With just about 100 miles to go, we are on the last lap to Cabo de Sao Vicente, the south west corner of Portugal. There is a lovely little bay tucked behind the point, in which we may choose to lie tomorrow night as long as it is suitably calm. Otherwise there is a more protected anchorage a couple of miles beyond, but it is not so pretty. Finally, and depending on how we feel, we may strike onwards to Lagos marina. There is some attraction to this, as we like the town and its many nice restaurants (no cooking!), but more importantly there is a good marine engineer there who could save me the bother of servicing the Yanmar and the Fischer Panda before lay-up. We have a lightly low oil pressure problem with the Yanmar (nothing to worry about, say the UK suppliers), which needs research. It is probably a faulty pressure switch, and they have the kit to check it.

Whichever the ultimate stop, we are so looking forward to a peaceful night in our aft bunk at the same time, with only the gentle snoring to disturb the sleep of the dead….

Dental Practice

I hate dentists! As a result of natural antipathy to pain, I neglected my teeth for far too long in my adolescence. In consequence, when I recognised the imperative of attending a dentist on a regular basis, it took a lot of visits, money and mountains of work to achieve what my current dentist refers to (with a touch of irony, I am sure) as a “well maintained mouth”. Now I am a fastidious, though fearful, patient.

The usual visit incurs some chastisement for staining and plaque, which are difficult to avoid if your teeth are jammed together like mine (not clenched!), and you enjoy tea, coffee and red wine (not at the same time!). This, despite following his advice to the letter with his recommended toothpaste, electric toothbrush, mouthwash and the massive array of tooth cleaning and picking tools that Boots stock – so heavy is my consumption of these, the company’s venture capital owners have moved into a chateau in Luxembourg!

There is, however, a happy ending to this moral tale. I went for the usual check up just before we left for the Azores, and the appointment followed the historic pattern until he stuck his instruments in my mouth. “Oh”, he said in a very surprised tone, “whatever you are doing, just keep doing it”. He was so taken aback that he removed the implements to allow me to speak – this has never happened before. The difference, dear friends, is that we have been offshore for weeks at a time over the last year. It is not that the tea and coffee consumption has declined (possibly the reverse), and hardly the abstinence from red wine. What has changed is that when you are on and off watch several times a day, you brush your teeth before collapsing into your bunk, after you haul yourself out of it, when you finish your breakfast/ lunch/ dinner/ afternoon coffee and Bermudan Rum Cake. Around a dozen interactions with the dental tools a day appears to make the difference…..shame that they are wearing away!

And in Conclusion…

Dinner soon, and then some more elbow practice with the toothbrush. Following which we will be ducking and swerving overnight to avoid the increasing traffic in this proximity to the Cabo, coming and going to the Med.

Watergaw