Emerald Tales

Currently sailing the eastern Atlantic visiting Maderia, the Canary Islands and the Azores

26 August 2024 | Terceira, Azores
18 August 2024 | Sao Louenco Bay, Santa Maria Island
08 August 2024 | Santa Marina, Azores
13 July 2024 | Santa Maria, Azores
22 March 2024 | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
01 March 2024 | Porto Santo
23 February 2024 | Porto Santo
22 January 2024 | Madeira
15 December 2023 | Porto Santo
13 October 2023 | Porto Santo
15 September 2023 | Porto Santo
09 August 2023 | Porto Santo, Madeira
28 July 2023 | Porto Santo, Madeira
23 June 2023 | Porto Santo
15 January 2023 | Porto Santo

Cascais to Sines; 57nm travelled

06 October 2013 | Sines, Portugal
Nichola / dry, warm
Saturday 5th October
Cascais is the separation point between boats heading to the Med and those crossing the Atlantic. As we set off south others aimed south-west for the Canaries or Madeira.

Another long motor, the wind has gone back northerly but is so light we only managed 45 minutes of sailing before the lack of speed made us give up. We haven't had much weather luck with the Portuguese stretch of coast. The winds look set to stay light and then go southerly again over the next week so we're pushing on rather than risk getting stuck on the Atlantic coast.

Blue skies, wispy clouds. We did manage to use the Hydrovane (named Tonto, yes we name our boat machinery!) for the first time during our brief sail.

The main excitement of the trip was still being slightly inside the danger area for live firing by the Portuguese navy. We could see their war ship lurking in the distance so turned 90 degrees and headed for the eastern boundary of the area. It was only 20 minutes away but we did hear a bang before we were completely clear, luckily they fired in the opposite direction to us!

As we neared Sines the wind picked up to F5 and we briefly thought about pushing on to round the Cape but decided against it and went into Sines instead. Inside the bay the wind and chop eased and there was plenty of space. When we set the anchor it dragged the first two times, held on the third set and with a forth set for luck we were happy with it.
Comments
Vessel Name: Emerald
Vessel Make/Model: Kelly Peterson 44
Hailing Port: No fixed abode
Crew: Colin 'Skip' Wright, Nichola Wright
About: One from Northern Ireland, one from Yorkshire, UK
Extra: Emerald has been our home since 2004. We've sailed around the UK, the western Baltic and have spent 7 years in the Med. We're currently in Portugal, planning a refit. Lot's more information about us and the boat can be found at www.yachtemerald.com
Home Page: https://www.yachtemerald.com/
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