Algarve restrictions right now

[webcraft]

We were going to sail down round Cape St. Vincent tonight but...

Lagos is still only offering the holding pontoon unless you have permission for a transit.

Portimao is back in lockdown, Albufeira is going back a level...

So a normal leisurely Algarve cruise is not on the cards right now. We could anchor at Cultra or head up the Guadiana, but we are thinking of just staying put in Sines for another week as it is cheap and the showers are good!

Is anyone else mobile in the Algarve right now?

- W

 

[Quiddle]

We were going to sail down round Cape St. Vincent tonight but...

Lagos is still only offering the holding pontoon unless you have permission for a transit.

Portimao is back in lockdown, Albufeira is going back a level...

So a normal leisurely Algarve cruise is not on the cards right now. We could anchor at Cultra or head up the Guadiana, but we are thinking of just staying put in Sines for another week as it is cheap and the showers are good!

Is anyone else mobile in the Algarve right now?

- W

I anchored overnight in Alvor 8 days ago and was spoken to by police to confirm my intentions but they were quite happy as I hadn't been ashore. Not exactly ideal if you're planning a sightseeing cruise but at least it's somewhere to stop.

 

[greeny]

Only Portimao side of the Arade river is in lockdown. Anchor on the Ferragudo side either off Praia Grande or the village itself, dinghy to that shore and you are in Lagoa district which is heading out of restrictions. Most things open now. restaurants shops and hairdressers included. Everyday I see the dinghies coming ashore here and going to the shops etc. going to the boatyard and then to Lidl and seem to be carrying on as normal now.

 

[webcraft]

Some pretty rubbish weather heading for the Algarve over the weekend. Is Ferragudo a decent all-weather anchorage? It looks like it on the charts.

- W

 

[greeny]

Some pretty rubbish weather heading for the Algarve over the weekend. Is Ferragudo a decent all-weather anchorage? It looks like it on the charts.

- W

Good in all weather just about. Got to be bad from the South to get as far up as Ferragudo and even then its tenable. Praia Grande near the mouth is more open to a south westerly but boats just move further up the river.

 

[GHA]

Some pretty rubbish weather heading for the Algarve over the weekend. Is Ferragudo a decent all-weather anchorage? It looks like it on the charts.

- W

Wot greeny said. Here's where I've been, used to be they might kick you out from Ferragudo at 6am if a cruise ship was coming in but not much chance of that for a while. Forecasts tend to overestimate a good few days out so come the weekend it might not be too bad. Even tucked in next to the breakwater can be rolly with a big swell coming in for the south. Great walks along the cliffs

 

[Graham376]

According to WindGuru, looks like SE 28/29 knots on Saturday and only 16kt southerly gusts plus heavy rain Sunday so Ferragudo should be OK. Thinking back to what happened last year, just wondering how PM will treat any boats entering river during Portimao lockdown.

 

[GHA]

According to WindGuru, looks like SE 28/29 knots on Saturday

Bet it won't be

 

[Graham376]

That's not what I was seeing here - Windguru - Portimao Looks like it's already getting better than earlier forecast

 

[nortada]

That's not what I was seeing here - Windguru - Portimao Looks like it's already getting better than earlier forecast

Horses for courses. These days there are so many forecasts available, you can usually find one to reflect your wishes.?

Webby,

From experience, in these parts, I like Windfinder. However, from observation it can overestimate wind strength and here out west the weather can arrive up to 6 hours early.

The forecast from Saturday is a strengthening south easterly so anchoring on the Ferragudo side should be OK.

Another option would be to tuck in on the inside the eastern side of the entrance to Alvor - plenty of water all states of the states of the tide.

The police in Lagos are permitting boat movements by request and vessels are arriving and holding on the waiting. Given the forecast, I am fairy certain you would be permitted a storm refuge there.

You could pop into Lagos, to spy out the land, do a bit of shopping and then decide on your best options.

Given the forecast wind direction, I would not anchor outside the entrance to Lagos where it could be dangerous.

 

[GHA]

Horses for courses. These days there are so many forecasts available, you can usually find one to reflect your wishes.?

Webby,

From experience, in these parts, I like Windfinder. However, from observation it can overestimate wind strength and here out west the weather can arrive up to 6 hours early.

this comes up time and again, and no, there aren't so many different forecasts available. None of the free sites run any forecasts, they get the same data invariably from the same gfs model and might tweak it a bit and dress it up differently or interpolate to make it look like hourly. but it's the same forecast. Windguru average out a bit on the available models so it might diverage a bit from the gfs, but do no forecasting of their own and don't use the ecmwf model, it costs money to get, windy pay for that. From windfinder - "This forecast is based on the GFS model", you see what you want to see........


Safe passage Webby, lovely getting round St Vincent and out of the Atlantic swell. ?

 

[Graham376]

this comes up time and again, and no, there aren't so many different forecasts available.

Safe passage Webby, lovely getting round St Vincent and out of the Atlantic swell. ?

Bit of a confusing statement Paddy. There may be limited models but loads of different interpretations depending on which site/forecast one looks at. I just look at the top WindGuro one for expected weather, must admit to not understanding the others listed below Keep safe, Graham.

 

[GHA]

Bit of a confusing statement Paddy. There may be limited models but loads of different interpretations depending on which site/forecast one looks at. I just look at the top WindGuro one for expected weather, must admit to not understanding the others listed below Keep safe, Graham.

Not really confusing, there are few real actual forecasts available providing numerical forecasts from supercomputers running on millions of input data points, fiddling a bit with the data adds exactly nothing. You can't add to the data, it's all there is.
WIndguru adds nothing, it doesn't even bother paying for the ecmwf model which is generally thought to be one of the best, the page that opens doesn't have anyone do any interpretation, a computer just averages some free models a bit and you have no idea at all if it's any better than the raw gfs data, to do that needs some major league actual local data sources and a bored university statistics graduate , what you see is conformation bias telling you what you want to hear.
Sorry but no one knows that their favourite weather forecast app is any better, it doesn't forecast or interpret anything but just dresses up free data and conformation bias has been known about for centuries. ???
My complete guess looking a the models, synoptics & 500mB is sat might have a weak front going north overnight but prob won't amount to much though the 500mB hints it the low getting cut off & sitting off the west coast for a little while so could be good time to get south now before it arrives prob Thursday lunchtimeish.

 

[nortada]

Don’t disagree with any of the above.

The model(s) predict the trend and forecasters add their touch. Local knowledge of the micro conditions provide the final product. At this end of the Algarve the Monchique Massif, although not very high, plays a large part in local weather (and has it’s own micro climate).

This discussion centres weather in the Western Algarve in the coming few days. All the predictions are roughly the same so timing is the key.

Webby, hope this all helps. I suspect, by now, you are well into the Algarve, laid up somewhere enjoying the late afternoon sun and enjoying a glass (or 2).

Best wishes,

N

 

[greeny]

I'll be sat in the square in Ferrragudo enjoying a sundowner with wife in about 1/2 an hour if you want to join us.

 

[nortada]

The Official line.

According to the information received in writing from the National Maritime Authority, the restrictions to pleasure boating existing prior to April 19th are still in effect, due to the fact that pleasure boating is considered a leisure activity, and not a sport, therefore being limited by the duty of home confinement established in the law for this stage.

This is why vessels in transit and working boats (sailing schools, commercial fishing boats and possibly trips boats etc.) can operate.

 

[Graham376]

The Official line.
According to the information received in writing from the National Maritime Authority, the restrictions to pleasure boating existing prior to April 19th are still in effect, due to the fact that pleasure boating is considered a leisure activity, and not a sport, therefore being limited by the duty of home confinement established in the law for this stage.
This is why vessels in transit and working boats (sailing schools, commercial fishing boats and possibly trips boats etc.) can operate.

That confirms what the water taxi skipper told us when we went back to the mooring. He said as far as the club are concerned, only those under training were allowed to sail. Kids were out and about having fun in Optimists but no-one else.

 

[Seven Spades]

Sounds like you need to be "In Transit", I would look at that option.

 

[webcraft]

We turned up unannounced at Lagos yesterday afternoon and I was told the SEF would have to speak to me to see if we were allowed into the marina.

A lovely guy turned up and said we should have had permission to leave Sines - which of course is not what we were told in Sines.

As soon as I said we had Portuguese residency and showed him the magic bit of A4 he became totally friendly and said of course we could go into the marina, we could stay as long as we wanted and leave when we wanted to.

Bridge open, done deal, love it here.

- W

 

[capnsensible]

Fab place.

Pre bat bug, whenever visiting, sardines were high on the list to dine on. Behind ish from the marina office is the fishermans are with the related industrial units. At the far end there used to be a superb restaurant run, iirc, by fishermen like a Spanish Cofradia. Always a great pit stop.

Enjoy your stay!