Cruising on the Algarve
02 September 2015 | Portugal
Peter
Praia Grande Beach from the cliff top.
This is my first blog since I sailed into the anchorage at Culatra way back in late June which I have got to admit is very remiss of me, but my excuse is that I have not been doing much of great interest to write about. I have just been enjoying living aboard Salara at anchor and soaking up the sun while slurping the occasional cold beer.
I have not been totally idle but have attended to one or two small maintenance jobs on board such as repainting the swim ladder which I should have done during the time Salara was ashore in Faro. However there is nothing like making the job difficult by doing it afloat. It demands more concentration and a very steady hand.
As the days slipped by the anchorage was slowly filling up with cruising yachts as it usually does at the height of summer. I counted almost one hundred yachts at anchor one day. Most of them are normally tucked up in their marina berths for nine moths of the year but when the prices escalate during high season they all go to sea and live at anchor. With such an amount of yachts in the anchorage there are regular problems when the afternoon breeze increases, yachts drag their anchors and cause alarm and consternation as they slowly drift downwind through the fleet with the crew frantically trying to recover the anchor. This is all great entertainment for me provided Salara is well out of the way.
One breakfast time when the tides were favourable for departure I lifted the anchor and headed out to sea, I had decided impulsively over two boiled eggs to go to the anchorage at Portimao some forty miles west along the coast.
It was a good trip despite having to motorsail all the way. As Salara progressed we left the low coastal sand banks behind and the coast transformed into the much more picturesque red cliffs and caves of that part of the Algarve. There are many small coves containing sandy beaches which at this time of year are packed with sunbathers. In my opinion Portugal has some of the best beaches in Europe.
That evening I dropped anchor behind the east breakwater in Portimao and just off the bathing beach off Praia Grande which is a lovely curve of yellow sand. I cracked open a cold beer and watched the sun go down.
This anchorage is quite a convenient one as there is no tidal bar at the entrance so yachts can come and go more or less as they please. It is a handy spot to use as a base for day sails in the bay and easy to return to in the evening, which is what I do if the motivation to sail overcomes my natural idleness.
I did make two short trips from Portimao, one was a three night stay at the marina of Lagos just seven miles away. A bit of an indulgence for me at 45 euros per night but Lagos holds the happy memory of being my first port of call when Salara returned to mainland Europe after her Atlantic crossing. Anyway I played at being a tourist for a couple of days wandering along the waterfront sucking an ice cream. I did not eat out as the restuarant prices were astronomical. Normally if I eat out I choose a local Portuguese place where costs are far lower.
After my short and expensive stay in Lagos I sailed further west along the coast beating into a brisk nothwest breeze and dropped anchor in the bay at Sagres on the westerly end of the Algarve just before the massive headland of Cap St. Vincent. It is a bay which is traditionally used by yachts awaiting favourable winds to head north up the coast. I had not been in there before but thought that I should investigate it for future use which would probably be, dare I say it, during a return to UK.
I stayed there one night and then the next day I enjoyed a great sail back to Portimao using just the large genoa and the mizzen sail. Salara sails very upright and comfortably in a strong breeze using this combination, not much work for the skipper to do either.
Once more back in Portimao I settled into my liveaboard routine but a few days later I was cursed with toothache which made me feel miserable. Sebastion, the Dutchman from Red Max, dinghied across with half a bottle of brandy to ease the pain, a generous gesture that sustained me over the week end.
When Monday arrived I zoomed up to the main town in the dinghy and found a dentist who arranged an appointment for the Wednesday apologising that it could not be sooner as the other dentist was on holiday. So back to the brandy bottle until Wednesday when I was on time for my appointment and within a few minutes I was ushered into the very modern surgery and into the dentists chair. It was all over quite swiftly and as I left the receptionist charged me 35 euros, so as well as having my pain cured it was painless to the wallet as well.
I stayed at anchor for a further week or so just having the occasional swim and socialising with other yachties mainly Len from Colonel Bogey who is another old overseas contractor like me and a younger couple Bruce and Caroline from Flirtie.
Eventually I had to leave as I had noticed that the cranking battery that starts the engine was failing so it made sense to head back to Ayamonte via Culatra and buy a replacement.
I had another pleasant trip to Culatra although I did have to motorsail for a part of it to keep in time with my passage plan. As there was no desperate urgency to continue onwards I stayed at anchor in Culatra and enjoyed more lazy days before seizing on a good wind forecast and heading out to sea once again.
After a few hours I could make out another yacht ahead of Salara and as she slowly overhauled it I recognised it as Flirtie with Bruce and Caroline aboard. Both yachts arrived at the entrance to the Rio Guadiana at about the same time with Salara slightly ahead. I showed off by sailing in and all the way up the river to Ayamonte. I know it all fairly well now so it is not as daunting as it once was. I motored Salara into the marina and Bruce and Caroline took my lines as they had entered before me having motored past Salara in the river.
The next day I bought a new 100 Ah battery from the chandler and fitted it in place on Salara. Unfortunately I was just finishing tightening the terminals when I managed to short out the battery charger in a big way. I should have known better and disconnected it. So once again I had to go to the chandler and order a replacement from the UK at a cost of 477 euros. The delivery would take ten days so the best plan was to go up the Rio Guadiana and anchor free of charge while I waited, so after a meal of tapas and beers with Bruce and Caroline I once again headed up river to Sanlucar and Alcoutim. Once again I was fated to spend time in the Rio Guadiana but there are far worse places to spend it.