Barbecue memories

One of the best nights on the trip was the barbecue at Alvor - which we sadly couldn't photograph because the little camera was out of action and I didn't want to fill the big camera full of sand. Luckily, I've just found this on Moondance's blog:


That's Ben rear right, looking after his fire!

Also this one:


Ben bodysurfing in Lagos. - sigh....

Catching up

We're gradually returning to something like normal here. You know the way, when you go on a two-week holiday, it seems as though you've been away for four months? Well, despite the fact that we have been away for four months, it does sometimes feel like two weeks. Really, very little has changed. I did encounter traffic gridlock in Diss* on Tuesday when we went to buy Ben some school shoes, but I see the traffic problems have made the front page lead of our weekly paper so clearly it's not normal.

*Diss: population 7,000. Main cause of traffic jams in normal times: ducks crossing main road.

Have gone through phase 1 of unpacking and clearing up, we're now going through phase 2 - bringing life back to normal by working out what's still missing! Grocery shopping is a real challenge, as I'm still thinking in terms of buying enough for storage on Kalessin and have problems with getting stuff for a full week. Also, I keep finding things we have run out of which I didn't know about, and then over-compensating - total crisis last weekend when we ran completely out of loo paper and had to borrow a roll from Alex - but we now have more than 20 rolls which should keep us going for a bit. In my mind I thought we had plenty, because I knew we had spare rolls on Kalessin - fat lot of use if they're 1,000 miles away and you need to wipe your bottom right now.

Yesterday Guy and I spent the day in Norwich. Most of my purchases were to replace items left on Kalessin - new butter dish, new weights and gasket for the old pressure cooker as the new one is still in Portugal, new comfy trousers as the old ones are... etc, new oven glove to take out to replace the one we burned through. Note, how can an oven glove cost twelve pounds? I finally found one for £1.99 in the Co-op. And as for food prices in the UK... well, best not to go there. On the other hand, clothes seem extraordinarily cheap - I bought a leather jacket for £35 from BHS. I don't believe leather jackets have ever been that cheap in my whole life.

As mentioned in the last post, we looked at a Folkboat (see drawing) last weekend as a possible restoration and sailing project for Sam and Ben. The boat looked good, although not entirely original, but eventually we decided against buying it because Sam is already so busy at work he doesn't think he could devote enough time to it. If we bought her she'd be sailed mainly in the winter, as Kalessin would be priority in the spring, summer and autumn, and there's also the perennial problem of the cheap yacht, that it costs far more to moor and maintain than it does to buy. We may still buy something for sailing in the UK, but not this year.

And we still have two dinghies (a Topper and a Miracle) which we haven't sailed for well over a year.

We also have to decide whether to restart things that we've cancelled. Yes to milk deliveries, as buying milk in supermarkets is a pain. No to a daily newspaper, we might just get a Guardian on Saturdays. Jury still out on organic veg boxes.

A few other little decisions still in the pipeline, like what I should do with the rest of my life. I can't work up much enthusiasm for internal comms at the moment, but there's the chance of some part-time work which might start in mid-November, with some people I know and like - but it might not start until January, or never, who knows.

I think both Sam and I are still clinging on to the feeling that the trip isn't over yet. We spend lots of time reading the sailing discussion groups on www.ybw.com, and tracking down and reading the blogs of those we met on route - especially Moondance (now in Gibraltar) and Birvidik (who have comforted us by saying they've had five solid days of rain in Lagos). I've also just received an update from Declan on Khepri - they have been in Porto Santo, Madeira for the past two weeks or so, and say "In the main the weather has been great, but we have had, gales with rain, thunder and lightning and torrential showers for the past couple of days - still in shorts though!"

I remember shorts... just. I did put on one of my beloved cashmere sweaters this morning though, and had to take it off again - too sticky and claustrophobic. So it can't be winter yet.

Back home

We're back at home in the UK - finally got here about 6pm yesterday. My blessed and beloved mother spent Monday here cleaning the house and getting food ready for us, so we were greeted by a clean, tidy house full of flowers - bliss.

The easyjet flight from Faro was slightly delayed but relatively painless. I discovered when we got back that if we had used our 49-cent Ryanair flights from Seville, a strike by Spanish baggage handlers meant we could only have taken hand luggage - a bit of a blow as we actually had five large bags which probably weighed over 80kg altogether! (easyjet didn't even charge us excess - thanks again).

Packing was a fairly vast challenge, but fortunately two days before we left we heard about a chap called Ian who is bringing a big van back to the UK in a few weeks, and then out to Portugal again. He now has two big boxes of our kit on board, and on his return journey he'll be able to take the Westerly headlining and somewhat toxic glue which might not have been popular on a flight to Faro! (Headlining is the stuff which covers the ceiling of the boat - Westerly used foam-backed stuff which decays horribly after 15 years or so, a perennial pain).

Portugal did its best to send us home knowing we were doing the right thing, with a couple of cool rainy days on Monday and Tuesday, and on Tuesday night wind, heavy rain and thunderstorms. We saw on 23 knots in the marina but I wouldn't have liked to be out sailing! The wind was southerly which means you get big waves breaking, and almost all the harbours in the Algarve are inaccessible under those conditions.

What next? Well, we've opened most of the post, and I have a mountain of washing to do :-)) Sam is already back to work today as he had to return the hire car to Norwich airport, and meet his partner Matthew who ironically flies out to Faro for a holiday tomorrow!

Ben is still sleeping at the moment (11am Thursday) but has to get his head around going back to school after the half-term break. Guy was pleased to see us (I think) and joined us for dinner last night, but went back to Alex and David's to sleep as he has no bed over here at the moment! And I need to get my head around work, or not, what I want to do next and why...

I think we'll keep the blog going for a while at least, and maybe update it again as we get plans under way in the winter, and during whatever we do next spring and summer. Malta is a possibility, or failing that Corsica or Sardinia. Lots to think about (pilot books to buy, plans to make....)

And finally... at the weekend we're planning to look at a Folkboat that's for sale down in Essex. Ben has always wanted one, and Sam wants a winter project with no Kalessin to work on. Folkboats are only 25 feet long but pretty tough - the one we're looking at crossed the Atlantic in 1973. It was built in Norway in 1962 and although it's said to be "fundamentally sound", if we buy it, it may take up quite a lot of time! Or we may just hate it. Watch this space.

Winding down in Lagos

We got back to Lagos a few days ago and we're starting to clean and tidy the boat before we leave it next week. Yesterday Sam did lots of work on the engine and we emptied and scrubbed out the big cockpit locker. It rained in the morning but cleared up by the end of the day. Today we cleaned the cushions in the main cabin and hoovered out all the disgusting crevices below, did a huge lot of washing, polished the metalwork and cleaned the safety lines. Then we went to the beach for a delightful swim, drank a jug of sangria in Linda's beach cafe, and came back to the boat for spaghetti with fresh cockles. It's a tough life here, but we're doing our best to cope.

Frustrated in Lagos

I have just paid for an internet connection from Lagos and spent quite a lot of time failing to get into Blogger to do this update (and the previous one). Then Ben told me he had a FREE connection and I've just published perfectly from his laptop. Grr.


Some of Ben's amazing mackerel - altogether he's caught almost 20











The fabulous beach at Vilamoura








Star Clipper leaving Portimao and passing the castle at Ferragudo









Geometry lessons on the beach at Ferragudo

Portimao

Sunday 8 October

We’re on our way back to Lagos having got as far as Faro, which is not only the home of the Algarve’s airport but is also, from a sailing point of view, surrounded by interesting, sheltered sandy creeks and lagoons. Unfortunately, either the creek we chose is the windiest spot in the Algarve, or we were unlucky with the weather, but we had a steady westerly force 4-5 blowing all afternoon and most of the night – enough to make the prospect of a one-mile dinghy ride into Faro rather unappealing. So we practised setting two anchors (most successfully, as we were very secure and swung only a little bit when the tide changed) – and made lemon scones (slightly less successful as I didn’t have any baking powder or self-raising flour, but interesting in a soggy kind of way). We have three anchors on board, one of which, the Fortress, had never been used, so it’s good to get them wet occasionally.

As we came out of the Faro entrance on Thursday morning we debated whether to press on to the Rio Guadiana and the Spanish border, only 25 miles away, or to head back. Having turned towards Lagos we realised we were retracing our steps for the first time since we left Suffolk Yacht Harbour, and also that we were travelling clockwise around a country for the first time since North Foreland in Kent. As a result I immediately got my east/west and port/starboard understanding, very shaky at the best of times, into a complete tangle.

After our windy night in Faro, and a forecast north-westerly force 4-5, we were expecting a wet and unpleasant sail. In fact as we left the pierheads the wind dropped and veered to the south-east and the sun came out – we only just had enough wind to sail slowly, and Ben caught a record eight mackerel!

On the way to and from Faro we stopped off at Vilamoura. We visited it by car many years ago and thought it was awful, but seen from the sea it is rather more attractive. Its selling point for us was its absolutely stunning beach – miles of clean sand and Ben-sized breakers, backed by low red sandstone cliffs and a nature reserve. Despite the beach, and the fact that its marina is the biggest in Portugal, Vilamoura is not really about sailing and going to the beach, but about golf and shopping. We missed out on the golf but indulged in considerable shopping – a T-shirt each, a pair of trousers and a necklace for me and, at Sam’s request and despite Ben’s vehement objections, I also bought a bikini. In Spain and Portugal all women on the beach wear bikinis, even if they are 92 years old and as wrinkled as a prune, so my slightly saggy 50-year-old figure is not a cause of embarrassment – except of course to Ben (and Guy when I told him).

Much to our surprise we liked Vilamoura. It’s quite upmarket and while you could hardly call it tasteful, everything is well done and there’s a vast choice of restaurants and activities. The odd thing is that it’s mainly devoted to motorboats and although there were quite a few sailing yachts, those with occupants were so scattered that none of them were even close enough to talk to – possibly the first time we’ve found that in a marina on the whole trip.

The marina of Portimão, where we are now, is really in Praia da Rocha, a modern beach resort which is not that attractive, but it does have a lovely view across the river to the traditional village of Ferragudo, with its fort, church and white houses straggling up the hillside. Yesterday we took the dinghy over to Ferragudo and spent the day in the recommended way, with lunch of fresh charcoal-grilled sardines (and lots of wine) at a quayside café and the rest of the afternoon paddling on the beach. We’ve also met up with the crew of Mystical, Ed and Christine, whom we first came across in Vilagarcia – they are leaving their boat here in Portimão. It is delightfully peaceful here – rather to our surprise, as Praia da Rocha is said to be very noisy in season – but we’re a long way from shops and decent supermarkets which are in Portimão proper, and the boatyard is a mile away up the river, so all in all not as convenient as Lagos.

Thank you

Just a brief entry today, from the marina at Albufeira. We came here on holiday 15 years ago - we managed to find the hotel where we stayed, but don't recognise anything else about the place at all!

I just wanted to thank everyone who has commented on the blog or responded to our latest email - I never knew so many of you were reading it and I'm so touched that many of you have found it worth reading or even inspirational! Special thanks to David from Pin Mill whom I've never met but who took the trouble to post a really nice comment, congratulations to Andy on buying a boat and God bless all the rest of you.

The weather is lovely down here and the sailing is great. On Saturday night we got together with the crew of Khepri and Moondance for a fantastic beach barbecue in Alvor, which is a sandy creek just around the corner from Lagos. We sailed there extremely slowly and Ben caught six mackerel - it was a pity Declan's barbecue turned out to be fairly useless, but we managed to cook the fish before it gave out, and Ben then lit a superb fire which were able to use for the rest of the cooking. A wonderful, memorable (and warm) night and it's just a pity that most of the sand from the beach had to come back with us to Kalessin...

Now we're pootling down towards Faro in delightfully short hops (20 miles or less) - I think it has been worth all the effort to get here!

Merry Christmas from just me

Video of photos made for Sam's funeral    Dear friends and family As I hope you all know, this year has been a difficult one for me. On ...