The Rio Guadiana Again.
19 May 2014 | Spain
Peter
The perpetual customs man at Alcoutim, Portugal.
I returned to Faro, Portugal by an Easyjet flight from Gatwick
on the 11 March. After a ten minute taxi ride I was at the boatyard where ’Salara’ had been safely secured in a steel cradle over the winter months. I borrowed a ladder to get on board and I was happy to be back.
There was the usual maintenance work to be done but that could wait until tomorrow as the first job was to head for the supermarket to buy food. The sun was shining and I looked forward to having my first meal on board this year.
‘Salara’ was dry down below and there was no evidence of any leaks from the new windows that I had fitted in Greece last year.
I examined the under water sections of the hull and found a few places where attention was necessary before I could apply the antifouling.
As there is no chandler in Faro, a few days later I went by train to Villa Real San Antonio on the Portuguese border then crossed the Guadiana river by ferry to Ayamonte in Spain to visit Ayamarine where I knew I could buy the antifouling I required as well as a few more items. It is a pleasant trip and the train trundles along the coast stopping at all the small towns along the way. I missed my return train by minutes as I was encumbered by tins of paint, coils of rope and other yachtie hardware. I then had three hours to wait for the next train, the only train in fact. The station staff closed up and disappeared so I clanked away with my purchases to a nearby café for some lunch and a beer. Later I returned to the station stretched out on a seat and dozed until my train arrived.
On board ‘Salara’ I had a tin of a French antifouling that I purchased in Greece some time ago, I had decided to use this around the waterline as there was not enough to cover the whole hull, I would then do a full coat using the type that I had just purchased. I had tested them for compatibility and they seemed friendly. So that was what I did, all the under water work was now complete and ‘Salara’ could be launched off on the next spring tide.
I made arrangements to launch her on the 28 March but as that date approached the weather turned nasty and for the first time ever I cancelled a launch off due to rain and high winds. It seemed far better for me to stay ashore within easy reach of supermarket, hardware store and the local chicken shack than to be sat out at anchor in the Ria Formosa unable to go anywhere.
I have to admit that I became lazy and it was not until the 29 April that ‘Salara was back in the water a full six weeks after I had arrived in Portugal.
I followed the boatyard pilot down the narrow twisting channel to the start of the main navigation system and then anchored for the night and over the next few days sorted ‘Salara’ out to go to sea. When she was ready I steered her through the marshes towards the sea but instead of leaving the Ria Formosa completely I anchored in company with ‘Three Fishes’ a Tradewind 35 in the lee of Ilha Culatra for a few days.
I had been undecided about my sailing plans for this summer and in desperation to actually move from the Ria Formosa and start the ball rolling I sailed with a fair wind east along the coast to Ayamonte and the Rio Guadiana. ‘Salara’ is now anchored just down river from twin towns of Alcoutim and Sanlucar twenty miles from the sea up the Rio Guadiana which forms part of the border between Portugal and Spain. This place draws me back time and again as it is deep in the countryside where in the past the locals boosted their income with smuggling. At dawn I awake to the sound of birds singing and the river gurgling past the boat otherwise there is silence.
Since ‘Salara’ has been afloat and relying on her own 12 volt electrical system it has become apparent that the three 105 Ah batteries comprising the domestic bank are reaching the end of their useful lives and must be renewed. Unfortunately I will have to stay in the Rio Guadiana and await a three week delivery period for these. In the meantime I have had to turn the fridge off to minimise the load on the batteries. Therefore no cold beer. This cruising life is full of hardship!