Attempted escape from Cascais

Maeve and I left the marina at 06.00 with Dave to get a taxi to the train station.
Once in Lisbon station we went downstairs to get the metro to the airport.

We soon got to the airport, got Dave booked in and through security. I was sad to see him go as he was the perfect First Mate, always recognised what needed to be done even before I knew myself. He missed nothing and took a lot of the pressure off me during his stay.

We then made our way to the arrivals terminal to wait for Maeve’s sister Norma who was due to arrive.
We planted ourselves in a coffee shop and Maeve reminds me that I didn’t talk with her as I spent the time playing with my iPad checking the forecast and planning the next leg of our trip. A skipper work is never done.

Once Norma arrived we made our way back to the marina.
My original plan was to leave tomorrow but due to a forecast for stronger winds in our area tonight and lasting for a few day, I wanted to leave as soon as possible before the wind increased but first we had to provision and book out.

Unfortunally by the time we got back and provisioned it was 16.30 and I could already feel the wind increasing. I was still hoping we’d be around the headland and heading north away from where it was going to be at its strongest in time. It was about 10-12 knots at the marina and a bit stronger once we were outside the breakwater. All was looking good at first and I hoisted the main with two reefs to be on the safe side once outside the harbour.

We got to Cape Raso five miles west of Cascais where we were turning north and out of the shelter of the land, when we got the full force of the northerly wind and it went instantly from 15 to 25 knots!
In hindsight I probably should have kept going as the wind was forecast to decrease further north. But seeing that I was the only experienced person aboard. we were all tired after the trip to and from the airport and rushing to get ready, I felt that it would be foolhardy to continue especially if the wind didn't decrease as forecast as the next harbour where we could shelter was still over seventy miles to the north.

I told the girls that I thought we had missed our chance and I was going to head back and wait for a break in the weather. We tied up again an hour later and while it was embarrassing booking back in again, it was better than having my crew seasick or worse.

We opened a bottle of red wine to console ourselves and later had dinner in a restaurant by the marina. It looked as if we'd have to stay put for at least the next two days.

Leg 13ish - 17 mls. Total 1347.Read more