What happened to all those regular updates?

Approaching Lagos... Canaries exit...stage left

I’d like to say that I’ve been alone, cut off from the world valiantly battling heavy seas for weeks at a time, tempering my physique whilst exercising my mental mettle, but the reality is that I’ve been tremendously busy making unplanned social detours at every opportunity.

Following a night of pontoon festivities, [where alcohol refreshments were enthusiastically consumed by sailors young (that’s me) and old (i.e. everyone else… OK, not you either Marta…) and gathered for one last bash under the twinkle of party lights and thrum of music emanating from the little blue boat], the majority of southerly migrating yachts (three out of five) left Cascais on the 2nd of November bound for the Canary Islands, (Madeira had become a no-go zone due to forecast heavy seas).

After a teary goodbye by the throngs of well wishers gathered to witness Eileen of Avoca’s departure [(that would be the crew of Angel of Rio and Apodis), and enthusiastic (if somewhat imaginary) jostling by hoards of fans crowding the shoreline (now I’m harboring illusions of fame and grandeur but do bear with me, the phenomenon is generally transient…), eager for just one last glimpse of number 9 putting to sea], I spent a thoroughly undignified and sleepless night dodging all manner of royal annoyances including cruise liners from the Duchess and Empress, to the Princess and you-name-it-ness, all apparently intent on running me down.

The high priestess and priest of 'yea almighty' Lupin

Despite managing a respectable 100 nautical miles in just 24 hours under just tri-sail and stay-sail, I quickly satisfied my quota for ‘hours logged in a confused swell’ (yes, I’m ready to accept the label of wimp!), and took a left hand turn round Cape Vincent, setting course for Lagos to satisfy a newly devised theorem on mollifying seasickness with ice cold larger ashore. After promising initial trials at the marina cafe, I managed to significantly expand on my basic proof, concluding that the miracle cure for nausea at sea is to be found in hot vindaloo at an Indian restaurant, courtesy of old 3-day friends, (oh… and only after a foundation of several refreshing pints).

The official version of my story reads: faulty wiring with Eileen’s tri-light forced me to put to shore on safety grounds, but upon exhaustive testing and intense scrutinizing (I flicked the switch back and forth a couple of times), the mysterious intermittent problem resolved itself. There, you see! Having a technical background specializing in troubleshooting does pay off!

Determined to make the most of this unscheduled stopover, I went hunting for the crew of Riviera Magic (wintering afloat), to pay homage to the resident feline deity “Lupin”. Those of you who have been diligently reading all my updates (ah… dear mum), will recall that I met the high priest and priestess (Brad & Diane), serving yea almighty Lupin, on Riviera Magic in May while sheltering at La Coruna. I am pleased to report that Lupin is well and may consider an extended public tour after sufficient rest this winter.

Heading for the Canaries... Take 2

At dawn I made my second attempt to reach the Canary Islands… For the moment, lets just say I didn’t quite make it.

In Cascais waiting on the weather

The dingy fleet in Cascais, Portugal

It’s been a week of lazing about Cascais and Lisbon with very little to do. Just the way I like it. Sleeping in, wandering about town for a spot of exercise, and shopping for enough food to last two months. These are the activities that now feature prominently in my daily routine.

Provisioning is one of my favourite “stuck in port” pastimes. It’s shopping therapy without the guilty feeling that usually accompanies those nonessential purchases. Admit it… you know exactly what I mean… 😉

So, guilt free, I wander the supermarket isles hunting for interesting tidbits that can be stowed without refrigeration for months or years at a time. Cured hams in vacuum sealed plastic, strangely appealing (at least until tasted), meat substitutes made of goodness knows what for vegetarians, tuna burgers, assorted pates and crackers, mountains of pasta and precooked packets of rice, vegetables etc etc… I’ve not been as methodical as other sailors with my sailing larder. Some have each meal organised into individually wrapped plastic hampers labeled with the day of the week in waterproof marker. OK, perhaps I exaggerate a little… they don’t all use waterproof markers on their hampers.

This strikes me as obsessively organised, and I hope to never have such simple pleasures preplanned to the nth degree… No no no… I’m much happier rummaging about in the storage compartments under the settee for the mystery meal of the day. It’s not like I don’t have the time to go digging, and think of the pleasure denied you if it’s known without a doubt (because it’s written in the inventory), that there are no more tinned puddings aboard. I’ve strategically hidden mine so that it could be many months before they’re rediscovered. 🙂

Of course I’ll probably pay dearly for this haphazard nutritional strategy… After a month at sea I may be reduced to eating odd leftovers such as tomato sauce and jam tortillas. Ugh!

I’ve compiled a short mishmash of photographic oddities to accompany that last thought. Enjoy!

Is it a dingo? no?

Is it a dingo? No, it’s something else entirely, but I’m not sure what… Your guess is probably better than mine, so if you want to name the breed, feel free to leave a comment. I’m going for the pseudo Latin Canis Verylazybus whileinportus.

The new generation of Blogger...

Sticking with the pseudo Latin theme, here we have Bloggerus muchtoomuchus slaving away (late into the night), updating the ever important sailing website. Good thing I’m not nearly as conscientious. I finished my update a good 5 minutes before him… 🙂

Black cat = expensive rope

Back to the animal theme, here we have Cattus veryblackus guarding the entrance to one of Lisbon’s ship chandlers, in which I purchased some of the most expensive rope I’ve ever had the misfortune to require. That will teach me to disregard such obvious omens… 😉

The Lisbon bling tram

So that it wasn’t all work and no play while visiting Lisbon, I took this Tramus incrediblyreflectus in order to satisfy my vanity and latent bling bling desires.

Fashion conscious Lisbonites

You see, in Lisbon, it’s very important to look ones best, and if the resident homos withouthomeus is anything to go by, I need to spruce up my wardrobe considerably.

Nazare to Cascais via Peniche

Party aboard SY Apodis

It was a “for one night only” stop at each of the ports south of Bayona and on to Cascais, where I planned to take stock, buy provisions and make any last minute repairs.

Captain Hadley

In Nazare, I met (not for the first time) with the crew of a German registered yacht called SY Apodis, (for their blog see www.sy-apodis.de), the Swedish ARC rally vessel “Wind” (with six young male crew members), the previously mentioned ARC rally vessel “Summer Song” and an English / Brazilian couple aboard “Angel of Rio”, in an American built catamaran on route to Thailand.

The renown (among many cruisers) Captain Michael Hadley (pictured here) was on hand to keep us all in check and ensure we berthed where we should (hint hint Angel of Rio…), and all but the Swedes gathered for drinks aboard Apodis where despite quantum elevations in our blood alcohol levels, the mosquitoes had a field day feasting on us. Actually, the mosquitoes had a field day with everyone but me, which makes me wonder if I should have put on a cleaner shirt before wandering off to socialize. 🙂

A lazy afternoon

Upon checking out the following morning (which is just a case of returning the shower key), I paid most of the 8.03 Euro owing before setting off for Peniche.

Apparently I must pay the 3 cents outstanding upon my next visit, either that, or I am to supply one pretty Brazilian girl as collateral. Hmmm, there is only one currently in port, and I don’t think Nigel is willing to let her go, and it’s quite a lot to expect I’ll bring one all the way from Brazil for a measly 3 cents! 😉

Sleepy dogs in sleepy Peniche

The marina at Peniche is still officially closed but there was no problem picking up a buoy in the well sheltered harbour. Having traveled just 24 miles there was plenty of time to play afternoon tourist and it is during my perambulations with Nigel and Martha from “Angel of Rio” (www.nigebyrne.com) that I rediscovered the ‘Fellini movie’ atmosphere of this wonderful fishing village.

La Dolce Vita in Peniche Portugal

The final 44 NM leg to Cascais was uneventful, but what a sense of relief to have arrived at my Atalntic crossing jump-off point without too many mishaps!

The one pressing concern, dealing with a broken rope clutch handle, was generously resolved by the previous owner of Louisa (Yarmouth23 No.8). Responding to my message on the Yarmouth23 owners user group on Yahoo, Steve volunteered to check with his local chandler for a replacement and having found the required parts, promptly purchased and sent them via courier to Cascais.

I am extremely grateful Steve, as all my attempts to source Spinlock gear in Portugal met with dismal failure. Thanks to your help Eileen of Avoca will be more than ready for the next leg to Madeira.

More weather by SMS

Despite writing software for my own SMS weather service covering the East Atlantic, I still found myself checking sites such as windfinder and windguru whenever I was in port.

This was because I was sailing along the coast and the GRIB data used for my system produces data points for the high seas. Along the coast of Portugal and the Rias of Spain the data started at about 10 degrees longitude west. Good enough, but not perfect.

My solution was to make windguru coastal data available via sms.

Here is how to obtain it. Send a text message in the format:

wg:coruna

to the usual Belgian number +32498327494

This will return approximately two days worth of wind and wave data as two separate text messages for the city of La Coruna. Due to the limits of text messaging, precipitation and cloud cover are not included.

The list of data points that can be used is currently as follows (I’ll add more soon):

  • gibraltar
  • tarifa
  • meca
  • rota
  • mazagon
  • canela
  • faro
  • vilamoura
  • praia
  • sagres
  • sines
  • cascais
  • peniche
  • nazare
  • figueira
  • aveiro
  • espinho
  • viana
  • patos
  • rostro
  • laxe
  • coruna
  • cedeira
  • navia
  • salinas
  • gijon
  • moris
  • vicente
  • santander
  • orinon
  • laida
  • sebastian
  • hondarribia
  • mimizan
  • soulac
  • diamond
  • houat
  • glenan
  • trepasses
  • brittany
  • sablons
  • vierge
  • dossen
  • rose
  • malo
  • jersey
  • guernsey
  • becquet
  • salcombe
  • exmouth
  • lyme
  • weymouth
  • swanage
  • compton

Obviously you replace coruna (in the example given above) with the data point from this list that interests you. Note that only lower case letters are used.

The data returned looks like this (but with many lines):

Su20 11.6 15 2.3 13

  • The first two letters are the day of the week
  • The next two digits are the time for the forecast (in 24hr format)
  • Wind speed in knots to 1 decimal point
  • Wind direction compass rose. 0 is north 4 is East 8 is South and 12 West
  • Wave height in meters to 1 decimal point
  • Wave direction compass rose

So for Sunday at 20:00 hours the wind will be 11.6kts from the NNW. Wave height will be 2.3m and the swell will be from the WNW.

Hope it helps!

If it does and you care to help me pay for the SMS bills, be sure to press the donate button on my homepage at www.ifno.info

Sailing along the western coast of Portugal

Avian hitchhiker

24 Hours later I weighed anchor and started the 50 plus nautical mile leg north to Cascais on the outskirts of Lisbon. The sailing was in light winds on a relatively smooth sea, so generous use of my mighty 13.5hp Beta engine was necessary. Even at a consistent 5kts, it was almost dark as I approached the Rio Tejo. I really should learn to wake up earlier…

Dolphins made an occasional half-hearted visit, but this was more than compensated for by frequent social calls by exhausted avian hitchhikers.

Overall, the passage was soothingly tranquil, ignoring a brief episode of near panic when my favourite hat forced me into another impromptu “man overboard” drill. I did get it back however! As you can see in the accompanying photo, it is just the thing to compliment my sailing ninja apparel and I would be loath to lose it.

Sailing ninja apparel

I spent two nights in Cascais marina and I will happily return here (perhaps at anchor) in summer before heading toward Madeira or the Canary Islands. There are interesting little beaches, quaint winding cobblestone streets, and a multitude of bars, restaurants and cafes catering to all tastes.

I was also pleased to find the “out of hours” marina staff exceptionally helpful and professional; evidenced by the quick defusing of potential disaster as an accompanying Finnish yacht bungled repeated attempts to tie off at the reception pontoon. The incident prompted a spontaneous and amusing discussion on general marina mishaps, and having witnessed first hand what these people have to contend with on a daily basis, they have my deepest respect. Let me elaborate with an example;

Beach, Cascais Portugal

I’d noticed quite a substantial number of seagulls resting on the marina breakwater in the afternoon and a sudden cacophony of avian cries disrupted my hapless attempts at Wi-Fi prompting me to pop my head out of the companionway, I was just in time to see an enraged fisherman take out a pistol (the air gun type from the sound it made) and start shooting willy-nilly at gulls attempting their getaway with stolen fish. I’m afraid I do not have an accompanying photo captioned “enraged fisherman shoots sea birds”, but I was studiously minding my own business at this point.

Besides, dealing with this sort of thing is the business of those aforementioned, exceptionally helpful and professional marina staff. 😉

I was too tired to sample Saturday’s marina nightlife and had to content myself will meeting other cruisers “en passant” partaking in the new and ridiculously bizarre yachtsmen ritual of wandering marina grounds seeking improved signal strength for Internet Wi-Fi, laptops extended, face aglow.