Hallberg Rassy 352 Matilda

Today the weather forecast was promising a nice sailing day. The target for today was Barbate which is the only safe harbour between Cadiz and Gibraltar. We spent about one hour washing the dirt off the boat which was blown into the marina from a close by construction site. Everything was full of dirt and sand. We finally left Cadiz at about 10:00 local time. It was blowing more than forecasted outside and the provisionally taken in second reef proved to be a good idea. We tacked for 8 hours in a SE F6 and decided to turn on the engine at 18:00 in order to arrive at the harbour before the night. The last 3 hours we spent motoring against a SE F6 levanter and big seas and carefully looking for tuna fish nets. We safely arrived in Barbate Marina at 21:20.

Tomorrow’s target is Gibraltar which is also the end of the third leg of the voyage.

 

Another day without wind. The initial plan to sail to Mazagon was dropped. It makes little sense to motor to Mazagon first and then to Cadiz. It would have been 5 more hours on the engine and Mazagon is not known for its attraction. The decision was taken to head directly to Cadiz. This way we would arrive at about 23:00 and could spend the whole next day exploring the town.

The calculation was wrong. At about 18:00 the Levanter (an easterly wind known to blow through the Gibraltar strait with up to 40kn and more and extending up to this area) became apparent. After about one hour it had reached F5 to F6 and was blowing from ESE which was exactly where we wanted to go. Soon steep waves built up, and the speed dropped to sometimes below 3kn. That was motoring against the waves. Sailing to Cadiz would have meant tacking which would have reduced progress to below 2kn. It was still more than 30NM to go. I secured the dinghy on the foredeck and prepared for the long night. We arrived finally at 04:00 in the morning with the Levanter still blowing unchanged.

Cadiz Marina

Faro is located at the NW end of a tidal lagoon system which runs along the coast for some 30NM between the mainland and the sea. After approximately 8 hours of motoring, we arrived at about 18:30 and had the tidal current against us when entering between the breakwaters. There were heavy eddies because of the spring tide and the current was setting with up to 4kn. It took a while to reach the anchorage off Ponte Cais located 2.5NM further north where we dropped the anchor in between 10 to 15 other “long distance sailors”. We inflated the dinghy and visited the little fishing village on the island. Lying here at anchor between so many other sailing boats from almost any country in northern Europe was very satisfying. I had arrived; I am now part of the cruising sailor’s community.

Leaving Lagos

Sunshade

At Anchor

Arrived

We left Sines Marina at about 8:30 local time and headed for Cabo de Sao Vincente. There was not enough wind in the morning, so we motored for a little while. At about 12:00 we hoisted the main and rolled out the genoa. I was blowing with a comfortable NNW F4.

We had been warned that the wind would increase significantly when rounding Cabo de Sao Vincente. I took in the second reef in the main sail in order to be prepared. Whilst rounding the cape, the wind was constantly picking up and reached finally F7-F8. It remained like this until Lagos harbour entry. We could retain speeds above 7kn and arrived finally approximately 45min after sunset at 21:30 local time in the darkness.

Cabo de Sao Vincente is an impressive landmark

Lisbon and Cascais lie behind. We managed more than 50 NM today in a northwesterly F5-F6. There were some massive waves on the way to Sines but Matilda did an excellent work again providing a good feeling of safety. Of course, the wind freshed up to an F7 (min) again at the arrival. I am getting used to maneuvering at these wind forces and I think anything below F6 is going to be boring in the future :-) We managed a super-duper spot-on berthing maneuver and went for some great grilled fish dinner at the Restinguinha restaurant which can really be recommended!

The Biscay crew left three days ago the Gibraltar crew joins this evening. I have used the time to do some cleanup of the boat , installing an anti-syphon / air vented loop in the emergency bilge pump outlet hose, welding the plastic air intake box of the engine and checking company emails and chat with some colleagues in order to get up to date on company issues and contribute if and where needed. Since the weather is quite hot for the time of the year (more than 30C) I also went to the beach and took a refreshing bath in the Atlantic (water temperature 14C).

The engine is also fixed again. The problem was just a faulty exhaust temperature sensor. After all, it would have been easy to find out but finally I am glad Vetus has checked the engine’s temperature at various locations and all seems ok. The repair did not cost anything as it is still covered by warranty. As it seems, the yellow paint applied and the label are not suitable for the 70-80C normal operating temperature of the engine. The paint breaks off and the label becomes unreadable.

Two days ago, the Volvo Ocean Race fleet arrived in Lisbon. For those who don’t know the Volvo Ocean Race is a round the world regatta. Lisbon is the 1st port of call back in Europe. Visitors can have a look at the ocean racing machines on the VOR village.

Of course I visited Lisbon. There is a train every 15min to the city center and it takes only 35min. It is great fun biking through a city you have never been before. Below is a collection of some of the pictures I took:

We started late today because the harbourmaster was not there before 09:30. We left Peniche at about 10:00 local time and motored out of the harbour. Just before hoisting the sails the engine buzzer started beeping loudly indicating that something was wrong. We switched the engine off and tried to understand the problem. The engine panel light burning was indicating too high temperature for the outer cooling circuit. There was enough cooling water coming out of the exhaust; the impeller was working. There was also enough oil and cooling liquid in the inner cooling circuit. Then we realized that the engine main block was getting too hot. We had a cooling problem indeed. It was not just a faulty temperature sensor. And it was not the outer cooling circuit. Most likely, it is either the thermostat that adds the outer cooling system when the engine has reached a certain temperature or the inner circuit pump.
The wind had fleshed up a bit and Peniche was now lying about 5 NM behind us. The engine was out of order. The question was now: Do we sail back into Penich where we could be in one hours’ time and where we know what to expect or do we sail south the 50NM to Lisbon with the risk of not arriving in daytime in an area we had never been before? I took the decision to sail to Lisbon. The weather was expected to be the same as the past days. With the Nortada blowing at F5 we could arrive in Cascais at about 21:00. If not we would stay outside and try to sail into the harbour with the first daylight. We switched off most of the appliances that weren’t necessary in order to save battery power, hoisted the main and headed south.

The Nortada was reliable and with all sails up we accomplished the remaining 50 NM in about 8 to 9 hours. I contacted Cascais Marina. I told them about the engine problem and that I would have to sail into the harbour, they offered assistance and sent out a RIB at the harbour entrance which towed us safely into a berth.

The destination of the second leg of the voyage was reached. We were lying in Cascais Marina at the mouth of Rio Tejo which leads to Lisbon.

A little race with a Dutch single handed sailor on the way to the Marina

The “marinero” is coming to help us into the marina

Matilda safely moored at the reception pontoon in Cascais Marina

Misty morning in Peniche harbour, time to go again

Yesterday Figueira da Foz, today Peniche, tomorrow Lisbon. We started early in the morning again (6:00) in order to arrive at a time where the marina office is still open but without success. It is supposed to be open until 18:00 Portuguese time, but it was closed. Again no access to the toilets and showers and even more annoying no card for opening the gate to the marina. Peniche is one of the most important fishing harbors of Portugal and there are many fish restaurants at the promenade. We will definitely not stay on board and will probably have to climb over the marina gate when coming back.

Bothe sailing days were great with nice Atlantic swell and a steady Nortada /Portuguese trade winds) blowing at about F4 – F5. Every day at about 18:00 – 19:00 when we are arriving at our destination, the wind increases to about F6 – F7 adding this little extra kick to the maneuvering in the unknown harbour.

On the way south again

Atlantic swell

Fishing nets all along the coast

Arriving in Peniche

Peniche Harbour

Today was Porto-day. Sight-seeing and relaxing. Photo impressions below: