SARAH SMITH
FAMILY AFLOAT PART VI
PORTUGAL
SPAIN
Rio Guadiana
Ayamonte
Seville
Portimão
Mazagon
Gibraltar
Rota
Strait of Gibraltar
Ceuta
MOROCCO
Making it
to.end t
h.alt
e.end M
e
d.end
Biscay EUROPE
Gibraltar
The intrepid Smiths continue their voyage sailing south from Portugal, finally reaching
AFRICA
their long dreamed of goal, the Mediterranean, a year later than planned. This month,
Sarah Smith reports on the good and the bad events of the last miles down
the Portuguese and Spanish coasts before reaching Ceuta, in northern Africa.
A
bout midday on Tuesday, 1 April and David remembered how to tell us intact propeller and gearbox took some
2008, six months after arriving, we off for not knowing exactly what he doing – we’ve never had to dodge so
left Portimão. Our first port of call was thinking. many pot/net buoys over such a short
was Vilamoura, 20 miles away. Not very distance. At times we literally wove
far I know, but after spending six months
SPAIN AT LAST!
through a forest of them with buoys
tied to a pontoon it was far enough. The On Thursday morning we headed off skimming past us less than 5m away
weather was ideal in a ‘no wind’ sort of for Mazagon in Andalucía (Spain). The and no room to turn away. This was
way, so we motored the whole distance. forecast wasn’t wonderful, but the wind a passage we would have been best
We trailed the fishing gear trying to catch was decreasing, so yet again we headed completing in daylight – we didn’t and
some tea, but all we managed to do was off into a 20kn headwind hoping that it a few more buoys bounced off the hull
lose a new set of three squid lures – and had listened to the forecast. The weather as it grew darker.
still no fish. As a short shakedown trip it finally did as expected and the wind and Eventually, after 12 hours, Mazagon
was ideal. The children and I remembered sea dropped away to nothing. loomed out of the darkness as a forest of
how to put the ropes and fenders away Actually arriving in Mazagon with an lights. We had installed a new chart plotter
90 Sailing Today September 09
ST149
FamilyRTG.indd 102 15/7/09 16:43:08
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