Tuesday 25th June

The last leg. 6 am and the rally boats had a mass motor across the narrow starting gate. With light winds it was motoring most of the way. That was unfortunate for Serendipity whose engine packed up and had to be towed much of the way. The wind and seas got up as we passed Cape St Vincent where we dipped our ensign in the tradition to honour Lord Nelson and the famous victory against the Spanish fleet. Once round the Cape the wind stayed on the nose and we motored the rest of the way to Lagos. Here we are. A sense of achievement, some relief to have made it without any major mishaps, and enormous thanks to Lucinda and to Michael and Susan, as well as Jonathan, who helped make it all possible and such a great trip. After tidying up the boat we'll be going back to the UK for a few days. We will be back.

Monday 24th June

Insights into marina shower blocks. Always check there is paper in the toilet; be wary of dispensers which prevent you seizing the torn end of the paper; movement sensors will leave you in the dark sitting on the toilet if you are the only person in the block; the shower will be too cold or too hot, sometimes both in the same shower; you will always leave something essential on the boat, this may be a razor blade, the soap or your underwear.

There was a pontoon party of sorts on arrival. In the morning we were guided round the town. First stop was a surreal fisherman's museum on the bottom floor of an underground car park. We then went to the castle where Vasco Da Gama was born. The most famous inhabitant this town ever had and they banished him for being too powerful and overshadowing the church authorities. Prize giving, once again no mention of the multihulls. In the evening drinks on Infinite Dream and out to eat.

Sunday 23rd June

My last chance to get a reasonable start and we were third over the line. In light winds and rolling seas we were rapidly overhauled by the faster boat. In disgust we motored. The rest of the day we interspersed periods of downwind sailing with motoring to get us back on course. We 're now in Sines. One leg to go.

Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd of June

We had lots of jobs stacked up for the Friday. We dried our the Parasail and inspected the damage; sadly a job for a sailmaker. By going in the dinghy and throwing saucepans of water at the side of the boat we think we have finally identified the source if the leak in the starboard engine bay. Now, until the next breakage, only the autopilot to fix. Michael and Susan painted a fantastic mural on the harbour wall while Lucinda and I went shopping. In the evening we had a buffet supper and prize giving. On Saturday M&S took the train to Lisbon while L&D went on a tour to Sintra and Cascais taking in the most westerly point if mainland Europe on the way.

Thursday 20th June

The morning was miserable. Leaden skies and grey seas and an 8:30 start. The wind was directly behind and we tried running with both foresails. That was ok but caused the genoa to chafe as it bent a stanchion at the bow. More expense. So out came the Parasail which looked magnificent except we lost the snuffing line which was whistling in the breeze. Down came the Parasail and it dragged in the water behind us like soggy bloomers. Eventually we rounded the headland and the wind gusted to 40 knots. At last in a full on force 8 everything was great. And then we crossed the line, second again out of two; a podium place. Time for a G&T and early night.

Wednesday 19th June

We left early to be sure of getting to Peniche in good time. It was a straightforward downwind leg in lumpy seas. The ocean was steel grey in colour and menacing. We averaged over 8 knots and recorded a surge of 13.3 knots down the face of a malicious wave.

Sunday 16th to Tuesday 18th June

On the Sunday we had an all say tour to Coimbra. On the way we stopped for a coffee and pastry. Coimbra is an old university town housed in a palace on top of a hill. We walked through a dusty library, inspected the university dungeon and then descended to the lower town for lunch. On the way back we inspected a ruined castle. In the evening we had another mediocre meal in town. On the Monday the mayor hosted a reception for us. Plaques were exchanged and Port drunk. Email was accessed and boat repairs carried out. The evening was wet and windy. It was blowing too hard to leave on the Tuesday so we had another day in port and walked along the deserted beach.

Saturday 15th June

Today's start was in the river opposite the marina. In light winds we took a penalty and stayed under engine making our best start yet. After 8 minutes of motoring we were out of the river. Conditions were perfect. As usual we struggled with the Parasail. By the time it was up we were near the back of the fleet. Over the next eight and a half hours of fabulous downwind sailing we clawed our way back to 6th. The wind was perfect and for the first time we had sun all day. We're off to a traditional Portuguese sardine supper which some may enjoy.

This is racing catamaran style.
We are neck and neck with the boat in the background
and we were about 5 seconds ahead at the finish.

Friday 14th June

The meal last night was great and they awarded each catamaran a bottle of Port for arriving within seconds of each other. This morning our electric TukTuk picked us up and gave us a tour of the city. We ended high up in the town and then had a guide to walk us down stopping at sights on the way. We then ate lunch overlooking the river, stocked up in a supermarket before taking a taxi back to the boat.

Thursday 13th June

Today was meant to be perfect. Our first day with sunshine and light northerly winds. At the time we were meant to start a storm swept through the marina. An hour's delay brought the sunshine and more or less the right sort of wind. If it hadn't been for a futile struggle to raise the parasail it would have been perfect. Although the leg was very short, only 15 nm for the first time there were no breakages (so far) and we had a cracking downwind sail. We're off soon for a TukTuk transfer to Graham's Port House for a tour and dinner.

Tuesday 11th June

At last we set off south again. The prevailing wind is from the north which would have been perfect. Sailing seems never to be predictable. For the first couple of hours we sailed but didn't really get anywhere tacking into the wind in heavy seas. In common with most of the fleet we gave up and stuck the engines on. Eventually the wind settled and the seas calmed and it turned from being an unpleasant experience into one that was merely tedious. I have promised Lucinda light breezes from astern, calm seas and warm sunshine. She knows enough about my promises. We finally tied up in Povoa de Varzim in Portugal in the dark just after 10 pm.

Sunday 9th and Monday 10th June

Sunday was largely spent sorting out the boat once more. Michael and Susan took a bus trip and Jonathan sadly left to go home. In the evening we has prize giving and a dinner in the yacht club. We had a podium finish coming second to the other catamaran. There are only two of us in our division. On Monday Lucinda and I were out for the day walking in the hills above the border with Portugal followed by a never ending lunch in a wonderful hillside hostelry followed by a visit to a winery.

 

Friday 7th and Saturday 8th June

After we arrived we tidied up, cleaned the boat, had a meal in a local restaurant and collapsed onto our bunks. Most of Friday was spent sorting out the boat. We had a flange sealed which we hope will permanently stop an annoying small leak. Our autopilot was examined and we were told we may have the wrong hydraulics. This might be expensive. I also got the watermaker working again. The others went shopping and for a walk around the castle. Then it was off for a group drink and meal. Some arrived home later than others. Getting up on the Saturday was not easy. We were loaded onto a bus for the drive to the pilgrimage centre of Santiago De Compostela. We witnessed the outrageous ceremony of swinging the incense which bizarrely got a big round of applause. The cathedral and surroundings were potent witness to the power and wealth of the church. The squares were filled with weary walkers completing their walks to burial place of St James and with lycra wearing mud covered cyclists making their own personal journeys of discovery.

Thursday 6th June

Near the coast the wind remained on our bows and rather than tack back and forth we motored slowly into a steep waves. Over the next few hours the sea became much smoother and we continued through the night along the Galician coast. We only put the sails up for the last 2 miles to the finish line in Bayona. Several boats were there already but most arrived later having decided to sail to windward. It took us just over 97 hours at an average of 5.7 knots to cover 578 miles. We motored for nearly 21 hours. We were really lucky with conditions and we feel really pleased to have made it in such good shape. The crew who are much more experienced than me were fantastic and hardly ever pointed out when I had done wrong.

Wednesday 5th June

Overnight we're perfect conditions for us. 20 knots just aft of beam. While monohulls were rolling and reefing we pressed on overnight. We must have done something right as by morning it was only the boy racers ahead of us. Conditions remained good until mid afternoon and then after a brief lull the wind came back from the opposite direction. Motor sailing helped us close the Spanish coast.

Tuesday 4th June

We decreased the sail plan overnight and allowed the racers to pull away. We were a bit slow getting in the zone come sun up and allowed the other Broadblue 385 to catch us up. Despite all our efforts even with our best sails up they carried on past us. It's hard to imagine better sailing weather. We had consistent force 4 or 5 on our beam very comfortable all day about 7 knots. The photos show Infinite Dream powering past us in the middle of Biscay.

Monday 3rd June

The wind continued from the north and we spent most of the day with only the Parasail up doing a comfortable 5 to 6 knots. There were the usual problems, unidentified water in the starboard engine bay and a watermaker that produced a couple of litres and then packed up. We're now rationing which means no hot water bottle or shower. Supper was a wonderful curry prepared by Michael. The wind picked up in the late afternoon and we headed into the night with a reef in the main and a couple of rolls in the genoa.

Sunday 2nd June

After all the preparation we're finally off. The forecast couldn't have been better and after a miserable year to date the weather was glorious. Before we even left Plymouth harbour the wind was blowing from the opposite direction from prediction. By the time we had out the Parasail up back to front we had fallen to the back of the fleet. Soon everyone was using their engine and we had no idea how we stood. Our first night was uneventful and we felt in good shape.