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.

Leg 1 – Falmouth to Bayona (Crossing Biscay) - 11 to 15 June 2017

 

Falmouth - Port Pendennis Marina

Due to an extremely unusual set of low-pressure systems forming in the Atlantic, we opted to stay in Falmouth until a suitable weather window appeared to make the crossing to Bayona. We made the most of the delay and our time in Falmouth by visiting local attractions and of course sampling the traditional pubs and restaurants that surround the harbour. We finally set sail from Port Pendennis Marina with our good friends Mike and Jennie on board early on Sunday morning (11^th June) after what proved to be the longest delay to the start in the Rally's history.

We slipped our lines and headed out into the English Channel for the start of our Biscay crossing. The larger, faster boats were expected to complete the 550nm crossing to northwest Spain by Wednesday night but we hoped to arrive some time on Thursday. Initially we were heading into the wind and an uncomfortable first day was anticipated. However, later in the passage, the wind veered behind us (though that was not necessarily a comfortable point of sail either!) We reached the shipping lanes by late afternoon and crossed into French waters at 17:30, heading for a passage inshore of the TSS off Ushant. By 03:00 the next day (Monday 12^th) we had cleared the TSS and set our course across Biscay to northwest Spain.

Our watch system was based around doubling up and sharing the watches equally. We therefore had 4-hour watches during the day (6 am to 6 pm) and 3-hour watches at night (6 pm to 6 am). As a result he time on watch rotated and everyone was allowed to rest for at east 6 hours each night. We quickly got into the routine and it worked very well.

Sunset in Biscay

Although the weather forecast was benign, we didn’t know what to expect over the course of the next 4 or 5 days, as the Bay of Biscay is well known for stormy weather and unanticipated weather changes. However, in the event, the forecast proved accurate and the swell caused more problems for us than the wind (due to the lack of it) with the boat constantly rolling from side to side, spilling what little wind we did find. So we spent a good deal of time motorsailing! We did get some good sailing weather in patches and we were kept on our toes changing sail settings and trying to make the best of the wind we encountered. During the passage dolphins and pilot whales were often with us, including one night when they stayed with us all the way through until daylight, whistling and dancing as we tried to catch some sleep.

As the days passed we saw less of the other rally boats and indeed very few other vessels. We were surprised very early on the morning of Wednesday 14^th to see an AIS signal for a huge 285 foot long sailing vessel. We diverted our course slightly to investigate and it turned out to be the Shabab Oman II, a 3-mast full-rig sailing ship in training service with the Royal Navy of Oman. Unfortunately she was also suffering from the lack of wind so her sails were furled but nevertheless she was an impressive sight!

Shabab Oman II

Just before daylight on Thursday 15^th we were approaching Cape Finisterre and we knew we would shortly be starting the final stretch. However, we first had to negotiate a mass of fishing boats and other vessels sailing around La Coruna and the Cape to start their day. Tired tired eyes strained to identify them and determine the courses they were taking. In addition, less and less boats seemed to have AIS as we headed south so we had to be extra vigilant. More than once we held out breath and hoped that the skippers knew (or more properly would act in accordance with) the International Collision Regulations. Thankfully, they did!

Lots of AIS Targets!!

 

The wind strengthened and the swell increased dramatically on the final day of our passage and we spent an excellent afternoon surfing the swell towards Bayona, with the impact only lessening when we entered the final bay where the Monte Real Yacht Club marina is located. We finally arrived 566 miles later, exhausted but exhilarated at around 16:30 on Thursday 15^th just as we had hoped. The whole fleet was eventually moored stern-to on one pontoon and the boats were dressed with signal flags en masse.

 

 

The following evening Friday the ARC Portugal fleet gathered at Monte Real Club De Yates where we enjoyed sangria and snacks on their terrace that overlooks the marina. As the sun started to set we walked into town to El Tunel restaurant where we had a typical Spanish dinner of local tapas, fish and meat. We all then then headed back to the marina for a pontoon party.

 On Saturday morning we had an all day tour of Santiago de Compostela. The fleet split into two groups and local guides Patricia and Maria guided us around the historic Cathederal de Santiago, Museums, and plazas. After the tour, we had the chance to roam around the streets and sample the delights of the many tapas bars.

Santiago de Compostela

On Sunday 18 June we enjoyed the sunny weather Baiona had to offer and had a free day to explore the town. In the evening the prize giving ceremony took place on the lawn in front of the Monte Real Club de Yates. After the prizes and tapas starters, we made their way into the dining room where a lovely meal of local fish or meat was waiting for us.