Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts; a quote often attributed to Winston Churchill, I am not sure if he actually did say this somewhere, but it resonates anyhow ;-).
After three long Winter months in the Netherlands, towards the end of January, we finally got good news from Astilleros Lagos (the boatyard in Vigo): FARR-out was about ready to be set afloat again. Unfortunately her skipper was knocked out by the flu epidemic that was torturing almost all of Europe in the beginning of the new year, so we had to wait until he was well enough for the long road trip from Rotterdam to Vigo.
In the second week of February, we were able to make that road trip and happy to be reunited with FARR-out on February 10th, 2018.
From snow in the northern part of France to sun in the northern part of Spain.
Besides the repaired bow, FARR-out got fully refitted electronic equipment (now all Raymarine's i70 system), a refurbished switch panel, a new wind generator, a new autopilot, and since she needed a new spray hood, we used this opportunity to also have a new main sail cover made in the same material as the spray hood.
In the week after our arrival she was set afloat the traditional way, which was a fun experience: from a slope, on rails using the special slope carts which were also used to jack her up, while on land.
Because the weather was not great for sailing out that week, we remained in the yacht club aside the shipyard: Liceo Maritimo de Bouzas. Waiting for the swell and winds to diminish and the harbours in (North) Portugal to open up again, which as we learned close down completely if the swell and winds are to high/strong (up to date info on harbour closings in Portugal here).
On February 19th, we were scheduled to sail out, were it not that our car got towed away on the Sunday before! So, instead of just driving over to Astilleros Lagos (where Alfredo, the owner, was so kind to let us leave the car on the property of the yard, in full safety), we had to spend most of the day retrieving the car. And so, the sailing bit was postponed yet another day.
On the 20th of February, we finally did set sail and the conditions were perfect. We had 5 wonderful sailing days, making our way from Vigo (Spain) to Sines (Portugal), with stops in: Baiona: beautifully anchored in the bay; Castelo de Viana, where we spent a night on the pontoon just outside the marina, amidst the fishing boats racing up and down the "rio"; and then Cascais, again at anchor in its lovely bay. Day after day, while sailing, we were accompanied by dolphins and we even spotted some other (by us unidentified) cetaceans, which never seizes to amaze!
After one night in Sines, it was clear that the Atlantic had no plans of settling down for a longer period just yet: forecasts showed depression after depression, causing lots of swell and strong winds. We decided to sail one more leg towards the Algarve before conditions would be too bad and did a "night sail" on the 26th to arrive in Lagos early morning on the 27th.
During our short stay in Sines we had the pleasure to briefly meet with Jean Heylbroeck, the author of: De wereld is rond, a book I very much enjoyed reading about two years ago, when learning all about traveling the seas. In his book he relates his story of sailing around the world in 5 years, alone.
Great respect for this man, who is an autodidact sailor and a really sweet soul! Learn more about Jean in this short documentary on youtube
FARR-out, is now stationed in Lagos, again awaiting better sailing conditions. In the mean time we are piling up on courage to continue, and make it to the Canaries as soon as the conditions allow!
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