Sunday 4th November
The forecast for Saturday was still for strong Westerlies. One of the problems, I now realise, in not rounding the corner at the Northwest point of Spain, was that it then becomes difficult with any wind with much West in it. We finally got away around 07:30 on Sunday.
John settled the bill at the marina office, but there seemed to be a query over a bill for laundry use. We wheeled out our big guns and sent Louise and Susie up to talk to the young lad in the office. I feared for him, but saw him later, so he was still alive.
We motored into big swells, Chelone slamming into the waves. As we turned the corner by degree, the wind backed and stayed on the nose, so we kept on motoring.
Louise said cheerio to her breakfast, ironically a bowl of Cheerios. A sacrifice to Neptune. Ross and I stayed on watch as the others slept and we approached Cape Finisterre. Within 5 minutes, the wind increased from 17 knots to 29 knots, gusting over 30 as a rain squall hit.
John cooked pasta and Susie served it with pesto and cheese. John then decided that we'd pull into a marina at Muras(Muxia) around 13 miles SE Cape Finisterre. I'd rather have kept going, but by 23:30, We were tied up and had a good night's sleep. I can't comment on the facilities, but there was plenty of depth, shelter and room.
83 miles
We left the marina at 10:45 and resumed our journey. Louise spotted her second sunfish, Susie made lunch and I cooked a vegetable curry and left it to marinade until evening. The sea was now slight, the winds light, and veering around to the North. Bright sunshine filled Chelone as we eased Southwards, the sounds of Fleetwood Mac's Rumours playing, as I enjoyed Thor Heyerdahl's Kon Tiki expedition, imagining myself one of Kon Tiki's crew as they crossed their own ocean 70 odd years ago. I'd probably struggle with the sun bleached hair, bronzed skin and athletic physique of the Norwegians, but I might yet manage the beard.....
Tuesday 6th November
The curry went down well. Mild for myself, John and Susie, hot for Louise and Ross. Not enough salt for Susie and John, plenty for the other three. It averaged out well.
Watches at night start around 20:00 hrs and run until 10:00 the next morning. John, Louise, Ross and myself take 2 hours on, 6 hours off. 2 watches a night, one watch a night every forth night. In terms of shipping, there's far less off Portugal than Biscay, though perhaps more fishing boats. They appear and dissapear on the AIS screen, usually trawling at 3.5 knots. John says they sometimes switch off their AIS to hide the best spots from competitors.
The cargo ships usually steam at around 10-12 knots to Chelone's 5-7 knots. By comparison, Oceana was travelling at 20. A closing speed of around 27 knots would see a 5 mile gap covered in around 11 minutes, so good watchkeeping is essential.
As we sail Southwards down the Portuguese coast, the water gets ever bluer. The thermal clothes have gone - it's t-shirts during the day and fleeces at night. John has a fishing line out, and the three crew on deck eye each other nervously at each brief clicking of the reel. Shaw, Dreyfuss and Schneider-like, Ross and I hear comments such as 'we're gonna need a bigger boat'.
My money is on cup a soup for lunch, rather than seared tuna steaks.......
Wednesday 7th November
We didn't have cup a soup, but we didn't have tuna either. The fishing reel remained eerily silent as John set up the monitor wind vane. He fiddled with it for an hour or so and then, when satisfied, explained its use to Louise, Ross and Myself. It guided us dutifully down the Portuguese coast until after sunset. Susie cooked steaks for the meat eaters and Louise did some lovely fajitas for the two of us.
The watches past without drama until some strong winds, up to 38 knots, caught John around 4am. Louise and I got up and between the three of us we dropped the main and moored Chelone alongside the marina office around 05:00.
After a couple of hours sleep, we split into groups and wandered off. A miserable grey drizzle came and went. Louise and I had some fresh bread, local olives, goat's and sheep's cheese, plum tomatoes, onions and olive oil. Simple Mediterranean fayre that I never tire of.
Marina Cascais was E21 per night for Chelone. Good showers, a mini market open until 18:00, and numerous shops and bars within 2-3 minutes of the pontoons. Wifi was, and there is a pattern emerging here, patchy.
The town is delightful. Cobblestoned streets, fortifications, palm trees, many small shops selling all sorts of things, including cork based goods. It fronts onto a small sandy beach with dozens of moorings, each holding a tiny lobster fishing boat. A beautiful place..
249 miles
