Welcome Back to everyone after our long silence while we were moored in Lagos Marina for the Winter. We will try and make our blog updates a bit more regularly now that we are on the move again, but as always this will depend on WiFi access and signal strength to post to the website – we will do our best.
Leaving time at Lagos Marina came round all too quickly with everyone working hard in the last 2 or 3 weeks to get all the winter jobs completed, yes we know we had 6 months to do them all but it never quite works like that – there is always something more important to do.
We managed to find time to organise a Marina Leaving Party at Bom Pecado, a local restaurant a few minutes walk from the marina. Jorge and his staff produced a great meal, lots of wine and beer as well as some local entertainment. There was over 40 boaties from the marina and it was a great party, the marina was pretty quiet the next day as everyone tried to recover from the excesses. The pictures below give some idea of the fun we had.
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| The Lagos Marina Leaving Party at Bom Pecado – A Good Time Was Had By ALL!!!! |
Obviously we could not leave Lagos having had only one leaving party, so Helen and Marcel on Dakini decided we should have a “quiet” party the night before we left the marina – not a good idea!!!! Helen decided we should have an early start and an early finish so we would all be fit and healthy to set sail the next day, surprisingly it did not quite work out like that. The early start was easy so we all gathered on Dakini at around 3pm, the early finish definitely did not happen, unless the early hours of the next day count as finishing early!!!!
The final day was a panic of very last minute jobs and shopping as well as washing the boat ready to go. We finally escaped our berth at around 2:30pm for the huge trip of 8nm to Portimao and Feragudo for our first night at anchor for 6 months. We had a really great time in Lagos with a really great bunch of fellow sailors and it was hard saying goodbye to them all, some we have already bumped into again, some we are still sailing with and unfortunately some we will probably not meet again, however that is the cruising lifestyle.
There was a great mixture of nationalities living aboard for the winter with English, Irish, Dutch, Norwegian, Swiss, Swedish, German, Czech and many others all coming together to make the winter fly past. We were also lucky with the weather as we had clear blue skies and warm temperatures for practically the whole time, hardly any rain in 6 months means the local farmers are very concerned, but it was lovely for us. Some photos below to show our very quiet final leaving party!!!
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| Marcel on Keyboard, James on Clarinet and Hilde on Vocals | The Band Warming Up |
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| Sue and Hilde on Top Form | Goodnights after a Great Party |
| The Final Leaving Party on Board Dakini |
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| Alison and Phil on Bagheera Leaving Lagos | Monsieur Mole With Sun Hat Ready For His Summer Travels |
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| Sue Saying Goodbye to the Cats | Feragudo, First Stop of 2012 |
After a winter of nearly perfect weather it all changed as we headed East, so far we have had some fairly strong winds and pretty cool temperatures so it has not been an easy start to our summers adventures. From Feragudo we had a good sail to Culatra where we safely negotiated the strong currents in the entrance to Faro Lagoon and anchored off the coastal Island of Culatra, I am sure it is much nicer in good weather, but with strong NW winds the anchorage was a bit uncomfortable and dinghy trips ashore were very wet. We did manage a walk around the village on the Island and we had the lovely beach all to ourselves.
The weather was not forecast to get much better so we decided to head for the better shelter offered by Tavira. Another good sail in the offshore NW winds and we were soon safely anchored in the lagoon with the sun making it very pleasant. Friends on Awake and Dakini were also with us so we had some good company, James and Jana off Scrabbler also drove down and spent a couple of days on board. We had a visit from a couple of very friendly Marine Police who wanted to check our papers and give us some advice, all very nice.
We had an unscheduled early start one morning as our anchor dragged and we bumped gently into the bank on the opposite side of the channel – not sure why because we had been anchored safely for a couple of days by then – the tide does run quite strongly so the regular change of direction must have been enough to unstick our normally reliable anchor. We were quickly re-anchored in time to take James and Jana ashore to catch a flight for James.
From Tavira we headed towards the River Guadiana that forms the border between Portugal and Spain, again with Dakini and Awake, Pippit with Ann and Andy were already in the River. We anchored just below the impressive International Bridge for the night ready to leave in the morning at low tide. The bridge is charted at varying heights depending on which chart or pilot book you consult, with 18.5m, 20.5m and 23m all being quoted – all a bit too close when you have a mast height off 20m. The low tide gave us an extra 2m of clearance and we crept under very carefully, you can never tell from the deck how close the bridge is but Marcel following behind estimated at least 2m of clearance, still pretty close though!!!
We continued all the way up the river with the flood tide and eventually anchored about 7nm past Pomarao, nearly 30nm from the bridge.Just past the anchorage was the first shallow patch with Dakini having less than 200mm of water under her keel at one point so we turned back a bit and anchored in a bit more depth, a line ashore to a suitable tree ensured we stayed in line with the current and avoided swinging around the anchor as the tide turned – a very comfortable night.
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| Approaching The International Bridge on the Guadiana | Phew!!! That is Very Close!!! |
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| Old Iron Ore Works | Anchored With Lines Ashore in The Upper Reaches of The Guadiana |
Next day we decided to make our way up river to Mertola with Dakini’s dinghy and crew. Many years ago some quite large ships used to navigate the river to Mertola but it is now silted and shallow in a number of places on this last 3nm stretch. The Guadiana Pilot book says it is possible to get to Mertola with 2m draught provided you use the tides correctly, both us and Dakini decided that was not a good idea particularly after the dinghy trip!!!
The tide times for our dinghy trip meant we were heading upstream only just after low water, we thought we should be OK and be able to find plenty of water for a dinghy that only needs about 300mm of water – how wrong we were!! We had to paddle the dinghy through a couple of places and even had to get out and tow it through the very worst bits, luckily the water was not too cold and we made it to Mertola with nothing worse than wet feet and trousers to show for our troubles.
Mertola is a stunning little town built on a hill with an old castle dominating the town, the view as we rounded the last bend was well worth the effort of getting the dinghy there. The views from the Castle were also pretty special, as was the town itself with numerous little streets winding around the hillside. We found the crew of Awake in a cafe, they had walked from the anchorage to Mertola because they have only a small dinghy and outboard, it had taken them 3hrs to walk although it must be said it took us an hour and half to get the dinghy there!!! Lunch was enjoyed in the cafe with a huge plate of meat, chips, rice and salad together with wine and beer costing the huge sum of 15Euros per couple.
After a good walk around the town it was time for the return trip, now the tide had risen by nearly 2m so we had no hazards at all to worry about and the trip back took only about 20 mins. The crew of Awake decided to walk back down the other side of the river even though their dinghy would be on the wrong bank, they were hoping we would rescue them. We checked for any sign of the returning trio and Dodgie the dog but there was no sign as we settled down for food aboard Dakini, 1/2 hr later we just caught sight of Francis on the shore leaping and waving trying to attract our attention, it seems they had been shouting and waving for about 15 minutes before we saw them – Francis was getting ready to strip off and swim across the river to the dinghy but the strong current was enough to discourage him. We ferried them back to Awake and their dinghy and no one even got their feet wet.
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| Approaching Mertola by Dinghy | Intrepid Crew Ready to Explore Mertola |
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| View Downriver From The Castle | Early Morning in The River, Awake Heading Downstream |
Next day dawned clear and calm in our cosy anchorage but we need an early start to go downriver with the tide to Pomarao. As on the way up we had to contend with numerous fish nets strung across the river, some better marked than others – most stretched about two thirds across the river leaving room to pass, however a few seemed to be set across the full width and we had to drift over them hoping they were deep enough not to snag them. We managed to miss them all on the way down but we did catch one on the way up, we managed to drift off it after pushing it aside. I am sure it would be very difficult to miss them with any deeper draught than our 1.5m, I can only guess that they are not laid in the summer as there is no mention of nets in any Pilot Book or website that we looked at.
We anchored just South of Pomaro and took the dinghy ashore for a hike around the Dam behind the village, some scrambling and climbing was needed to get us back onto the road to get back to Pomarao. It was a very nice expedition apart from Dodgie taking an unexpected leap into a canal carrying water from the dam, he leapt onto the top of the wall and straight into the water, luckily he paddled to the side and was quickly rescued by Erica, Francis and Sue – he didn’t seem at all bothered by the surprise of landing in water that he couldn’t see!!!
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| Relaxing in Pomarao | Ready to Explore Alcoutim |
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| Alcoutims Main Square | Sanlucar on The Opposite Side of The River |
From Pomarao we sailed slowly downriver with the tide to Alcoutim, managed to get alongside the pontoon with Dakini behind us and Awake rafted alongside us – a good enough reason for a bit of a party!!! Being alongside the pontoon meant we had water and electricity so we could top up the tanks, wash the boat and charge the batteries, all very civilised.
Alcoutim is a pretty little town with a few shops and cafes so it was nice to stop for a couple of days, Sanlucar on the Spanish bank opposite was also quite nice but did not seem as friendly to us. There were a couple of cafes but no shops in the parts we walked around, the Castle above the town seemed an awful long, steep walk so we didn’t bother. The crew of Awake did make the hike but said the Castle was closed and lots of construction work going on – apart from the views it wasn’t worth the walk!!!
The weather had been pretty good for most of our time in the River but now the winds picked up a bit and the sun was not so warm when it managed to show itself from behind the clouds. We sailed further downriver to a little Portuguese village called Guerreiros do Rio and anchored in the river, all seemed well while the tide was ebbing and the wind was also blowing downriver. Then the tide changed direction so it was going the opposite way to the wind, the wind strengthened to about 25knts and chaos ensued!!! Both us and Dakini were sailing around our anchors, back and too across the river with the wind against tide kicking up a pretty nasty chop on the water – altogether pretty horrible.
We often put out a stern anchor as well as our main anchor in strong reversing tides to ensure we stay in the same place – it usually works very well. We decided to re-anchor and put out our stern anchor to calm everything down but the wind and current meant it was impossible to hold Nimrod in place to get out the stern anchor, at one point our bridle on the main anchor chain got caught on the keel of the boat and we couldn’t get our anchor up – it was all pretty fraught, especially with Dakini in pretty close proximity!!! Eventually we managed to retrieve our anchor and moved further downriver to anchor away from everyone.
We all decided it was not a very nice place to spend the night and as soon as the tide turned again we all sailed 3nm downriver to Foz de Odeleite, we tied alongside the small pontoon while Dakini and Awake anchored, the wind died to nothing and we had a very peaceful night eventually!!!!
Next day we planned to go to Ayamonte at the bottom of the River so we set off with the tide and a fresh wind behind us, we started off with our headsail out but we were going too fast meaning we would be at the bridge too early – we wanted to be there for low water to give us maximum clearance again. We gradually rolled the sail away to slow down and eventually we were doing 4.5knts with no sail up at all because of the 20 – 25 knt wind behind us. We anchored just south of Ayamonte with the wind still blowing at 20knts and the tide due to turn against the wind very soon – VHF discussion with Dakini resulted in us deciding that it was not a good place to stay so we upped anchor and set off on the 20nm trip east to El Rompido. Another factor that encouraged us to move was the sight of a Dutch monohull sat at an unhealthy angle on the bank opposite – he must have dragged his anchor and ended up aground, it looked as if he would float off again as the tide returned but it was a reminder of how things can go wrong.
The number of crab pot flags en route was quite incredible, literally hundreds of the damn things to dodge, not sure what they were trying to trap but with that number of pots about there really can’t be anything left to catch. The entrance to El Rompido is a shallow channel between sandbanks, only to be attempted near to high water, it is very well buoyed and we entered safely to finally anchor just past the Marina. We are staying here a couple of days while some nasty weather passes through and we plan to head for Mazagon as soon as the weather is better.
Hi all Sue here
I really think Chris has said it all but I will just add a few words. Leaving Lagos was quite sad as we have made some really good friends and you don’t know if you will meet up with them again. I know that’s how it goes but I am hopeless at goodbyes.
Before we left Lagos my mum, sister and my mums friend Moira came to stay for a few days and we had a great time. We went to a Karaoke bar one night where we danced and sang until one in the morning. We sampled quite a few jugs of Sangria, the best being in the Marina Bar where we sat and drank three jugs one afternoon!! I blame it on my mum who doesn’t like to walk too far so we keep having to find places to sit down. We had fun and games with the keys to the apartment mum and Moira stayed in, the first day Caroline and me went up to meet them we couldn’t get in the front door to the apartment block and in the end we had to ring Chris to come up to help. When he arrived he gave us one of his looks and said it would help if we tried the right door, which was a bit further up the road!! He didn’t see the funny side at all but we laughed all day!!
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| Mum and Moira on Nimrod | Sangria stop at Marina Bar |
Well Lagos Marina seems miles away now and we are of on our travels again and it’s really nice sailing in company with Dakini and Awake. The trip up the Guadiana was very lovely and very challenging, especially the dinghy trip to Mertola. At one point when Chris, Marcel and Helen were knee deep in water pulling the dinghy, they assured me there was no need for me to get out as well (ring any bells Lesley!!), I happened to see a really nice display of wild flowers on the bank behind them so thought I should point it out to them. They didn’t seem to be impressed, I can’t understand why as they looked really lovely from the dinghy!!
On my birthday we arrived in Ayamonte where once again the wind was a lot stronger than forecast and not good for anchoring and going ashore for a meal as promised. I couldn’t help wondering what I used to do on my birthdays, those stiletto's and glad rags seem along time ago now!! It all turned out ok though as we made it to El Rompedo, anchored safely, had champagne on Dakini with Helen and Marcel and then went out for a meal.
Sadly we will be moving on tomorrow to Magazon without Dakini as their timescale is different to ours but hopefully we will meet up with them again to spend the winter months. So we are going for a farewell meal to their boat tonight and no doubt I will shed a few tears!! I’ll get used to it one day!!
