Our new video is finally here! Part one of our time in Portugal:
So our goofy Hungarian friends over on Irreversible have launched their site and are cracking on ahead to Madeira. You can follow them here.
So we're back in ol' Blighty and hunting around for our new main mast. I spent this past Monday driving a 404m round trip to Plymouth and back to look at a potential rig.
It was a pretty soggy drive across but Stonehenge still looked quite impressive.
The mast and fittings all look good so we're just organising prices and transport, and much to Lauren's delight, I can finally stop pestering her with pictures of masts and what rig setup we need.
What else have we been up to... We finalised our sail order two days ago so they're all sorted, we picked up a few items to re-do the aft deck (gas locker hatch, etc), dropped in our rudder fittings to the great guys at Hamble Prop to have some work done, and also visited Ikea do buy more cushions for our wheelhouse seating extension.
Today we're at a friend's house in the New Forest and heading out later to collect their annual chord of wood from the Forestry Commission... should be a laugh.
It was a pretty soggy drive across but Stonehenge still looked quite impressive.
The mast and fittings all look good so we're just organising prices and transport, and much to Lauren's delight, I can finally stop pestering her with pictures of masts and what rig setup we need.
What else have we been up to... We finalised our sail order two days ago so they're all sorted, we picked up a few items to re-do the aft deck (gas locker hatch, etc), dropped in our rudder fittings to the great guys at Hamble Prop to have some work done, and also visited Ikea do buy more cushions for our wheelhouse seating extension.
Today we're at a friend's house in the New Forest and heading out later to collect their annual chord of wood from the Forestry Commission... should be a laugh.
So we thought we'd spend our last few days in Nazare going on a hike and exploring the town away from the touristy sea front.
Of course after all that hiking we gave in and hit up a bar on the beachfront.
A huge thanks to Keiron and Beth for showing us around Nazare and listening to my constant ramblings about which mast we're going to fit over the winter.
After the beach bar, we made our way back to the marina for another night at Luis' bar.
Wednesday morning dawned and it was time to haul out the boat for some work we need doing. First up is to replace the rudder bolts and move the rudder outlet above the waterline. Pretty simple jobs that just need a bit of engineering. We're also thinking about fitting two folding props as the two fixed units we have at the moment are costing us at least 1kt. Doesn't sound like much, but that's 24nm every day.
Of course after all that hiking we gave in and hit up a bar on the beachfront.
A huge thanks to Keiron and Beth for showing us around Nazare and listening to my constant ramblings about which mast we're going to fit over the winter.
After the beach bar, we made our way back to the marina for another night at Luis' bar.
Wednesday morning dawned and it was time to haul out the boat for some work we need doing. First up is to replace the rudder bolts and move the rudder outlet above the waterline. Pretty simple jobs that just need a bit of engineering. We're also thinking about fitting two folding props as the two fixed units we have at the moment are costing us at least 1kt. Doesn't sound like much, but that's 24nm every day.
With the boat out of the water we caught a bus into Lisbon then grabbed a quick flight back to London. It's crazy to think our 2.5hr flight covered the same route we've spent the last 6 weeks sailing. Anyway, we got back to Lauren's parents' house late on Thurs and have since been hunting for a mast, sails and catching up with friends.
So there we are... back in London for a few weeks, then off to Australia for a visit before we get back to Nazare in time for big wave season. See in the photo of the town above that headland? That headland and lighthouse is the one in the video below.... sweet.
Well, it's been another interesting few days here in Nazare as we countdown to our trip back to the UK and Australia. Other than the daily drinks at Luis' cafe and bbq's, we spent a bit of time exploring the local beach.
Pete from Irreversible also dived on our prop and rudder to remove a faulty anode (typical "marine-grade" rubbish) and some netting.
Before Irreversible left, we caught up to exchange photos and also go through the hundreds we've taken over the past couple of months. In somewhat of a chronological order.....
Messing around in Falmouth:
Waiting for the local Tabac to open in Roscanvel so we could load up on bread and wine.
Weather watching for our window across Biscay.
Cockpit bbq's in La Coruna after an interesting Biscay crossing.
Arriving in Bayona, our last stop in Spain.
Getting over a cold in Porto (Leixoes).
Another BBQ, this time at Jaim's house in the Porto suburbs.
Exploring Porto.
We'll be spending the next 7 weeks catching up with friends in the UK, taking care of a few bits (dentist appointments, finding parts for our mast conversion, etc), before flying out to Australia for my dad's 60th and returning to the boat in late October. It looks like we've found a mast in Lanzarote, so it'll be a quick trip down the remainder of the Portuguese coast, before we take on the 6 day hop to Lanzarote. Can't wait.
Pete from Irreversible also dived on our prop and rudder to remove a faulty anode (typical "marine-grade" rubbish) and some netting.
Before Irreversible left, we caught up to exchange photos and also go through the hundreds we've taken over the past couple of months. In somewhat of a chronological order.....
Messing around in Falmouth:
Waiting for the local Tabac to open in Roscanvel so we could load up on bread and wine.
Weather watching for our window across Biscay.
Cockpit bbq's in La Coruna after an interesting Biscay crossing.
Arriving in Bayona, our last stop in Spain.
Getting over a cold in Porto (Leixoes).
Another BBQ, this time at Jaim's house in the Porto suburbs.
Exploring Porto.
We'll be spending the next 7 weeks catching up with friends in the UK, taking care of a few bits (dentist appointments, finding parts for our mast conversion, etc), before flying out to Australia for my dad's 60th and returning to the boat in late October. It looks like we've found a mast in Lanzarote, so it'll be a quick trip down the remainder of the Portuguese coast, before we take on the 6 day hop to Lanzarote. Can't wait.
Wed, 2nd Sep.
=================
04:00 - Wake up well before our alarm, mind going round in circles as to whether we can dry out the boat today on the harbour slip way. Wind is blowing in fits and gusts but doesn't seem too strong yet. Good.
05:45 - Wind picks up. Still dark o'clock. Decide that it's just not going to happen today, so go back to bed.
08:30 - Wake up again. Light outside at least. Head feels like it's full of wool. Stumble onto pontoon to have a chat to fellow cruiser. Sea Quest, a boat the yard have been working on for months, is just about to depart, bound for Southampton.
08:31 - Notice power boat on the next pontoon is at odd angle, likely sunk. Wander over to have a look and decide there's not really a lot we can do at the moment / pre-coffee.
08:45 - Coffee x2 at Luis' cafe. Notice Sea Quest is making her way back in to the marina... this can't be good.
09:00 - Wander back to marina with boat yard worker (Joe). Have a look at half sunk power boat. Drive around looking for boat yard boss (Alec) before collecting heavy lines from Calypso and securing half sunk boat before it really sinks.
09:30 - 11:00 - A bunch of cruisers rock up and between us, we manage to bucket the water out of the boat and get it floating again. Turns out Sea Quest returned due to low oil pressure and with a 1 week motor ahead, didn't want to cook their engine. At least it wasn't the rigging that I spent the past few days tensioning.
11:01 - Back for another round of coffee.
12:00 - Daily My Name is Earl catch up. Well into Season 4, and Jason Lee is on top form.
12:30 - Check position of our friends on Irreversible - 10 miles outside Nazare. Start collecting measurements for our rudder stock rebuild, as well as answering emails from various folks who might have a suitable mast for us back in the UK.
14:00 - Walk around to harbour entrance with Lauren to photo Irreversible coming in. Much trading of Hungarian insults follows as they enter safe waters.
14:30 - Run back to the pontoon to take Irreversible's lines and get them secure after an overnight passage.
15:00 - Alec needs to borrow our outboard and fuel to tow the half sunk (now *just* floating) power boat around to the dock. Much hilarity ensues as we "borrow" the harbour master's launch, attach the outboard, and tear around the marina with rather large fishing boats moving around, waiting to offload the day's catch.
17:00 - No chance of visiting the engineering shop today to discuss our new rudder and bearing. Begin discussing what dinner will be that night when we notice two sailboats circling just outside the marina, looking for berths. Quickly move Sea Quest back a few places so one boat can slide in, before walking up to the fishing dock with some cruisers to take the lines of the German youth welfare boat.
18:00 - Beer o'clock. Grab Alec, Pete (Irreversible) and a couple of the guys, and head back to Luis'. Can't beat rounds that only cost £4.
20:00 - Back to Calypso for dinner and bed.
=================
04:00 - Wake up well before our alarm, mind going round in circles as to whether we can dry out the boat today on the harbour slip way. Wind is blowing in fits and gusts but doesn't seem too strong yet. Good.
05:45 - Wind picks up. Still dark o'clock. Decide that it's just not going to happen today, so go back to bed.
08:30 - Wake up again. Light outside at least. Head feels like it's full of wool. Stumble onto pontoon to have a chat to fellow cruiser. Sea Quest, a boat the yard have been working on for months, is just about to depart, bound for Southampton.
08:31 - Notice power boat on the next pontoon is at odd angle, likely sunk. Wander over to have a look and decide there's not really a lot we can do at the moment / pre-coffee.
08:45 - Coffee x2 at Luis' cafe. Notice Sea Quest is making her way back in to the marina... this can't be good.
09:00 - Wander back to marina with boat yard worker (Joe). Have a look at half sunk power boat. Drive around looking for boat yard boss (Alec) before collecting heavy lines from Calypso and securing half sunk boat before it really sinks.
09:30 - 11:00 - A bunch of cruisers rock up and between us, we manage to bucket the water out of the boat and get it floating again. Turns out Sea Quest returned due to low oil pressure and with a 1 week motor ahead, didn't want to cook their engine. At least it wasn't the rigging that I spent the past few days tensioning.
11:01 - Back for another round of coffee.
12:00 - Daily My Name is Earl catch up. Well into Season 4, and Jason Lee is on top form.
12:30 - Check position of our friends on Irreversible - 10 miles outside Nazare. Start collecting measurements for our rudder stock rebuild, as well as answering emails from various folks who might have a suitable mast for us back in the UK.
14:00 - Walk around to harbour entrance with Lauren to photo Irreversible coming in. Much trading of Hungarian insults follows as they enter safe waters.
14:30 - Run back to the pontoon to take Irreversible's lines and get them secure after an overnight passage.
15:00 - Alec needs to borrow our outboard and fuel to tow the half sunk (now *just* floating) power boat around to the dock. Much hilarity ensues as we "borrow" the harbour master's launch, attach the outboard, and tear around the marina with rather large fishing boats moving around, waiting to offload the day's catch.
17:00 - No chance of visiting the engineering shop today to discuss our new rudder and bearing. Begin discussing what dinner will be that night when we notice two sailboats circling just outside the marina, looking for berths. Quickly move Sea Quest back a few places so one boat can slide in, before walking up to the fishing dock with some cruisers to take the lines of the German youth welfare boat.
18:00 - Beer o'clock. Grab Alec, Pete (Irreversible) and a couple of the guys, and head back to Luis'. Can't beat rounds that only cost £4.
20:00 - Back to Calypso for dinner and bed.
