Povoa De Varzim to Cascais

With the auto helm repaired we set off feeling excited that we were on our way at last and to bless our escape from Povoa we were accompanied by a small pod of dolphins. Our enthusiasm was short-lived when the auto helm went "walkabout" again. After a quick conference we decided that we would carry on the old-fashioned way with manual helming and look for a Raymarine Dealer in another marina to have it properly sorted.

It was a grey day, the wind less than a 3 so we motored for the 12 hours it took us to reach Figueira da Foz and light was fading fast as I steered us in, dodging the many fishing pots, so helpfully positioned in the way of port entrances. Steve booked us in and was told to go where he could find a space, not easy as it was pretty full. As we were not given a card for the pontoon it was fun getting back there after a shower but some locals were helpful and kept an eye open for us when we returned to go for a meal. I can only do the basics "please, thank you etc" in Portuguese and the waitress seemed confused by my order for Sea Bass so I repeated it to make sure. Five minutes later a huge Gin and Tonic arrived! I was relieved to receive only one fish - you never know.

The following day we set off for Nazare. A small pleasant marina with 2 main pontoons, next to a fish dock so there were a few fish heads floating about but the smell was ok. We were late arriving so had to raft on to a Swedish yacht. In the next hour another 2 boats came in and rafted onto us with the same thing happening on the other pontoon. We were tired so after drinks with another couple on their boat, swapping stories we didn't fancy walking into the town.

The next morning we were met by a rather cross Harbour master who turned out to be English. He was much exercised by the fact that the pontoons were anchored and not on piles so the strain of the rafted boats was a worry for him. He was relieved most of us weren't stopping and even gave us his top tip of how to get to Cascais quicker by going a little further out than we planned to catch a current which would hurry us along, near the islands off Peniche.

We saw lots of dolphins off the islands and the sun was shinning but the current was having a day off so we finally got to Cascais at 10pm in the dark, dodging the pots on the way. Some as you can see not so easy to spot even in daylight!