14 June 2012
Before going to bed the forecast for the next day expected even more wind and swell than yesterday and we hadn't enjoyed that all that much. But even with a bigger swell and stronger winds forecast, the wind direction was from the north and with the wind blowing off the Peniche peninsula, the sea would be less and we were determined to find the fine weather and favourable winds the weather reports kept mentioning farther south.
Happily, in the morning the forecast had moderated but we're not as trusting as we used to be, so it was with some trepidation that we set out for Cascais on the 12th of June.
With the wind behind us we decided to try the 'no mizzen' option to see how that affected the movement of Larus and we think it really helped.
This turned out to be our first sail where we thought, 'Yes! This is what it's all about.'
We were almost there and we were having the most marvellous sail, barreling along at 6 knots in comfort. 'This is fantastic,' said in gleeful tones, was a common refrain through the day. For the first time, it felt like we imagined it should.
Going like a train approaching Cascais.
As we neared Cascais, the wind was more from the beam and Tim kept muttering about putting up the mizzen because... well, we just look prettier with it up. :) I said, 'What's the point? It won't make us go any faster and we're almost there.' So we didn't.
The next day when we were walking along the coast road, and like everyone else ashore we were watching the boats sailing by. There was a mutter or two (I'm being generous here) of, 'We should have put the mizzen up.' I suspect that next time, we will.
Cascais Marina Breakwater
Larus in the most expensive marina she has ever stayed in, but we did get a free welcome bottle of wine so that makes it all worthwhile, right? I think it was 56 euros, so we quickly did some washing to get our money's worth. I'm glad we have a filter for our drinking water because that was the worst tasting water we have run across. Maybe that's why they give you the wine to drink.
Cascais felt like Disney World. It was SO pretty.
The Marina from a different angle.
The coast we sailed past the previous day.
It's very impressive up close.
I'm just itching to cycle to the beaches further up the coast. The bike lanes would make it a joy.
Tim and I have been pleasantly surprised about how attentive drivers are to pedestrian crossings. We haven't found this to be the case everywhere.
We found a lot of black and orange signs everywhere and it wasn't until the bikes and bikers began to arrive and we had a good look at the signs that Cascais was the holding the 2012 HOG Rally - the Harley Davidson Owner's Rally.
Kinda cute, arent' they?
There were Harley's everywhere! It was interesting to read where they were from on the back of their leather waistcoats.
Even on the beautiful cobble stones that decorate all the streets.
We only spent one night in the Marina, going to anchor off the beach.
It's a great place to anchor. You do have to check in at the marina before anchoring, but it's still free.
The beach.
I did go and dabble my toes in the water but it's a little bit cool still. There weren't many people swimming, but it wasn't really hot despite the sun. I expect that will change in the coming weeks.
The Jumbo Supermarket and the train station are just a few minutes' walk away if you take the dinghy to the beach, which we did.
This was one of our neighbours - Endeavour, a J-Class yacht.
We have been warned in the various sailing forums that theft can be a problem, so we have I very good system for locking the outboard to the dinghy and the dinghy to the boat as Tim is demonstrating. :)
We stayed at anchor until Friday, the 15th before heading up river to Marina Parque das NaÇÕes.
Happily, in the morning the forecast had moderated but we're not as trusting as we used to be, so it was with some trepidation that we set out for Cascais on the 12th of June.
With the wind behind us we decided to try the 'no mizzen' option to see how that affected the movement of Larus and we think it really helped.
This turned out to be our first sail where we thought, 'Yes! This is what it's all about.'
We were almost there and we were having the most marvellous sail, barreling along at 6 knots in comfort. 'This is fantastic,' said in gleeful tones, was a common refrain through the day. For the first time, it felt like we imagined it should.
Going like a train approaching Cascais.
As we neared Cascais, the wind was more from the beam and Tim kept muttering about putting up the mizzen because... well, we just look prettier with it up. :) I said, 'What's the point? It won't make us go any faster and we're almost there.' So we didn't.
The next day when we were walking along the coast road, and like everyone else ashore we were watching the boats sailing by. There was a mutter or two (I'm being generous here) of, 'We should have put the mizzen up.' I suspect that next time, we will.
Cascais Marina Breakwater
Larus in the most expensive marina she has ever stayed in, but we did get a free welcome bottle of wine so that makes it all worthwhile, right? I think it was 56 euros, so we quickly did some washing to get our money's worth. I'm glad we have a filter for our drinking water because that was the worst tasting water we have run across. Maybe that's why they give you the wine to drink.
Cascais felt like Disney World. It was SO pretty.
The Marina from a different angle.
The coast we sailed past the previous day.
It's very impressive up close.
I'm just itching to cycle to the beaches further up the coast. The bike lanes would make it a joy.
Tim and I have been pleasantly surprised about how attentive drivers are to pedestrian crossings. We haven't found this to be the case everywhere.
We found a lot of black and orange signs everywhere and it wasn't until the bikes and bikers began to arrive and we had a good look at the signs that Cascais was the holding the 2012 HOG Rally - the Harley Davidson Owner's Rally.
Kinda cute, arent' they?
There were Harley's everywhere! It was interesting to read where they were from on the back of their leather waistcoats.
Even on the beautiful cobble stones that decorate all the streets.
We only spent one night in the Marina, going to anchor off the beach.
It's a great place to anchor. You do have to check in at the marina before anchoring, but it's still free.
The beach.
I did go and dabble my toes in the water but it's a little bit cool still. There weren't many people swimming, but it wasn't really hot despite the sun. I expect that will change in the coming weeks.
The Jumbo Supermarket and the train station are just a few minutes' walk away if you take the dinghy to the beach, which we did.
This was one of our neighbours - Endeavour, a J-Class yacht.
We have been warned in the various sailing forums that theft can be a problem, so we have I very good system for locking the outboard to the dinghy and the dinghy to the boat as Tim is demonstrating. :)
We stayed at anchor until Friday, the 15th before heading up river to Marina Parque das NaÇÕes.
No comments:
Post a Comment