Porto to Cascais via the UK

I have been home to the UK for 11 days while Nelly looked after the boat and Dotty. On returning to Portugal, we did a 36 hour sail to Cascais.

Why home? My mum is seriously ill so I returned to spend time with her and other family members. It was a special time with some lovely memories.

After returning to Porto we set sail heading south, back into the big Atlantic swells and passing storms. It was a bit of a marathon and we pushed until we needed to rest our weary bodies. On the morning of the third day we entered Cascais marina where we have spent two nights.

Cascais has been a complete surprise, it has a very upmarket marina complex and the town in all its Christmas’s glory is beautiful. A Sunday evening walk with the dog turned out to be a walk through a Christmas wonderland.

Tomorrow we are off again, just a short hop of about 9 hours to Sines. This is the area where there have been a lot of interactions with Orcas ( killer whales ) so we will stay close to the shore and keep a close watch. We have precautions on board if they try to get too friendly with the rudder.

Before flying home I had been struggling mentally with a lot of issues. It was a mix of personal matters, lack of progress due to weather, my mums illness etc. Things have really turned around for me now and feel much happier, confident and looking forward with renewed energy. Thank you to family and friends (old and new 😉) for helping me to do that.