SANTA CRUZ MARINA, TENERIFE 25th to 30th OCTOBER 2016

Santa Cruz is the capital of Tenerife, at the North East end of the Island. Here, in the Marina, from the stern of Sisu I can see, a short distance beyond the noisy roll on, roll off ferries and Cruise ships, many summits and long running ridges of volcanic hillside. Running along our quayside the city has spread, with apartments, hotels, Banks and a busy commercial harbour. The Marina’s facilities are good, the showers and loos are spotless, the laundry has 3 big washing machines, 5 euro and a tumble dryer 4 euro, the washing machine tackles a wash in 30 minutes so it’s rare to find a queue, hurrah! The internet connection however, is dire, but that seems to be a common problem in Tenerife from what we’ve heard. For us to get any internet connection, we all gather under the Marina terrace where some tables and picnic chairs have been set out. It doesn’t seem to matter how many are using internet, one or a gaggle of us, the connection is totally sporadic and fleeting when it deigns to give us a connection. There’d be more chance of seeing a unicorn as we sit in futile hope of achieving a connection. We are all fluent and understand each other’s exclamations of “PAH!” or sighs of frustration at being disconnected, no matter what nationality is sat alongside. On the really bad internet times of day, I phones, I pads and laptop covers are slapped shut as one by one, we give up and flip flop back down to our boats. Perhaps next time we’ll be lucky and connection with the outside world will be sustained. The nearby local internet café does very good business from the Marina and it’s the only place I can download our blog! This is the first time we’ve struggled with internet so perhaps we’ve been lucky so far. One evening we went in search of a better internet connection, this search involved going to a bar and having a beer to attain the Wifi code. By the end of the evening, we didn’t succeed in finding a good internet connection, but by then we didn’t care!

This is a place of transition, yachts on the ARC journey, others, like us doing their own thing heading south with friends and some coming here for the winter. There are three good Chandlers, this is our last chance to get the boat jobs finished and provision up. We’ve the mainsail to repair, the sail slide had caught on a reefing hook and ripped the sail a little bit, a stitching job which Terry can do and the forestay needs tensioning. We didn’t get time to finish or even try out the bimini, so here’s the opportunity to put it up, and make side panels for it too. Back home the weather was so wet and windy we couldn’t put the bimini together and we ran out of time to finish the job. So many jobs to do before even considering sight seeing. All along the pontoons folks are also working on their boats, sails go up and down, the pontoons become workbenches if there’s no room on decks. Sounds of sawing, drilling, hammering can be heard during the day, then the reward of a good day’s work, the “pisshht” and metallic clunk of a ringpull from a beer can signalling the end of whatever jobs were being tackled. Looking along the forest of masts, rigging guys just like the children’s toy of the monkey climbing the stick, are being hoisted up and down, dragging lengths of heavy rigging as they climb. These are yachts which go places and it’s exciting!

Opposite our boat we have a French Swiss family  and their 19 year old son, who made us so welcome as soon as we arrived. They have lived aboard and sailed their boat all over the world for the last sixteen years. They even have a cat, Duchess, which they acquired as a kitten in Venezuela, who is now ten years old. She is often seen sitting on their sprayhood basking in the sun or seeking shade under the dinghy, and occasionally she comes ashore to be fussed! Their son attends the university here in Santa Cruz so for the time being they will stay whilst he works towards his degree in Physics. He reminds me of Fynn, being friendly, tall, dark haired with a beard. I tell Margaret how similar they are and so close in age, both studying at university too and how much Terry and I both miss our boys and how much their son reminds me of my own son. We really are inspired by where they’ve sailed to, and much they love the way they live, meeting them has really opened my eyes to what’s possible and we will take a lot of ideas and support away with us from having met this lovely family. Next door to us are Ben and Glynis on their Moody, Binkertoo, they are a delight, great fun and have become good friends. We’ve shared evenings of wine, beer, nibbles, sea stories, stories of how we both came to be sailing, our families, and our plans. We’ve enjoyed such a lot of laughter and bantering, it was a real wrench when they moved on.

Further down our pontoon, our street, if you like, Neil, Helen, Dennis and Pam are here too, arriving the day after us. It was so good to see them again, we’ve become close and love catching up with them. We are comfortable with each other, learning more and more about each other, sharing good times, developing “in jokes” and helping each other when needed. These friendships made along our way is something I hadn’t anticipated, it’s an incredible bonus, and absolute joy.

Terry is working through his list of jobs, as their not jobs I can help with or do. We’ve visited the treasure troves of the three Chandlers, so I am the gopher, unfortunately, I am a gopher with the sense of direction of a lemming……..I travel in straight lines, turning left when ever I exit somewhere to Terry’s amusement! The streets are laid out in a grid pattern, but can I find my own way back to these Chandlers after walking to them with Terry? Nope. Not after traipsing up and down and re tracing my steps a few times. Still, after several trips I’m getting better and don’t need the ball of red string trailed from the boat to which ever Chandlers I am sent to………. The jobs move on from the ones already done, fixing a bit of the heads floor, changing engine oil and filter, checking tappits, Terry retrieving the oil dipstick which fell into the bilge, I had to shut hatch door to muffle the swearing……..cleaning bilges, rig up wind generator, wash boat down, I mucked in on this one, fit the towed generator properly, wiring it through the back locker and up to the plug in the cabin, shorten and tidy up ropes and so it goes on. We’ve given up writing a list!

Friends of ours had moved to Tenerife, so we hired a car and went visiting down to the other end of the Island. Two good friends, Simon and Gill Capelen have recently moved from the Isle of Man to Los Gigantes, swapping one Island for another! We enjoyed an excellent meal at Panchos Restaurant, catching up on each others news and plans whilst being serenaded by canaries! They are settling in, taking time to find out more and explore Tenerife, we couldn’t believe that within three weeks of them moving to Tenerife, we’d be sailing to visit them! Two other friends, Kenny and Gillian Bull, own The English Rose, a bar in Las Americas. They’ve been in Tenerife for 20 years or more. It was interesting to hear how their life is here, the climate, food and quality of life here certainly suits them, we enjoyed a relaxed afternoon in their popular bar sharing our news.

We’ve noticed since our time in Madeira that young people travelling will offer to crew and so be able to reach the Caribbean or Canary Isles. We’ve been asked a few times, but we don’t have room and don’t need extra crew. Another aspect is how can you be sure you’d all get along and what about watches at night, I’m sure those who ask us are decent, honest and would do a good job, but reliability is vital and it takes time to build trust and a relationship, learning to live with each other in extremely close quarters twenty four hours a day for days on end takes some doing! We’re getting there in tolerating each other’s foibles and quirks, tiredness makes us snappy and the lack of space at times makes us like two weasels fighting in a sack, we make up quickly however, and though it’s not for us, respect to those sailing south who take on one or two extra crew they don’t know! I think I’d feel for the new crew members having to live with us!!!!

 

 

 

 

MADEIRA TO SANTA CRUZ, TENERIFE FRIDAY 21st to SUNDAY 23rd OCTOBER 2016 254 Nautical Miles 48 hours

The night before we left Madeira Terry and I were invited on board fellow Ocean Cruising Club members, Steve and Jody’s boat, together with Neil and Helen, Pam and Dennis and four other travellers who, like us were in transit to various destinations, for sundowners. We’re enjoying meeting new people, and are inspired by the length of time they’ve been sailing, their experiences, good and challenging, and the areas of the world they sail to. By listening and asking questions, the world really is our lobster!

The next morning, as I walked along the sunny Marina quayside, one of the young French sailing children walked past on her way to lessons in the Wifi room, we said our Bonjour’s and I felt quite a pang at leaving, as the children’s lessons fitted in with my time to catch up on the internet, and I realised that once again our briefly established day to day routine, as much as it was a routine, would stop and another would begin in a couple of days or so in a new country.

We had to be gone from Madeira that morning, if not, we would be stuck here for potentially three weeks. This was due to a large depression over the Azores which, like lobbing a stone into a pond, had created a tidal ripple heading our way. The forecast was for high winds and 4 metre swells for the area of Tenerife Sunday afternoon/evening, we had to outrun these forthcoming swells or end up in the middle of them!

Neil, Helen, Denis and Pam in Milvina had already left for Tenerife. As we were leaving, not far behind them, the waves were already two metres, however the winds were steady. We needed to average 5 to 5.5 knots to keep ahead of the swells we didn’t want to encounter, so we were watching the GPS screen regularly. The radio crackled, Neil was contacting us. Their vang which pulls the boom down, had broken and they were having to return back to the Marina to repair it. If it could be repaired, they’d head out again. We said we hoped it wasn’t serious and that we’d keep in touch. Neil told us that we were heading into 20 to 25 Knot winds an appropriate moment as we were just hoisting the main sail with this information we went for two reefs, which is a bit like leaving your car in second gear. About 70 nautical miles out the winds suddenly increased further, we’d put in two reefs when we put up the headsail, we were glad we’d been cautious! As we had been hitting 7 to 8 knots with this reduced sail area. Neil hadn’t reached this far out, Terry radioed Neil and let him know the conditions weren’t as forecast. I began to feel sick due to the rolling and confused seas, getting used to this, but we had lunch, and just cracked on. Later in the afternoon the winds really picked up, not as forecast, I asked Terry if we were ok, we were sailing down waves and reaching 8.9 knots,  more than her maximum design speed, which is the fastest she can normally go, if sustained, is not good for her, or us! Terry reassured me while reducing the head sail to slow us down a bit, I knew we were fine, Sisu is made for this, but it’s good to have reassurance, bizarre really when we’ve been out in Irish Seas which were just as high and sharp, nasty and choppy! It’s my job to ensure the cupboards are fastened properly, I’d missed the crockery cupboard and from the cockpit we heard the plates once again enjoying their freedom down in the saloon, darn…… we made a mental note to clip their wings with elastic across the inside of the cupboards once we got to Tenerife, the list of jobs grew like Topsy. Feeling grotty, the sailing conditions just felt a bit more intense than I was used to. We were clipped on to Sisu with our safety lines, we were heeling, but not overly so, perhaps I’m becoming accustomed to her leaning over more than previously experienced, the seas were bigger than I’d seen before. A rogue wave came over the starboard and I got a soaking, which really enhanced the feeling of grottiness….. Well, this is an honest account!! The sun was setting and we agreed that I should rest below, Terry would keep watch in the night and I would take over in the morning. He had to adjust the sails regularly and the watch system we have just wouldn’t have worked, I was feeling rough by now, the tea of scrambled egg which delicious at the time was deciding to return to the stage for an encore, it did several encores………… The first night of our passage was spent with me feeling lousy, from the bunk I could hear the wind howling through our rigging, my intestines had a life of their own, swaying inside, quite independent of the rest of me! I could hear Terry hand winching the headsail in, then out, the seas roaring past our hull, it felt like riding on top of a steam train hurtling down the tracks. The wind would ease for a minute, I’d breathe a sigh of relief, it was only the wind gods drawing breath for it started once more. In all honesty, what we were experiencing was simply uncomfortable, we weren’t in any danger, it wasn’t a storm, it was just that the seas here are different to what we were familiar with, that was all. I did wonder, as even experienced sailors do, what the hell was I doing, could I cope with these situations? I devised a game of “Versus”, it went rather like this, “have to listen to the Coronation Street theme tune (I don’t watch any soaps and absolutely loathe the Corrie music) Versus being on the boat right now” Answer, “Boat”. Ok, “Dental root canal filling (I’m not keen on Dentists, though my Laxey Dentist is superb) Versus “Boat”. Answer “Boat”. Ok… how about “Give birth to Fynn Versus Boat” Hmmmm…… 50/50, it helped pass the long night feeling rubbish and put matters into perspective! Next morning after a little sleep for both of us, I crawled off the bed and opened the hatch, Terry was tucked into the corner of the cockpit, below me, his yellow wet weather jacket hood pulled down over his forehead, I could just see his eyes, I asked him how he was. He’d said he’d enjoyed the night! He’d had an hour to hour and a half sleep, in the middle of the night the wind died a little and had been perfect for sailing! There had also been the biggest and blackest cloud he’d ever seen, which had advanced towards him. He was prepared, he knew clouds like these bring very high winds ahead of it and rain (unsurprisingly..), he’d been hit with a big rain squall, and I’d heard this during the night battering against the portlights in our cabin and thundering over the coach roof, he was soaked. I felt for him and respected him enormously for keeping watch that night. He said he liked the challenge, reminded him of his rallying days! In fact, overnight the winds dropped so much Terry had to start the motor to maintain our average!

As the day progressed, we were grateful for the improved overall weather condition and sunshine, on my shift I watched the GPS indicate that our speed kept dipping, 3.8knots, 4.3 knots, 4.7 knots, we weren’t maintaining the 5 plus knots average we really needed to stay ahead of the large swell. There was nothing else for it, we had to keep the engine running. I cooked a pretty good veggie and salami stew for tea, Terry hoofed it all, but I couldn’t eat much, though feeling a bit better, if we’d been sailing for three days I’d be fine!!! The night shifts went well, phosphorescence twinkled and danced around Sisu’s hull and the milky way shone above us through the night. We were sharing this route with three other boats, we found it comforting to know they were bouncing around too! However, they would also be sharing the beauty of this night too, and would be as relieved as we were to have the normality of watch keeping!

What a difference 24 hours makes, we’d beaten the swells, and as we motored towards the headland of Tenerife, Neil radioed us again, it was so good to hear from them. They had indeed been able to repair the vang and being a bigger and faster boat, were now anchored up in a cove just before Santa Cruz, they could see us! We caught sight of them as we motored further down the dramatic, volcanic cliff coastline, what an anchorage they’d found! Towering above them were these cliffs, graphically displaying the white hot lava flow carrying the searing red hot rocks down to what would have been a boiling sea. Today, we were envious of their setting!

We motored between two enormous floating gas or oil rig ships, we dipped below the huge helipads on the bow of one tanker and the crane of the other, we were totally dwarfed! Then, clouds gathered once more and rain fell, the weather gods having a last laugh, Terry gamely steered whilst I dove beneath the sprayhood, wuss! We entered the Marina, past a cable laying ship, this was the widest ship we’d ever seen, its red hull nearly took up half the entrance! Santa Cruz Marina is largely industrial, with tankers and the local roll on, roll off ferry plus cruise ships and a stunning three masted Schooner from Copenhagen, the Georg Stage, with its black iron hull, ornate gold scroll work at the bow and gold figurehead sharing the harbour and Marina space. The Marina pontoons were largely filled with yachts on transit, just like us! Each destination on our journey South is a hugely thrilling realisation for us, we look at each other and say “We’re really here!!! We’re actually doing it!” Flags of many nations flutter around us, there’s a couple of ARC flags, and a range of Club burgees, including the Ocean Cruising Club, our neighbours are also members, a lovely couple, Ben and Glynis on Binkertoo who have already made us so welcome. Seeing the boats with their diversity of culture and nationalities, we’re now acutely aware that Peel is a long, long way away, over 1800 nautical miles in fact!

Reaching Santa Cruz called for the popping of a bottle of fizz, the promise of which kept us going, so come early evening, we shared our well earned fizz, enjoyed dinner out and had an early night, we were knackered. We plan to stay here for a few days, tackle the never ending job list, meet up with good friends of ours, Simon and Gill who’ve recently moved here from the Isle of Man and wait for the weather system to settle before we journey on to our next leg. We may even fit in a day or two of sightseeing!

MADEIRA THURS 13th to 21st OCTOBER 2016. LEVADAS AND LEAVING

Madeiras levadas as fascinating. The word levada means “to carry”. Building began in the 16c to bring large amounts of water from the wet North of the Island to the much drier South, which is more conducive to habitation and agriculture but which can be relatively dry for up to six months. There are 25 miles of tunnels and 1,350 miles of levadas, so plenty to go at for the tourist. They also provide hydro electric power. Some are easy, relaxing walks, lower altitude, through beautiful countryside, some of the levada walks are along the narrow crumbling ledges of the water carrying channels, if you suffer from vertigo, these are not the walks for you!

We had time for two, Levada do Rei, 5.1km each way. This walk took us up into the mountains, we squeezed through a waterfall and balanced along the levada narrow edging through a short tunnel. We walked along the narrow stretches of levada, the guard rails gave us a false sense of security, beneath the canopy of trees growing at the side of the mountain, it was a sheer drop!  We entered a rich, vibrant green of lush forest, full of Madeiran Laurels, and dropping pink passion flowers, we could see Sao Jorge river valley and the Santana farmlands in the distance. Chaffinchs fluttered in front of us, picking at grubs under the fallen leaves. The shade and tunnels of the massive pea green ferns gave us shelter from the sun and it was a good steady walk over three hours or so. The sheer size and volume of lush, dense vegetation we were walking through is fabulous, and we could only admire and wonder at how on earth they managed to build these levadas, ensuring the water drop was regular and constant as these narrow, foot wide channels weave their way down the mountainside and through fields, could this be done nowadays? On this walk we saw two men clearing debris and leaves from a section of levada, rock falls are common, so these guys have jobs for life maintain the miles of waterways.

The other walk, starting at the governmental run trout farm and hatchery at Ribeiro Frio “Cold River”  is also a good one, close to Santo da Serra on the northern slopes. Here we had the smell of eucalyptus trees accompanying us, at the walks highest we looked over a tree lined balcony over the green valley to Porto Cruz. It took us the afternoon and conveniently ended near a café which had good coffee and excellent cakes!

I just wish we’d had more time here in Madeira, we fitted in the Whale Museum too, and much more, but we can always come back, we’ve done our best in the time we had. Now, it’s a day of boat jobs. I’ve been writing our blog up to date and Terry’s re fuelling, fixing one of the bilge pumps, putting away the wind vane generator and curiously enough, screwing back in some of the screws which fasten the doors to our saloon cupboards. The vibration of the engine running has loosened the screws! Regular maintenance and checking the boat is vital and becomes a daily activity, even down to cupboard screws. Time is running now, and there’s a lot to do yet. Tomorrow we leave for Tenerife, 300 miles away and new experiences!

 

MADEIRA THURS 13th to 20th OCTOBER 2016. Mountains, open air sea pools & rain!

The Madeira blogs briefly cover what we managed to fit in whilst here. Our time at Marinas also have to fit in boat work, washing, the usual domestics of daily life. What I’ve found is that jobs take longer, one of the biggest adjustments is spending so much time on Sisu. We’ve packed more gear, daily essentials, food etc than we would require on, say, a two week trip. Stowage is designated in, around and mostly, under the interior of the boat. This means if you require something that’s not in daily usage, the extra food/teabags/loo roll we’ve packed or Terry’s man tools, our snorkel gear, extra sails, ropes, that kind of thing, these are under the seating areas. Day to day stuff, food, bread, eggs, shopping bags, our personal bits are behind the seat cushions which support your back. So, in essence, to get stuff out, you have to literally, move house! Cushions, seating, stuff on the seats has to move from one end of the boat, get what you want, then move everything back again. I’m adopting a more philosophical attitude now, but you know when you go upstairs and forget what it is when you get there? Ok…. Imagine, you’ve moved the equivalent of half your house, then forget what the hell you wanted in the first placed!!!! It’s just something we live with and get used to, and the time it takes. It’s still amazes me that we can lose things, and we do! Oh, last night Terry dropped a fork from the cutlery container, it missed landing the easy reach of the tinned food container underneath the cutlery drawer, (these containers are naturally underneath one of the two small galley worktops we have, so…… you move everything off the worktop to the other worktop, get the cutlery/knives etc you want, then move it all back again, you’re getting the idea by now I’m sure!) oh yes, as sure as Sod is a Law, it fell between the container supports into the bilges. Damnation. That’ll be a torch and if we’re lucky I can reach down, down, down into the bilges and retrieve it. We need the fork as we’ve only 6 and that’s going to matter when we have guests round for dinner! Just another little insight into boat life, and this is common amongst other boaty folks too.

We’ve had time to explore the middle, mountain ranges too. Winding our way up the hairpin roads, which often have sheer drops, the guard rails are sturdy, but not very high, enough to see down the cliffsides. With the windows open we can smell the laurel and bay trees and damp, fresh smells of fir and flowers. Quite unique. We visited Pico do Arieiro, Madeira’s third highest peak at 1,188 metres. Fortunately, you can drive there. The views are spectacular and we could see Porto Santo Island, 30 miles to the South. At the top is the massive globe of the Air Defence Radar Station which swirled in and out of the mist that day.

One of our highlights on Madeira is the Porto Moniz open air sea swimming pool. There are two. One you pay for and has, in our view, been tampered with to make it more like an ordinary swimming pool, the other is almost completely natural and unspoilt, just a token gesture to steps here and there to help you into the pools. The seas were pretty big the day we were here, so in one of the pools, the swell would rush up to the volcanic, softly jagged edges of the pool, and crash against them, suddenly filling the pool with sea and spray. Some of the pools are described as infinity pools, having a straight edge which you can hang onto and look over. These are no conventional infinity pools though, created by volcanoes they are raw infinity pools, beautiful, black, pock marked rock, which we could hang onto and watch the sea pounding into the bay, the white topped thrashing waves washing right up to just below, and occasionally at us! If you do visit, go to these pools, not the man tampered with pools.

We had a day of rain folks! All day, incessant torrential rain and high winds, 30 knots or so. The Marina took a fair pounding, the boats rolled and ropes were stretched and pulled against the cleats, they complained, groaning and snapping as they were pushed to and from the pontoons. We gave up sleeping in the forecabin, up at the front of the boat, the bow would suddenly buck as the end of the rope was snatched, it was very, very uncomfortable. So, it was back into the saloon, Terry had a very sleepless night changing ropes, checking everything was secure, he wasn’t alone that long night, a lot of sailors were up and about through the night. We didn’t leave the Marina that day, and though it meant a day of car hire wasted, E20 or so is a small price to coming back to a boat having snapped its ropes. The waves were angrily crashing over both ends of the Marina, nobody was going anywhere today. Still, there’s always the laundry to do, I got that and we decamped to the Captains Bar to join Neil and Helen for late afternoon drinks and catching up. The Bar, understandably was full, what else was there to do on a stormy afternoon?! There’s plenty of dry days for sightseeing and boat jobs!

 

 

MADEIRA THURS 13 to 20th OCTOBER 2016

QUINTA DO LORDE MARINA

TUNNELS & FUNCHAL

Quinta do Lorde marina is situated near Canical on the Ponta de Sao Lourenco pensinsula, the eastern end of Madeira, tucked into a corner of ochre and blood red streaked volcanic cliffs. It’s certainly the most dramatic backdrop of the Marinas we’ve stayed at. It’s part of a hotel, restaurants and bar complex and is a re fuelling and rest stop for boats sailing to Europe and the Caribbean. It features all the Marina facilities we need, the Marina office is manned every day, the staff are always helpful and speak excellent English, nothing’s too much trouble for them. Another bonus is the Ocean Cruising Club discount off our marina fees! We were able to fill and refill both our gas bottles here, and rented a car from We Rent.com on the recommendation of the Marina office. We Rent delivers to the Marina and has the best rate. I think it was roughly E22 per day. There’s a small chandlery, the showers are roomy and spotless, the washing machine and tumble dryer are big loaders and cost E8 for washing and E2 – 6 for drying. The “supermarket” from the experience of our time here anyway, sells Pringles, crisps, a small range of tinned food, wine with a couple of Euros added and plastic veg and fruit! To be fair it’s not the summer season. There’s a clothes shop selling casual boat gear, but not essential like cheap undies to replace mine that are now tie died due to colour runs! The wifi room is the hub of the Marina, here in the mornings the sailing children, aged 8 to late teenage sit with their laptops and workbooks, quietly attending to their lessons. Nowadays children don’t necessarily need to be in a conventional classroom, so much school work is internet based anyway, and the children here thrive and from what I’ve seen are better able to concentrate in the peace of the Wifi room without distraction. The incentive of then going for a swim in warm seas after lessons helps too! The parents are also very involved and everyone helps with each other’s children as well as they’re own. Certainly makes geography more relevant when some of these children will be sailing to the countries they learn about! The Captain’s Bar at the end of the Marina under a modern lighthouse is also a popular spot in the evenings, it was packed solid on Sunday when it rained incessantly all day! We also have a small beach to swim from, just over the Marina wall. It’s made up entirely from volcanic rock pebbles so walking down to the sea is more of a wince as your bare feet slide off the rocks and you stub your toes! The discomfort is worth it. With our fins, snorkels and masks we are able to swim with parrot fish, brightly coloured yellow wrasses feeding off the undersea rocks, shoals of tiny neons darting about in the clear, warm sea. This is the first time I’ve seen exotic fish!

One of the Levada walks is to the end of Ponta de Sao Lourenco peninsula and right on our doorstep. It’s partly a nature reserve and the views are incredible, we could see the more serene South coast and in comparison the rougher North coast. Walking along the undulating path we could see a wide variety of birds, Goldfinchs, Kestrels, Pipits, though we didn’t manage to see Canarys which are around too. There’s also Cory’s Shearwater, not unlike our Manx Shearwater, though from what I could see the Cory’s wings are more grey. The Madeiran Lizard is not shy and we saw lots of them, all along the route, basking in the hot sun, you could even pick them up! The walk takes you to the cliff edges and across a narrow “bridge”, but with the guard wires, it’s safe.

We still had some boat bits to buy so we took the car into Funchal and stocked up on stern gland tape, more rope, rivets and optimistically, fishing tackle and line for catching Dorado, I suspect the cost of the gear outweighs the cost of the fish! The tunnel and road infrastructure is incredible. Built in the 19^th and 20^th Century there are over 100 tunnels, even more viaducts, a network total of 140km! The Island is only roughly 57.5km long and 23km wide! Some of the tunnels run underneath entire neighbourhoods. It’s a curious mix of modern with the well built roads and bridges running alongside old houses with their steeply terraced gardens and vegetable patches butting the side of the motorways.

Funchal is a mix of old and new, situated at the base of verdant mountains, the houses sprawl back from the city and seem to be clawing their way up these mountains. On my shopping list was something to replace the duvet, which is now too hot, what a problem!!! I was after a lightweight fleece throw, and we found just the thing! For E10 each, we bought two, one yellow and black, like a bumblebee, the other had multi coloured monsters! We don’t go for co ordinating bedding on our boat though Terry was wearing a yellow t shirt and black shorts this day, he matched one of the throws to the hilarity of the shop assistant! First time he’s ever matched anything!!

 

 

 

 

PORTO SANTO TO MADEIRA WED 12th OCTOBER 2016 30 Nautical Miles, 6 hours.

WHOOO HOOOO!

Washing the sand from our toes, putting our swimming cozzies away, but only for a day or two, we took a Delorme weather forecast, 20 knots, Northerly wind, 1.5 to 2.5 metre high waves, good for a brisk sail, it was a clear sunny day and we could see Madeira, perfect. As we left the Marina at 10:00 hours the local ferry was nearing Porto Santo, so we nipped out of the Marina, before it got in first! Up the mainsail, with a reef, then the headsail, it was lively and good fun, the sort of conditions that Sisu loves.

As we left the hills of Porto Santo, the waves became higher as the winds picked up, occasionally a rogue wave would lick along the starboard side and cheekily flick sea at us. Sisu was going to be given a chance to see what she could do today. The winds rapidly became higher than predicted, proving it was wise to put in a reef, we clipped on our safety lines to ensure any rogue waves did not take us off the boat. Sisu was heeling a lot, so to make her comfortable we eased the main out, she’s an ocean going boat so she took these exciting conditions in her stride. Nearing Madeira’s volcanic headland with it’s low ridge of dragon’s teeth, the waves became confused, winds accelerated and changed direction by the minute.

We cleared the headland and could see the south side of Madeira spread out before us, and the Marina we were heading for, Quinta do Lorde, tucked into a corner, underneath an immense blood red chunk volcanic cliff. As we rose out of a trough and perched on top of each wave we could see towns and houses clawing their way up the mountains, then down into the belly of the wave, then up to see the houses again, Neptune’s game of peek a boo! By now the sea was full of white horses racing past us, and to our starboard side we would see a wall of water approaching us. It was rather like watching a thriller or Dr Who when you were a child, you didn’t want to look but couldn’t help yourself peaking as it was enthralling and scary in equal measures. It was fascinating to watch from the cockpit just how high the waves could go, we weren’t in any danger, and it was a short trip. It was a new experience for us, and we wanted to push ourselves and Sisu, to see how she handled under these conditions and to give us a taste of what may yet come in the future. I was filming and taking photos, wanting to get some impressive shots. “Oh come on, give us a big splash over the side when I’ve got the film running”, I got what I asked for, and so did Terry!! BOOOOMF!!! A huge wave! We were absolutely soaked, then we’d dry out, then soaked again!  Sisu would ride up the wave, there’d be a whoosh as the wave broke underneath us, she’d lean and surf down on her starboard side and the long slab of jeans blue sea would speed away, making room for the next wave following behind, their speed accelerated by the winds. Terry was concentrating hard, steering her into the waves, he was enjoying himself and was totally absorbed. I found myself going “Whoaaaaaa!” and “Yeeehaaa!”, occasionally a “JEEEEEEEZZZZZ!!!” would escape when she heeled over more steeply than I’d seen before! We reefed the headsail right down, we were all being challenged by these rapidly changing conditions. We were doing well though and could see our Marina. The last few miles always seem to be longer in distance than the miles we’d covered.

Suddenly BANG!!! What the hell was that?! We looked up at the mainsail, the reefing U bolt on the boom had sheered! Terry asked me to take the wheel, and steer into the wind. I clipped myself behind the wheel, with knees shaking a bit, I steered her the best I could through the seas. There’s no place or time here for panic even though I wanted too, we’d bounced through waves like this at home, at least here it was sunny, the speed of the wind and sea state was faster than I’d tackled before, that was the only difference. “Slow things down, we’re ok, just concentrate, you’re used to this” I reminded myself. Terry clipped on, went forward and as Sisu rose high into the waves, I turned her into the wind, the mainsail flapped noisily, which is also something to adjust to under “exciting” conditions. There’s often a lot of noise, which if you’re not used to it, can be frightening, but that’s all it is, just noise, and it passes as soon as the sails drop, wound in or are reefed. Within five minutes, the main was down and under control, Terry got a couple of sail ties round the sail and everything calmed to a moderate level. We fired up the engine, we were at 3000 revs and moving at 1 knot into the wind and waves, that’s was how strong the seas were! The sea state had rapidly gone from a Force 5-6 to 7- plus, due to a vortex as the wind wrapped itself around the bay off the mountains, not something you experience that much back home.

It seemed as though we weren’t moving, but steadily, steadily we ploughed on through the waves. A large orange RIB rocketed out of the marina entrance, and blasted its way towards us, bouncing it’s way over the waves. The Marina officer was stood up at the wheel, he give the steering wheel a flick, turned on a sixpence and motored alongside, you’d think we were on a millpond. He gave us instructions as to which side to put the fenders and ropes and that he’d guide us in. The Marina Officers are superb, in Lisbon we were guided in through the lock gates, we’d have managed, but it was reassuring to see the RIB going in ahead of us and pointing to where our berth was. Here at Quinta do Lorde Marina, same assistance with fluent English, clear instructions and welcoming smiles. If we are staying at a Marina, we radio them as we get a couple of miles out, or so. In most cases we’ve booked ahead, and in other cases we ask if there’s a berth free and what side to put the fenders and ropes. Usually we’re allocated a pontoon letter and number. Fingers crossed, the letters are clearly mounted on tall cylindrical posts at the end of each pontoon, so at least we can see whether we’re A,B,C and so on. However, the number of the berth is usually flat on the pontoon! We can’t see them from the boat and some Marinas squeeze the boats in, which doesn’t leave room to reverse out, (and Sisu doesn’t like reversing), of the wrong bay of pontoons!

The Marina Officer pointed to exactly where we’re meant to and boy, this makes life so much easier, this is the exception though, rather than the norm! We slotted in to our berth, made Sisu secure, took off our lifejackets, laying them on the coach roof to dry out, in a while we would check the minor damage to the reefing but for now in sodden, salty clothing, we opened a couple of beers, clinked them together on a job well done! Over the next few days the winds were higher than usual and we watched the Officer in his RIB nudging the sides of larger yachts as they entered the Marina, expertly motoring from one side of a boat to another, the RIB being used to physically guiding the boats round the end of pontoons and into berths, all done with unhurried good grace and smiles. Now that’s a tremendous job!

 

PORTO SANTO MON 10th to WED 11th OCTOBER 2016

Lazing around for a change!

This tiny Island 9 miles long and 5 miles North-South, 16 square miles is 27 miles North East of Madeira and is the home of roughly 5,500 population. It was first discovered in 1418 by Portugese sailors. The highest point is Pico do Facho, 1,696 feet high.The beaches and cafes soak up around 50,000 holidaymakers through the summer. We’ve hit it lucky, they’ve gone home and the temperature is still a balmy 24degrees and the sea is the same. The beach is literally a hop and skip over the sea wall and we can take our pick of the palm covered umbrellas spread along the several hundred metres of hot sand and spread our towels out as there’s plenty of room for us and the locals!

Of course, before all that lazing about and splashing each other in the surf, there’s the chores to do……… Now, at home, would I consider being on my knees, on the pavement where folks walk by, some of whom I’d be sure to know, taking our grubby laundry, which had been festering for days in a bag, piling them up, filling a large bright turquoise bucket with luke warm water from a nearby hose, then dunking them in said big bucket? I don’t think so, and I suspect I’d get a visit from Mr Plod saying “You can’t do that sort of thing round here ma’am”. Actually, at St Judes where there’s little in the way of entertainment, I’d be the star turn. People would actually know where St Judes was because the washer woman lives there. They’d flock to see my frothy suds. But in reality, no of course I wouldn’t, that would be madness. So, why am I doing this very act, holding up our undies, my smalls, Terry’s larges, for perfect strangers to see? Because it’s a hot sunny day and everyone else is rinsing their smalls on the pontoon too! After doing a satisfying mound of washing, I hang it on the lines Terry’s put up, he’s not allowed to hang washing, he doesn’t do it right, or perhaps he’s being clever here, knowing I’ll do this job! Just as I hang up the last bit, a girl walks past and says “Do you know the washing machine here is free?” NOOOOO!!!!!!

The harbour walls, like the walls at Horta, have boats names painted on them, this really is a place where sailors stop en route to rest before moving on, be it Lisbon, Madeira, Canaries, it’s exciting. Next door to us are a couple of women from Belgium, there are many French here, Germans, some English, so many nationalities. A Danish sailor, travelling with his wife and 3 young children said to Terry “here is a harbour full of real sailors!” He, like us, was doing this journey for the first time. This is what we find, a real sense of community and friendliness wherever we go.

We were making the most of swimming in the turquoise warm sea. Little fish swim around us and under our feet. The sand is actually hot to walk on, for the first time, the sea was really warm, and it can only get warmer the further south we sail!

On our way back from a walk along the beachfront, we see Neil and Helen of s/v Milvina who we’ve got to know well, meeting them first in La Coruna. They sent out an email via the Ocean Cruising Club asking if anyone would like to join them on the East Atlantic Rally. We contacted them and said yes! They arrived at Porto Santo a day after us, and it was so good to see them. They have two friends Dennis and Pam sailing with them for a while, so we invited them all to have a beer or two on Sisu and hear their news. We all sat in the cockpit, enjoying the late afternoon sun, some beers and good company. Tomorrow we were off to Madeira, Neil, Helen, Dennis and Pam were following on a day or two after.

The sail to Madeira was only roughly 30 nautical miles, we could see Madeira’s immense mountains rising above the mountains of Porto Santo, tomorrow afternoon we’d be there!

PART TWO. LISBON TO PORTO SANTO THURS 6th TO MON 10th OCTOBER 2016 517 Nautical Miles 5 days.

Part Two. A Very Special Visitor!

By day 3 we settle into a “normal” routine. We start doing ordinary stuff, Terry sorts out any sewing jobs, doing “man” things with rope or reads, we listen to music, I write up my daily diary and ready my Kindle. On this passage I got out my chanter, rather like a recorder, it’s what pipers learn tunes on, then transfer the learned tune onto pipes, saves energy and makes practising quieter! I had downloaded lots of tunes, band repertoire, new tunes and fun tunes, in this case I was learning “Wild Rover” and “Whisky in the jar”. The longer the passage the more, if conditions permit, day to day activities we do. You can’t become complacent, in our opinion, but jobs need to be done, washing clothes, looking after ourselves, I even cut my nails, keratin can be fish food! After a while, your world, the boat, is all you need. It’s good to reach port, but when wind, wave and sails come together, life outside is suspended, sunsets, sunrises, subtle changes in sea and sky style and colour are all that matter, we change and adapt Sisu to suit. We become loathe to see the hurly,burly of life.

By day 4, we could see cloud formations over Porto Santo, our life aboard will change, and we’ll enjoy it, till we get restless.

Today we had a visitor! We see many birds, mostly seabirds, occasionally little birds too. How do they fly so far on their little wings? A tiny swallow flew around us, closer than others have done, he circled and after a couple of attempts clung on to our rigging! Once he felt secure, he then flew down and sat on our guard rail, an incredible and joyous sight! He would fly off, did a quick circuit then settled once again, this time on our life ring. The brave little fellow looked so tired, we felt for him, on his journey to Africa, I was quite moved to tears. We think we do well sailing for a few days, with our fridge, our provisions and bed to sleep in. This tiny little feathered dynamo will fly across the ocean, eating, drinking what? How? His slender, black pipe cleaner claws gripped the wire, tail twitching up and down, wings fluttering now and then counterbalancing the motion of the waves. He began to sort his feathers out, smoothing them with his beak, a good sign, if he’s taking care of himself, he’s recovering and regaining strength. We put some water in a container lid for him, he moved up the guard wire to directly behind Terrys head, and Terry was able to put a drop of water onto his fingertip and the little swallow drank a little, he could always attract the birds….. We had no insects so could only offer him water and rest, he appeared content with what we had to offer. Every so often he’d fly off, gauging his energy levels, fly back and enjoy our company for a while longer, charging his batteries. He flew under the sprayhood, landing on the hatch cover, which was open. No! Don’t go into the cabin!!!! Terry quietly put his hand onto the hatch cover, with the swallow perched close by quite unafraid and Terry drew the hatch closed! After a while he flew back onto his familiar perch on the wire, near Terry’s head, and bucked up after a good rest, his black lively eyes looked around, he cocked his head from side to side and chirruped in reply to Terry’s chirrups, what an absolute privilege to share time with such a minute character. After nearly two hours, the little bird couldn’t resist the pull of his migration any longer, and off he flew, looking stronger than when he sought our sanctuary, we’d like to think we’ve helped him on his way. Sometimes events can be totally humbling, this was one.

The last couple of days of our passage awarded us another incredible act of nature, just to re-enforce that when creation was dealing the cards, we humans weren’t dealt the best hand, we were dealt the busted flush, the animals, birds and creatures we share the planet with got straight 21s. Within a 100miles or so of Porto Santo, we kept seeing these small domes passing us by. We thought they were flotsam. I was making our evening meal when Terry suddenly shouted out “Come up quick!” What on earth???? I rocketed out of the hatch. Terry had turned off the autopilot and was steering us completely off our course, had he finally gone mad??? “Turtles!” he shouted, “Look!” In the sleek calm of the sea he’d closed in on a bit of flotsam. The flotsam looked towards us, it was indeed a turtle, about 18” long, paddling away on his own. We could make out his ridged back, he raised his wrinkled head at us once more, then, as the saying goes….. turned turtle and disappeared under the water. We were 90miles away from Porto Santo, and he had come from where? He was on a mission for sure. We saw at least 4 in our proximity in the afternoon, goodness knows how many others were making this journey. The length of journeys from A to B for the little swallow and turtle certainly put us into our place when we complain about roadworks, sat in our comfy cars………

Finally, Monday morning came, the last day, and what a sight! Immense charcoal grey volcanic mountains rose up and were reflected in the oh so gently undulating turquoise sea, rose blushed sky, the still sleepy sun, tinted the clouds a molten honey colour, it was truly surreal. We just gazed at this and then each other, we’d never experienced this scene, or were we still dreaming? No, our tangy, and I’ll use this word to keep in the moment, smell of our t shirts (the reality was more “fruity”) proved this was real.

We eased our way into a rather tight pontoon finger, our bow line taken by a wide smiling Marina officer. “Welcome to Paradise” he beamed. Oh yes Porto Santo certainly is. Sails are covered up, ropes tidy, time to crack open a couple of beers!

 

 

 

LISBON TO PORTO SANTO THURS 6th to Mon 10th OCTOBER 2016.PART ONE 517 Nautical Miles 5 Days

At 0800hours on a beautiful morning we motored smoothly out through the lock and back into the estuary. This time the estuary was busy with commercial vessels, tankers, ferries and cruise liners, by now we were used to them and there’s plenty of space for us all! We passed by all the landmarks for the second time, and soon we were back into the open seas. Up with the main and head sails, the forecast was for 8 – 13 knots of light winds and it was good to have her sailing, with no sounds of the engine chugging away it was just the wind on her sails and the sea frothing around her hull. The seas were very rolly and confused though, the combination of being on land for a few days and the corkscrew motion meant I was starting to feel gippy. I’ve come to accept that for the first couple of days of a long passage, there’s a good chance I’ll feel rough and this was no exception, curses……. Managed to make sandwiches for us, thank goodness for good hand holds in the galley, what a job! Sharp knives and a boat thoroughly enjoying being out on lively seas again, what could possibly go wrong!

This passage also gave us the opportunity to try out “Frederick” our Swedish manufactured wind self steering system (named after Frederick the husband of Jeannette, a lovely Swedish couple we’ve got to know also sailing along our route, Frederick is very tall and clever so is our wind self steering!!) for the first time. The self steering system needs the sails to be set steady, up till now the winds haven’t been steady and we’ve motored more than we’ve sailed!! After a couple of adjustments to the settings the wind both steered us and drove us till evening, a great success, Frederick kept to our course better than our autopilot and us are able too. Some of the equipment we’ve brought we couldn’t test in the Irish Seas so we’re learning by doing as we go!

We could see a large flock of birds feeding, and sure enough, there were the dolphins diving through shoals of fish. This time we saw something we’ve never seen before, one dolphin was leaping out of the waves and belly flopping, I couldn’t manage to photograph him but got some good film of him, or her doing this. It was a deliberate action, perhaps this drives fish in a certain direction? I’ve no idea, he was certainly purposeful, belly flopping three or four times before he sped off to hunt again. They cheered me up, I was feeling pretty rough, it’s so tiresome! By evening it was time to put a reef in the mainsail, I turned her into the wind as Terry went up to the mast to reef. Everything’s more of an effort when you feel grotty, and I had tea to make yet. Terry offered but he has the bulk of the responsibility when we sail, I’m his mate and he’s Cap’n, so cooking is my part of the ship. Sisu was rolling badly and I felt ill, worst yet to be honest. It’s just a case of getting back into the rhythm and food/utensil juggling, in a day or so things come together, we both know that now, but the seas were rougher than usual. Pans were sliding all over the hob, even with the hob gimballed so it rolled with the motion of the boat, I didn’t enjoy it much, but I’m a stubborn cuss and tea was served, most of the chorizo, tomatoes, mushrooms and pasta got from the pan to dish! We’ve settled into a shift pattern which works for our body clocks. I began the shift at 2000hours to 2300hours and Terry slept. I tried to read my Kindle in between keeping a watch out and checking the GPS and AIS. It was no good, after five minutes I felt dreadful. I spent the first night shift tucked under the sprayhood eating ginger willing the seasickness to pass. Terry did his watch from 2300hours to 0200hours, when I slept and willed my insides to stop revolving. I normally quite enjoy the 0200hours to 0500hours watch, but this time it couldn’t finish soon enough. Terry came up to take over and I climbed into the warm sleeping bag he’d just vacated, relieved to lie down. Sisu suddenly lurched and so did my stomach, I shot across the saloon, into the heads, ah well……. better out than in………..

Next day, things got better and continued to be so, huzzah! The forecast was for light winds, down to less than 3 knots, and that’s what we got, good for tums, not for sailing. Our Manx flag was hanging limp, too lethargic to even give a slight shimmy. The mainsail flapped a bit, more like a grumble, Sisu was letting us know she wasn’t happy. We used the spinnaker pole though to pole out the headsail, and goose winged the main and headsails. This worked great for a bit, but the winds weren’t working for us, so…. back to setting the sails as before, we were managing about 4 knots, good enough for the conditions. In the distance I saw a whale spouting, the first I’ve seen around here!

On the third day, Terry announced we were geographically level with Africa!!! How amazing is that?! With 360 degree sea around you and 250 miles from any land, it’s easy to forget what’s beyond the horizon, later on we’d be level with Casablanca arts we’d pored over at home really came to life for us both. I’d felt quite tearful at the enormity of what we were doing, Terry said he’d felt the same, he’d been listening to “Alright now” by Free and thought, yes it really is alright now. The sun must be getting to us both, we’re getting soft!

There wasn’t enough excitement onboard so we decided to get out the spinnaker and have another go. Terry clipped on, went up to the bow, I steered and cleated off the sheets at the stern and between us we got the ropes ready for the beast to be unleashed! Terry pulled up the snuffer, and as it rose, the spinnaker billowed out from it’s long prison, billowing out over the bow, my word, she was big!!! There was slightly too little wind coming from astern as Sisu moves faster with the Spinnaker downwind the speed of the wind acting on the spinnaker decreases by the same amount as the boat speed increases reducing the power that the spinnaker creates. This combined with rolling waves that high they stole the wind meant that it was not 100% perfect, but hey, we’re still learning! I steered, trying to keep this immense, delicate red and white sail filled. It was so light, the steering had to be delicate, she would fill for a few minutes, just like the yachting magazine adverts, then empty and collapse, like a Victorian diva fainting for effect. If she could have put her hand to her brow, I swear she would have done. But we had a result! Our speed increased immediately, from 1.8knots to 4.5knots, racy! This was all very well, but to keep the spinnaker filled, we had to go way off course, we’d have plenty of opportunities in the future so after Terry had a play with steering and keeping the spinnaker filled, we are quite competitive with each other, I think it was a draw. The spinnaker had other ideas, now she was free she was reluctant to go back into her confinement. Terry pulled the snuffer down over the spinnaker, like Dorothy pouring water on the wicked witch, “I’m melting!” the spinnaker weaved and spun, the snuffer jammed a half of the way down the spinnaker. We had about 50% of the spinnaker still determined to have its freedom. Ah, the joys of teething problems. Terry says there are no problems, only solutions, on Terry’s instructions I loosened the ropes attached to each side of the spinnaker, which we would do under normal circumstances, Terry dropped the snuffer and spinnaker into the sea, in the middle of all this excitement, a tanker on our course that we’d been keeping tabs on via AIS radioed us to ask what our course was. These behemoths travel at around 21knots to our 5.5 knots so you do the maths, they’re stealthy and not to be messed with. I answered that we were sorting our spinnaker out and could he kindly go astern of us. No problem was the reply, have a good journey. As the tanker passed close by, we waved our thanks. All good radio experience for me, no simulation radio calling faffing around, this was real life! Terry gathered in the spinnaker, we tidied up the snakes of ropes around the sides and cockpit and enjoyed celebratory mugs of refreshing, cold lemon tea from the fridge that we’d got our spinnaker up and flying!

 

 

LISBON AND SINTRA SAT 1st to WED 5th OCTOBER 2016

We decided to stay in Lisbon for about 5 days. This would give us the opportunity to do some sightseeing, catch up with our East Atlantic Rally friends and do some boat chandlery shopping therapy!

We knew from the Pilot book that where we’ve moored, the Marina Parque das Nacoes has a silting problem and some boats have too deep a draft to enter. The first morning in the Marina, we looked out of the hatch to see it was low tide and the majority of the Marina was completely mud bound! The shower block which is situated on a large pontoon has risen and had a bit of a list due to being perched on top of waves of grey brown mud! The gaggle of ducks who perch on a finger pontoon by the showers squelched about carefully, it was even too muddy for them! The shoals of fish big and small which swam about the marina struggled for space at low tide and the mud. Herons has wised up to this fishy predicament, the fish floundering around in shallow muddy water was easy pickings for the birds, they feasted at low tides!! The pontoons of one half of the Marina were also sitting on mud, raised slightly higher creating a mildly undulating boardwalk, it was very peculiar to see! Our Marina at Peel, Isle of Man has this problem, but not to this great extent, fortunately as the mud is only visible during low tide, it doesn’t smell, it doesn’t look at all pretty though when viewed from the modern and trendy waterfront! The Marina itself is very well run, the girls who take the bookings and do the admin speak excellent English and had a great sense humour, teasing us that we were late, our friends had arrived the day before! More importantly they’ve got the washing machine queue sorted out too. The washing machine and dryer are upstairs in the Marina office, you book your washing slot so no to-ing and fro-ing to see if a machines free, Euros 6 for a wash, very reasonable and no hassle! Our fee was reasonable too, with a 10% discount as OCC members, making our stay Euros 137 for 7 days.

 

First job was the Chandlers, so we caught a bus near to the Torres de Belem and spent a happy hour or so browsing the shelves in the Chandlers. We were after a chart of Cape Verdes, Ramasol grease, a water resistant grease, (which seems like seeking the holy grail, we still haven’t located any, we’ve enough though, but extra is always good!) Mozzy netting, shackles and other bits n pieces we didn’t know we needed till we saw them. We managed to spend over E 100 in the chandlers and still didn’t tick everything off our list!

 

Sightseeing was a bit like the Marty Feldman coach tour, a real whistle-stop at places, those born in a certain decade will remember this! We really needed a good fortnight or so to see the majority of sights, but we did what we could. Together with some of our OCC friends, we visited the Belem area to the west of the city. The Maritime Museum, housed in the western wing of the Jeronimos Monastery, which took all morning, there was so much to see, we were really impressed by the huge collection of Royal Barges, traditional boats, flying planes and even 19^th century steam driven Fire wagons made in England by Merryweather ! The Monastery was built by King Manuel I in the 15^th century, a visit for another time. Terry and I took a walk to the top of the Monument to the Discoveries, one of Lisbon’s key landmarks. Built in 1960, the 500^th anniversary of the death of Henrique the Naviagator, the most important figure in Portugal’s pioneering role in the voyages of discovery in the 15^th century. It’s presently covered in scaffolding, under renovation. We paid Euros2, our cash taken by a man who gave the distinct impression he couldn’t be bothered in being there or anyone coming to visit the monument, his manner was so offhand it was hilarious! Computer definitely says no! This was totally untypical of the Portuguese people, who bend over backwards to be friendly. The monument is beautifully carved, with immense figures all around the monument including Henrique at the front like a figurehead, without it’s scaffolding it must be stunning, so good to see a 20^th century monument that’s a real masterpiece, not some abstract wacky arty nonsense. There’s a place for abstract, and some abstract work is incredibly creative, but in a city of wonderful bronze and stone statues around every corner, this monument is a statement of wonder and beauty for centuries to come. We also fitted in a climb up to the Moorish Castelo de Sao Jorge. Much of the Castelo remains as it was when the Crusaders recaptured the city of Lisbon from the Moors in 1147. We walked around the Disneyland Torre de Belem, so pretty! One evening 11 of us went to a restaurant which featured Fado singing, the traditional style of song in Portugal. Between courses, firstly a man and then a very, very pregnant young woman, both accompanied by a young girl playing the Portugese guitar, sang to us between courses. The heavily pregnant lady really threw herself into each song, using her black fringed shawl for effect, wrapping it round her, and holding her arms out wide, the shawl like a cape to emphasise the song’s meaning, I think just about everyone in the restaurant let out a held breath of relief that she’d finished her songs without hatching! Mind you, there’d be plenty of hot water and table cloths to use if she had gone into labour!!

 

One big highlight we visited was the odd looking Santa Justa Lift, looming over the city’s streets. It’s a neo gothic elevator and the most eccentric and novel means of public transport in the city. It looks like the Eiffel Tower, with its riveted wrought iron frame and battleship grey paint. There’s a connection, the French architect Raoul Mesnier du Ponsard, an apprentice of Gustav Eiffel designed the elevator, which was inaugurated in 1901. It was built as a means of connecting the Baixa with the Largo do Carmo in the Bairro Alto neighbourhood, a trendy area of the city.  It was really bizarre to see this elevator, planted unexpectedly up a side street. We paid our Euros 10 each and squeezed into the packed lift which went up the 32 metre centre of the tower. Then we walked up two spiral staircases to the top, Terry confessed to having slightly wobbly legs as he climbed up the stairs, we could see straight down to the street below! What a view of the whole city! Fabulous experience and one not to be missed if you visit.

Next four of us took the train to Sintra, with its palaces and Casetlo dos Mouros, Castle of the Moors, built in the 8^th and 9^th century high up on the hillside. We had a very dodgy bus ride round narrow hairpin corners which took us to the foot of the Castello, then walked the last kilometre or so to the top. Peering over the top of the Castle walls the whole of Sintra was spread out before us. We just didn’t have time to take in all the sights in this town and didn’t do it justice, however we enjoyed the walk back down into town, and the beers served in huge, tall vases afterwards!

All too soon, the days had passed, and the final day in Lisbon was refuelling, re provisioning and boat jobs. We had work to do on the dinghy, repairing the hole from the rocks in Cascais and giving Sisu a once over, I don’t how she gets so grubby! I also did a big clothes wash before we set off on our 4 or 5 days passage. Sisu was completely draped in clothing, thank goodness in this heat clothes dry in a day!

One job we’d been wanting to do was try out the spinnaker. All day there’d been virtually no wind, perfect for hoisting up an extremely huge and very light sail. Naturally, as soon as Terry hoisted the spinnaker up and pulled up the snuffer (which is exactly what it does, it’s a long “sock” made of parachute fabric attached to the spinnaker halyard which when pulled back down the spinnaker effectively snuffs out the spinnaker) the wind got up and was blowing the wrong way. We need the wind to blow from behind to fill the spinnaker with wind, the wind turned and began to blow from the front, blowing the spinnaker back around the mast! The spinnaker is 4.2 metres wide and 11 metres long, so in the confines of a marina, it was certainly an impressive sight, but not quite as planned! We were able to pull the snuffer down the spinnaker and got it under control, but it took the two of us to manhandle them down onto the pontoon when the wind gusts it is capable of lifting both of us off the ground. Spinnakers are only used in light winds, not gusty winds that had suddenly blown up from nowhere around the Marina. At one point I was straddling the snuffer and spinnaker between my knees, my arms had other bits of flapping material and I swear my teeth were gripping some of it too! Ah, we have such japes…… Still, all good experience, and it worked, the last time we tried this was in our garden with the top of the snuffer tied to a tree!!!!

With nearly all the jobs done on our list, it had been a full on day so off to bed, ready to sail to Porto Santo, 4 to 5 day passage.