This is your Captain speaking 6th July. It seems I may have made a small mistake in my last entry by using July instead of June for my date but remember, I'm the Captain and I decide what month it is! Here we are in Faro, anchored in 3m in a perfect lagoon with storks on the foreshore and other birdcalls in the air with only the occasional roar of a jet heading for Faro Airport to disturb the peace. We went aground twice yesterday; once in the Gypsy try...

Hi Folks Well we made it to Lisbon with a day to spare and Tim has now gone home (at least for a day or two before he jets off for more international travel - or a real holiday as he puts it!). Lisbon was extremely hot 36°C + and a huge contrast to the wild and windy coastal weather we've had. We spent a couple of days exploring the city, but I think it needs much more time to get any real feel for the place. I don't think it's a strolling around sor...

This is the Captain speaking. (25th June) We are now in Sines , the last port of call before Cabo de Sao Vicente and the Algarve. The sailing down the Portuguese coast has been rather frustrating. Each day seems to start with flat calm and then the wind slowly builds up until by 1600 a 20 knot NW breeze has built up which continues to increase to 25-30 knots until it switches off at 1930hr precisely. By this time the seas have built up to about 1.5 to 2m swe...

Hi folks We are now in Portugal and I am writing this after a long and bumpy day in which we came from Aveiro to Peniche. It has been a very dull grey day and the waves were huge - not a lot of fun. The Portuguese stretch has been fairly typical Atlantic weather; we've had mist, big rolling seas and a fairly strong afternoon breeze most days. We have had some good sailing in the afternoons - 8 knots under spinnaker, and more goose-winging than I would l...

Hi Folks We did indeed get an easy crossing with light northeasterly winds and a fairly gentle sea. It was still a bit rock and roll in places and Hector has developed a very funny wide legged stance when he comes up on deck, but it was much more bearable than the earlier seas we've had. Cooking (and eating) on the go is a bit of a challenge - mostly you need three hands to do anything and a few cups of tea have gone straight to the floor. Its also a bi...