Ilha da Culatra - solitary confinement?
Before we left Vilamoura for the more remote anchorage of Ilha da Culatra we spent an evening with Hanna and Jochen from Lycka who were undecided as to whether to go onto Madeira or head east. Part of the appeal of this life is that you can decide to stop or go as the fancy takes you but unlike Chris and I, our German friends do not seem to have decided a long term goal of reaching anywhere in particular and so, frequently, change their plans. We said our goodbyes fully expecting that we were unlikely to meet again until next year sometime, if at all!
The morning of our departure dawned, sunny with a light breeze and with last minute shopping for gas completed and lunch eaten we set off at 1340, passing Kasara who was moored on the reception pontoon awaiting the return of her skipper, Paul, with the additional chain he wanted for his anchor. The breeze was from the southeast and we had to tack if we wanted to sail - and that we did. About an hour or so later we were just about moving at 3.5 knots and we guessed that the boat in the distance behind was Kasara. She seemed to be catching us up and we realised she was motoring. Determined, we continued to sail but by 1600 it was clear that with this breeze we would not arrive at the tricky entrance into the lagoon until dusk so we reluctantly turned on the engine.
The wind died completely and a mirror sea greeted us between the moles of Ilha da Culatra and Cabo de Santa Maria. The lagoon has several channels, one leading to Faro where the international airport is based and another to Olhao, a major fishing port. Our destination, however, was an anchorage off the Ilha de Culatra a rather desolate, sandy island but home to a community of fishermen and their families as well as a number of semi-permanent “yachties”. A number of visiting yachts were already anchored and we chose our spot, some distance from Roxi, who had arrived from Tavira that same evening. Kasara and Fai of Arne also anchored nearby so with an invitation to join them later for drinks, I set to pumping up the dinghy while Chris tackled the task of dinner!
This whole area is a “Parque Natural” and we were particularly delighted when a stork flew elegantly past La Premiere one afternoon. The island itself has few vehicles; we spotted the odd tractor. Its main street consisted of concrete slabs laid directly on the sand and the footpath over the dunes to the Atlantic beach was made with railway sleepers! The afternoon atmosphere was studded with chatter from the frequent bars along the street, the single story houses were adorned with flowers and dogs dozed in the doorways. The people clearly relied on fishing to make their living but a ferry service to and fro Olhao kept them in touch with the mainland.
The channels to the towns were
well buoyed but at high water it was possible to take the dinghy straight
across the lagoon to Olhao. Five
members of the crews of Fai of Arne and Roxi went that way at dusk one
evening to get dinner in town, all in one dinghy, and on arrival were
promptly arrested by the port authorities there for not carrying a light
or fire extinguisher, not wearing lifejackets, and overloading the dinghy
which was impounded! They
had to get a water taxi back to their yachts and the next morning the two
skippers were collected by the Marinah water police boat and spent many
hours sorting out the situation, including a £60 fine!
Needless to say, they headed straight back to Vilamoura to drown
their sorrows!
Much as we liked the peace and quiet of this solitary place we wanted to explore the river Guadiana on the border between Portugal and Spain. Our only time commitment being the visit by Chris’ parents on 21st October. They were flying into Jerez and we planned to be in El Puerto for that week. So, it was time to move on.