Logbook – Sines to Lagos 30 Aug 19

We decided to take the punt and press on to Lagos in a final long day. So we rose before the sun and had the anchor up by 0600.

We were not the only ones looking at an early start and we ended up in company with Silver Calipso from Cowes. The coastline continued to be both rugged and beach lined As we pressed towards the most South Westerly point of Portugal the coast looked more like Cornwall with high cliffs and caves that would entice smugglers.

We decided to take the punt and press on to Lagos in a final long day. So we rose before the sun and had the anchor up by 0600.

We were not the only ones looking at an early start and we ended up in company with Silver Calipso from Cowes. The coastline continued to be both rugged and beach lined As we pressed towards the most South Westerly point of Portugal the coast looked more like Cornwall with high cliffs and caves that would entice smugglers.

Making good time we pressed on passed Sagres and pressed on in strong Northerly winds towards Lagos.

The Portuguese coast frequently supports submerged nets as fish farms.  And Lagos has 2 close by.

Sometimes these farms are not lit and so in the failing light we elected to stay well clear of the nets until they were clearly visible.

With a falling tide, we expected to have sufficient water to make the overnight pontoon just outside the marina. But as we started up the channel, it became very clear that there wasn’t enough water for us, access the pontoon.  So we turned around 180 degrees and pushed back into the anchorage. We discovered several other boats on the anchorage which made us think that the entrance had silted up shallower than the charts indicated.

NB. Months later the channel was dredged for several weeks to clear the channel back to chart depths