We managed to keep the sails full and drawing and with a little engine assist we made good time. The hours passed quickly.
The Portuguese southerly current helped and we hoped to arrive in daylight. We left Sines at 8.30 am and by 6pm we were approaching the headland.
There was a noticable increase in the swell as we rounded but nothing to really concern us. For the first time in nearly a year we were heading east rather than south. The coastline of the Algarve opened up before us. We travelled on a few more miles until we arrived at the bay of Sagres. This provides a good anchorage and for us a rest and hopefully a good nights sleep after the noisy marina at Sines.
As we approached the bay I noticed a yacht at anchor, indicated by a black AIS triangle on our new plotter. I hit it to identify and its name came up as Osprey. Could this be our friends Bruce and Pam, fellow OCC members? As we approached the anchorage there indeed was Osprey and Bruce waving at us. We exchanged a few words before choosing a spot to anchor.
Neither us or Bruce, who seemed to be with his son not Pam, had a dinghy blown up so we tidied the boat and made some food rather than socialise. We were tired after our long day and it turned out that Bruce was planning to leave early. Osprey is the nearer of the two yachts below.
We knew the wind was due to move northerly ( not a problem in our snug anchorage but I let out more chain anyway) and increase. Indeed that is what happened overnight. We also had chosen to arrive on yet another national holiday ( Labour Day ) so stayed aboard reading and enjoying the sun for a day rather than get wet going ashore. As windy it certainly was, being offshore for us in the anchorage meant wind but flat water as there was very little fetch, the holding is good so we could relax amd enjoy the music from ashore. When we pass this way again we must go ashore and look around!
The following day the northerlies had subsided and we left the bay in drizzle and an almost flat calm. The plan was to meet Lynnes brother Peter and his wife Sharon in Portimao but that wasnt until the 11th, Lynnes 60th birthday being on the 13th. So we had planned to anchor at Alvor. This anchorage is in a tidal lagoon with restricted depths and an allegedly tricky entrance. We gently motored along the coast enjoying the cliffs and caves that the Algarve is famous for. The sun showed itself as we approached the totured headland of Ponte de Piedade on the approach to Lagos.
These beaches coves and caves must feature on every tourist brochure of the Algarve. They are certainly impressive. This seems to be the point where tourism becomes a major factor.
Needless to say we negotiated the entrance to Alvor even though the channel buoys were off station making them back to front.
We relied on our eyes having chosen to come in at half tide to make the channel more obvious having said that we did briefly touch bottom once. We anchored outside the crowded moorings and after blowing up our dinghy went ashore. The red triangle on the chart above shows our position.
Alvor is a very touristy kind of place but does have a lot of charm. There is a big British contingent both visiting and resident. In fact English is the main language heard in the cafes and restaurants along the front.
English papers are sold in the shops and beer is sold in pint glasses. It was I must admit a bit of a reverse culture shock for Lynne and I. Wierd......we had been in a few tourist oriented places but they had been Portuguese holidaymakers whereas we were now very obviously in a part of Portugal that catered almost exclusively for foreigners. It would take a bit of getting used to.
Back aboard I decided to reset the anchor as I wasnt happy with our position, it was going to be a bit of a windy night and as we had decided to stay for a week or so I needed to be happy to leave the boat to her own devices, it is always difficult for us as everywhere we go its the first time we have ever been. After a week we understand the tides, understand how the current sets on the ebb and the flood and are aware of wind and tide rode positions and how we swing in relation to our near neighbours. This is particularly difficult if you are in the river current as we were and not in the dead water of the moorings off the town.
Another problem we had was our two deep cycle house batteries were showing signs of deterioration, not surprising after five years. We arranged with the marina in Portimao to accept delivery and ordered replacements from England. Even with delivery charges it was cheaper than buying in Portugal besides we needed a very specific physical size to fit our battery compartment.
That done we could relax, in the morning the batteries would be down to 9-10 volts but as soon as the sun hit the solar panels they would start to build up a charge. The problem was they wouldnt hold it.
We decided to stop worrying and explore the nature reserve which had a boarded walkway from Alvor out to the lagoon entrance. The language overheard as we walked changed to French and German. It seems the English were happier in the bars and cafes!
The photo above shows Dark Tarn at anchor seemingly aground in a sea of sand, it is an illusion of course but does illustrate our position in the lagoon at low water quite nicely.
The elevated walkways obviously help to preserve the habitat and it is a real treasure trove of scrubby plants, insect life and above all........ birds. Nigel our friendly twitcher gave us a list of species to look out for, the top of which was a bluethroat, we didnt see one of those but we did see crested larks and kentish plovers.
The dunes are more evident the closer you get to the end of the spit enclosing the lagoon formed by the Alvor river. At low water the sands behind the dunes are extensive and occupied solely by birds and locals riddling for shellfish. So probably has it always been.
The channel is visible in this panorama but I’m afraid you will have to look pretty closely to spot the two extant channel buoys, both of which are misleading.
Of course Lynne is happy because there is a beach and that means we can swim in the sea.
It was not quite ambient temperature, but the following day inexplicably it was a lot warmer.
Of course having walked a short way the beaches of the Algarve could be seen to be deserted. This was not the case but another nice illusion.
All in all Alvor was turning out to be a surprising but ultimately predictable place. True it is very definitely ‘Brits abroad’ , but it undeniably still retains that beauty and charm that had first attracted people to settle and holiday here. In the evening as the sun sets and the birds call across the lagoon, it has a bit of magic still .......
There are a fair number of ratty multihulls and other floating oddities gently rotting in the moorings at Alvor, these are almost exclusively British in origin or registration.
I cant help but be fascinated when I come across these wierd mongrel hybrids like the one above or the trimaran with no masts in the harbour. How did they get here? Where, if anywhere are they going? Then I sometimes ( but not always ) remeber the old adage " Almost any boat can be sailed almost anywhere, but not by amost anybody "
Alvor strikes me as one of those places like the Guardiana or the French canals that once you go in you may like it so much you never come out.............
We are heading to the Guardiana.....
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