Lisbon

How I ever got up regularly at 6.15a.m. I do not know.  By 0645 on Wednesday 30th August we were pottering out of Leixoes marina, in disbelief at the fact we had set off before Ian and Jo!  We were treated to a beautiful sunrise over Porto.  Perhaps it was a reward for rising so early!  

We knew there would be little hope of sailing for the first few hours and Zephyrus, with their more powerful engine had soon caught up and overtaken us.  We finally turned the engine off at around 11a.m. and managed the now customary hour with the kite before lunch.  A Dutch yacht was giving chase but as the wind increased we succeeded in pulling away, even though he still had his spinnaker up.  We had to put a reef in the main shortly after 1400 and we were still maintaining the 7 knot mark.  A couple of hours later we took the main down completely and sailed in on the jib alone - a really good sail.  Lobster pots galore were scattered in the approach to Figueira but we made it through!  We had arrived in the river about an hour after high water and the ebb tide was significant enough to notice as we motored the last half-mile into the marina.  

The most entertaining thing in Figueira was our berthing strategy.  In order to report in we had tied alongside a French Super Maramu on the reception berth.  Once both yachts had registered with the authorities I began to untie us from the rather luxurious French yacht but they offered no help and I couldn't get back onto La Premiere before she and Chris were pushed off with the wind.  With hindsight I should have double backed and slipped the lines but meanwhile I was left stranded!  Chris called to me to meet him on the pontoon as it was too tricky with the French boat already half untied to try and collect me again.  So, I jumped off onto the quayside only to find that the entrance to the marina was about half a mile up the road and then I'd have to run all the way back along the pontoon.  I set off running, much to the amusement of the locals and a uniformed guard called out a code number to me for the gate the other end!  By the time I reached the finger berth Chris was already tied up next to Zephyrus and they were all laughing at me, or should I say with me!

We only stayed over night in Figueira, other than a brief wander in the morning.  We had decided to sail onto Nazare, only a relatively short hop of thirty miles.  We cast off at 1230 and to our horror, as we unfurled the genoa I spotted a tear near the luff.  We furled it straight back in and got up the main instead.  On studying the pilot book we discovered that the nearest sail repair facility would be Lisbon, about 100 miles away.  We considered our options for sometime and finally came to the conclusion that given the settled weather conditions we would be best off sailing all the way to Cascais, just outside Lisbon, overnight!  Sounds familiar! (See Arcachon!)

Of course, we could only use the main sail but with downwind conditions this seemed fine.  For a brief moment we tried the cruising chute but by the time we had sorted the hourglass of our first attempt I was reaching 7 knots with just the main so we abandoned any further thought of the kite!  We were visited several times by dolphins, although fleetingly and around sunset we put one reef in.  The wind was maintaining a steady 14 or 15 knots apparent and the swell was around one and a half meters.

The wind and waves continued all night.  We kept thinking the wind would die down but it never did.  We took it in turn to catnap, but I found it too noisy to sleep and when Chris went down I ended up waking him to look at something I wasn't sure about.  The lights of fishing boats can be very confusing at night and with only a few night passages under my belt I still find judging speed and distances of other vessels very difficult.  We passed one mad yacht sailing into the wind around Berlengo and at one point had to gybe to avoid a fishing boat.  We were thrown into a bit of a turmoil when an announcement over channel 16 to a "vessel heading south at a speed of 4 knots" furiously explained that "you are in the Northbound shipping lane".  We checked and double-checked our position and finally decided it was nothing to do with us!  This was confirmed sometime later when the same voice boomed, "You are fishing in the traffic separation zone!  Go back to school, please!"  At least we were entertained for a short while.

In the early hours of the morning we put a 2nd reef in the main because we were sailing at over 7 knots.  This reduced our speed a little but by 6a.m. the wind was gusting beyond force 7 and we had to get the main down.  With no jib that left us with the engine, which was a little worrying in the dark because of the lobster pots.  After 20 minutes of being on tenterhooks we decided that the genoa would survive if we only unfurled it a little way, and it had to be better than risking the prop.  As the sun rose over Cascais we were bouncing around in over thirty knots of wind and with a tiny bit of jib we were still sailing at over six knots.  A large black cloud seemed to be chasing us in and as I shouted at the waves that I'd had enough everything began to ease off!!!  We followed the buoys into the new Cascais marina and berthed onto the reception pontoon with the biggest sigh of relief!  It was 0755.  

Arriving at Cascais had one big plus.  I could open the plastic wrapped and sealed envelope that my sister, Ginette, had given me on our departure from England some five months ago.  She had lived in Lisbon for several months while she was a student and the envelope had "Not to be opened until you reach Lisbon" written all over it, but we had agreed that Cascais was near enough!  It was the first thing we did after tying up and we were delighted to find some Escudos to pay for a meal out and a letter suggesting places to visit and food to try.

The office didn't open until 9a.m. so we tidied up a bit and had a well-earned cup of tea and a bowl of Cornflakes!  The girl in the reception could not have been more friendly and helpful.  She gave us all the maps and bits 'n ' pieces, used the computer system to allocate us a berth and the good news was that the prices quoted in our pilot book were almost double the rate we have been charged.  Either a mistake was made or the Cascais Marina has had to reduce prices to be more competitive!  Whatever the reason, by the time we had motored round to our pontoon, two young men had been radioed to meet us and take our ropes!  I was quite impressed!  We had a quick wash and brush up and then set off on our quest with the split genoa to find a sailmakers.  The marina staff had said our best bet was Belem, in Lisbon and this was also in our pilot book.  So, with Chris lugging the sail bag we walked through Cascais to the train station, got on a train which went one stop too far to Alcantara, wandered to Alcantara Marina where the office staff gave us an address of the only sailmaker, trekked to find a taxi which finally dropped us off at about 12.30pm outside a building which could have been a house.  It was the right place though, and once through the door it was clear that they were set up to do sail repairs.  Thank goodness!

Having sorted the sail we decided to go back to Cascais for lunch and a rest.  We were just surfacing after a much-needed snooze when there was a loud knock on the side of the boat.  It was Walter and Rita off Noa!  Their boat was in Alcantara but they had come into Cascais for lunch and spotted us.  A bottle of wine later and we had organised to go out the following evening for a meal in Lisbon.  (I had my sister's present after all!)  Saturday was spent half sleeping and mainly resting until our evening meal.  None of our other friends had reached Lisbon and so the four of us went to a "local" restaurant that served fantastic seafood.  Walter and Rita are both teachers in Germany and have taken a sabbatical year to sail all over the place!  They plan to turn right when we turn left and go across to Madeira, the Canaries and eventually the Caribbean!  A bit more adventurous than us!  

On Sunday we began our exploration of Lisbon, starting with the Alfama district recommended by my sister.  The steep, winding cobbled streets took us past colourful houses and beautiful churches until we reached the crenellated towers of Castelo Sao Jorge from where the view of the city was stunning.  The only problem was the early evening light, which was not good for photos so we decided we'd have to venture back earlier one morning, and maybe take the little tram to save our weary legs!  Halfway back down we stopped for beer and cakes in a tiny little bar.  It was so cheap, only 35p for the beer!  We reached the area called Baixa and found the neo-gothic Elevador de Santa Justa, a wrought iron elevator designed by a pupil of Eiffel.  The view from the top was once again outstanding and we began to realise that we would be spending a fair number of days in Lisbon.  Unfortunately, many places are shut on Mondays as we found to our cost!  It didn't much matter for the monument to Henry the Navigator or the famous Torre de Belem but we will have to go back to the Monastery and besides, it will be a good excuse to have another Pasteis and coffee in the oldest pastry shop in town!