After waving Douglas and Rachel off in a taxi, we set out for Ayamonte in Spain. The forecast was for SE winds F4 – F5 which should have given us a slightly bumpy but manageable sail. As we left Vilamoura the swell was well above the 2 metre forecast and with the wind already at F5. - Should have turned back !, but the forecast was for the winds to reduce at lunchtime. Needless to say we ended up with Easterly F5 on the nose and after 7 hours had only made 10 miles progress. Entrance to the Rio Guadiana on the Portuguese Spanish border has to be on a rising tide and we were not going to make it.
We made for an anchorage behind Cabo De Santa Maria, near Faro and spent a quiet night in a bay of salt marshes and sand banks under the Faro airport flight path.
Next morning we made a 6am start to catch the Mid-day high water tide into the Guadiana, While having my 6am cup of tea, a Portuguese fisherman was carefully laying nets all through the yachts at anchor. When we weighed anchor it was then not a surprise when I hoisted up fishing nets which I had to cut free before we could depart.
A good motor sail and tied up in Ayamonte by 1pm. Back in Spain !
Ayamonte is the first town in Spain, a really nice town with good shops,bars and restaurants. It must be odd living in a town where only 300 metres across the river is Portugal, they speak a different language and are on a different time zone!.
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