For those of you who have been following our progress down towards the Canaries in Athena this is the last update. Following the significant blow through off Finisterre and resulting short stop in Portosin in Ria De Muros, it became clear that completing the whole trip and getting back on the 21st (which had always been my backstop date) wasn't practicable and that I was going to hand over to another skipper in Cascais. The remaining run was completed in fabulous weather with some great views of the Spanish and Portuguese coast. Progress was rapid with NNE winds pushing us on, varying from 20 - 30 mph, all the way down to coast and rather large waves. We passed inside Isla Berlenga at Peniche, to add some variety to the scenery.
An interesting point to note was the surprising economy with which cardinal marks are deployed in this region. Rocks and obstructions which would be lit up like a hole in the road in Britain and France, seemed to merit no bouyage at all. Although the marina wall at Cascais had three southerly cardinals along the outer wall, just in case you couldn't find the right way in.
The marina at Cascais is well worth experiencing and for two nights with a 56 foot boat was 75 Euros which seemed very reasonable, and it came with a complimentary bottle of vino! This was certainly where the folk of Lisboa came to spend their money and, to be honest, I was feeling a little shabby, even if the boat kept up appearances. Security was tight and they like to keep their keycards here, demanding a passport or 35 euros deposit for them. I selflessly offered Allan's passport as security (well he was continuing with the boat to Las Palmas anyway). At Cascais we chatted to some of the Mini-Transat 6.50 fleet who had fallen victim to rig failures, with one boat being towed in after several days being adrift after the skipper had been taken off. Also making an appearance was a fleet of Lagoon catamarans all on delivery to the St Lucia.
What can I say about the trip. Well, it was a lot of work to set up and once we had suffered the false start of setting off only to lose the auto helm and the compass light, getting there for the 21st (which was my back-stop date) was always going to be very difficult. But it's a shame not to complete it given we had done the difficult part.
Top tip; just because a boat has a gurt big box of flags never assume that it has any courtesy flags.
Skippers belief; the decisions to pull into Camaret and Portosin were the right ones for the forecast, the boat and the crew.
What I will remember most; Finisterre deserves every bit of its reputation. However, overall the weather was incredibly kind and incredibly warm. I had to keep reminding myself this was November.
There's tons of stuff I can't put in the article for reasons of brevity, sanity and editorial propriety, but if you see Chris Hogg or I you can certainly ask!
Andy Young
Submitted on 19th November 2013