Lisbon

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 16:02:33 +0200

On the third day after Porto, Ella and I arrived in the bay that is also home to Lisbon. We spent the first afternoon and evening in the anchorage off Cascais. Ella had already been ashore there with her friends, so we had no “boat fever” driving us onto dry land. That’s when anchoring is truly wonderful: you drop the hook, check that it holds, and you’re done. No fenders to hang out, no lines to prepare, no docking manoeuvres, no harbour master to negotiate with about where and how, no bystanders sticking their noses in. None of that, just instant peace, and afterwards you still have the place to yourself.

Spanish Rías and Porto

Fri, 08 Aug 2025 18:07:45 +0200

Last week we left Sada in “the usual weather”, heading for the western rías (rivers, though low-lying fjords would be a better description). By the usual weather I mean the “Portuguese Northerly”, which blows strongest around the northwestern corner of Spain. Out at sea we got 25 knots of wind from the north to northeast. When that comes from behind or on the quarter it’s a perfect wind for Merrimac: the apparent wind over the deck is then only about 15 knots, and we go like a house on fire.

Portugal on Merrimac

Lisbon

Spanish Rías and Porto