We left Nazare and didn’t quite have enough wind to sail if we wanted to get to Cascais before dark. The now familiar headland wind boost provided us with one short opportunity to sail before we dropped anchor at Cascais.
The radar alerted us to other vessels stupid enough to be at sea in the fog and any larger icebergs, but the real danger were the pot buoys that can be difficult to spot even on clear days. These are designed to disable passing yachts and even fishing vessels. They result in a significant number of lifeboat call outs. They usually have a flag, but we have seen everything from soccer balls (Cornwall) to toilet floats or plastic milk bottles (Norway). The French set them in middle of shipping channels, in Norway they can be in 100-200m depth, in strong tidal areas they can be dragged under the surface by the current and some can have many meters of loose rope drifting from them. Others just appear to be a small stick upright in the water. Some in Portugal have lovely smaller floats between them, suspending a big fishing net 50m across, right where yachts want to traverse.
We would typically like to be miles out at sea to avoid fishing gear, but the spicy Orcas in this part of the world tend to eat boats out there, so we balance our risk, and follow the advice to stick close to the coast, and just keep a really good watch for the fishing gear, and fishing boats, and paddleboarders and kayakers, and surfers etc etc etc.
The main risk with these pot buoys is getting the rope tangled around the prop when motoring. Some have nylon rope which can melt when tangled on a turning prop making removal even more challenging. Under sail we could get them caught on a rudder but are unlikely to snag them on the centreboard or feathered prop. Removal from a fouled prop in any sort of swell would be a hazardous task and our favoured option would be to sail to calmer waters before clearing the prop.
Cascais was a quick stop in the anchorage and a re-stock at the supermarket. We have already visited Lisbon by road so we keep heading south to a beautiful shallow bay near a national park.
The next day nice sunny sailing weather quickly turns to damp foggy motoring weather before we emerge at Sines (pronounced “Sinesh”), home of the great Vasco da Gamo. Vasco is credited with finding the sea route from Portugal to India, opening up trade and bringing prosperity.
After some enjoyment in Sines, it was time to brave the last of the Atlantic swell, and head south, and then east around the corner towards the Algarve area of Portugal. We had heard that once you turn the corner, the air temperature jumps by 10 degrees.
We found a nice, but slightly rolly anchorage to stay in at Sagres, right on the westerly corner of Portugal. We didn’t go ashore, as by the morning the swell coming in was almost violent. Instead we traversed along the south coast, marvelling at the Algarve cliffs and beaches to another anchorage.
Next time we discover the Algarve and the final approach to the Med…
