The 40 mile day trip from Lagos to Faro was
intended as a short shake-down, to make sure the sails and the new instruments
were all working well; thankfully they exceeded expectations. We picked up a
nice 15 knot breeze straight out of the channel and as soon as the sails were
up we were flying! Common Sense felt
beautifully balanced – even when the wind dropped to only 7 knots we were still
heading smoothly towards our destination. The improved radar, huge colour chartplotter and the new AIS gave us a clear picture of what
was going on around us. If only we’d had all this good gear for the Atlantic
crossing, we’d have saved several days and a lot of anxious moments. Paddy, you
would love it!
Once in the entrance to Faro, we motored
about 2 miles in behind the sand islands that form a barrier between the city
and the sea. Though separated from the busy Algarve capital by only a few
hundred metres, the barrier islands are very simple and relaxed, with fishing
shacks and very basic holiday homes, hundreds of small boats, tiny family
restaurants and lovely beaches. We anchored outside the fishing harbour off the
island of Culatra and spent a couple of days dinghying around to explore the
islands. Highlights included a bracing swim at the beach off Barretta Island,
digging ourselves a meal of clams (cooked with white wine, stock and pasta) in
the sand at low tide, and sharing a pleasant evening drinking and chatting with
the crews of Moondance (Johnny and
Sue, UK) and The Southern Cross
(Catherine and Peter, Australia).
We also confirmed the good news that Marg
and Mike Doust will be joining us in September for a North African adventure –
can’t wait to welcome them aboard!
No comments:
Post a Comment