Nimrod Oceanlord

We are now at the eastern most part of Portugal on the Rio Guadiana. One side of the river is Portuguese, the other Spanish. We are anchored on the Portuguese side but only by 100m or so! It is the most peaceful anchorage we have been at. Not a soul to be seen or heard. The wind has died and the only sounds are from the many varieties of birds that nest along the shore.

We left the marshes of Faro this morning in much nicer weather than when we arrived yesterday. It still felt very exposed but was a large anchorage with over 50 boats and the anchor held firm in 20 plus knots of wind. The wind and swell made for a bumpy night but we slept pretty well until the fishing boats came through the anchorage at dawn and the airport opened at 0700 – we were directly under the flight path!

Before we left Liz had made bread which then proved in the engine compartment as we made our way out at 1000. The wind was behind us so we didn’t have enough to sail with until early afternoon. We got to Rio Guadiana too early as it has a shallow entrance and we arrived at low water so decided to wait an hour before going in. Liz took the opportunity to fish but without success. It was a bumpy ride through the entrance as the wind was now over 20 knots and the swell had also picked up. Once through, the water calmed and it was a pleasant run up the river under the suspension bridge (with all of 3m to spare) to find our anchorage for the night.

Leaving Portimao this morning, we had a gentle sail in 30 degrees towards Faro where we intended to anchor in one of the lagoons just inside the breakwater. It is very flat here and a bit exposed so we have tried to find a spot that gives us a bit of shelter from the 20 knot winds that are bearing down on us.

We had intended to spend the day here but winds of 30 knots are forecast for the next two days so we will journey about 25 miles east to the Rio Guadiana which is the boundary between Portugal and Spain. We will then go up river and anchor so we should be sheltered from the worst of it until Sunday morning and then make our way to Cadiz.

Yesterday was a day for chores. Food shopping for the next 5 days as we will be at anchor, laundry and fitting the new split charge diode that we bought in Lisbon. We also went into Lagos (pronounced Lagosh) later on to find it buzzing until midnight with a lot of the shops open and with various market stalls selling all sorts of tat so, of course we had to go around most of them!

Today was a lazy morning doing admin as we had a good wifi connection and a run out in the dinghy to the grottos that were just outside the harbour entrance. They were quite pretty but not as amazing as the guide books make out. We left the marina just after lunch when the bridge opened at 1400 to make a very long journey to Portimao – all 9 miles of it!

We are currently anchored in a bay just inside the harbour with about 25 other boats. There were more here when we arrived about 1600 but many have gone back into the marina for the evening. Apparently, this happens quite a lot along the Algarve – boats come out for the day but go back into a marina for the evening. That suits us as we will hopefully be anchoring for the next few days until we reach Cadiz on Sunday.

Early start today as we has a 80nm trip round to Lagos on the Algarve. Not helped by the fact that Sines was holding a World Music Festival with bars and stalls in the town last night. We had to try the Cairprinha at €3 each.

The day started as usual with little wind so we motored for several hours until the wind built up. Rounding our last important headland, Cape Sao Vincent, before Gibaltar, it felt like we had reached another milestone – we were finally on the Algarve and within touching distance of the Med.

The nortada wind builds up over the day so that by 1800 it is somewhere between 20 and 25 knots. This remains until well after sundown which means that generally you have to also moor in big winds as well – as was the case today!

Lagos marina is very pretty and only a short walk from town although very expensive at €58 a night. I think we may be anchoring a lot between here and Cadiz!

Yesterday, we spent the day enjoying Lisbon and meeting up with fellow members of our sailing club for lunch who were in Lisbon. We also managed to visit the Tall Ships Race on the Rio Tejo. There were over twenty tall ships there and they are about to race down to Cadiz. The aim is to get young people onto the water and meet other young people from different countries and cultures.

The marina at Oeiras reminded us of Port Solent with its trendy bars and restaurants overlooking the marina but with much better weather! The bars didn’t close until 2am but we slept soundly.

Today we had a 50nm sail down to Sines which is half way down the coast between Lisbon and the Algarve. As usual, the wind was too light for sailing downwind for the first 4 hours and then the wind picked up and we had a cracking downwind sail with just the genoa (sail at the front) for the rest of the day. We arrived at Sines about 6pm. Unfortunately, the same great wind and swell that brought us here also made berthing in the marina difficult but with the help of another boat we secured ourselves alongside. The nice thing about sailing is that everyone helps each other out in difficult conditions.

Pictures of the Lord Nelson in Lisbon and Sines.