We left Fig Foz at 9.30 after topping off our diesel tanks, the morning was pretty windless but was thankfully clear of fog. the wind began to fill from the west and we tried our best to sail, avoiding the ever present pot buoys.
around lunch time the wind finally strengthened to a force 3 and under full sail we could finally dispense with the engine. We began on a broad reach which was perfect to steady us against the swell but as the wind swung into the north we were on a dead run and sailed wing and wing for a while.
We had a glorious couple of hours before the wind again fell fitful. Here is a little video.
towards the end of the afternoon we were approaching Nazare, there is a distinctive lighthouse and a fishing village atop some very impressive sandstone cliffs.
This photo is taken from the point at which last year the biggest wave ever surfed on a board was ridden. the wave was 100ft high. At this point our echo sounder went from 25 metres to over 180 metres as we passed over the huge underwater trench that runs almost all the way to the beach and is responsible for the huge waves that are generated near Nazare.
It shows up quite nicely on Navionics sonar chart, if you can visualise a westerly swell, the deep trench amplifies and steepens the resulting wave, creating some genuine monsters!
Luckily those conditions didn't apply today and we reached the harbour with a relatively modest couple of metres of swell.
As we entered the outer harbour we noticed a man waving us into the Club Naval marina, this is on the left as you enter and until recently was private however it now welcomes visitors. It can be fairly tight, but we had assistance from the mariner and a British yachtsman whos boat we berthed next to.
The marina staff were friendly and helpful. The other marina recommended in our pilot was not well used by visitors, it is however highly regarded.
We had a quick look around the town which is a short 1 kilometre walk away along the impressive beach.
It is a holiday town and was quite lively along the front with many "holiday shops" selling balls and buckets and spades etc. There also appeared to be a huge selection of eateries. Our attention however was drawn to the funicular railway leading to the cliff top village, that would be our goal tomorrow. The forecast held no wind for the next few days so we decided we may as well stay and look around.
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