Porto - Fall 2023

Porto

When we left the Azores in early September, we underestimated the impact the seasons would have on our cruising plans. It turns out that the seasons make a big impact on sailing plans. Imagine that. When it was time to head south from the Rias of northwest Spain to the Algarve coast of southern Portugal, we were met with storm after storm. Massive low pressure systems worked their way off the maritime provinces in Canada across the north Atlantic and slammed into the west coasts of Spain and Portugal. Fall storms combined with a coastline with plenty of beaches and not many natural harbors, and we found ourselves stuck. We made it from Vigo to Porto in one 24-hour period of calm and then we were stuck.

Another pro-tip: a coast line that is famous for surfing is not so great for sailing. We waited in Porto for four uncomfortable weeks before we had decent weather to sail south. The harbors along Portugal’s Atlantic coast are either man-made or at the entrance to a river. In both cases, Portugal has built massive jetties, but trying to buffet yourself from 3-5 meter waves and opposing tidal flow is no small task. I took many walks to the harbor entrance in Porto and just watched massive waves break across the entire entrance, oftentimes breaking over the jetties. We could certainly feel the affects at the marina as well. The current in the Duoro River flowed at around 2-3 knots so we were constantly being pushed and pulled at the dock. We had all our lines tied like a veritable spiderweb and all our fenders acting as a cushion between us and the dock. Miraculously, we didn’t break any lines or pop any fenders.

It rained every day and we quickly learned to wear our rain jackets no matter the weather. With such uncomfortable motion at the dock, we often left the boat for the entire day, bringing schoolwork to a cafe and then exploring around the town. Ubers are cheap and plentiful which I appreciated since the marina is about 6 km from the town. We visited the modern art museum, thrift stores, the big shopping street, the beach, a history museum, and just wandered around Porto. It’s a gorgeous city—colorful and creative with art and history at every turn.

Inside the bookstore that inspired JK Rowling when she was writing Harry Potter.

Fall weather.

Halloween appropriate--a dead seagull at our stern.

A pumpkin and Cruella De'Ville.

Good friends from our sailing days on Whisper, Mandy and Rob from s/v Snow Day, were passing through Lisbon. We took the train down from Porto and spent the day together. They were the first kid boat we met, back in 2007 in Florida when their kids were 8 and 10 (I think).

Schoolwork on the train.

Back in Porto and the weather madness continues. We saw hail and winds over 50 knots one day.

HAIL!

The entrance to Porto Harbor (Duoro River entrance). I've marked the red and green channel markers so you can sort of see the entrance...

and here you can see waves breaking clear across the entrance and over the jetty. Fun fact: in Europe the buoys are opposite to what we have in the US and Caribbean, so it's no longer red right returning. Nothing like second guessing yourself every.single.time you enter or leave a harbor.

And this is the harbor entrance on a calm day. We didn't see this when we were in Porto; I took this picture weeks later when we returned via car. The day we left the inlet it was still rough and rather hairy.

On a boat tour through the history museum.

An outdoor escalator to move us up a particularly steep part of the city.

A modern art performance.

The modern art museum had a Miro/Calder exhibit which I loved.

Our neighborhood just outside of Porto, the walk to the big grocery store.

Finally we got viable weather to head south, about 300 miles or so to Lagos. Not sailing weather, unfortunately, but we took it. We motored all day and overnight until we were past Lisbon and then the winds filled in beautifully. We sailed in the afternoon and through the second night. The seas were calm and the wind was perfect—well worth the wait. We arrived in Lagos around lunchtime, a familiar place since we had spent a few weeks there in 2021 on our way to the Canary Islands.

Lagos has a big, modern marina, and is incredibly well-protected from the ocean. It’s also dry—the Algarve coast of Portugal is almost desert-like. A perfect place to stay on the boat for a few weeks and also to leave it for Christmas. But first, we had plans to meet Hans’s parents in Porto for Karin’s birthday week, so it was back north again and time for a little boat break. I needed it after spending four rough weeks at the marina in Porto and then sailing for 48 hours. We had initially planned on being on the boat in Porto, but weather dictated that we get off the Atlantic coast as soon as possible. So we basically sailed south for 48 hours and then turned around, got in a car, and drove north for a day to get back to wear we started.

Sunrise.

Big smiles all around as we sit in flat calm water, finally.

We rented a car to return to Porto. At just 10 euros a day for car rental, we assumed it would be cheaper to go by car than buying train tickets for 4 people. We didn’t take into account the cost of gas (1.70 euros a liter, so over 150 euros on gas) nor the tolls (50 euros each way). It definitely would have been cheaper, easier, and about the same amount of time to take the train than drive. European lessons learned!

A week in Porto without worrying about the boat and weather was so much fun. (All except the beds in our AirBnb which had incredibly uncomfortable beds. The location was great and the apartment was historic with lots of character, but the beds. Basically like sleeping on the floor.) We ate at traditional Portuguese restaurants and more foodie-type restaurants. We rode around on a double-decker tour bus; walked along the river; ate natas; rode the gondola; ate lunch at the beach; climbed to the top of Clerigos Tower; and walked across the bridge that spans the Duoro River. Hans had to leave a day early to go to work in Wisconsin; the kids and I left the following day to drive back to Lagos. It was a long drive, punctuated by a stop at Decathlon to buy winter jackets for the kids and a stop for lunch at rest area. We were pleasantly surprised by our lunch break—it wasn’t the typical fast food fare of rest areas in the US but rather a proper cafeteria with hot food served on real plates and followed by a Pingo—my favorite Portuguese coffee, a shot of espresso with a dash of milk. Matilda has taken a liking to Pingo criancas (kid Pingo), the same as my drink but with less coffee.

Back in Lagos, we settled in for two weeks and got busy with schoolwork, creating a new daily routine, and meeting new boat friends.