A river runs through it

In our years at sea we’ve sometimes had a break from the ocean swell or bouncy anchorages and chosen to sail on a river. Yes, it is unlikely that you will get an easy sail but even motoring upriver is a lovely adventure in itself. Plus, you’re…

Gibraltar, Smir, Ceuta and Las Palmas, Gran Canaria.

So we left Queensway Quay Gibraltar and Lis and Paul, our friends who joined us there, waved goodbye to what used to be their home. Next stop, Smir in Morocco to do a quick lesson in power handling, courtesy of Paul. We wanted to make sure that…

Underway

This is just a quickie post to say that we will leave Gibraltar tomorrow, heading for Ceuta and Smir in Morocco for a couple of days and then on to the Canaries. We should be in the Canaries around the 12th of December. We might have time for…

Strait to the point (sorry!)

The strait of Gibraltar separates mainland Spain from Morocco and mainland Africa. At its narrowest point it is only 7.7 nautical miles. Crossing the strait or going through the strait requires an understanding of how that narrow stretch of ocean is…

Pedra Amareta, Punta Umbria, Chipiona and Puerto de Conil

The trip upriver was lovely but we had an ulterior motive in going. We had lost the wind. Our experience of this side of Portugal and Spain (the Algarve and the Costa de la Luz) has been very all or nothing in terms of wind and weather. Normally, if…

Escapees and explorers

We have sailed up the Rio Guadiana, a river which acts as part of the border between Portugal and Spain. It's a lovely spot and we've been here for a couple of days. It was recommended to us by Tom Meyer, who we met when anchoring at Alvor. He said…

Alvor, Portimão, Ferragudo, Faro, Tavira, Alcoutim and Sanlúcar de Guadiana

So, we continue to slowly wend our sleepy way towards Gibraltar. Now that we are into November the weather is not as consistently good (so still good enough for all you English lot to be jealous) so we've been doing a fair amount of wind dodging.…

Vigo – Viana do Castelo – Peniche – Sines – Praia de Arrifana – Lagos

Yup, I'm becoming a master of geography, not to mention my Portuguese pronunciations! I have fallen head over heels in love with the Atlantic coast of Portugal and urge anyone reading this to plan any future holidays there. The people could not be…

The Big Bad Bay of Biscuit (as it is it fondly known)

So, an update was promised and here it is. After the shaky false start of Friday the 7th we were finally able to set off from Mylor the next day with a repaired alternator and a bruised wallet. We had a great sail across the Channel (no fog this…

¡Hola amigos!

Just a quickie post to let all concerned parties know that we are safely across Biscay and currently marvelling at the crazy high pressure system we're in the middle of in Vigo. Looks like absolutely no wind in the next week meaning we'll be burning…

Second time lucky (said with all fingers and toes crossed)

Ok, so yesterday's hiccup meant we spent the night in Mylor with our two extra pro's on board (Andy and Anna). This morning sees our electrician and engineer putting in the new alternator as quickly as they can and James and I dealing with an…