A    Albania, Adrian, Anne, Adriatic, Amphitheatre, Accordion, Almerimar
B     Belinda, Boat, Bill
C     Charli, Colin, Cleopatra, Corfu, Croatia, Canada Day, Constellations, Cefalu, Carloforte, Culatra
D     Dora, Dubrovnik, Dolphins, Dinghy
E     Eden, Emma, Eugene
F     Funeral
G     Georgie, Geoff, Greece, Gjirokaster, Grand-canal, Gelateria,Gibraltar
H    Hydrovane
I      Izzy, Ionian, Italy, Ice Cream
J      James
K     Kiwis, Kotor
L     Lesley, Logan, Lost-dinghy, Lunar Eclipse, Lido
M    Maddy, Montenegro, Murano-glass, Mallorca-Cala D'Or
N    No dinghy, New Dinghy
O    Oysters, Opera
P     Pen, Paxos, Pula-ruins, Peggy Guggenheim, Passage, Palermo, Pasta, Pizza , Portugal
Q    Q-Flag
R     Reef, Reading
S     Shirley, Split, San Marco Square, Sarande, Sicily, Syracuse, Sardinia, Sextant, Stars, Sotogrande,
       Super-yachts, Song
T    Tim, Tatiana,Thunderstorms, Tuna, Taorormina, Tyrrhenian-sea, Trigger-fish
U    Ukele
V    Venice, Vaporetto, Volcanos
W   Willi, Wine
X    Xtremely long nights hand steering
Y    Yarns,Yachts
Z    Zut, Code-Zero

Stats Onegin 2018

2743nm
18 guests
8 countries

Count down to boat launch starts from the day you decide to book a flight, it’s the kick start you need to start a new list, review last years list and see what kind of crossover there is between the two. The Captain is a keen list maker, which means he is very organised.


What key items made it to this years prep list?
Portable generator
Water quality tester
Iridium Go
Works list at Cleopatra (including inclining injectors and resolving the starter motor issue)
Varnish cabin sole boards
Treat teak decks with borocol


This is by no means the full selection but the fun is in the discussion, thought process and final outcome.


Why a portable generator?
After a great deal of research and thought about where to place the washing machine which we installed last year, the next challenge was to work out how to run it whilst not attached to shore power, trying to determine the real facts of the wattage for the machine and figure out what it would need in terms of generator power. It’s a lengthy tale which ran from the challenge of speaking to the Czech manufacturer, posting a question on the Cruising Association forum (which is like a Pandoras box with some very useful suggestions and a sub text of people making snide comments about each others suggestions) and eventually managing to run a test using the targeted Honda 2000i in situ which was generously offered by a CA member who was also at Cleopatra and ended up discovering that the generator wouldn’t do the job. Secretly it was a relief, having been in an anchorage off Sardinia where someone was running their generator for hours which was very obnoxious. We still have the benefit of being able to use the machine when we are in a marina when crew changes typically happen. The secondary benefit would have been to be able to use our coffee machine (those of you who have enjoyed the delights will understand) but it’s a pretty pricey solution for a decent cup of coffee!! 
Conclusion
Take care when ordering electrical goods for the boat: one small change in a order makes a huge difference in the functionality. Modern AC equipment requires pure sign wave power so don't buy the option with a LED type controller, instead go for less complex manual control version.
Consider an alternative: upgrade the inverter so it will run washing machine and coffee machine!


Water Quality Tester
The water maker, also installed last season, was the best thing ever, but we were nervous of the success of the pickling process, hoping if we had wintered the machine properly and effectively. We were confident in the quality of the water it produced but wanted verification. Thanks to our Norwegian friend Per Ole, we zoned in on the tester we wanted. After a couple of days of the boat being lauched we were able to concentrate on un-pickling and testing. Delighted to say for the small investment of around £30 our water quality is that of mountain spring and we don’t have to rely on shoreside water supplies, which often don't exist in Greece. Our next investment is a new design of emergency reverse osmosis desalinator, the ORKA, using cutting edge technology and offering a back up water supply and battery charging. Designed by Georgina Skinner.


Iridium Go
To Go or not to Go. Ah the lengthy debate, extensive research, review, discuss, review, discuss. This piece of kit is being considered whilst we are still in the Med so we can practice using it, get up to date weather and feel comfortable with all aspects. The decision was not to Go, firstly roaming charges in Europe have been removed and from mid June the data package we have will enable us to get weather easily, we are only in Greece for the season and local SIM cards are an option too. It’s on the cards for next year, the Captain who was so convinced we needed it now has a possible other idea.


Works list at Cleopatra
Periodically throughout the winter I have exchanged emails with the technical department at Cleopatra. As we know ensuring work is completely in a timely fashion from a long distance is always a little worrisome but the emails of assurance from the yard seemed ok. Once on the ground the Captain had at least three visits to the office to get the mechanics to come and show exactly what had been done. Start motor problem resolved with old wiring removed but the work on the engine bearers was by no means complete. It’s very frustrating


Varnish cabin sole boards
Leroy Merlin sell the best varnish called V33, highly recommended by our friend Jorge Rainha from Lisbon and used very successfully on Onegin in 2016. Would we have enough on board? Which type had we used? (record keeping is essential with boat works and despite the excellent list making some things fall through the cracks) . With the Captain at the boat early and me still in Lisbon the WhatsApp traffic was constant, and making sure we had supplies enough. Picking the time to do the sole boards was the next challenge. The guy was finishing the work on the engine bearers, the wind was whipping up a sand storm, I was due to arrive. What a treat to have super bright work. Well done Captain!


Treat teak decks with Borocol
Our friend Jorge also gave us a great tip to keeping our decks in tip top shape. hose down decks with fresh water and apply with even brush strokes the liquid borocol. Allow to dry. Over a period of approximately two weeks the decks will take on a new sharper look. We had been able to purchase a huge container of this from Spain when the boat was in Lisbon so thought we’d have no troubles only to find at the end of last season the 10 litre container had been squashed in the gas locker, the lid had cracked and contents had spilled out leaving us with nothing. Jorge to the rescue! he left us two 1.5 litres bottles to be packed in carry on luggage. The Captain was able to undertake this job once we had left Cleopatra and washed off the orange sand dust that seemed to creep into every part of the boat. Alongside another boat in Port Mandraki, Corfu the morning of boat cleaning was complimented by our German neighbour who said they used exactly the same treatment.


Travels with Onegin


We left the yard with the Captain’s surveyor friend Hugh. He had arrived with enough time to do the hull survey and spent a week with us doing a week long sea trial! We travelled north to the top of Corfu, intending to circumnavigate but weather conditions on the west side of Corfu are quite different to those in the channel between the mainland and the island. The rich history of the region is fascinating, the influence of the Venetians is huge and of note architecturally. The sea battles were well depicted in the fortress above our safe harbour in Port Mandraki. The extra virgin Olive oil available in Lakka, Paxos was delicious. The freshly caught mackerel purchased from the fishing boat was a delicious feast.


Back to Lefkas to switch crew and have Jamie & Katy Morgan join us, we were ready for the next steps to head south in the Ionian. Fiskardo on Cephalonia, the blue caves and Ship Wreck Bay on Zakinthos, the little, dockside Greek man with honey, lemons, bread and eggs. The big winds fill in at 3pm every day, speed up along on the the trip to Katakolon where we went inland to Olympia. 


Every potential Olympian should have to go the home of the Olympics in order to qualify. Over a period of 1100 years some 4900 athletes won medals, approximately 900 of their names have fantastically been found been recorded in stone! The Olympic legend continues now as the flame and the games travel around the world but the birthplace of the games is a treasure to behold. For the Captain, it was an honour to able to return some ashes of the Olympian Bernie to the home of the Olympic flame.


Another week complete and on to Patras for the next crew change. Goodbye Morgans, hello Carrie McDougal. Boat cleaned, laundry done, sails up and permission to pass under the bridge spanning the entry to the Gulf of Corinth. Thunder rumbling in the distance, we shoe horned Onegin into the delightful Mediaeval harbour at Nafpaktos. A treasure of a place, with more Venetian influence. The harbour is a horse shoe shaped with high walls surrounding it, a very secure fortification.

​

Sicily to Greece: we hadn’t done a passage for a while so the 380nm in 54 hours felt quite arduous. It was the Captain and myself taking it in turns, getting back in the swing of watches and realising how much energy we had put out with guests on board. The only crisis we had was being unable to find the Greek courtesy flag which we both felt sure was in our flag bag. Not a blue and white flag in sight so at 6am I fashioned a perfect alternative with a solid blue signal flag and white electrical tape.

Argostoli: this was a perfect spot to make landfall. Our lines were taken by a super friendly Greek man and we were so close to the Port Police we just had to step a few metres to get checked in. It is a lovely town with great markets, restaurants and a relaxed atmosphere. We regrouped, did the laundry started to think about the jobs we needed to do for layup and generally relished the last few days.

Argostoli to Preveza: we had two full weeks to get to Preveza and leave the boat so the first few days we mosied in the Ionian. Met some fun people and navigated the Lefkas canal into Preveza marina where we set about finishing the boat cover (thank goodness this job had been started in Naples). It was a big undertaking and going up and down the companionway from the dock to sew was quite challenging pulling the ever growing cover with me . Incredibly nothing got stitched to the wrong piece and the last touches were done with fingers crossed it would fit once Onegin had been lifted! the only casualty in the proceedings was my pride when I misjudged the passarelle whilst carrying a roll of canvas and slipped off into the drink! lesson learned: don’t try and carry too much and make sure the passarelle is square to the dock before rushing off….

Cleopatra Marina: rain and wind in the forecast we arrived at the travel lift within our time slot, were lifted and moved so efficiently and politely we couldn’t fault it. The rain did ease off to give us time to remove the sails and get the cover on pretty quickly which was a huge relief because it actually rained for the balance of our time so all jobs were conducted in the dry and protection of one very snazzy cover! The yard is huge with row upon row of boats chocked up for the winter. Onegin was so close to the back forty that we were very grateful to have our bikes to get around. We wondered at what point in the season the boats in Row A had been pulled, we were in Row O in October perhaps they came out in April. Boat put to bed we waved a soggy goodbye returning to Lisbon five months to the day we left.

There is something about not writing the blog that perpetuates the problem of not having written it. It’s a little like not picking up the phone and having a chat just because you haven't for a while and then you feel guilty that you haven't so you don’t even when you're thinking that the other person could just as easily call…..

So here we are back in print, catching up on the missing months before we start the next great adventures with Onegin.

We left the boat in Rome for a month, returning on September 1st and joined by our wonderful family crew James, Charli & Georgie. What a fantastic way to get back on board. What would Italy have in store for us?

In summary:

Pontine Isles: fabulous spot. Popular but a great place to blow up the birthday present which was a paddle board. Paddle boarded on Lake St Louis, Canada in August  in flat calm so decided this would be easy, not so with a little bit of wind the experience was very different but what a fabulous toy. We all thoroughly enjoyed trying it out and highly recommend this as an activity at anchor!!  a couple of days in this area was perfect, then headed to Gaeta on the mainland as big wind was forecast. An attractive town with a US Naval vessel alongside ready to wake you up at 8am sharp with the Star Spangled Banner.

Ischia to Capri: the islands are stunning. The colours so vibrant, the blossoms overhanging the walls and the clear blue skies. We couldn't fault it and loved exploring the small harbours. Capri was a bonus as we were able to spend three hours for free in the marina as we were there in the morning. Perfect time for a hike up the hill to the town, which is really lovely if a little overcrowded with tourists. It’s hard to imagine what it would be like in the peak season bearing in mind this was September. But the treasures of the local art galleries and emporiums oozed understated luxury and a taste for good things.  Then dashing back to the boat to leave the marina and nip around to the back of the island to Il Faraglioni to join the small yachts and the super yachts at anchor. It doesn't matter what size or type of boat the view is always the same and a beautiful anchorage is exactly that for all of us. Coincidences at sea never cease to amaze - the Australian couple who left Sardinia in a blow some six weeks earlier, dropped anchor almost adjacent to us. We were happy to see them all in once piece!

Torre del Greco: Bay of Naples. Sight seeing Pompeii and Vesuvius. The Latin scholars in our family were so excited to see the house of Caecilius “Caecilius est in horto”  with his “canis Cerberus”

Saying good bye to family, preparing for friends. A sad and happy time.

Boat work: Starting work on the winter cover in between guests. Thank goodness we chose to do this because the next opportunity to sew was in Greece, on the dock before the rain started.

Eight legged gifts: octopus from Marco, every morning we were woken at 6am by the locals heading out in the small boats to catch supper for the evening. At 9am of the second morning we saw Marco who tied up behind Onegin so we started chatting about his catch of the day which was two octopus. We had a good chat, he’d worked in the US for a while and was very fluent in English. We didn't expect to see him again as he had food for a few days or more. The next morning, he was back and we showed our surprise but said it was lovely to see him again. He then said he had a present for us and lifted out of his net a live octopus, put it in a bag and said for you,’ handing it to me. Delighted I accepted and then hesitatingly asked what do I do with it given it was still alive. It was at this point he realised I hadn't a clue! so he took back his gift, opened up the bag, despatched the creature with a blunt instrument and gave me the best lesson in cooking ever. With this info and a second octopus bought at market when Jeff & Cynthia arrived we were well on the way to delicious pan fried octopus better than even the best restaurants serve!

Bay of Naples to Sicily, or not: Jeff Cynthia,Dean & Elizabeth arrived so we were ready for the off.

Capri. This time we were lucky enough to stay in the marina despite the exorbitant pricing between a group it’s not so bad… although there weren't any other options as it was sadly not a calm night for anchoring behind the island. Then back to the Amalfi coast, we hoped we would get favourable winds to sail down to Sicily to drop off Dean & Elizabeth. Whilst the boys weren't drawn to their peril by the sirens off the coast we realised that the best laid plans are there for change as the seas and wind were not comfortable.  Despite this we had some really wonderful sailing and stops.

Amalfi was a highlight: Julio was the swarthy harbour master who boarded our ship as we were approaching, took the helm and drove Onegin like no-one could believe into the tightest parking spot ever. The Captain was aghast, the First Mate was marvelling at the skills of this very smooth talking Italian and the rest of the crew delighted because they could step off the boat onto the pontoon without taking a breath! Amalfi really is a jewel of the coast line and I’ve never seen lemons so huge!

Agropoli: We diverted here after attempting to make headway to Sicily and what a lucky thing we did. This particular town is not so special but Paestum which is a short train ride to the north west is the most incredible archaeological site https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paestum. Well worth visit and fascinating The sight of three Greek temples rising out of the landscape is incredible.

Maratea: having determined we would not make it to Sicily in time for Dean & Elizabeth they quickly changed flights and figured out the rail options. Maratea is a charming town perched high above sea level. It’s a good hike to the town and even more of a trip to the statue of Christ, luckily a local taxi driver was happy to take six passengers up to the top of the world (that’s what the view was like from up on high). This was followed by our final dinner together in a fabulous local restaurant where we had our second coincidence of September. As we went to our table, I recognised our sailing friends Will & Rosie Pedder sv Zorra (live in Dulwich but we met via Sune Carlson, Sweden….). This is a very tiny marina and a very tiny town and we wouldn't have been there except for the weather conditions that had hampered our journey. What a lovely surprise!

Aeolian Islands: departure bright and early for the train to Rome meant the rest of the crew were ready for the off: destination Stromboli. It would be a 14-16 hour sail but we were ready. Conditions were perfect so off we set. The best time to sail by Stromboli is at dusk/sundown as you just start to see the belching eruptions that occur every 8 -10 minutes. We could see the volcanic island from a long way away as the visibility was ideal but this has its disadvantages because your watching, watching and watching for something you can’t see because it’s still daylight. Sun goes, and I declare that this volcano watching is very dull and if something doesn't happen NOW I'm going down below. A split second later Stromboli lights up and the four of us are so very excited. This is a first for us, although the Captain has sailed by at night time racing in the Med Sea Race a few years ago . Suffice to say we were very happy.

Volcano: The chain of Islands offer some wonderful places to drop anchor. Another highlight was the morning hike on Volcano which is another island that is actively spewing sulphur and is easily  accessible. It is easy to see how people could become volcanologists - it’s quite fascinating and almost other worldly.

Millazzo, Sicily: this is where we said our goodbyes to Jeff & Cynthia. September had been a great month with family and friends on board. Italy offered up so many treats from delicious food to picturesque towns and idyllic anchorages as well as great company. But we were bound for our winter layup destination in Greece.

​June 22nd-July 19th
 
About two thirds of the way through the crossing to Sardinia the wind had picked up and we were on a great course. The conversation went something along the lines of ‘so we are on course for the Fornelli Passage which is about 30nm from Alghero (our original destination) and at this rate we’ll arrive in time for breakfast. Let’s go and anchor there and then we’ll be closer to the area we want to sail with Willi and Shirley, and it must be easy enough to get from the airport to there……’
 
With that decision made, the balance of the crossing was relaxed and after two nights of full moon and clear skies we were excited to be close to the next stage of the adventure. The only part of the crossing that had caused any concern was about an hour after sunset on the first night a space ship landed on the horizon or at least that’s what the moon looked like from my perspective. I ended up on watch at sunset the next night and waited, waited and waited for the same vision. Having your eyes glued to the horizon for an hour and a half is a bit silly but eventually the same spaceship landed. What a relief!
 
The Fornelli Passage should only be taken in calm weather as it is 3m at shallowest. The leading lines make it easy to navigate as long as you follow them! L’Aconda was like arriving in a mini paradise, perhaps it was the euphoria of having done another 48 hour crossing and arriving to crystal clear waters. We had the same sensation in Formetura. How will we feel if we cross the Atlantic and reach the Caribbean? I can barely imagine.
 
We had a day and a half before Willi and Shirley arrived, they had landed in Rome the same time we hit Sardinia and we needed to work out how they would make the journey to Onegin from the Alghero airport. The challenge was met by the excellent Sardinian bus service at €6 a head! The Captain took the dinghy and a good book : The Girl Who Saved The King of Sweden) ashore around the time we thought they would arrive, whilst I stayed on board, fidgeting and watching endlessly through the binos. The eventual excitement of seeing our dinghy laden with guests and luggage was enough to make me jump up and down waving my arms so frantically that anyone watching could easily have mistaken my actions for distress or that of a crazed woman. All to say, we were thrilled to welcome our dear friends back aboard Onegin for a third adventure (the Baltic and then Norway being the previous two).
 
Weather being what it is, we quickly concluded that a calm night on the hook would be followed by a couple of days of serious mistral and so to beat it we set forth for Castelsardo first thing the next morning.  There we enjoyed a couple of days of provisioning (parmesan by the brick for next to nothing), sight seeing, meeting old acquaintances and sitting out the Mistral (still wonder what happened to the Austialian couple who left the safe harbor into a lee shore at the worst of the blow?!).
 
In Castelsardo we bizarrely met some old acquaintances,  Hylasia a Hylas 42 with pale blue covers, teak decks, a young couple with a small boy was tied up a few boats away from us. Trying to place the boat, after a process of elimination and a short conversation we realized we had seen them in Traena, Norway two years ago. This is a tiny island which hosts an annual music festival. So again we saw Lena from Traena, Hans and three year old Linus. Lena said that if we met again a third time it would be custom to invite us aboard Hylasia and so we did three days later – except they came about Onegin instead. We also received some great cruising tips from a Swedish couple, Peter and Elizabeth on a HR 54’  Ananda.  Schal  (with an umlaut over the a) to all!!
 
With the Mistral mostly blown through we were able to head for Bonifacio on Corsica, the seas through the Straights would still be troubled so we wanted to wait a day before heading east. What an amazing place. The harbor is settled in a natural inlet which cuts deep into the rock and the old town sits proudly looking down on the super yachts, fishing boats small sailboats like ours and other sea life. Not wanting to be stung by the 6+ charge (V high) of the super-yacht marina we opted to go and anchor in the one suggested anchorage, which turned out to be a mooring with slime lines and rings to tie to ashore. Some time later we were finally settled, having disentangled the slime lines and removed half the blue anti-foul from the stern onto our new, white mooring lines and t-shirts. Throughout the process we watched on, open mouthed as yet another super yacht cruised into town. Boat secure and dinghy ready we set off to tour. The old town is beautiful with well maintained fortifications enabling the fit and healthy visitor to climb up and down the ramparts stairs. The biggest yacht, Lady B, a Georgetown registered vessel was 150’ long with a 150’ mast. YIKES!! Wouldn’t want to have to climb that one…
 
The charm of Bonifacio was that you could walk along the board walk right next to the massive yachts and take it all in without snooty security shooing you away from the fancy hard wear, which happens in many places.  It was a worthwhile stop despite the 8.30 bang on the hull next day and demand for €25! Some smarter, less sleepy boats were up and away at the crack of dawn to avoid this rude awakening….Ah well. Lines free and on our way through the Straights of Bonifacio in flat seas. Real anchoring begins again.
 
The island group of Maddalena is a nature reserve and the pilot book warns of having to take mooring buoys and anchoring with care. Wary of this we found ourselves in some stunning bays alongside a few other yachts and no mooring buoys and no problems. We had been recommended to go to Port Gavetta on La Maddalena the main island of the group as it is a charming town. We tied up stern to the town quay, hopped on our bikes/rented bikes and cycled 12km out to Isola Caprera through the park area. It was a glorious ride only marred by the Captain getting a flat tire just as he started the return journey. No spares in hand it was a long, slow ride back with Willi kindly keeping him company, he ‘limped’ home to a superb evening meal at a local restaurant, Portugal winning the football and gelato to top it off.
 
We had tons of mini trips. We did a trip into Porto Cervo where the 1983 America’s Cup Italian challenger now lies ashore. This was a fun trip for Willi as his team sailed against this boat in the Canadian campaign. With a little foresight we could have arranged as Royal Beaver YC and RORC members to go alongside and visit the Yacht Club Costa Smerelada, established in 1967 by the Aga Khan,  but since we hadn't managed to think that far ahead we were shooed away by a polite but firm hand wave  from a sharply uniformed marineria in a RIB! We watched the TP52s racing just outside of Porto Cervo as we jostled for the best vantage point along with a number of very large motor yachts. We anchored in Cala Bitta where we encountered Hylasia for a third time and had the three of them on board for beer and giggles (Linus was a big giggler). The sail from Cala Bitta to Liscia was great fun as we short tacked between the islands in a breeze building up to 25kn. It was reminiscent of the family and friends crewed Round the Island Race we did a while back, short tacking past Bembridge with Charli on the helm.
 
Liscia is a great anchorage and was our base for two days. Kite surfers and wind surfers dominated two thirds of the bay as the wind picked up and we picked our way into to a spot close to the north west shore. The next big wind was blowing so we settled in to marvel at the kite and wind surfers skill, take a hike from one end to the other of the 5km beach (tiny pebbles which left our feet quite sore!) and when the wind really howls and you plan to stay aboard: boat work. NAVTEX rewired with a new aerial and fly screens darned. Thank you Willi and Shirley for the help!
 
We returned to L’Aconda for a calm night and back through the Fornelli Passage, this time we were taking our guests to the airport (or at least as close as possible unlike the pick up). Just before Alghero is Neptune’s Grotto, which is a cave accessible either from the sea by tour boat or down  750 steps and of course back up 750 steps! Having neglected to take any money we were only able to see the outer caves, but it was worth the climb nonetheless. Algehero was our final stopping place with Willi and Shirley; it’s a stunning old town with a great feel. We enjoyed market day and a last meal ashore: the local recommend dish is paella and it was delicious!!
 
Fond farewells and happy memories we waved Willi and Shirley goodbye until the next time and Onegin with her permanent  crew left Alghero to head south down the west coast of Sardinia. The island continued to offer surprises and wonderful, stunning scenery. There are endless beaches and anchorages in crystal clear waters that stretch for miles. Picking our way down we discovered that while fantastically beautiful, some of the coastline is quite exposed so we were lucky to make it to Cagliari before the next big wind hit (the mistral seems to blow for 2 to 3 days  once every 7 to 10 days).  Stops included a mooring buoy off of Tharros, which was a Punic-Roma town, and you eat dinner in the cockpit watching the sun set over the ruins! The seas on the way into Cagliari were challenging with a fairly light wind and in a  horrible beam sea we rocked and rolled all the way in, blowing out the cringle on the clew of the main with a very loud bang as we entered the bay with the wind building and knocking us sideways.
 
We stayed in the Marina del Sole, which was something of a time warp, family run and being held together by a  a jubilee clip and cable tie wish and a prayer or two; we had a really great five days there. Having the sail maker repair the sail, having the wind blow 30kn for three days and meeting with Johnny and Tina from New Zealand (we had met him with Charli in Mallorca!!) making friends with Joe and Dawn an American couple on sv Pixie Dust. He is an ex marine and has sailed for ever and Dawn has sailed for about four years and is an amazing gutsy lady. Loads of fun to meet them. The local boat dwellers were interesting too: Lyn from north Wales who had been resident for five years and Les from Edinburgh who had been resident for six years. The greatest achievement of the week was repairing the outboard: yes it had failed us again and we were ready to happily lose it overboard! The Captain however, persevered. Within the last 12 months with very little use, this outboard had previously been ‘repaired’ by two ‘professionals’ one in Cork and one in Lisbon. It had worked  OK for a while and then started to behave erratically (arguably so do I, but that’s another story). This time we felt it was bad fuel, so took it apart emptied the fuel put it back together. Another false start or three. The final solution came after having taken the carburetor completely apart to inspect and clean everything , the Captain found a bent pin on the fuel supply that kept getting stuck closed. It must have been put back incorrectly during one of it’s previous ‘services’ and got bent. Now straightened up and reinstalled properly, the motor is as good as new! Fantastic.
 
With the forecast clear, we made for the southeastern corner of the island in order to get back up towards La Maddelena before planning to cross to the mainland. There are few ports of refuge along this coastline and after a number of days of big wind the sea continues to roll in as we discovered on a particularly uncomfortable rocking and rolling night. When the boat rocks and rolls there is really no position to sleep in where your insides don’t lurch from one part of your body to another. You don’t feel sick just completely discombobulated and very tired!!! Our last anchorage ended up coming sooner than anticipated, Arbatax was a very sheltered anchorage, shared with quite a few other boats and the local festivities with fireworks and boats parading in the distance.
 
It was a lovely spot marred by the fact that the main engine (not the outboard – that’s fixed!!) wouldn’t start after multiple tries. This had been an intermittent problem that suddenly got really bad. Not wanting to be stuck without power in Sardinia we eventually fired her up and decided to make the crossing to Rome. The forecast was good with little to light winds (we were not going to risk turning the engine off) and motor sailed the 150nm. It was a noisy, chugging journey, but we made water for half a day, it's best to do this with the engine running so as not to run the batteries down.  This was good since the tanks were almost empty as we hadn’t wanted  to make water in Cagliari and had sailed the remaining days. With the engine running we felt reassured that we’d be able to make it up the river to Tecnomar, which is close to Rome. The sunset over Sardinia was quite spectacular, we were sorry to see the end of our time there but ensuring we had power became the next priority.
 
Twenty seven hours later we were tied up alongside on the River Tiber, the diesel mechanic was on his way. We now have a few days to catch up on jobs, correspondence, sight seeing and life before leaving Onegin for her summer holiday in August. See you again on September 1st!

​May 24 – June 21, 2016
 
We stayed in Gibralater for a week, then refueled buying 180 litres for Euro 100 (yes, you did read that correctly), hopped across to Spain to Alcaideisa for the night on May 29 to collect the bulk of the water maker from the local dealership. The delivery of said water maker was a bit of a fiasco, turned out only some was being sent from the UK (in fact just a bunch of filters) and the rest was sitting in the factory in Spain waiting to be sent on June 3rd- a week after we expected to be leaving Gibraltar. Numerous phone calls and emails later with an extremely helpful chap called Sergi at Eco-Sistems in Spain, we got a delivery destination. After taxi rides to and from the distributor, we finally had all the boxes, but there were still parts missing from the order. It was beginning to feel like an IKEA experience when you believe you have all the parts but the key screw, nut or bolt is missing. Somewhat harried and exasperated we decided to get away from it all and head to Morocco.
 
It’s a 25 mile journey and with the wind on our beam we had a glorious flying trip hitting 8kn across the Straits of Gibraltar, saluted the Rock and the Queen Elizabeth which was in port.  Marina Smir was our destination, we had been warned there would be a long check in time with tea and formalities galore. This didn’t materialize, but we were welcomed by a couple of guys who took our lines, a very grumpy woman at the marina office and the delightful policeman who checked us in and checked our boat for extra people, contraband, who knows what? His biggest interest was what was in the boxes containing the very carefully packed, unassembled  water maker parts….
 
Rick & Julie, s/v Believe were delighted that we had decided to follow in their wake and gave us lots of fantastic info about where to go the following day and also convinced us to join them in a trip into the hinterland to Chefchaouen, the famous Blue City. The bus ride into Tetuouen, the nearest major town with its ancient Medina was a 30 minute , 70 cent treat. Jammed with local people it took us to the base of the entry to the Medina. Neither the aromas from the coffee seller  nor the spice seller cannot begin to be captured by photography, but it was all a feast for our senses. The chickens being delivered in crates on a cart to all the chicken sellers, enclosed in pens waiting to be picked out, chopped and plucked for the next meal; the motorbike delivery guy driving through the narrow streets of the Medina towing a trailer full of supplies, no-one wanting their photo taken. The modesty of the people; the call to prayer and steady flow of men to and from the mosque; the array of hijabs for sale on the market stalls; the knock off designer handbags; the lingerie sellers displaying some surprisingly exotic underwear; the rows of stalls selling shoes; tacky plastic goods and the contrasting piles of delicious olives, fresh fruit or veg. We had encountered  a typical Monday morning… wonderful.
 
The following day we were ready to join Rick, Julie, Marina & Paul s/v Serenita to take two buses to get to Chefchaouen. Just approaching the bus stop a local taxi man pulled over and offered us a ride for €1 each into Tetuouen. We decided this was worth the extra 30c so hopped in, then the negotiation started for the ride all the way to Chefchaouen, which is 60km away. Our man was very persistent and drove a hard bargain with his equally persistent customers. A price was agreed and we paid €6 per head to drive the whole way. Apparently fuel is very reasonably priced in Morocco otherwise we couldn’t see how he could have made any money. The advantage of this taxi ride was that we actually arrived two hours ahead of our expected arrival time so had loads more time to sight see.
 
It is know as the Blue City, and blue it is. The day was glorious as we meandered through the narrow streets of the old town. Passing the hammams with their piles of wood stacked outside to ready the waters for bathing and steaming. Separate hours for men and women. The city was established in the 1400s and clearly prides itself on maintaining its heritage. In contrast to the Medina in Tetuouen, it offered a different insight into the Moroccan people. The carpet seller, who brought out multiple carpets to show his audience, (none of us bought anything from him, rather offered empty promises of coming back tomorrow). It is very hard to get away from the sales pitch and very risky to show the slightest bit of interest in any of the wares on sale as you will be followed, asked what is your best price and so on and saying “no” is not acceptable and seems almost offensive to the vendor.
 
Marina and Paul headed back to the harbor, but with Rick & Julie, we had arranged to stay overnight. We were in a wonderful old hotel in the heart of the walled city. Occupying rooms on the top floor looking out over the rooftops and courtyards of the entire Blue City and across the amazing countryside. The following day Julie, the Captain and I decided to go for a hike up to one of the mosques on the  hillside. It is a well travelled trail and well marked walking route. This time we were greeted by young flower sellers, selling garlands of dandelions for the price of a few dirham or a ‘stylo’, the girls were all asking for ‘stylos’. We wished we had filled our pockets with pens before we left. I happily parted with my ‘I love Cadiz’ pen to one delighted young girl. Having reached the first mosque, we were drawn to higher ground where there was yet another mosque with an even better view of the city and its surroundings. It was a glorious morning and great way to start the day. Next challenge was to get the bus back to the marina. This is a 1 ¾ hour ride, no standing so we were comfortable and again a crazy price of €2 each. It was a fabulous journey to have taken and we are very thankful to Rick & Julie for asking us to join them.
 
Our time in Smir was somewhat marred by the way the marina staff treated us.  We arrived at the end of May and had expected to stay just a couple of nights so we paid for those (more than the advertised rate on the website) in advance. Having decided to take the trip inland we came back to the marina and said that we planned to stay an extra couple of nights, we could either pay immediately or just before we left. This was no problem for them so we waited to pay when we left. Now we are in June, and astonishingly the prices have increased 130%. I was furious and argued the point, they don’t have their prices listed accurately anywhere, they don’t say anywhere that high season rates are so much more and they don’t have a price advertised in the office, but when the marina hold your original boat papers and you have to get the immigration police to stamp your passport just as you leave, there is little you can do. While on the whole Morocco was fabulous, this in particular was a souring experience and one I would warn all fellow sailors to watch our for – it is no wonder they have so few boats. As I write I feel incensed but this was just a taste of what is to come in terms of price hikes…!!!
 
With the next destination pressing on our minds we set sail at 6.30am the following morning for Almerimar, this was a 135nm trip, which we did wing ‘n wing on the same tack in 16 hours with a westerly wind blowing between 20 to 35kn. It was a flying trip and Onegin once again settled into her groove, riding through the waves, with ease and confidence. We’d not intended to arrive at night, but with the wind taking us we made very good time and after surfing into the rapidly shallowing bay, were greeted just after midnight by the mariner at the marina. We were excited to find that Marecat with Per Ole, Merete & Nansen were in the marina.
 
Neither of us had been to the Costa del Sol before, all along the coast there are fields of plastic greenhouses where all the fruit and veg sent to the rest of Europe is grown. I guess we had never really considered how so much produce could hit the supermarket shelves from Spain. Rather naively and romantically, I’d imagined it was grown in regular fields under the blazing sun of southern Spain. Instead there are acres and acres of plastic tents as far as the eye can see all along the coast line. We got a good view of it all on a day trip into Grenada and to visit La Alhambra, its not an eyesore  being reasonably well kept, but its different to expectations. We skirted the Sierra Nevada to see that our eyes hadn’t deceived us from the sea, there is still snow on the peaks despite the temperatures being in the late 20s !! The drive to Grenada is beautiful and La Alhambra was fantastic. Arriving at 9.30am on Sunday it was already busy with tourists. We had made this trip as a last minute decision so were able to get tickets to access most of the site except for the Nasrid Palaces, which were the original Islamic palaces upon which La Alhambra was founded in the mid 1200s. Nonetheless, it was a very worthwhile visit. The grounds are stunning, with very traditional rose gardens, sweet pea, sweet William, topiary hedges, avenues of trees and incredible vistas. It was quite wonderful.
 
La Alhambra and Grenada are must see sites in Spain so we were very happy to have made the effort. We occasionally say that because we live so close we’ll get in the car in the winter and get to these kind of places, but the reality is it doesn’t happen. It’s much easier to work out how to take the bus or hire a car and go when you are already in the neighbourhood. What we would miss in the winter is the glorious sunshine, flowers in bloom and the fact that we can be a little carefree.
 
The experience in Marina Smir had left us a little apprehensive about pricing, but at Almerimar it was not a problem. We were treated with respect as paying customers and quoted a very reasonable rate, which was honoured from start to finish.  Not wanting to sail through the night again we left Almerimar and headed for a small harbor called San Jose, a delightful little harbor with room for very few boats. A night in the fuel dock was all that was available as we arrived after 9pm, hoping to leave at 8 we went over to the marina office to leave an envelope with some money so as to avoid getting in trouble further down the coast. Turns out the early morning staff had arrived and were ready to take double what we had expected. Goodness, if this was the sign of things to come then we will be anchoring in every single bay possible and becoming completely self-sufficient. The pilot book did warn that this particular place was pricey and the Cruising Association pages are full of info about ‘in-season’ pricing but it is still only early June. Apparently there is another price hike in July at San Jose!
 
The struggle and fragility of human life has crept onto our boat a couple of times during the journey from Gibraltar. The radio strikes up with a Pan Pan All Ships and you are immediately tuned in to see if you can help. These announcements come on flat calm days, when there is little sea running and the coast guard is calling out to keep an eye out for a rubber boat, loaded with approximately 30 people or perhaps 15 people, heading for the Spanish mainland; don’t approach but call the location into the coast guard. Our lives, in comparison, are so simple, fine and privileged and we are left wondering what happened to the passengers of these boats, un-knowing as to their destinies.
 
We had chosen to go to one more stop on the mainland before heading across to The Balearics. Note: how to remember the pronunciation after you’ve got it wrong for the  whole winter: imagine a Monty Pythonesk bunch of guys called Eric doing ballet: “Ballet” “Erics”.
 
Cartagena was an opportunity to get the final pieces T-junction for finishing the installation of the watermaker and to do a walking tour of the town, which has three amphitheatres. One restored Roman one with a modern ampitheatre adjacent to it and another in the process of being restored. It is a grand city and a convenient stop for us. Our visit coincided with another boat from Tagus Yacht Center, Pinta from Sweden. Anders and Marianne had left Tagus about two weeks before us but have taken their time to get this distance.
 
It was with great excitement that we left Cartagena bound for Formentura, the closest island in the Balearic group. This meant we were only days from seeing Charli, our first visitor on board this year. A 22 hour motor sail brought us into a delightful bay just as the other anchored boats were waking up. Dropping the anchor in 2 metres over a crystal clear, sandy bottom bay was such a great relief and was the first moment that we felt we’d got to where we wanted to be. The bay was full of day tripping boats, party boats and longer distance sailors. It was June 10th and a glorious day to wallow in.
 
The distance between the islands is quite close so we set sail for Ibiza the following morning scoping out the next couple of anchorages. After a rocking a rolling night in Cala Moli under overcast skies we were delighted to pick up a message from Believe, Rick & Julie had been on our heels so we weighed anchor and headed to another sheltered, quiet anchorage called San Miguel. We enjoyed a couple of nights with them, discussing the merits of self sufficiency: goats, chickens, water makers, washing machines and home made bread as well as more serious issues such as the Presidential election in November. We left them with fond farewells as we headed for Mallorca. Our landfall here was Andraitx, a charming bay with an astronomically expensive private marina €135/night and a fair priced public dock €55/night. Luckily there was room on the public dock and we were greeted by Gabriel, a very helpful and friendly Guarda/official. This was a very important day: June 15th and Georgina’s 21st birthday so we had many happy phone calls and messages back and forth as she celebrated with lots of surprises from her friends and fun with James & Charlie. Birthday congratulations to Grandad Michael too.
 
The mooring was going swimmingly until 3am, when boom the wind piped up to over 20kn and seemed to be broadsiding us. Having gone stern to into the dock, dropping the anchor because there were no slime lines available we were being blown perilously close to the very hard, stone, pier. It was a nerve wracking few hours as the Captain managed to drive us forward, away from the dock shortening up the anchor line and loosening the shore lines. Our neighbours, who had spent the winter there offered great moral support and the following morning told us how after their first big wind had laid three anchors and put their boat some five metres off the pier. I’m not sure the marina would have been any better, as the boats are crammed in on bouncing pontoons.
 
June 16th brought us very sad news indeed, Geoff’s father Bernie had died. The legacy he left is in this blog and these web pages. His passion for sailing and friendships is instilled in the blood of the Captain. It drove the early days of building a cadet dingy, painted in ‘Peking red’, to sail in Bedford Basin, of sailing and teaching at the Royal St Lawrence YC, of wonderful family cruising on Sea Mew on the St John River and Astronomer in the Thousand Islands, of passage making with friends, road trips regattas in the lightning, of bringing me to dinghy racing in the UK, of our wonderful racing and house in Cowes and then sailing for the next generation at Kingston Yacht Club and of course now our amazing voyages on Onegin. We wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t for Bernie. Eight Bells and we are sad, but when we look through his binoculars we see the wonders of life and are forever grateful.…
 
The next day brought some cheer as Charli joined us, we spent a few glorious days anchoring in some stunning calas. Cala Portals with Phoenician caves, a couple of sandy beaches and protection from the wind. Cala Pi, a narrow slip of an anchorage nestled between cliffs in, which we were the only boat until two catamarans slinked in and joined us in much shallower water after dark! Cala Mon, another narrow deserted anchorage where we tied lines to the shore. These were delightful places and a perfect way to spend some precious time with Charli. Our final stopping point on Mallorca was Alcudia, on the north eastern end of the island. Here we enjoyed delicious paella and a walk into the Tuesday morning market with its abundance of tomatoes the size of footballs, mountains of cherries and much more.
 
Heading 80º bound for Sardinia.
 

;May 24, 2016
 
We are back!!
 
Actually, we never went far away just buried ourselves in winter projects on Onegin, work and life in general. It has been an exciting time though as for the first time since having Onegin she has been just a ten minute drive from home. With spreadsheets to hand the  ‘jobs to be done’, ‘items to purchase’ and ‘general maintenance’ lists got longer and longer but it was all ok because we had time on our side: the whole winter or so we thought….
 
There are many stories that go with the jobs and the purchasing of items, too many to tell here but as an idea of what we have achieved here is the list.
 
Jobs completed:
Lewmar windlass installed
Electric loo fitted
Dingy arch fitted to existing radar arch
Rutland wind charger re-sited and raised above height of radar arch
Repair teak decks
Engine maintenance
Corian counter tops in the galley
New upholstery throughout
High tech running back stays
Clutches on mast for halyards
Boom vang rigged back into cockpit
Replace crazed hatches and install solar vent
Replace sikaflex in all deck fittings: in particular the shroud plates which were leaking
Remove bolts in backstay plate to check condition
Rewire/replace masthead light
Repair outboard
New dingy cover
Bike bag
Remodel sail cover and repair zips
Repair sprayhood windows: replace glass & zips
Build hardtop dodger
Change through hull fitting for new water maker
Liferaft serviced
Charts updated
Antifoul bottom
Purchase and install washing machine (almost done)
 
 
Lessons learnt:

1. Start researching big ticket items well in advance- shipping to Portugal is expensive/impossible/lengthy depending on who or what you are talking about
2. Don’t delay ordering, challenge delivery costs
3. Triple check measurements: Onegin is an older boat and has very thick decks so the choices for a windlass because fewer and fewer as the new models are made for modern vessel
4. Micro manage the local workforce. ‘No problem’ is a very popular phrase not to be taken seriously.
5. Because it was sunny all the previous winter/spring doesn’t mean it will be this season so jobs may get delayed: don’t waste a day when the sun is shining and wind isn’t blowing a gale
6. Book your flights far enough in advance with a BA so you don’t have to pay excess baggage  with Easyjet when bringing boat parts back to Lisbon

 
 
 
Where we wintered:
 
Doca Da Alcantara, Lisbon. We were very happy with the service they offered. They were happy to receive parcels on our behalf and kept an eye on the boat whilst we were away. The six month package was very reasonable. It is close to the tram/bus/rail station- within earshot and sight of the April 25th Bridge.
 
Tagus Yacht Center, Amora near Seixal on south side of Tagus 

We spent 10 weeks here: which was about four longer than anticipated as the weather was dreadful throughout March/April making it difficult for some jobs to be done. The workforce comprises Portuguese speaking locals who are all really nice and appreciated our efforts to speak Portuguese (thank you to translation apps and smartphones), they did however need to be managed. Turning up in their workshops and leading them to the boat or taking the relevant part to them was definitely the way to go. Good value hardstanding with a 10% discount with the Cruising Association.
 
Highlights of the winter:
 
 
Highlights of the winter:
 

1. We found a great rigger/carpenter (Jorge & Richard) in Lisbon through an architect who introduced us to an interior designer who happened to own a boat. The two man team fitted the corian for us and did all our rigging work. If you are ever in Lisbon in need of someone let us know.
2. Repairing the deck leaks and subsequently eliminating the smell of cats in the Pullman.
   
3. Bright. Light upholstery. 
4. The dingy arch, Joao Paul the welder: a force to be reckoned with but did a great job
   
5. Buying a flare pack in Bordeaux, France driving to Switzerland for Christmas 

 
Where to next:
 
1215 May 16th - 1730 May 19th 2016
 
Left Doca da Alcantara south bound. Very exciting to finally be underway after a very stressful few weeks/days trying to get the biggest jobs completed.
​
Glorious sunny Lisboa day, perfect conditions to leave in. The Captain was v v excited and took pictures galore.
 
Wind NNW 15-20kn steaming down the coast with one reef and Yankee jib wing 'n wing, average speed 7.5kn all night. Clear night with moonlight. Some odd  knocking sound on or in the hull disturbed our journey in some part. Had we snagged a net or fishing pot or was it something rolling around in the bilge or perhaps the rudder post or folding prop opening and shutting in the large following seas? The sea was running slightly over our starboard side and we were surfing off waves and reaching 10kn so the movement was not usual. After a great deal of deliberation the Captain determined it was most likely the the folding  prop which was knocking with the strange wave motion. By daylight the noise had stopped with the changed sea state. We will do some research on this possible phenomena.
 
Rounded Cabo Sao Vincente at 5am, still dark but as we turned along the southern coast line we were joined at dawn by three dolphins. They stayed with us for around half an hour, which was really fun and lifted spirits after what had ended up being quite an exhausting night.
 
As the day progressed we shed our layers of warm clothing and migrated into shorts and t shirts. The haze disappeared and sun came out. Wind had stayed from NW blowing around 13-15kn dropped and started to shift until it couldn't make up it's mind at all and died completely. Engine on and all but the main furled we motored for a while until the wind decided what to do. Very little traffic out here. One Norwegian sailboat going west and a few fishing boats. A lovely surprise was that we received a text from the Norwegian friends we had made in Tagus Yacht Center. They have a catamaran called Marecat and a Siberian dog called Nansen. We had spent some fun times doing boat maintenance together including the sharing / borrowing of tools advice, a number of beers and good local meals with our German friend Bernt who was also in Tagus to have his rudder replaced (lost off of the Cape Verdes, but that's his story to tell). Their names are Per Ola and Merete. They left Tagus a couple of weeks before us and are slowly making their way into the Med. We are so glad ur paths crossed again, more in this later.
 
The forecast looked good for the rest of the day into the evening so we decided to make the full distance of 237nm to Cadiz, Spain. Another clear sky above us we arrived in Cadiz at 0400, on Wednesday 18th were greeted by the night guard who took our papers and signed us in there and then. This was a great bonus because it meant we could fall into bed and know we wouldn’t be woken at 8am by the authorities!.
 
Cadiz is a beautiful city, lots of great history (Sir Frances Drake sacked the place in 17 something or other and the combined French & Spanish fleet set off from there to an unexpected rendezvous with Nelson's fleet in 1805), fabulous fortifications, a massive cathedral and easy to get round by bike. We also found the Mercado so could buy fresh tuna and fruit.
 
Our main goal after Cadiz was to reach Gibraltar, reasons being threefold. We are waiting for the watermaker to be delivered to Gib, we have friends staying on their boat and it is the gateway to the Med.  With the next weather window being either Thursday 19th  or Sunday 22nd, as otherwise the levanter was going to be blowing from the east hampering entry into the Straits, we decided to head off the next day after fuelling up at 0700. It was a breathless day so we motored down to Cabo Trafalgar and round towards Tarifa. There were a handful of other boats heading the same direction and the excitement on board was palpable as the north African coast became visible above the line of low haze. It really was very exciting to feel you could reach out and touch another continent. The amazing statistic we had both read was that Tarifa experiences some 300 days of wind over 30kn, we were laughing how we had arrived in one of the 65 less windy days when literally 'all of a sudden' as we passed the bay the wind piped up to 30kn in less than an instant so we were under full sail for the last few hours approach into Gibraltar and the engine was off.
 
We are now tied up bow to in Marina Bay, which is right next to the airport (few flights in a day but you could reach out and touch the planes). We have a fabulous view the 'Rock'. We've been busy: We’ve checked out where my mother lived when she was born here;  met up with Rick & Julie from sv Believe; been to Spain across the runway for dinner with Merete & Per (don’t forget your passport); hiked up the Mediterranean Steps to the top of the 'Rock' in clear sun only to be shrouded by the cloud brought in by the levanter; negotiated our way down the fortification steps from the top through a rambunctious troop of macaque monkeys;  removed our hot water heater, ordered a new one from the UK and are still awaiting arrival of the water maker. Oh and after very tentatively cutting a gaping hole in a teak clad bulk head the washing machine has been sited after coming down from Lisbon strapped to the mast in  the middle of the saloon.. It arrived at Doca da Alcantara on Friday 13th May and we left on Monday so no time to unpack and fit it before setting sail. 

We love Lisboa, but are glad to be on the water again. Gibraltar is proving a good pit stop to finish up some projects, catch up with sailing friends and get back into the swing of living on the boat. From the top of the Rock we have seen into the Med and are looking forward to sailing east soon.
 
 

July 22
Good news was that Conconne  arrived safe and sound in Ribadeo. They sweetly gave us the net to confirm the story!! Today was market day in the town- tons of fabulous stalls selling dried meat, cheese, bread and fresh fruit and veg. A step up from the quality of what is available in the supermarket. Re-provisioned we set off for A Caruna. 70nm+ A bit of a sea getting out of the river and then rolling sea again as we headed west. The Captain on watch at nightfall spotted a ship with no lights, we had been travelling in tandem with Conconne and heard Jean Marie call the ship to tell him he had no lights: the response from the ship was that he’d left harbour and forgotten to turn them on…….


July 23 – 25
A Caruna. 2am arrival. Fishing boats galore with search lights that confuse your navigation completely. Lots of traffic coming out including a massive tanker which alarmingly crossed right in front of us : it felt very close especially when looking from the cockpit you could see the starboard light way over on our starboard side and the stern light way over on our port side with the hull right across the channel ahead of us. I think because it was dark it seemed more alarming than it really was! Anyhow into the main old town marina, our lines were taken by the night shift marina guy and we fell into bed.

Next morning we were ready to explore; it’s a really lovely old town and there was a big fiesta happening with mediaeval jesters and music groups wandering around; market stalls selling knick knacks, cheeses, dried meat and all sorts. The town was buzzing and loads of fun to be in. We had a couple of days enjoying the surroundings whilst we waited for the wind to be favourable for the next stretch towards Muxos and the . We also made a new connection with a couple Paul & Jane and their daughter Lily on board Delphinus, who are doing the ARC.

July 25
Dolphin swam past as we left the harbour. Sea state: sideways waves, very rocky and rolly. Sail changes:

1. Main full and yankee jib
2. 2nd reef in main and yankee
3. Main and yankee wing on wing with pole
4. Dropped main and held yankee
5. Code zero held out by boom and yankee on pole “twizzle” style
6. Code zero and yankee furled
7. Furled yankee, hoisted Spinnaker : reasonably stable and no boom banging about, reached 8kn.

Lessons learnt:
1. reef in main does stabilize the boat a bit  in little wind and sideways waves
2. hoist the spinnaker as soon as you think you should
The sun was shining so it was a decent day.
July 26

Muxos fiesta day: drizzle and poor visibility for the sail past. We had hoisted all our flags – ignoring all flag etiquette so as to feel part of the local festivities(Our apologies to the purists in the readership). There were fishing boats laden with people, flowers and branches of trees who went out to sail past the church on the point to give thanks for the safe return of their fleet and bounteous supply of fish.





July 27
Forecast westerly; Sea state wavy

Heading towards Finisterre “ the end of the land”. The western most point of Iberia. This is a notoriously bad place to come close to but we were lucky to have clear skies and light wind to bring us on the 6 hour journey from Muxos. We dropped anchor just outside the fishing harbour and watched as one or two other boats came to anchor as well, the best spectator sport possible. Finisterre is a fishing village and doesn’t cater for yachts which means it has real character. It is the end of the Caminos Trail which pilgrims have followed for centuries. The symbol of St James is the scallop shell and you see this along the trail in the town. We did see a lot of walkers with sticks and backpacks. We stayed put for a couple of days as it rained and we were close to our pick up point for James & Charli. Lots of on board, below deck jobs were done, which was very satisfying.

July 29
8.30am Fog
Arrived Muros  11.30-12. Muros is a beautiful fishing town with a good marina. A number of boats anchored in the bay. During the night a big wind came up and shifted 180°. A boat dragged badly towards the shore and in the morning she was hard aground at a 60° angle on her beam ends: ouch!!!!

July 30
Re-provision for the hungry hoards, laundry, clean boat.  Local DIY store is the BEST and was excellent for some odd bits that you can’t buy in a chandlery and half the price of anywhere else. European adaptor for our shore power cable (small to large plug) 1 male, 1 female part, wired by the staff cost Euro 11. Astonishing. We also found a couple of fold up stools that will be handy for the extra people we have round the dinner table and will stow perfectly at the mast. The green poop deck chair has found a new owner somewhere in France as we decided it had to go: those of you who’ve sat on it will know it doesn’t store very well. The Captain was very happy to see it go.

Local fish stall: all sorts of unknown fish, fresh everyday. The excitement levels are rising with the pending arrival of guests!!

July 31
We were still cleaning the decks when James, Charli & Tom appeared much earlier than we had expected. They caught us making everything shipshape for the guests!! It was lovely to see them all and they arrived with a big bunch of flowers freshly purchased from the market as it was market day in town: lots of clothes stalls but also fruit & veg; charcuterie and queso. The fruit stalls had huge wooden boxes full of peaches, pears and nectarines. Delicious.

Also bags and bags of padron peppers which we discovered actually come from the area: James was thrilled to find these as there is a belief that every third one is like fire and he loves spicy fiery food!!! After attempting to cook sardines on our useless BBQ (it is definitely going overboard or to the nearest tip soon before it ruins another meal) we planned the next few days adventure with the new crew.

August 1-8
We decided to make our first destination one of the three National Park islands for which you are required to have both navigation permission and anchoring permission. We had been warned that it may be hard to get organized so were a little concerned but the process is very streamlined and pretty straightforward to get and all done via the web: sending photos of the boats papers etc and then applying each day for the anchorage you wanted to enjoy. During the high season you are only issued three permits. The first place we headed for was Ilsa de Salvero. Our cruising guide seems to be quite out of date and led us to believe that there would be no-one else around and certainly no-one on the beach as tour boats “aren’t permitted to land”. This was not the case, there were a few people enjoying the beach and they certainly must have been dropped off by someone! Another yacht was anchored so we dropped the anchor just off the castle and the boys swam ashore whilst the rest of us jumped in the dinghy.

We’d expected to be boarded and have our permit checked as we’d been warned to look out for ‘park rangers’ in maroon shirts. We met a very nice chap in said shirt who wandered past us and said a cheery ‘ola’ with no trouble at all. I expect their system works perfectly as it’s computerized so they know who has applied for permission: and on this day it was one sole British flagged boat.

There was a good walk up to the lighthouse where someone clearly lives as there was laundry flying in the wind. There are ponies on the island too which seems a little odd as it is otherwise unoccupied. Nonetheless we were happy with our anchorage and all went swimming: Charli Tim & James swam back after the walk, the Captain and I rowed then swam off the boat.

As we were at the mouth of the Ria de Arosa the next destination we chose was Pobra do Caraminal: we had a good sailing breeze and after dropping the anchor in the bay changed our mind and decided to go into the marina. It was a good choice because we were able to walk round town, bike ride or stay on board at our leisure. We arrived during siesta: a time we are still all struggling with. So it was very, very quiet and not until after 4pm did the streets come alive again. In fact the evening was buzzing as there were market stalls selling all sorts of weird and wonderful things and there were hoards of people enjoying a lovely Sunday evening. The marina had offered some entertainment earlier in the afternoon when a motor boat tried and failed to dock nearly taking out two finger pontoons before finally making safe alongside after the 5th or 6th attempt. It was a miracle no-one got hurt.

Monday 3rd took us back to the supermarket: yes I know we did a BIG shop in Muxa but having three extra mouths to feed has had a big impact on our provisions. Goodness how much everyone eats: we have got used to a much lower impact on the contents of the fruit bowl and fridge and are clearly out of practice. Anyhow, we restocked and then set off for a destination that was just a few miles away. Navigation was through the viveros, which are the low square structures upon which the mussels grow and are farmed. The whole area is populated by these and you would not want to navigate at night as they are all unlit but during the day it is easy enough to motor between them unimpeded. The mussel boats are amazing and come into  the harbours loaded with mountains of mussels. There are mussel canning factories nearby so it’s big business.

The anchorage we chose was a tiny island called Isolte Jidoiro Arenso which was surround by the most perfectly clear blue water and white sand. It was just idyllic and a great place to drop anchor. The beach was marked off by yellow buoys which indicate the area to keep your boat away from to makr the safe swimming area. We rowed ashore and explored: there were some great bouldering rocks which James attempted. It was a lovely anchorage and we were joined by Delphinus a bit later in the day so we asked them over for a visit after supper which was lots of fun. After they left as we had discussed at length whether we would be Ok if the wind changed and the proximity of the yellow buoy we all went to bed. About half an hour later Charli was up and said she thought the yellow buoy was very close to us: in fact we were on it as the wind had shifted some 180°so we made a quick decision to pull up the anchor and move a bit further away. Unfortunately we made this decision a bit too late and realized we were in the sand and not moving: the tide had about 1.5 hours to continue to go down so the time was very limited. We had 5 metres of water on our starboard side and a lot less on the  port side , the boat decided to settle at an angle of 20° where it stayed for the remainder of the lowering tide then gently righted itself when the tide came back up. Needless to say, once we were floating we pulled up the anchor and moved 20 metres ahead so as not to have any more trouble. The issue had been that the yellow buoy was on the end of a moving spit; the chart plotter had us in the right depth throughout the whole experience but a lesson for us was that if we were to swing at anchor then make sure we wouldn’t be so close to the yellow buoys. Delphinus were also on top of a yellow buoy but they clearly didn’t have a sand spit under them!

The following day we had a slow start as we’d been awake half the night waiting for the tide to change but took a fairly straight route out of the viveros and headed for San Vincente del Mar which is a tiny harbour described as “smart” as it is surrounded by some smart holiday homes and hotels. The marina is tiny and we had to wait it out on a bow-to mooring with a pick up stern line just outside the harbour until a space came clear. There is a great long sandy beach nearby which we walked along after supper.

August 5th,
Woke up to balloons decorating the boat: it is fun having a birthday on board!! We wanted to go to the second National Park island so set sail in a stiff SW breeze unsure whether the conditions would allow us to anchor and get ashore. This island is much more populated and frequented by many tour boats, the beach we had to anchor off was a known nudist beach but as the wind was blowing and the day slightly overcast there was only one brave soul baring all according to the rest of the crew who had spotted him parading along the beach. I’ve got to say, I didn’t notice!! We did ferry rides to and from the shore and the Captain decided to stay onboard given the blowy conditions. We were anchored in company so didn’t feel there was any risk but perhaps after the previous nights gentle swing onto sand he felt the brisk wind should be treated with kindness. Ons has one of the few remaining manned ‘faros’ (lighthouse) in Spain and stand majestically looking out across the great expanse of the Atlantic ocean protecting sailors from the rocks. Getting ashore ended up as a slightly bigger challenge than we expected as the outboard has conked out again: this time it seems more complicated so we had to row back and forth against a stiff breeze. The walk round the island was good and as we approached the beach to row back to the boat it started to rain and blow even more. The row back was very wet with waves sloshing over the bow and soaking us.

Our chosen destination in the drizzle was a charming town at the end of the Ria de Pontevedra called Combarro. I had a great sail in, asleep: the luxury of having a birthday means you don’t have to do anything!! The marina is very modern and marina staff super welcoming, and the town itself an absolute gem. It is a restored fishing village, built on granite surrounded by vineyards and steep wooded hills. By the time we were ready to go ashore for supper the rain had stopped and streets had dried out. It really lived up to it’s reputation of being charming. The narrow windy streets of the old town took us past many tapas bars and restaurants that our choice was hard to make. We eventually found the perfect place and had a huge meal of tapas (no comparison to the dishes you get in London or the tapas bar we went to in Lisbon once). It was spectacular, filling and for €77 for five people including drinks, unbelievably good value!

August 6th
Forecast was for a windy day blowing right into the ria but with the sun shining  we decided to go for a bike ride, J, C & T hired bikes for the afternoon and we rode our fold ups. It was a great ride all around the vineyards behind the town and up (a lot of up actually) into the eucalyptus forests. Our fair Captain did say a couple of times that we could turn around when we got to the next corner but somehow he got into the groove and kept cycling. We had hoped to reach the top but with limited supplies of water and the sun beating down, decided to turn back when we were at least 2/3 to the top. It was a great ride down: free wheeling although the brake pads probably need changing now after some of the hairpin bends we navigated. Highlights of the route were the monastery and watching J, T & C cycling on the beach with the tide out as well as the magnificent views from the high ground.

August 7th
A little bit of boat maintenance. We wanted to change the mast-head lights to LED so asked for volunteers to climb aloft. James was the keenest so went up with tools and bulbs in hand only to discover that there was actually something quite odd going on up there. When the tricolour was switched on both it and the anchor light went on and similarly when the anchor light was on so was the tricolour. This is clearly not right : it should be one or the other. After quite some time and a few trips up and down they worked out that when riggers had drilled into the mast in Inverness when recently fitting a new boom vang they must have drilled through one of the wire coating (there was evidence of small pieces of orange wire coating at the base of the mast) which was causing a short circuit. At least we knew what the problem was so could take the bulb out of the anchor light and know that the tricolour would work when we needed it at night. Replacing the wire would be a job for another day: added to the winter list.

August 8th
We said farewell to James who caught an early train from nearby Pontevedra to Santiago de Compostela for his 10am flight. We were sorry to see him go but had lots of fun and some good sailing, even if we only covered a relatively small amount of ground. The morning was sunny and with a good breeze from the NW we decided to make tracks for Baiona, it was a fabulous sail and as we approached the harbour we saw Blew Beyond were just ahead of us, called them up on the radio and determined we’d head for the same Marina so we could catch up on news.

Baiona is a very attractive town, the old town comprises narrow winding streets unspoilt by shop fronts. The Medieval walls of what was a Royal fortress now house a very smart parador (great places to stay in and around Spain and usually occupying former grand buildings, we stayed in some when we visited in 1991 when I was pregnant with J&C!!). The battlements of the castle walls have been well preserved and offer a fantastic 3km walk looking out across the wild seas. The other highlight of the port is a replica of the Pinta, one of the caravels of the fleet of Christopher Columbus which returned on 1 March 1493 with news of the discovery of the New World.  Our Captain was very excited about this having done a multi media (slides, tape recordings of water sounds made in the bath, narration) project on the Pinta in grade 6!

August 9th
The wind which had been gusting over 20kn the night before had completely blown through and left us with a really lovely day to head for Ensenada de Barra, a beach on the north western tip of Ria de Vigo. Now this beach is a full on nudist beach and apparently (Charli , Tom & Geoff can vouch for this) has very few people who are dressed and a great many who parade up and down the beach mostly honey brown but some rosy red. It was a glorious Sunday so all the locals were out in their boats anchored off the beach. At one point when I was aboard alone I could see that two boats who were rafted together were trying to free themselves from something whilst another unmanned yacht was drifting past them and numerous other boats. I realized that they must have snarled up the unmanned yachts anchor and were trying to get free. The owner of the yacht must have seen what was happening as he and his partner frantically rowed from the shore to get on board and secure their boat, not before much arm waving and yelling in very angry Spanish. It was a miracle there was no damage as there were so many boats in the bay: I’m also extremely pleased that they didn’t drift in our direction because I’m not sure how I could have managed alone!

We were joined by Believe & Delphinus who we didn’t know were in the neighbourhood. We had a perfect afternoon on the boat and swimming followed by cocktails and delicious home made pizza on board Delphinus. Hugh Fearnley Wittingstall’s Magic Bread Dough was the base- fast to make and absolutely delicious. As night fell many boats headed home so aprt from the foreign flags there was barely a handful of locals.

August 10th
Following an early morning photoshoot of the sun rising by Charli we pulled up the anchor and headed for Islas Cies for a morning/lunchtime stop. This is the last of the nature reserves and was really good to visit. We anchored off a tiny beach which was jammed packed with people so getting ashore with the dinghy was a little challenging, trying to man handle an inflated dinghy past sunbathers wearing next to nothing or nothing seemed to worry some people. We had done a quick row past Delphinus who had also anchored to see if any of them wanted to join us for the hike up to the lighthouse. Both Jayne & Lily joined us which was fun.  We hiked up to the lighthouse, which on the signs said it was 1.7km away but we reckon that was as the crow flies as the trail was very windy and definitely a longer distance. It didn’t matter but you wonder who had been holding the measuring stick!

Back to the boat and into Vigo. It is a big industrial port with a huge shipbuilding industry still underway. It was quite something to see the ships being built. The marinas are spread out and quite far from the centre of town, we stayed in Marina Davila Sport, a passport marina, where we got our 15% discount. It was a good ten minute taxi ride from town but a good facility nonetheless. The old town is attractive and was buzzing with people later in the evening and there was an open air concert in one of the squares with a local orchestra playing. Charli & Tom were heading back the next day so caught the train and spent the afternoon on Santiago de Compostela, enjoying the sites before their late evening flight. Again we were sorry to see them leave after a fun ten days on board

August 11th
Poor vis, fog/rain. The wind wasn’t blowing the direction it was forecast to blow, instead seemed to be coming on the nose into the ria from the SW and much heavier than forecast gusting up to 30kn at some points. We wanted to get to Baiona so beat out of the ria to get round the corner. It was the first heavy weather we have had for ages and we were in full wet weather gear pretty quickly. This time we decided to stay in the Club Real Yacht Club as we’d been past when we were first in Baiona and thought it would be good to try. We called ahead on the radio and were met by a dock hand who assisted the process- we were bows-to and had to pick up a stern mooring line so it’s quite tricky to manage with two people aboard and the wind blowing you sideways. His help was much appreciated and we were tied up by 8.30pm.

August 12th
Forecast was for a continuing blow from the SW- not what we needed to take us south to Porto so we decided to stay put.

August 13th
8,30am depart for the 65nm to Porto SW12kn due to shift. By 9.30 it had shifted to NW10kn which put us right on course for Porto but was light. After some discussion we decided to put the spinnaker up. This should have been a great decision if it had all gone smoothly but sadly it didn’t go so well and we ended up with a wrap. At this point no-one wanted to be on board and thoughts of magical finger clicking to make it all better may have come to mind. The only way to fix this was to go up the mast, the Captain donned the climbing harness and went skyward. It was a painful process and we should have photos of the bruises as they were quite something but the wrap was unwrapped and the spinnaker filled as it should and we were on our merry way. We flew it for a couple of  hours and then the wind went forward so we had to douse it- again there was a small problem with the snuffer which got stuck halfway down so the whole thing was gently lowered into the forward cabin, untied and the hatch firmly shut. Neither of us wanted to see the spinnaker for a day or two.

Our chosen port was Leixoes (Lesch-oingsh) just outside Porto as we’d been told it was a lot less expensive than the marina in the Douro but convenient for transport into town. After working our way round the “super buoy” which has a 1000m no-go zone as it’s where the oil tankers unload via a pipeline to the shore, we reached the marina reception at 8pm. The harbour is fairly industrial but had a good feel, we tied up alongside and settled down for an early night after a very physically strenuous day.

August 15th
Site seeing in Porto: really stunning city. We loved it and will definitely come back by car from Lisbon for a land visit.

August 16th
Forecast for light NW winds to take us to Lisbon, but with the code zero we thought we would be ok. 7am depart 2kn breeze. By 12.30 we had 6kn SW motoring with staysail to stabilise us. It was a journey with some frustrations just because the wind didn’t really fill in as forecast so we motored alsmot the whole way. 170nm is a long way to motor! By 8pm the sun was close to going down and we had 5.5kn WNW. As it was a 36 hour journey and we were back in Portugal we had decided to use the time to reacquaint ourselves with the language. Having a few on-line lessons on the ipad broadcast around the boat we must have listened to the same lesson at least three times and then started a new one. It was just like Portuguese language school days: intensive 4-5 hour lessons!! We really hope that it’ll put us someway closer to being able to communicate properly….

Nightfall, the engine chugging and eagle eyes looking out for unseen fishing pots : there are sooooo many to keep your eye on. Some are really well marked with flags and some are just a bobble in the water that disappears the moment a wave takes them. We did pretty well and just skirted one along the hull. Aside from that, the excitement was the amazing phosphorescence  which we had for quite a few hours as we approached Peniche. The water was alive in our wake with the glow and even reflected on the staysail. We were also joined by dolphins who took great pleasure in speeding along and across the bow. It’s hard to say how many there were but they were all round the boat. Neither of us had expected the dolphins to join us as we were under power.

Being on watch at 6am I could see the darkness lifting and we were in sight of our last headland: Cabo Raso after which we would round past Cascais and into the Teja. The mount of Sintra was shrouded in fog and this fog crept seaward until visibility disappeared as daylight came. It was disappointing not to be able to see the shore on our approach into Lisbon, we really could have been anywhere. Weekend fishing boats and other yachts emerged very quickly in close proximity so we both had to be on board and alert for the last few hours blowing our foghorn. Talk on the radio from cruise liners and cargo vessels kept us on our toes and close to the inshore route up the river.

11am Doca da Alcantara tied up. Journey over. For the first time we have the boat 10 minutes from home, it’s been a great journey and this year we covered approximately 2000nm. All the way from eastern Scotland to Lisbon via some fabulous cruising grounds in the Western Isles, Ireland, France, Spain and finally Portugal. We met old  friends and made some new cruising friends on the way, thank you to you all for your advice, company and generosity-we hope our paths will cross again.