All in all a lazy sunny morning, a good end to Oli and Lisa’s time with us before we set off for Malaga Airport. By the time we got back it was evening, Becky and I had a ‘Chinese’ in the evening Just the two of us!

 September 20^th    We left Queensway marina and motored round to Marina Bay, part of the Ocean village development. You have to do this to refuel, we put in 400litres at 67p a litre, eat your heart out in the UK, no tax in Gibraltar! Oli and popped to the chandlery, but no change in prices there, just the same, if it has ‘marine’ on it, it is at least three times the price. Coming round the corner and heading off into the Med, between the tankers that are at anchor, is when you get the best view of ‘the rock’. One of the huge ships gave a loud short single blast, (the international signal for I am changing course to starboard) just as we were passing on its starboard side, although big these things can move surprisingly quickly, however he remained firmly at anchor. Perhaps it was their little joke to ensure yachtsmen have regular bowel movements.

Short sail from Gibraltar to Puerto de la Duquesa, some 25nm, on the way we dodged one or two yachts that were racing, much jolly hand waving as a thank you as we altered course to allow them to pass even though we were on the starboard tack.

Puerto de la Duquesa should get us within striking distance for Oli and Lisa and indeed me and Becky’s mum who are all flying from/to Malaga airport. The entrance was a bit tight for depth, went down to 0.8m under the keel but apart from that easy mooring up to the ‘waiting’ pontoon. Though he spoke very little English and us less Spanish we seem to communicate OK with the guard who was on duty Saturday afternoon. After all the formalities, lots and lots of forms, we berthed in our second Mediterranean style mooring, only this time we were only allowed one stern rope. We went in bows too, well actually because were expecting Becky’s Mum to arrive, to begin with, we went in stern to, then Becky discovered that the quayside, which was concrete and very firmly fixed and not floating was too high off our stern. So after the usual debate it was decided that we should go in bows too as the passerelle, our little bow ladder/plank, would be almost flat.

The little guard patiently got off his moped, which he had ridden round to the berthing on, we undid our lines and I turned her around, thankfully this went smoothly. This time we did not fasten our front lines to tight and a peaceful night was had by all.

September 19^th    We left Queensway marina and headed for the cable car up the to the summit of the rock. The cable car arrived and the ‘driver’ allowed people to continue to push their way in until we were packed like sardines. What is the point of taking a scenic cable car with your nose pressed up against the person’s back who is standing in front of you while your pelvis is in very close contact with a complete stranger who is to the side of you and so on. It all became too much for Lisa who made a swift sharp exit, we all followed muttering too many people, the ‘driver’, a young arrogant and it turned out rude man, just shouted saying the next car would be the same. It was not and we had a very pleasant ride to the top.

Beware the monkeys! Why they insist on calling monkeys apes I do not know. The views were spectacular and warranted us going into the small cafe at the top and grabbing a beer! A monkey sneaked into t he cafeteria, grabbed a box of bounty bars (rather appropriate) and made for the door, chased by the attendant. Bounty bars were flying, the monkey was going at a rate but still managed to rip wrappers off as he went. The day was saved by another monkey! The second larger animal was intent on relieving the escapee of his prize, whereupon they had a scrap. At that moment the human ape seized his chance and grabbed the remains of the box and the bars that had been scattered around! We retreated down the rock. Oli and Lisa headed back to base on the cable car, Becky, I and the kids went to St Michael’s caves, the stalagmites and stalactites were impressive as was the stage and concert hall that they had managed to fit into the cave itself!

On way out Jordan bought a packet of salt and vinegar crisps, which he never got to open, as he left the shop he was attacked by a very dominant male monkey who relieved him of his crisp packet and opened them deftly for himself. This amused the crowd but Jordan was left indignant, a bit scratched and rather scared. I did not see this incident as I was outside looking over the bay, but I was told about it several times by the kids, each time monkey/human relations took a further step to a declaration of war! Enough of big rocks, monkeys and caves for the day we retired to the bar and joined Oli and Lisa.

Later on I walked around to the other Marina, part of Ocean village to go to the chandlery. They shut the door and locked it as I walked up to it at 5:00pm, welcome to Gibraltar, one hour closure for lunch and open no later than 5:00pm. On the way there I past building site after building site of high rise apartment blocks, where are all these people going to come from?

September 18^th    Before we left Puerto America Marina and headed for Queensway Marina, Gibraltar some 84nm away, we watched two large cruise liners effortlessly glide past, one out and one in. Huge multi-storey monster with great glass domes in the centre like a giant conservatory. Leaving was easy and we set off following the buoys and dodging the incoming large vessels. It was a little foggy on the way out and the wind was in the wrong direction so the iron genoa was performing again! As we turned south, the wind turned a little Westerly so we got the sails up, and we were fairly close hauled, the sea changed state got a little rougher which made Becky nervous as we neared the Straits. In the Straits is Tarifa where it is said the wind blows more than 30knts for more than 300 days of the year. We were more than 30nm miles from Tarifa and it was freshening up!

The weather was clearing and as it did we saw Africa, Morocco to be precise, the closeness of these two land masses has to be seen to be believed. Just as it had blown up the wind suddenly died, by the time we passed Tarifa, the sea was a mill pond with a gentle swell.  Throughout the Straits we saw one other sail boat a Catamaran, we waved they didn’t ah well!

Gibralter bay was move of goliath tankers, some being refuelled, some moving some at anchor. The weather was now very wet, Oli and I had our weather proofs on as we dodged between them. We arrived in a very British Queensway marina, a chap helped us with our lines. This was the first time we had moored Med style, no pontoon. The passarell came out to allow us to get off the boat, a ladder/plank that fixes to the bow of the boat, you literally walk the plank to the shore, in Gibraltar of course you disembark.

In the evening we did the British thing and had curry at the Quayside Indian, I was back in a very posh Brum, cheaper though and such attentive service.

 September 17^th    We left Chipiona after breakfast. It had nothing to recommend it, dead fish floating in the marina and bad memories of the night before. We headed for El Puerto de Santa Maria. This promised to be a repeat performance of Porto only this time it would be sherry. On the way Oli experimented with his new found skill of barber hauling and we made good time.

At the mouth of the Canal Principal we followed the guide book up stream. For the first time the guide book let us down, the side we had chosen had clearly silted up and we were in very shallow water with quite a swell. Things got worse, when we arrived the book said to berth up to a hammer head, we tried to, a man arrived who shouted much Spanish phlegm at us and lots of English ‘no’s’, the beautiful  ‘Real Club Nautico’ was not the welcoming marina we had been led to believe. Personally I would not recommend it to anyone after that. It wasn’t so pretty either, lots of rusting hulks in the canal, slowly dying!

After some rather fraught discussion, some may say argument, we set off for Cadiz across the bay. We arrived at Puerto America Marina, they could not have been nicer. The marina was so easy to get in, lots of water. At the Quayside was a simple cafe/bar with lots of locals in it, always a good sign. We had intended to go into Cadiz, we made the mistake of consoling ourselves with a sun downer or two at the cafe. We enquired about food, they said no menu, just look at the fish that were on ice and point to what you want. We pointed they cooked, it was fantastic, when we left the proprietor came out and gave us an opened bottle of sherry to share. So we got our sherry and had a great night.........I can recommend Puerto America Marina to anyone.

September 16^th  We left Vilamoura and headed for Chipiona a long haul across the bay of about 60nm. We started, a bit late,  in glorious sunshine, not much wind, a lot engine work, sail assisted.

We arrived in Chipiona, Spain, late, it was dark and a fairly shallow entrance. Not so difficult but with all the lights around a bit difficult to get one's bearings. There was some confusion as to where we should temporarily moor up as we entered. We got the wrong spot, instead of the reception pontoon, we went alongside the hoist. After some broken discussion with the guard on duty we realised where we should go but nervous of the lack of water and everyone being a little tired we messed up gtting off the berth, while discussing this, concentration went and we drifted back into a rocky area! Fearing the worst we went forward and bounced offthe side of the unforgiving concrete pontoon that we had just left. There was a bit of a crunch, a lot of straining eyese over the side to check for damage.

'There are two holes just above the water line' shouted Becky. Oh dear how quickly things can go wrong when you are tired and least expect it to. We limped across to the reception pontoon and checked for damage. I stood at the helm mortified but was soon relieved by reports from those on the pontoon that the two holes were meant to be there and were in fact 'through hulls' for the fridge and the bilge pump! I got off relieved, there was a mark in the paintwork but nothing too disastrous, what a relief.

Becky and I walked around the marina to the reception place, along the way it was not pleasant with very smelly stagnant watyer in places. At reception we asked if we could stay where we were as we would elave in the morning, 'No, more money if you do'. So we moved yet again, this time everyone, including me concentrating and we berthed successfully! There was nothing to do so we had a drink and headed for our beds!

September 15^th  Today we sailed from Lagos to Villamoura, a short hop of about 25 miles. This is a pretty marina, very well organised with an easy reception pontoon and a grand marble floored entrance to the reception . Inside was a model of the plans for the future, very grand indeed.

The marina is clean and spacious with lots of facilities around. A bit different from your desert island hideaway but variety is the spice of life.

Oli and LIsa went for a romantic meal on their own, we joined them in the Irish bar afterwards for a drink. On the way back we bought cheap booze at one of the quayside shops!  Long sail tomorrow from Villamoura across the bay. I think we have decided to miss out Faro etc, but we will see in the morning.

September 14^th Long sail today from Sines to Lagos, 77 nm. The first 45 to 50 on the engine, however as we rounded Cabo de Sao Vincente, we picked up a good NW and we took off on the sails. At 18 to 22 kn we reefed both genoa and main and still did 8 kn at times. We passed Praia de Lutz and thought of Madeline McCann before pulling into Lagos.

Such a dramatic shore line as you come round the corner into Lagos, the Ponte de Piedade, is a splendour of eaten away limestone. Just before this splendour India had a practical lesson in sedimentary rocks ( to follow her theory)  as we moved along the coast looking at the layers of sediment in the cliff faces.

The entrance into Lagos is long and thin (0.7 miles) dredged to 3 to 4 metres and at low tide you have to have faith in the dredger, when the depth falls to 1m below the keel! The reception pontoon is long and accommodating but was obscured by a large square rigger! We were a little concerned until we could see the space behind her. After formalities and assignment of a berth the friendly staff lifted the elegant footbridge. People gathered on the sides of the footbridge as two of us went through, in such situations it is difficult not to wave, so I did and 20 people waved back.....such a common human expression and Portuguese seem to wave a lot.

The marina is big 460 boats with lots of cafes and surrounded by apartments but still very quiet and the water tranquil.  

September 13^th Longish sail today from Lisbon to Sines, 55nm. Everything has clamed down, perhaps a little too much, that is the problem with sailing too much wind or not enough! Spent a fair amount of time on the engine but eventually got some wind and we got the cruising chute and away she went. Dolphins joined us occasionally and fleetingly, the smallish ones with the light coloured underside. Such power as they come alongside and then zoom off.

6 to 8kn on the cruising chute, it was great to be cruising along silently on sail, just the whoosh of the sea past the bow. However disaster was waiting for us, Oli went up to the bow to deflate the cruising chute and the squeezer would not come down. At the same time the wind suddenly kicked up to 18kn. After a lot of hands on deck pulling and tugging and a fair bit of sail flapping with the chute skimming along the sea at one point, we got it down. Oli had rope burns from pulling on the rather thin squeezer ropes, the voluminous first aid kit was brought out and a plaster or two applied.

The entrance to Sines was uncomfortable with big beam on waves, 3 to 4 metres, rolling the boat. The 18 kn winds had become 20 plus whipping  the sea a bit, white tops pushing against the beam of the boat occasional and spraying over the toe rail. Unlike the guide description, however, the entrance was clear and large and very sheltered. As predicted from the guide there was a sand bar over the entrance but it left us with 2 to 3 metres under the keel. The water in the marina was clear blue right to the 7metre bottom. As so often is the case someone appeared to take a line, he greeted us with a broad South Walean accent, landed here three years ago and has been here ever since. The staff were very friendly, the bar lady a little ‘I have had enough of today’ but pleasant enough and the drinks relatively cheap. But there was nowhere to eat on the marina and beware the petrochemical smell of the refinery.   

We retired to the boat for food. Before we had set sail Oli had fixed up a time lapse photography camera looking forward over the bow. We watched the drama at high speed that evening, it all looked rather comical with Charlie Chaplin like movements and without the noise of the flapping sail much less dramatic. Also in a marina with a glass in your hand almost no problem at all!

September 12^th A ‘do nothing’ day in Oerias. Spent the morning teaching the kids until Oli text from the bar  to say drinks on me if you arrive in the next 10 minutes! We had some things to do so sent the kids with our order.

Somehow this turned into a very long lunch and a lazy day looking down onto the sun drenched marina from the semi-shade of the bar. I had cod and chick peas which arrived cold and in a kind of vinaigrette with, of course olive oil. The first mouthful was a bit of a surprise but the taste was very good when you accepted it for what it was. The cod was fairly large flakes and obviously fresh. India had a similar version only with tuna, this was not a success and had to be changed for a streak bap!

Oli and Lisa have discovered Mohitas, which are rum, brown sugar, mint and soda. The glass seems to be crammed with lots of leaves, the whole things looks like a greenhouse in a glass! I stuck to the local beer.

The wind continued to be fairly strong and there were lots of white tops out there, but the swell did not seem too bad.

September 11^th Lots of wind today, gust of up to thirty kts so not so keen to venture forth, schooled the kids in the morning, usual tensions. In the afternoon we took the road to Cascais and ate outside in the sun. Later we drove to Sintra, got totally confused by the new road systems that bore very little resemblance to our puny map and then became more confused about which Palace was where. In the end we ate pancakes (again) outside the Royal Palace that was used by Royalty as their summer residence. The journey back was equally haphazard! With Oli navigating and practising lots of ‘oil language’ much to the amusement of the kids on the way.

We survived and on return to the Marina we headed for the bar, where we ate again! This time I made the worst choice of the venture so far: chicken gizzard stew! It really was and although I had thought Dave Wilson and I had had this dish when we arrived, this time we were inside the cafe (because of the wind) and the lights were bright and there was not so much chilli on them and well they looked very much like what they were! The taste got stronger as you ate them, it was the first time, perhaps in my life, I gave up only a quarter of a way through a dish. So I think I will include this dish in my diet book: chicken gizzards in mildly hot tomato sauce, slightly mature before cooking so if the smell doesn’t get you the taste will! Well I tried it!

September 10^th Early meeting in Bramshill at Cepol, and then return to Birmingham for my 16:50 plane back to Lisbon. The weather in UK was fairly kind compared to what it has been. Even some blue sky on the way back. Got back to Trident Court about 2:30pm and then off to the airport. After paying the taxi, I put the change back in my pocket only to feel the key of the hire car that I had left at Trident! After a frantic phone call to Ann, she kindly arranged for Emma Longbottom  to dash round to the airport to get the key before I had to board the plane!

Bec had another good day with her mum; they went to the pool with the kids and had a nice lunch before setting off to go to airport. She was really sad to see her go but I think they were trying to arrange for her to come back later this month when I have to fly to Zurich for an ENFSI meeting and will be away the best part of a week.

Met Oli and Lisa at the airport, met an ex Bank Manager on the way out with his ex Bank Manager wife both nice people and the 2:30min journey disappeared. They recommended Sevill to put on the list of places to visit.

Becky was waiting at the airport to pick us up, back in the warmth we sped back to the boat. Grib files not good though lots of wind for the next two days so may stay at Oerias until Saturday.

September 9^th Back in Brum pouring with rain, need I say more!

I ( Becky) on the other hand had a great day with my mum! Having spent time with kids on school work Mum and Indy went kayaking - they spent 20mins going round in circles with mum laughing so much she nearly wet herself!  

We went shopping in the afternoon and I took mum on a trip down memory lane and we visited the Hotel Albatross - she had stayed there on her first holiday without us kids 20 years ago, and mum had a great time impressing the staff with her pigeon English explaining that she'd been there 20 years ago, the fact that they spoke perfect English seemed a little lost on her as she waved her arms in the air telling them what room she had stayed in! - anyway we had all had enough sun (its been hard) - it has been another scorcher today, when we got back we went up to beach bar with miniatures in hand bag whilst the kids had a swim. In the evening   mum and I went out for dinner without kids... Bliss

September 8^th

Brilliant sail up the river Tejo,  Lesley really wanted to go out sailing as when they had visited us before in Dartmouth the weather was so bad we never left the Pontoon. We sailed under the Ponte 25 de Abril, a suspension bridge to rival the Golden Gate and past the famous Cristo Rei, I believe a copy of the statue at the entrance to Rio de Janeiro.  On the way we past the Tore de Belem and the Padrao dos Descobrimentos, the former being an exquisite small castle guarding the river and the latter, a monument to the discoveries, a striking sculpture of people climbing either side of a large edifice. They are lead by Henry the navigator. We sailed until we could see the 17km Ponte Vasco de Gama before returning to anchor in the bay just beyond the marina where we lunched.  A perfect day for sailing we even managed to get the sails up on the way back, we then had to tack quite a few times and Lesley was rather surprised at how much effort was involved in this sailing lark!

Early evening, Becky and I had to shoot off to the airport to put me on a plane to Brum for a couple of days.  Traffic was awful – really don’t miss commuting

September 7^th

Vey good day today as my Mum arrived! Worked most of the day with kids and catching up then went to the beach around 5pm, very hot day so still plenty warm enough to swim. No dogs allowed so I had to make the sacrifice and sit in the beach bar with Molly and observe! Well it wouldn’t have been fair to have left her on the boat.... 

Mum flew in from Birmingham in the evening. We had emailed her the address of the Marina and told her to get a taxi but we surprised her by hiring a car and being there to meet her. She was very pleased to see our “four brown faces” and relieved as her plane was delayed by an hour or two courtesy of BMI baby! Which meant she got in quite late, it only took us 30 mins to get to the airport but we got a little lost on the way back but Mum was in the back chatting excitedly with the kids so I don’t think she noticed us circle the airport 3 times!

However by 5:00pm we were off to the beach for a swim, nice sized breakers that were good to dive through and of course Portugal's famous sandy beaches. Then back to the boat for Becky's wonderful vittels and of course the obligatory sun downer.

Paid the dues for the next five days, we will leave Oeiras next Thursaday with Oli and Lisa on board.

September 5th Wow what a night, rained all the way through and raining this morning. But unlike rain in the UK it is relatively warm. All the locals on the marina are accusing us of bringing our British weather to Portugal!

By the afternoon the sun has come out again but the clouds keep trying to blot it out, rather like UK weather.

The evening was good though and Becky walked up to the railway carriage bar to have a drink and look over the sea. Not a bad end to a very wet day.

September 3rd

An odd day today, Dave and Marg flew home and everything seemed very quiet, the boat almost seemed empty! Kids back to schooling with a vengeance and as anticpated the stress levels began to rise accordingly! I (becky) spent the morning on paperwork stuff and started looking into what we are going to do with Molly when we cross the atlantic.  We don't think she is going to be up to it but hadn't anticpated how difficult (and expensive!) it is going to be to move her around!, The quotes I have had so far to get her back to the Caribbean from London are in excess of £1200, this is before we fly her back to the UK from Gran Canaria. At this rate it will be cheaper to pay someone to fly out and dog sit... let us know if there are any offers!!!

In the afternoon we all walked into the town of Oeiras, it took about 30 mins and was not really worth the effort! A sleepy little town with limited shops and only a tiny supermarket - oh how I miss TESCO'S!! We stopped and had a beer in a little square before getting a taxi back with the shopping.

We blew the kids Kayak up yesterday so they have been spending most of their spare time in that now the waters are a little warmer!

I cooked in the evening, Marg had bought us several kilo's of prawns from the market in Lisbon, so I did those with chilli, lime and coriander, finished off with some local cheese - great for my atkins diet - which after several weeks of excess with the Wilsons - has now become a necessity!

September 2nd Lazy day today, Dave and Marg set off for the sites of Lisbon and we

sent the kids to the pool to return at 3:00pm. Becky and I did some 'work work', then I set about the cockpit casing making it ready for varnishing while Becky did battle with the VAT man. At 2:00pm we had a long lunch at the marina side cafe, good cheap food again. Portugal is good for this.

In the afternoon I did some of the varnishing and put a cushion on one of the back rails.

Cheese and bickies on the boat tonight with some of that wonderful port that we bought from Porto. Becky is getting excited about her Mum arriving on the 7th September.

September 1^st  57 miles for Peniche to Lisbon today. Woke up to a clear blue bright sky, Becky took the helm and sailed her off the dock out of the harbour into a deep blue sea. Not much wind so sails were a bit of an add on. Nevertheless we average 7.5kn and got into Oeiras Marina on the entrance to the Rio Tejo early afternoon.  Saw a couple of pods of dolphins swimming alongside - one group swam amd played under the bow for over ten minutes - I wonder if we will ever cease to be amazed by them.

This is a modern marina and will be our home for the next ten days or so. We will say goodbye to Marg and Dave here and welcome Becky’s mother of the 7^th. I will fly back to Birmingham from here on the 8^th and back with Lisa and Oli on the 10^th. It is also half price for us as it is an ARC rallye marina.

The sail down was through almost mirror like seas that still maintained that slow, long period Atlantic swells of say two metres. It is like being gently rocked in a huge cradle as you bowl along from crest to crest. The scenery was stunning mountainous, craggy, fortified in places everything you would expect of a sea fairing nation. I managed to do 1.5hr of conference call for two of my pension sub-committees.

Becky excelled herself and cooked scones for lunch. We ate them with three types of chorizo and balsamic and olive oiled tomato and onion. I continued my conversion to Pastis to accompany the excellent fare.