauty of the Cias Archipelago still fresh in my memory, I’m struggling to get excited about this quaint little fishing town sculpted and defaced by the tourist formula. There will be more like it I’m sure and to be honest, there are worse places to be but too many times, without uttering a single word, I have been addressed in English and each time, it saddens me. Yes, the ornately patterned black and white cobbled streets are unusual. Yes, the elaborately tiled houses and the seafront villas are striking but it’s cheapened by the Irish bars, MacDonald’s, souvenir shops and fake Rolex sellers that lurk menacingly on every corner. And this adventure was never about discovering well established tourist traps or about pretending to enjoy the fake cultural experience.

 

  

 

 

On Sunday, I was physically exhausted, irritated by the tattooed, overweight and graceless crowds and baffled by the myriad of sports on the plasma screens in every bar and café nagging to be watched at every turn. I felt invisible. Just another faceless wallet in the commercial machine that I suspect was once alive with the banter and barter of fishermen and their families under the proud gaze of King Carlos I from his favourite retreat in the Citadel overlooking the bay. Despite myself, I made the effort to contact the local yacht Club not knowing that in just three hours, my spirits would be lifted, my faith restored.

 

Mario Matos Rosa, the Director of the Clube Naval de Cascais was intrigued by my story and invited me to visit him at the clubhouse that dominates the western end of the bay behind the marina. I arrived at the surprisingly modern building of glass and stone nestled under the Citadel walls (www.cncascais.com). Posters on the walls boasted of hosting the 2007 ISAF World Sailing Championships and I wondered if the facilities here had been built specifically for the event of if Cascais had been awarded the honour in recognition of their obvious passion for our sport. I concluded that it is both.

Mario and I, joined briefly by Jose, the club President, discussed and selected six possible onward destinations and having accepted the role and responsibility of throwing the dice for leg 5, Mario suggested I waited for the crews to return from the water where a fleet of Laser SB3’s were racing. I spent an anxious couple of hours wandering through the municipal park knowing that the dice could, for the first time, take me beyond European shores and into the unfamiliar territories of North Africa. I returned to the clubhouse and within minutes, was briefed on how the SB3 crews would be presented with their awards. Incredibly, I realized not only that I was going to be the guest of honour, I would be presenting the medals and that the prize for the winning skipper would be the dubious honour of throwing the dice!

 

I gave a short speech apologising first that it would be in English although that didn’t seem to be a problem. I was nervous and slightly bewildered by the turn of events but soon relaxed as the group of maybe about forty or forty-five very accomplished sailors listened intently and seemed genuinely fascinated by the project. I then ceremoniously presented each crew of three with their medals and posed for photographs – a real celebrity!

 

I’m still waiting for the winning skipper to email me with his details so I’m afraid I can’t credit him personally but needless to say, of the six options ranging from Sagres and Lagos on the Portuguese coast to Tangiers, Casablanca, Porto Santo and the Canaries, the dice fell perfectly…

 

A four – Casablanca, Morocco!

 

To conclude proceedings, I was presented by Mario with a club burgee that now shares pride of place on the port side spreader with the SBYC burgee and a book The Wind is Calling detailing the 2007 ISAF World Sailing Championships. Casablanca is of course synonymous with the 1942 movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman but it was pointed out to me that in the final scene, Rick Blaine (Bogart), boards a plane bound for Lisbon. It’s a tenuous link I know but I think it’s quite fitting then that a connection between these two cities already exists and that I will be making the same journey albeit in reverse, by boat and in entirely contrasting circumstances.

 

So, to sum up, I encountered challenging conditions in leg two that tested Canasta as much as it tested my own commitment to the project. Ironically, there have been numerous times since then when the wind has reduced to barely a breath and I’ve longed for the 35 knot gusts that at the time, conspired with steep waves to make life pretty uncomfortable. Perfect sailing conditions are rare but it seems that the last two legs have been plagued with light winds from the wrong direction and it’s during those times that the scale of this challenge becomes evident. There have been a few times when the wind has shifted onto the beam for some very satisfying sailing and the forecast looks promising for leg 5. I’ve found it difficult to establish any kind of routine for sleeping as most of the voyage so far has been coastal and never very far from a fishing boat or a lobster pot or commercial traffic. I’ve just had news of Alex Thompson’s Hugo Boss getting hit by a French fishing boat and I’m reminded of the potential dangers even when the conditions are light. However, when the coast is clear for as far as I can see, I am risking short one-hour naps using a cooking timer to wake me but I never settle comfortably and awake at every bump or unexpected motion of the boat. I’m using electronic charts and an AIS receiver to see the larger vessels clearly from up to about twenty miles away and the radar works incredibly well for spotting the smaller vessels that don’t transmit an AIS signal. So I’m never very far from some useful technology and I’ve not had any near misses yet. It is incredible though how, at night, the horizon can be dotted with lights from commercial traffic that in daylight cannot be seen. That’s something I shall just have to get used to as there will be very few opportunities to relax enough to get more than a couple of hours sleep at a time but so far, the legs have been no more than four days at sea and as such, I’ve been able to catch up on sleep once I’ve been anchored.

 

By the way, the latest news on Alex is that he’s recovered the mast and incredibly, the sail is not damaged. There is of course a huge hole in the hull just above the waterline that’ll need some attention but according to his website, the team are racing to get the boat ready for the start of the Vendee Globe. For Alex, the Vendee is the pinnacle of four years work and I for one offer my very best wishes and every success in the race. Nobody was hurt.

 

Canasta is in great shape and ready for the next 300 mile leg to Casablanca. I will spend the rest of today provisioning for the trip and will head off probably tomorrow morning. That leaves just this evening for Cascais to redeem itself although, to be honest, I have been meaning to get to the casino in Estoril that I’m told is the largest in Europe. What better way of testing the will of the dice than to let it gamble with my money at the roulette table!? Seriously, Estoril is just a short walk along the coastal path and when I walked up there on Sunday, it looked to me as though Estoril is the casino. I will have a bit of fun with the dice though and who knows, maybe I’ll even win a couple of Euros and will remember this place fondly! Ah, I know, I’m not really being fair to Cascais. It is a pretty little town with some original features and would be a great place for a family to holiday just a short train ride from Lisbon. My opinion was tainted though from my first day ashore on Saturday when I managed to sink the inflatable tender under the pier! I’d been ashore all day and when I returned to the tender, all I could see of it was the rope still tied to the railings. Now, I’m fairly experienced in these matters and I know about tidal heights and about leaving enough rope to account for the rise and fall. What I failed to appreciate though was that the tide rises almost to the concrete structure. Harmless enough – I thought. As the spring tide flooded though, the dinghy had floated under the pier which has a concrete lip along its edge. When I returned to the dinghy, all I could see of it was the bow just visible under the lip and knew without looking that the stern and the outboard motor were not only submerged but held firmly behind the concrete lip. To get it clear, I would have to sink it further or wait for the tide to fall and deal with the consequences. I waited. When I returned a couple of hours later, the dinghy had floated clear but was full of water and the motor was badly scratched by the concrete. Incredibly, although it started without hesitation, the motor has been unreliable since and I will have to strip it. Well, maybe later after a bit of fishing, a leisurely lunch and… ah I know, maybe I’ll just row!

 

 

 

 

That’s all for now. Thanks for your interest in the w2n project and please don’t hesitate to contact me with your comments and thoughts. Please feel free to participate in the forum on the w2n website (www.w2n.co.uk) and introduce your friends to the project.

 

 

All my very best,

 

 

 

Rob (Bee)

 

 

You are receiving this newsletter because you have either registered an interest or because you haven’t – and I think you should! If you are receiving it in error, please let me know by simply replying to the email with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line.

 

 

W2N Global Ltd.

4 Hampshire House

Tunbridge Lane

Liphook

Hampshire GU30 7SP

UK

 

+44 (0)7967 661157

rob {CHANGE TO AT} w2n {DOT} co {DOT} uk