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 A web log of the sailing vessel "Gyatso" |
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Underway Again: Atlantic Portugal, Spain and Gibraltar, 2008
Logbook EntriesSun, 03/09/2008--Lagos to Portimão, Portugal Distance: 6NM We finished up our pre-departure
preparations over the weekend and set sail from Lagos, Portugal on Sunday,
having bid farewell to friends there over the previous few days. We plan
to make our way east towards the Mediterranean before leaving the boat in
mid-April and returning to the U.S. for a month to visit family and to attend
David's daughter Susan's wedding. Leaving the dock was especially
gratifying this time, after a longer-than-expected stay in
Portugal (see Logbook for Wintering
Over in Lagos, Portugal).
Although we ended up spending longer than expected at the
Marina de Lagos (we had originally planned to sail into the Med last year), we
now feel very lucky to have had the extra time there. In addition to great
medical care, we really enjoyed Lagos, the Algarve, and Portugal. An added bonus
was being in one place long enough to have friends and family visit during our
stay. And so our departure is not without the usual feelings of sadness and
regret about leaving such a wonderful place. At the same time, we are really
happy to have resumed our sailing journey. We didn't go very far on our first day: just 6 miles east
to Portimão where we ended up spending a day to extend our visas. With
the necessary paperwork and formalities completed, we set out again on Tuesday
and had a lovely sail to Vilamoura, just west of Faro. Sailing along the
Algarve coastline is beautiful: the low rocky bluffs and sandy beaches are set
in front of a back-drop of green hills and mountains to the north. Resort
developments are sprinkled along the shoreline about every 10 miles or so, but
very few people are out on the beaches at this time of year and only a few other
yachts can be seen on the horizon. Tues, 03/11/2008--Vilamoura,
Portugal Distance: 21.5NM We are currently in Vilamoura, Portugal, waiting for
better wind to continue east. We tried to get underway after a day at the
dock, but ended up spending an hour motoring into the wind and waves. We
decided to give it another day. The marina here is quite large and very well protected,
but located in the middle of a huge resort development. We found ourselves
surrounded by power boats with no one staying aboard. The plus side is that we
had a lot of privacy, something Lisa has been craving after spending the winter
in close quarters at Marina de Lagos. Perhaps this is why we were both
alarmed when we awoke at 3:00 a.m. to the sounds of loud voices and someone
banging on Gyatso's anchors. For a brief moment, Lisa worried that
some late-night partiers had made it past the security gate and were there to
cause trouble. But then we realized that it was a security guard and a
marina staff person adjusting our dock lines. Apparently, our bow sprit
hanging over the dock was causing a problem for them. They wanted to move
us further back in our undersized slip, but didn't realize that we were staying
onboard. We wished they could have waited until daylight, but were mostly
glad that it was just a minor issue. Projects continue as we have time. David
reconditioned three winches and we washed the grit from the one of the head
sails and some of the running rigging. A close inspection of the boom
revealed a sheared-off cotter pin on the clevis pin for the main sail boom.
We both breathed a huge sigh of relief that it hadn't given out completely on
the passage from the Azores to mainland Portugal. Another stroke of good
luck for us. Sat, 03/15/2008--Ayamonte,
Spain Distance: 41.5 NM (+8.5NM) Arrived just after sunset and with barely enough light to
see our way to the dock. It was worth the wait for a great downwind sail
today. We were making such good time, we decided to bypass Tavira, our
planned destination, and to head into the Rio Guadiana, a river forming the
border between Portugal and Spain. We "timed" our entry
perfectly, arriving at the mouth of the river at exactly half-flood just
as the pilot book recommends, but this left us with failing light. We saw lots of Northern Gannets today which reminded us of
the other times we have seen these magnificent sea birds during their migration
or nesting. Lisa will never forget her first sighting with her mom in New
Zealand in 1996. They took a detour one day and found a nesting colony of
gannets on a rocky promontory along the coast of the North Island.
Hundreds of birds were sitting on nests or tending to new born chicks.
Gannets also accompanied us on the Chesapeake Bay during our first trip south on
the Intracoastal Waterway in November 1997. We talked about how we have such a range of experiences in
just one day of coastal sailing. At times it is exhilarating with the wind
behind us moving along at more than seven knots. At other times it is
quiet and peaceful as we slide along the coast. Sometimes it is a bit
tense or scary, mostly related to the unknown, like heading into an unfamiliar
port as darkness falls or feeling the wind and waves build and wondering how
nasty it might get. There is nothing like experience to alleviate some of
these concerns. We are amazed at how our range of comfort under these
varying conditions has increased with time. Even though it is more
challenging, we find ourselves much more suited to being underway than living
aboard the boat at a dock in the marina. We live in anticipation of what
we might discover in the next port or what we might experience while underway.
This is our chosen lifestyle, and it gets better and better all the time.
But we are never too far from the realities of every day life. For
example, today we had a small crisis in the galley: we are officially out of
peanut butter! Sun, 03/16/2008--Mazagón,
Spain Distance: 32NM A day of ups and downs. It started when the camping gaz bottle (butane cooking gas for the stove) ran out while heating water for coffee. This downer was easily resolved by hooking up the spare. Then we had a great Sunday breakfast of banana & walnut buckwheat pancakes with mimosas. Just as we were settling in for a slow morning, the security guard came by to let us know that the office was open so that we could register. Then David had a painful interaction with the less-than-friendly Ayamonte marina staff who charged Gyatso as if it were an 80' yacht. Somehow, we were being penalized for following the pilot book instructions. Since we had already visited this nice little town and the wind seemed perfect for sailing, we decided to push on. On the upside, we had a great sail to Mazagón and friendly staff welcomed us to the marina, and people on a neighboring Spanish boat helped secure our dock lines. Two boats from Lagos were docked nearby, Moonshadow (another Tayana 37) and Pyxis. Lisa cooked a delicious chicken and zucchini risotto to end the day on a high note. As if that wasn't enough, we admired a beautiful sunset: bright colors reflected off the high clouds. Another part about getting underway again is that we become much more in-tune with our surroundings. Today, we admired the cloud formations along the way. David went below to get our copy of the Mariner's Weather Handbook, A guide to Forecasting Tactics by Steve and Linda Dashew, an essential book onboard. We opened up to the chapter on "Reading the Clouds" and sure enough, we had a text book example of cirrostratus clouds displayed across the sky: "typically veil-like but with more density than plain cirrus". We learned that these high altitude (30,000 ft) cloud systems are made up of ice crystals and that they indicate the approach of a warm front. We also learned, "You can often make out cirrostratus at night when there is a three-quarters to full moon, as they make haloes around the moon." Sure enough, our three-quarters full moon that night had a bright halo encircling it. Both the book and our own experience tells us that it is now just a question of when the weather will change for the worse. On Monday, we walked up the hill and into the small town of Mazagón for our first shop at a Spanish supermarket. Saturday's galley crisis is now resolved: two jars of Capitán Mani peanut butter are onboard. No luck with exchanging the empty Camping Gaz bottle -- this will have to wait. Tues, 03/18/2008--Chipiona, Spain Distance: 30NM We set out early from Mazagón and ended up motoring while waiting for the wind to build in. Just as we were setting our sails, we heard three large explosions onshore. Earlier, we read in the pilot book that there is a missile testing range and restricted area not shown on the chart. If you approach the restricted area, a patrol boat will contact you with instructions to steer clear. Sure enough, the radio crackled to life and "Fast Patrol Boat" was hailing us on channel 16. While David was below on the radio, Lisa watched as they in fact began to make a fast approach. At first we thought they wanted to come alongside, but then they just gave us instructions for passing outside the restricted area. Once we reached the designated waypoint 5 miles offshore, the wind had filled in and we had a pleasant sail the rest of the way. The Doñana National Park stretches along this coast with its low dunes backed by marshes which we could not see from our vantage point on the water. It turns out that our guidebook was right and that we correctly interpreted the clouds the other day. After arriving at the dock, a front passed through bringing with it two days of strong winds and rain, the first bad weather we have had since leaving Lagos. We waited it out in Chipiona, a pleasant town at the mouth of the Rio Guadalquivir. The river is navigable for large ships all the way up to Sevilla, 50 miles upstream. The bad weather ruled out the possibility of visiting the national park where Lisa hoped to learn more about migrating birds in this area. This will have to wait for a future visit. Since we had already visited Sevilla, Jerez and some of the surrounding areas last month, we decided against renting a car and just relaxed for a few days. They had no space in the marina when we arrived, and so we were tied-up to a pontoon just past the welcome dock with a Guardia Civil boat which went out on regular patrols during the day and night. Other than their comings and goings, it was a safe, quiet spot to wait out the weather. Fri, 03/21/2008--Rota, Spain Distance: 14.5NM Full moon, vernal equinox and Good Friday. We decided to make our next move before several days of strong winds built in. We motored in calm weather the short distance around the point to Rota, Spain in the Bahia de Cadiz and ended up there for a week, including Easter weekend and the culmination of the Santa Semana (Holy week) holiday. We enjoyed walks through the historic town and seeing the elaborate processions through the streets. Being so close to the Sherry wine-making region, we decided to rent a car and visit Jerez again. We went for lunch and then stocked up on some of our favorite wines at the Hipermarche nearby. On Sunday, we drove to Cadiz and spent the day walking in the park and sampling tapas. Rota has just about everything a cruising sailor needs, except as it turns out, a Camping Gaz bottle exchange. After having gone through the trouble to switch our cooking gas system over to the European system (See Logbook Entry: Cruising Sailor's Thanksgiving, Portuguese Style), we are dismayed to learn that this system is not as easy as we thought it would be. Like all new ports, it takes a few days to figure out where everything is. After several scouting missions and shopping excursions, Lisa located the library with free internet service just a block away. It took two visits to get the post office hours sorted out properly. By the end of the week, she completed her research with a provisioning circuit to the best bakery for bread, the pastelaria for treats, the public market for fresh fish and produce and the small supermercado for everything else. Rota is home to a huge U.S. Navy base which occupies a big chunk of real estate along the Bay of Cadiz. The military presence here reminded David of a news item which was kept fairly quiet at the time. He insists that in the 1960s (?) a U.S. Navy bomber based in Rota accidentally dropped a unexploded hydrogen bomb which was searched for but never found. It was believed that it ended up in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean somewhere near here, but not much has been heard about it then or since. While waiting for the wind to subside, we continued working our list of boat projects and managed to wash the other head sail, service two more winches, check all of the water strainers, tighten the packing gland on the propeller shaft and improve the installation of our the satellite phone/email system. We are finding communications even more challenging now that we are underway, and so we have decided to re-activate the satellite system. Not only is it important for us to download key weather forecasts, but it increases the likelihood that we can send and receive messages. No system is perfect all of the time, and so it is best to have several options. 03/28/2008--Barbate, Spain Distance: 40NM We arrived in Barbate, Spain tonight after rounding Cape Trafalgar, a place made famous by British Lord Nelson when he beat a combined French and Spanish fleet during the Napoleonic Wars. Instead of square-riggers firing cannons, we sailed in the company of a small, junk-rigged schooner with tan bark sails which was visible several miles ahead. We rounded the Cape together, but they took an inside route, as we later learned, "to get photos and have a tot in honor of Lord Nelson." The caption of a photo of Cape Trafalgar in our pilot book reads, "...possibly the most famous headland in the world?" Local tourist brochures claim that the Battle of Trafalgar was the greatest naval battle in history. Well, perhaps if you're British like our sailing companions on El Lobo that day. For us, it marked the beginning of our trip through the treacherous Straits of Gibraltar. Although we had to reef down the sails and make our way through confusing seas, we had no problems making our way safely into port. Mon, 03/31/2008--Gibraltar Distance: 37NM We are tied up to the dock in Gibraltar after an easy passage from Barbate with a light west wind (<20 knots) and pleasant weather. Thankfully, it must have been one of the 65 days a year here that the wind is not blowing in excess of 30 knots in the Strait of Gibraltar. We had clear visibility with beautiful views of the striking Moroccan coast to the south as we sailed along the Spanish side. From our slip (bow-to Med mooring), we can see the Rock from the bow -- not too bad! Some friends from Lagos (Stephen & Anne on s/v Wandering Dragon) are just down the quay and greeted us upon arrival. We'll be here until at least Friday since it will be blowing strong from the east for the next three or four days. We've ordered up our mail which should arrive by Thursday or Friday. Mon, 04/07/08--Still here in Gibraltar. Mail finally arrived today. Now we'll have to wait several more days for another weather window to make our next move. Looks like we will go east along the Spanish coast since we have run out of time and weather to sail across the Strait to the Moroccan side to check on Ceuta and Smir. So far this season, we have made eight coastal hops, sailing over 200 miles since leaving Lagos, Portugal on March 9th. We have enjoyed ourselves along the way, especially arriving in Gibraltar. David commented, "The most amazing sight for me has been the tiny Egyptian charms that were left as offerings in a cave on the sheer north face of Gibraltar by Phoenician sailors between the 8th and 3rd Century BC. The whole collection at the museum would fit in your pocket or on a necklace, which is probably how they traveled the entire length of the Mediterranean." Lisa was also captivated by the collection because she carries good luck charms with her, but nothing quite so precious as the items in the museum's collection. From the museum displays, we learned that important symbolic meaning of the Rock to humans goes back at least 20,000 years, the date when people painted animals and symbols on the cave walls. The Phoenicians attached great mythical and spiritual significance to the Rock and never built a settlement here, instead choosing the other side of Gibraltar Bay. The collection of objects we admired were part of their offering ceremonies made in Gorham's Cave on the east side of the Rock. The Phoenicians also had great interest in perpetuating the myth that the Rock represented the northern Pillar of Hercules and the end of the known world. This is what they told the Greeks anyways, even though there is evidence that they went well beyond this point north to Cornwall in the UK and south down the West African coast. Some believe that they circumnavigated Africa well before much more famous voyages of this sort. After the Roman invasion of the Iberian Peninsula in the 3rd Century BC, the Romans continued to perpetuate the myth of the Rock. On an earlier visit to Gibraltar, we did the "official tour of the rock" via mini-bus taxi. In addition to seeing the Barbary Apes, we were fascinated during that visit to learn about the Neanderthal skull found in St. Michael's cave. A woman's skull was found in the mid 1800's but no one knew what it was. Several years later, a similar skull was found in Germany and was recognized as being a human ancestor, about 50,000 years old. The latter became famous as Neanderthal Man, but if more was known at the time, these ancient human ancestors could have been made famous by Gibraltar Woman instead. We learned from the Deputy Director of the Gibraltar Museum, who kindly spent a few minutes to talk with us about their collections, that the remains from Gibraltar are those of the last known living Neanderthals. It is an impressive history of the humans that made use of Gibraltar's caves for tens of thousands of years. We took the tram ride to the Top of the Rock yesterday, and for both of us, it required facing all of our fears about heights. The vantage point and views from the top were worth it. It was a sunny day with a slight haze, but Morocco was visible in the distance across the Straits. Gibraltar is where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea and where less than 10 miles of water lies between the African and European continents. It's no wonder that this place was discovered by early humans, and like the area we visited near Sagres in Portugal, it was also an area settled during Neolithic times, about 10,000 - 20,000 years ago. From the vantage point at the top of the Rock, we
could see how the interesting geologic history has unfolded here. The long
and the short of it is that the Rock itself is about 200 million years old,
putting it in the age-range of the dinosaurs. From a geology manuscript we
obtained at the Gibraltar Heritage Society, this hunk of limestone seems to
be an over-turned thrust fault, hence the references to an upside-down
geological stratigraphy. More recently, sea levels have risen and fallen,
leaving behind ancient beach deposits which make-up some of the terraces at the
base of the sheer cliffs. Much information has been gained from the
"sappers" who dug the tunnels into the Rock, especially those during
the first and second World Wars. They have discovered 146 caves, with
several recent finds underwater. Combined
with its well-known strategic importance in ancient and modern human history,
Gibraltar makes for a very interesting stop-over, especially for geology and
history buffs like us! 04/14/2008--Sotogrande, Spain Distance:
18NM Gyatso was hauled out of the water yesterday and is being stored in a boat yard near Gibraltar in Sotogrande, Spain while we are in the U.S. for family visits and then in Switzerland for a seminar. We plan to resume our sailing voyage in July.
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© Copyright 2009 s/v
Gyatso. This page was last updated on 02/27/10. |
