Flat Calm - Leaving Fig da Foz - Click for larger picture (110K)
We left Figueira da Foz at about 11 in the morning, motoring out in convoy with Chris in Wild Rose. Once out at sea, a gentle onshore breeze sprand up and we managed to spend several hours ghosting down the coast with the chute up. Just before sunset a group of dolphins came and played beside us for a while - then the sun went down, the wind dropped and the motors went on. It was after 11 when we arrived at Peniche where we were stopping for the night. We didn't see much of Peniche (didn't go ashore) but it certainly seems the busiest (and undoubtedly the noisiest) fishing port on the Portuguese coast.
Flat Calm - Leaving Fig da Foz - Click for larger picture (110K)
The next morning we raised anchor early, at about 8.30am. This time there really was no wind and so, although we hopefully hoisted sail on a few occasions, the motor stayed on all day. Another visit from dolphins cheered us, though. It was getting misty as we arrived in Cascais, around 6 in the evening. Toby and Eric on "White Bread" were already at anchor, so we dropped our hook nearby and dinghied over to join them. They had bought a huge flagon of diabolical local wine, which we duly helped them to consume.
The next day, we explored the town. We liked Cascais. It is a holiday resort, but for the Portuguese rather than for package tourists. It has a good range of shops, and there is a particularly good "Mammoth" hypermarket conveniently placed close to the anchorage. This is a very good place to stock up on non-perishable items for the longer sails ahead. There were some particularly good tinned meals - turkey or lamb with vegetables, and so on. Served with rice, one of these tins would make a good easy meal to eat while sailing. They were good value, too. We did make the mistake of buying several tins of meatballs. These were tasteless and had an unpleasant gelatinous texture. Still, they all got eaten eventually. The hypermarket even had a bar, handy for relaxing after a tough shopping trip.
It was in Cascais that Carole came back to join Chris on Wild Rose. He had had no trouble singlehanding down the Portuguese coast, but I'm sure he was glad of a crew for the longer legs coming up. Of course, after a brief "honeymoon" they were soon arguing as much as ever.
Cascais is just up the river from Lisbon. There is no anchorage in Lisbon, just marinas, so we left the boats at Cascais and took the bus to visit the capital city. A beautiful city with a unique atmosphere - I wont't attempt to descibe it in detail, you must see for yourselves. As in Porto, it was good to see a city with a long history, which hasn't been severely bombed and poorly rebuilt - parts of it still have quite a medieval feel to them.
ascais was also good for nightlife, with an excellent club called Coconuts. This was the best club of our journey, and well worth a visit if you're into that kind of thing. It was large and busy, with a good atmosphere. Partly outdoors (on a rocky headland) and partly indoors, there were several different areas and bars. Paying was done on a ticket system - you had your card marked with your drinks, then paid on the way out. So make sure you take enough money....
One morning, we got back from the club at about 4am, and dinghied out to the boats to find them rolling in the most enormous swell. There was absolutely no wind, so the boats were pointing in all directions rather than head on to the seas. Normally rolling doesn't bother me, and I can sleep like baby in a reasonable swell, but this was truly exceptional. Never, anywhere, before or since, have I seen boats rolling so much - it seemed as though we were rolling through at least 70 degrees, maybe more. Nothing would stay put, and even the most determined effort failed to stop things from moving and banging in the cupboards and lockers.
This rolling lasted 2-3 days, during which time it was virtually impossible to sleep or do anything else constructive on the boats. Then it gradually died down. Thus was born the phrase "Cascais Roll" in our vocabulary. Whenever we're in a rolly anchorage we'll say to ourselves "Well, it's a bit rolly here, but nothing like a Cascais Roll".
While in Cascais, Eric and Toby had their tender stolen, and also some gear taken from their boat. They were partly to blame, as they had been staying ashore with some friends ashore for several days, leaving their dinghy on the beach and the boat unattended (possibly unlocked) at anchor. As they were not insured, they paid the price in full. In these circumstances it is traditional to blame any French yachties in the vicinity, and tradition was adhered to on this occasion. Let me emphasise that I have absolutely nothing against our cross-channel neighbours - Sarah and I, both fluent francophones, were friendly with a number of French boats. None of these would have dreamed of stealing from another boat. But tradition is tradition......
