Tuesday
0000 hrs
Lat: 37° 01.25'N
Long: 007° 56.65'W
0600 hrs
The sun woke me early, hot and bright even this early in the morning! I clambered off the boat to look round the boatyard before the start of a very busy day. After a shower and teeth brushing we all headed up to the local supermarket.
Finding a cafe beside the supermarket we dived in for a morning coffee and a small Portuguese custard bun, both were delicious. The top priority was food, I wandered round the supermarket quite lost as I had no idea what people liked and was bewildered by the different ingredients. I ended up pushing the trolley and letting Dan and Stuart fill it. We then all tottered back to the yard carrying six carrier bags each. Then had the fun of getting the heavy bags onboard.
With everything packed away we got the boat for the yard team to transport the boat to the quay. Thankfully, the skipper had done this sort of thing many times before and we all got on with the jobs in hand.
1015 hrs
The boat transporter arrived and the yard team placed the slings under the boat, removed the retaining straps from the cradle, lifted her and we were slowly moved to the launch quay. I've never seen retaining staps over a boat before and thought it was a very good idea.
Boat launch at the yard.
After lowering her into the water, always a nervous moment as you dash onboard to check for leaks and fire up the engine. Much to everybody's relief fired up first time. The fuel tanks were topped up and the jerry cans filled with diesel. The boat was then walked round to the waiting pontoon while a second boat was launched.
1130 hrs
Lat: 37° 01.27'N
Long: 007° 56.74'W
Departure. As the route from the yard to main navigation channel is shallow and narrow the yard has a pilot dory that leads the way to the first official buoy then you are on your own. I can't think why the skipper handed me the wheel perhaps it was because I used to keep a boat on the Exe and used to steering with very little water under the keel. At one point we had 0.5 metres and even I was getting nervous as it was not my boat. Several times as we followed the dory the engine stopped, always a heart in mouth moment, but thankfully restarted. Just some air in the fuel lines.
1200 hrs
Lat: 37° 00.67'N
Long: 007° 56.54'W
By the time we had the sails on we were passing the majestic lighthouse at Faro it was purring along nicely and we left the safety of the huge lagoon of Faro and into the open sea.
On arriving on the open sea we turned west and started the long journey to Falmouth. We knew the weather forecast was giving winds in the wrong direction and then very light winds during the first day we bashed into the swell before tuning north at Cape St Vincent in the middle of the night and heading up the Portuguese coast towards Lisbon.
2300 hrs
Lat: 36° 58.88'N
Long: 008° 47.42'W
Off watch, headed below for some sleep after a long day. Actually quite an uncomfortable night as the boat slammed into the waves and I was attempting to sleep in the forecabin.
All times are UTC.
Trip Stats
| |
Underway |
Distance |
Avg
SOG |
Max
SOG |
Night
Hours |
| Day: |
12h 30m
|
53.20
|
4.40
|
6.00
|
4h 30m
|
| Trip: |
12h 30m
|
53.20
|
4.40
|
6.00
|
4h 30m
|
Crew: Dan Judges (Skipper), Stuart Corbett, Sandy Garrity
Sunrise: 0543
hrs Sunset: 1930
hrs
Weather: The shipping forecast issued by the Met Office, on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, at 05:05 (UTC+1) on Tue 9 Aug 2022 for the period 07:00 (UTC+1) on Tue 9 Aug 2022 to 07:00 (UTC+1) on Wed 10 Aug 2022.
Trafalgar (issued 2315 UTC)
Northerly or northwesterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 3 or less for a time in east. Moderate in west, slight in east. Showers, fog patches near portuguese coast. Good, but occasionally very poor near portuguese coast.
© Met Office Synoptic Chart 09/08/2022
