Mathias is on his way to help someone in his dinghy who is having difficulties with his engine and cannot row against the current and wind.
With the SAN in the marina: In order to adjust the newly sewn helm enclosure, we had to go to the marina’s reception jetty for a few hours. Contrary to what the companies working on our boat told us, the marina charges for this. It also is inconvenient for us. We have to get the fenders out and need a day with not too much wind to be able to leave the marina again easily. It would be easier if the workers came to us at the anchorage and that journey would also be shorter for them. But, as the saying goes, why keep it simple when you can make it complicated?
On land on the Ferragudo side: Refuelling by canister: This has the advantage that you can fill up with Ultimate, i.e. bio-free diesel. Boat diesel is not used up as quickly as diesel in a car and therefore the risk of diesel pest in the tank is greater. So far, our tank is still very clean and we want to keep it that way. The picture on the right shows our collected shopping. We had only planned to stock up on basic foodstuffs, but we ended up with a lot of fruit and vegetables in our bags. 🙂
Canoeing regatta around our boat:
he wreck on the beach looks very battered, but has now been removed:
Once again, the weatherforecast showed bad weather with winds from an unfavourable direction. Just like last time, in the late afternoon we were asked to leave the anchorage. This time by a very bad-tempered policewoman who insisted that we would only be allowed to sail up the river if the marina confirmed that it had no room for us. The marina didn’t reply in the late afternoon and we had already been turned down so many times that we decided to leave the harbour altogether. We travelled around 14 nm to the anchorage off Albufeira. We spent a few restless days there. Our anchor held well, but the unfavourable wind that blew into the bay often brought 2m waves, sometimes up to around 3m. In such weather, it is possible to get seasick at anchor, which of course happened to me after a few days. We realised that it was heavy weather indeed, when one side of our snubber tore. We had already pondered whether we should replace the rope. Well, the decision was made for us. Luckily, we have a second snubber on board (for the second anchor), so we were able to swap it in calmer weather.
When the weather briefly calmed down, another police boat came by and spoke to us on the VHF radio. They were very surprised that we had been virtually kicked out of the harbour and said we could complain about that. The officer gave us permission to return to Portimao and anchor in the river. He said that only the outer anchorage was closed due to the weather. As we had had enough of the rocking, we followed his advice and sailed back to Portimao against the wind and waves.
We spent two wonderfully calm days in the river, then the weather improved and the space in the river was needed again for a large ship as a turning circle, so changing position again, back in the anchorage area in the estuary. There are now a number of boats moored here, including a second Neel trimaran from Denmark.
Mathias’ activities in the picture:
The three addresses for electronic accessories:
On the road in Portimão:
Early morning mist over the city:
We are also getting round to tidying up, the spring clean is not yet complete, but a start has been made 😉
As has often been the case, our orders to local companies are taking longer than expected. This can no longer stress us out. On a positive note, there is plenty of sunshine again and therefore an abundance of electricity – which means hot shower water. 🙂
