We are in the marina in Lagos, Portugal on the Algarve, with very warm days, cool nights, long sandy beaches, and quite windy afternoons and evenings having completed the ARC Portugal rally and said our official goodbyes. For the 3 ½ weeks of the rally, we have had 5 boats to travel with, a planned itinerary, organized dinners and excursions (like grown-up summer camp). Most importantly, we have had Manuel (pronounced Manel- only took us a week or so to get this correct) - our ARC Portugal coordinator - to direct, translate, problem solve, and catch our lines when we have arrived at each very windy marina.

Having a group of travel companions to share adventures on and off the boats has been super, or in "British", the language of all of our fellow sailors, brilliant!


Our last port before Lagos was Sines, a harbor 55 miles north of Cape St Vincente and with a proud history of trade from the Phoenician time on. In each harbor, ARC Portugal has a nearly 30 year history of local dignitaries greeting participants and hosting a dinner. We were hosted by the Mayor of Sines and then given a tour of the Sines Castle and Museum, probably my favorite of the trip. This castle was originally the home of Vasco da Gama's father and has been artfully restored. The location of the castle was in one of the few natural harbors along the West Coast of Portugal and was and is a resting/refueling spot for traders, pirates, and the military since several thousand years BCE traveling between Europe and the Mediterranean. The museum beautifully tells the story of the robust trade of this region through coins, jewelry, and other artifacts.


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Our last sail, from Sines to Lagos (75nm) was quite sporty, with swells of 2+ meters and winds 20-30 knots. We put up and gybed the pole carefully given the conditions but with confidence. We have a better feel for sail trim. David and I have been reflecting on lessons learned over the past month. We are proud of our increased confidence in the boat and in our skills sailing in windier and in downwind conditions (through never too confident as we are always under the watchful eyes of the wind goddess, who can be unpredictable at times to us mortals).



We are looking forward to the next few weeks, having my brother Brian and then friends Maggie and Bill visit us. With this time, we will explore the coast to the East in a relaxed fashion. After our guests, we will prepare to cross to the Canary Islands. We have set a date to begin looking for a weather window to head to the Canaries for September 26th. Our friend, Alden, will join us for this passage, which is about 640nm (5 days). After the experience of the last few weeks, we feel ready for this next passage.