Becky
Well-Known Member
Well, a few days have passed, and we have been chasing up suppliers and installers to get our equipment repaired or replaced. We have heard from one or two other particpants, and to be honest, I still miss the cameraderie of the Rally itself.
The start was almost windless, and we motored for ages SW looking for some breeze. But the mles rolled away beneath our keel, and we began to make VHF contact with other yachts, giving daily positions, and general information. We mostly got in to Bayona during the 4th day, some having gone way outside the separation zone at Finisterre, as far as the 10 deg line, while others, us included stuck more to the rumb line. Those who went out got stronger winds, up to F7 I understand. The Cape was quite windy enough for us, one wave breaking over our stern. We lost the engine at this point, we were keeping the batteries up, when then fuel was low, and sediment got stirred up enough to block the filters. But we had plenty with us. One of the really lovely features of crossing Biscay is the dolphins. We saw loads of them. At one point, in the evening when I was supposed to be on watch, I was reading a book sitting under the sprayhood (facing aft), wheen I glanced sideways, to see a dolphin with its head clear of the front of a wave watching me. The wave was only slowly overtaking us, so it had had a good stare! They seemed to be fascinated by our echo sounder, and any noise we made. I loved seeing them.
Bayona was GREAT! The Club Montereal was a lovely place. I suppose when you realise that the joining fee is 35000 euros (so we were told when I enquired), it is no wonder that they can afford to maintain a very effective service crew. They fixed our fuel tank an hour after I asked for help. Mind you, I went up to Sue Richards the Rally rep, and she got it all organised. Sue and Liz, the other rep, were brilliant. There was a prize giving for the first leg, and we won the 'Smiley Miley' competition, where we had to guess the distance travelled by the shore party.
We went on a trip to Santiago del Compostella, a tourist trap and religious landmark that was well worth the visit. It is the last place on the pilgrimage route, which starts at Rome, I have forgotten the other place it includes.
Three days to recuperate, and then off to Povoa de Varzim, an interesting place, and the first port in Portugal. We left in light winds, with the wind from astern for a change. When we arrived it was blowing really strongly, which wasn't obvous as we had a lovely goosewinged sail. But coming in to the harbour was a real shock to find a good F6. The entrace to the marina was a bit tight, and one of our friends hit a rock, luckily no damage done, but a healthy bang, nevertheless.
The Rally people took care of all immigration and marina fees, and also allotted our berths as we came in. Then they were there to take lines and things as we moored up. Pavoa was interesting in that the Marina was away from the main town, and when we arrived, it reminded me of Cherbourg twenty years ago, all open spaces and blowing dust. But just a bit back up the coast, 15 mins walk, was a large modern resort with high rise hotels, and loads of shops. And a Casino, where we dined and were entertained. I think there was a modest fee for this, one of the few extra charges we had to pay. The first evening we ate in the sailing club, which I beleivewas especially opened for the Rally.A good meal,and very reasonable. There were two trips organised; we took the coach trip round the town, and up into the hills behind. Can't remember the exact details (there is so much that happened, details are beginning to merge), but we found it very interesting in that we were seeing the country much better than had we gone on our own. Then the second trip was to Opporto, which ws the highlight for Richard, who is very keen on port, and webought a couple of cases. This trip was very god; extremely informative, the guide being one of the Directors of the Company. This seemed to be a popular event among all of us.
The next leg was to Leixoes. We were originally going to miss this port, which would have been the starting point for our Opporto trip, but the marina had suffered a bad fire last year, and was being rebuilt (so they told us- no evidence of work in hand). There was no electricity or water available, but the local sailing club had asked us to stop over, and provided us a superb dinner. We were both very impressed, and when finished, this will be a nice place to call in at.
An over-night stop and we were on our way to Figuera da Foz, a river entrance and a rather enclosed marina (which might explain the rather sewagey smell). This leg was memorable for us because I left the hot tap on and emptied all our water into teh bilges. We were a bit low in water anyway, so it wasn't that bad. But just outside the harbour, there was dense fog. While motoring slowly, getting fenders and warps stowed, I heard voices off to port,and looked up to see a fast fishing launch coming straight at us at what looked like 15 knots plus. I just had time to spin the wheel to avoid being t-boned by him. That was scary, there were only a few feet to spare. I called up the others on the VHF to warn them, and for the rest of the day, you could hear rally yachts warning each other of fast-moving local boats. It was this leg I discovered that a lot of the rally yachts were calling each other on Ch 69, with jokes, limerics, puzzles and songs. This was to prove great fun for a lot of us, and certainly made the sea passages go more quickly. It was only for an hour or two around midday, but really good fun, nevertheless.
We arrived at Figueira da Foz after a long leg, pushing somewhat to get in for a BBQ put on by the local sailing club. It was very good, especially if you like sardines!
The next day we had an early start to Coimbra (hard after all the wine the night before), a University town about 40 odd miles away. We were entertained by the Town, and provided with a wonderful lunch, though I can't for the life of me see why they would welcome us, being so far from the sea.
There was a magnificent library in the University, one of their main attractions. The other was that there was a medieval festival with lots of local peole dressed up in costume. good fun and a good photo opportunity.
We then had a couple of days rest, to do boring things like washing, and stocking up with food (and drink, of course).
Next stop Peniche, 55 miles with no wind. Great, motoring again!
Peniche was a fishing port, with few facilities and a very bouncy marina, due to the fishing boats never going at less that full speedin the harbour. We had another free day here.
Next leg was to Cascais, a lovely place with a very good well-organised marina (I loved it at Cascais, a great place to stay at), and just a half-hour train ride from Lisbon, which we visited the next day. The following day there was an organised coach trip to Sintra and Estoril where they have the Portuguese Grand Prix. Sintra, up in the hills was an interesting place, very touristy and hot. Full of palaces, once the home of the Portuguese kings.
Next, down to Sines, where we had a nice talk given by the mayor (who spoke no English, there was an interpreter), with last year's music festival t-shirts given to us as presents. Its the thought that counts!
Finally, the last leg, 75 miles to Lagos, and we had to be in before 10 pm to get past the lifting bridge and into the marina.
Lagos is a fascinating place, a huge well organised marina, a very touristy town with very good restaurants, and lots to do. A place where one could stay. We met two couples, one of whom had come down with Rally Portugal 5 years ago, and stayed, and the other couple three years ago,and they also had gone no further, either.
The end-of Rally party was excellent, and I won the 'best log' prize. Nearly eveyone won something, well it is a rally not a race.
For me, what made evrything so good, was the organisation, the trips they had set up for us (they have 11years of experience), but mostly the other particpants. We seemed to be one big family by teh end, and it was very sad to leave everyone and set off home.
Which is another story!
The start was almost windless, and we motored for ages SW looking for some breeze. But the mles rolled away beneath our keel, and we began to make VHF contact with other yachts, giving daily positions, and general information. We mostly got in to Bayona during the 4th day, some having gone way outside the separation zone at Finisterre, as far as the 10 deg line, while others, us included stuck more to the rumb line. Those who went out got stronger winds, up to F7 I understand. The Cape was quite windy enough for us, one wave breaking over our stern. We lost the engine at this point, we were keeping the batteries up, when then fuel was low, and sediment got stirred up enough to block the filters. But we had plenty with us. One of the really lovely features of crossing Biscay is the dolphins. We saw loads of them. At one point, in the evening when I was supposed to be on watch, I was reading a book sitting under the sprayhood (facing aft), wheen I glanced sideways, to see a dolphin with its head clear of the front of a wave watching me. The wave was only slowly overtaking us, so it had had a good stare! They seemed to be fascinated by our echo sounder, and any noise we made. I loved seeing them.
Bayona was GREAT! The Club Montereal was a lovely place. I suppose when you realise that the joining fee is 35000 euros (so we were told when I enquired), it is no wonder that they can afford to maintain a very effective service crew. They fixed our fuel tank an hour after I asked for help. Mind you, I went up to Sue Richards the Rally rep, and she got it all organised. Sue and Liz, the other rep, were brilliant. There was a prize giving for the first leg, and we won the 'Smiley Miley' competition, where we had to guess the distance travelled by the shore party.
We went on a trip to Santiago del Compostella, a tourist trap and religious landmark that was well worth the visit. It is the last place on the pilgrimage route, which starts at Rome, I have forgotten the other place it includes.
Three days to recuperate, and then off to Povoa de Varzim, an interesting place, and the first port in Portugal. We left in light winds, with the wind from astern for a change. When we arrived it was blowing really strongly, which wasn't obvous as we had a lovely goosewinged sail. But coming in to the harbour was a real shock to find a good F6. The entrace to the marina was a bit tight, and one of our friends hit a rock, luckily no damage done, but a healthy bang, nevertheless.
The Rally people took care of all immigration and marina fees, and also allotted our berths as we came in. Then they were there to take lines and things as we moored up. Pavoa was interesting in that the Marina was away from the main town, and when we arrived, it reminded me of Cherbourg twenty years ago, all open spaces and blowing dust. But just a bit back up the coast, 15 mins walk, was a large modern resort with high rise hotels, and loads of shops. And a Casino, where we dined and were entertained. I think there was a modest fee for this, one of the few extra charges we had to pay. The first evening we ate in the sailing club, which I beleivewas especially opened for the Rally.A good meal,and very reasonable. There were two trips organised; we took the coach trip round the town, and up into the hills behind. Can't remember the exact details (there is so much that happened, details are beginning to merge), but we found it very interesting in that we were seeing the country much better than had we gone on our own. Then the second trip was to Opporto, which ws the highlight for Richard, who is very keen on port, and webought a couple of cases. This trip was very god; extremely informative, the guide being one of the Directors of the Company. This seemed to be a popular event among all of us.
The next leg was to Leixoes. We were originally going to miss this port, which would have been the starting point for our Opporto trip, but the marina had suffered a bad fire last year, and was being rebuilt (so they told us- no evidence of work in hand). There was no electricity or water available, but the local sailing club had asked us to stop over, and provided us a superb dinner. We were both very impressed, and when finished, this will be a nice place to call in at.
An over-night stop and we were on our way to Figuera da Foz, a river entrance and a rather enclosed marina (which might explain the rather sewagey smell). This leg was memorable for us because I left the hot tap on and emptied all our water into teh bilges. We were a bit low in water anyway, so it wasn't that bad. But just outside the harbour, there was dense fog. While motoring slowly, getting fenders and warps stowed, I heard voices off to port,and looked up to see a fast fishing launch coming straight at us at what looked like 15 knots plus. I just had time to spin the wheel to avoid being t-boned by him. That was scary, there were only a few feet to spare. I called up the others on the VHF to warn them, and for the rest of the day, you could hear rally yachts warning each other of fast-moving local boats. It was this leg I discovered that a lot of the rally yachts were calling each other on Ch 69, with jokes, limerics, puzzles and songs. This was to prove great fun for a lot of us, and certainly made the sea passages go more quickly. It was only for an hour or two around midday, but really good fun, nevertheless.
We arrived at Figueira da Foz after a long leg, pushing somewhat to get in for a BBQ put on by the local sailing club. It was very good, especially if you like sardines!
The next day we had an early start to Coimbra (hard after all the wine the night before), a University town about 40 odd miles away. We were entertained by the Town, and provided with a wonderful lunch, though I can't for the life of me see why they would welcome us, being so far from the sea.
There was a magnificent library in the University, one of their main attractions. The other was that there was a medieval festival with lots of local peole dressed up in costume. good fun and a good photo opportunity.
We then had a couple of days rest, to do boring things like washing, and stocking up with food (and drink, of course).
Next stop Peniche, 55 miles with no wind. Great, motoring again!
Peniche was a fishing port, with few facilities and a very bouncy marina, due to the fishing boats never going at less that full speedin the harbour. We had another free day here.
Next leg was to Cascais, a lovely place with a very good well-organised marina (I loved it at Cascais, a great place to stay at), and just a half-hour train ride from Lisbon, which we visited the next day. The following day there was an organised coach trip to Sintra and Estoril where they have the Portuguese Grand Prix. Sintra, up in the hills was an interesting place, very touristy and hot. Full of palaces, once the home of the Portuguese kings.
Next, down to Sines, where we had a nice talk given by the mayor (who spoke no English, there was an interpreter), with last year's music festival t-shirts given to us as presents. Its the thought that counts!
Finally, the last leg, 75 miles to Lagos, and we had to be in before 10 pm to get past the lifting bridge and into the marina.
Lagos is a fascinating place, a huge well organised marina, a very touristy town with very good restaurants, and lots to do. A place where one could stay. We met two couples, one of whom had come down with Rally Portugal 5 years ago, and stayed, and the other couple three years ago,and they also had gone no further, either.
The end-of Rally party was excellent, and I won the 'best log' prize. Nearly eveyone won something, well it is a rally not a race.
For me, what made evrything so good, was the organisation, the trips they had set up for us (they have 11years of experience), but mostly the other particpants. We seemed to be one big family by teh end, and it was very sad to leave everyone and set off home.
Which is another story!
