Leg 8 – Sines to Lagos – 30 June 2017

On Friday 30^th June we completed our final leg of the ARC Portugal Rally from Sines to Lagos. Departing at 0600 this was to be our longest coastal leg. We set sail just as the sun started to rise over the hilltops of Sines and the horizon was scattered with cruising chutes and spinnakers. A strong northerly breeze stayed with us for our 75nm passage and once again we sailed in the company of dolphins and whales. 

Lagos marina is accessed via a lifting footbridge and arriving yachts generally have to moor temporarily to the holding pontoon pending arrival formalities and (of course) the bridge lifting. We arrived on the pontoon at 1740 after a tiring day to await our berthing instructions. We then joined the other rally boats that had already arrived and waited for the rest of the fleet to complete the leg. After a celebratory drink on the pontoon with our rally friends, we then adjourned to one of the marina bars for supper and further liquid refreshments!

Lifting Bridge and Holding Pontoon

All Rally boats safely moored

Marina de Lagos

The following day (1^st July) we were free to explore Lagos. Marina de Lagos do a fantastic job of welcoming the ARC Portugal fleet and each of us received a goody bag filled with useful information and a self-guided walking tour that takes in the history and highlights of Lagos. That night the rally culminated with Marina de Lagos hosting the final prize giving. We were treated to welcome drinks on the terrace followed by a delicious three-course dinner. World Cruising Club team member Charlie Pierce started the night by thanking all the participants for an incredible rally and then proceeded to summarise the memorable moments and recalling some anecdotes from the previous few weeks. Each boat was presented with two specially engraved plaques, one from World Cruising Club, and one from Marina de Lagos.

Welcome drinks on the terrace

Prize giving - Snow Goose!

Prize Giving Dinner

ARC Portugal - Completion Plaque

 Altogether we have sailed more than 1,000 miles in the last 3 weeks. The friendships, memories, and experiences we have shared on the rally will no doubt continue long into the future. Like us, many of our new friends are planning to cruise the Mediterranean over the coming months, others will be crossing the Atlantic together and several boats are joining the World ARC. In the meantime, we have decided to keep Snow Goose in Lagos for a few weeks to enjoy a well-earned break and take in more of what the Algarve has to offer.

Ponte de Piedade

The Rally Flag!

Leg 7 – Oeiras to Sines – 28/29 June 2017

Snow Goose under full sail

We gathered on the start line in Oeiras at 1000 on Wednesday 28^th June ready for our 50nm passage down to Sines. This turned out to be one of the best sailing legs of the whole trip and we were in good spirits, having really enjoyed a fast 50-mile sail down the coast from Oeiras. Constant winds from behind pushed us along in the warm sunshine and we once again enjoyed the company of dolphins. We arrived at around 1800 in the very picturesque marina, which is tucked into one corner of a break-watered bay. A sweeping golden sand beach further enhances the idyllic setting.

Sines Marina nestled in the bay

The beach outside the marina

Sines Seafront

Sines is a hidden gem along the Portuguese coastline and remains a long way off the tourist trail so it was good to see more of the real Portugal. This was one of our favourite places of the whole trip. The quaint town nestles into the hillside where restaurant menus are written on small chalk boards, usually with several extremely tasty local options.

Thursday (29^th June) started with a welcome from the Mayor’s representative who welcomed ARC Portugal back to Sines. We then had a guided tour of the local castle that was once home to Vasco de Gama. After the tour we gathered on the terrace for the prize giving for leg 7.

We spent the rest of the day exploring the sights and side streets of Sines and took the opportunity to replenish some of our dwindling liquid stores!

Leg 6 – Peniche to Oeiras (& Lisbon) – 25/27 June 2017

Marquis de Pombal Square - Lisbon

Because we were all rafted at Peniche it was not possible to have a formal start to this leg. Instead, we recorded our own start times as the boats were disentangled! After a drizzly start to the day we were greeted with blue skies and sunshine. Again we had light winds and we motorsailed for a fair part of the trip south, in the company of another school of dolphins. We arrived into Oeiras at 1800 on Sunday afternoon and had a frustrating time trying to moor in a very compact marina with very strong cross winds as a result of rather convoluted and confusing berthing instructions!

On Monday (26^th) we departed for a tour of Oeiras. The tour started at the Barcarena Gun Powder Factory and museum. This was followed with a guided tour of the Palace of the Marquis of Pombal and culminated in wine tasting at the historic wine cellar. The bus then dropped us at a local supermarket to replenish our stores and we had the afternoon to explore Oeiras.

Entrace Hall Fireplace at the Palace

Palace Gardens

Wine Cellar

In the evening there was a prize giving dinner at the opening night of one of the marina’s restaurants, “Charqal”. Due to the short time spent in Peniche prizes were awarded for legs 5 and 6, after which we were treated to a three-course dinner cooked by a famous Portuguese chef.

Rally Participants at the dinner

Keith & Val enjoying the dinner

 

On Tuesday (27^th) we took the train into Lisbon for a break and a day’s sightseeing. The open-top buses operate on a number of routes around the city and we took two tours; one of the city centre and one of the wider city. These were separated by lunch at the Martinho da Arcada; a very stylish restaurant in one of the historic city centre squares.

Martinho de Arcada Restaurant

Walking in Lisbon

  

Avenida de Liberdade!

Lisbon Town Hall

 Lisbon is a beautiful city, full of history. We took dozens of photographs and will definitely try to return one day.

Leg 5 – Figueira da Foz to Peniche – 24 June 2017

At 0830 on Saturday morning we left Figueira da Foz and although the wind was light we sailed over the start line. However, after about an hour of sailing we had to turn our engine on once again to make progress towards Peniche. Dolphins surrounded us for a couple of hours, a sight that become used to.

The small Portuguese fishing port of Peniche is spectacularly set on a headland surrounded by sea. It remains a working port and gave us the chance to experience a bit more of the Portuguese culture. We arrived at 1700 and because the marina is very small we had to raft up 4 deep on the visitors pontoon.

 

The Fleet Rafting Up

Once we were all safely moored we headed in to town for an organised dinner at restaurant MiraMar where we were able to try freshly caught seafood. Halfway through the supper there was an unexpected visit from the local Mayor who came to welcome us and presented us all with tins of Peniche Mackerel.

Supper at the Miramar Restaurant

Outside, the streets started to crowd and the Mayor explained that there was a special race that night called Corridad Das Fogueiras which attracts 4000 runners. This involved a 15k circuit around Peniche in the dark, which we had to cross to get back to Snow Goose. Unfortunately we could only stay one night du to the delayed start to the rally and we returned to prepare for an early start to Oeiras the following morning.

Leg 4 - Porto to Figueira da Foz – 22/23 June 2017

We were up early on Thursday (22^nd June) and left Porto at 0900 sailing south to Figuera da Foz. After a slow start from Porto the afternoon breeze kicked in and once again we had a mixture of motorsailing and downwind sailing. 69 miles later (rather than 55 as indicated on the rally information) we had to negotiate a huge number of pot buoys around the approach to the breakwater. However, we finally arrived at the marina in Figueira da Foz at around 1800 that evening. Mooring here was something of a challenge as a result of the really tight berth allocated to Snow Goose. We accomplished it though and, once safely moored up, we wandered up the pontoon to the marina restaurant where we were treated to unlimited sardines cooked on the BBQ, beer and wine.

 

Snow Goose Mooring

Friday (23^rd June) was a busy day starting with an official welcome reception at the town hall presented by the Vice President of the local council and the Commodore of Club Nautico Figueira da Foz, Miguel Amaral. The local authorities expressed their gratitude towards the rally and presented World Cruising Club with a plaque. The city was in turn thanked for their continued support and each of us received a bag of gifts from the port.

Town Hall Presentation

On Friday afternoon we visited Coimbra where we had a guided tour of the incredible university and the local old town; both of which are World Heritage Sites.

That evening the tour continued on to Montemor Castle, which had stunning views over the surrounding Portuguese countryside. All in all a very tiring but very interesting stay in Figueira.

In the evening we were free to explore Figueira da Foz. Due to the rescheduled itinerary the rally happened to coincide with a major local religious festival (Sao Joao). That night there was a massive all night beach party close to the marina as locals celebrated, together with a huge fireworks display at midnight. We didn’t get much sleep to prepare us for our early start the next day!

Leg 3 – Povoa de Varzim to Porto – 20/21 June 2017

As this was a short leg (20Nm) from Povoa da Varzim we didn’t leave until 1000 on Tuesday. Although some of the faster members of the fleet began arriving at the Douro Marina in Porto just after midday, we didn't arrive until around 1400. Due to the light winds most of us motored all of this passage. We spent the afternoon exploring the local area and later that evening a welcome supper was held at the marina restaurant where we enjoyed the local fresh fish while the sun set over the marina. The next day we enjoyed our first Tuk Tuk tour (something which has since become something of a habit for us for city tours!).

 We first visited the city of Gaia and after some stunning views of the river, we were taken to Porto where they explored the local streets in the Tuk Tuks. We then went back to Gaia where we went to Churchill's Port wine lodge. Here we had a quick tour of the lodge and got the chance to try three different types of port wines (and of course the opportunity to buy some!).

Unfortunately Mike and Jennie had to leave us in Porto. They had originally intended to stay with us longer but due to the delay in starting the rally and their other commitments, they had to return to the UK. From this point on Snow Goose would be returned to her normal cruising crew (Val and myself).

Leg 2 – Bayona to Povoa de Varzim – 19 June 2017

On the morning of the 19^th, the pre-departure check out took place as normal at the rally office at 0900 however due to heavy fog the start was cancelled and we were asked to leave at our own pace in order to get to the welcome dinner that night at Povoa de Varzim. Surprisingly a few boats didn’t have radar and so a small crocodile developed behind Snow Goose to take advantage of ours!

The fog started to lift shortly after we left and although the wind remained light we had a good day on the water, with lots of dolphins sighted on the 50nm passage from Bayona to Povoa. That evening we arrived in to Clube Naval Povoense in Povoa de Varzim in Portugal. The wind started to pick up as we arrived making the downwind berths difficult to get in to. Thankfully the marina staff were on the pontoons and did an excellent job assisting with taking lines and ensuring all yachts docked safely.

Once we had all settled, a minibus shuttled us into town to the “Sailor man and Friends” restaurant where the Clube Naval Povoense first started in 1907. We enjoyed aperitifs upon arrival shortly followed by a traditional rice and meat dish and selection of deserts. Marina president Paoulo Neves and Carlos Fortes joined the dinner and chatted with us.