I took a first short ride along the Douro River, which splits Porto into a South area and a North area. Douro Marina lies on the South banks of the river but the main city center is North. Nevertheless there are also historical places under this UNESCO World Heritage Site spanning to the South. Examples are the old fishermen village and port wine lodges. I sense there will be a lot more to explore over the coming days. Fair winds…
Shortly after leaving Póvoa de Varzim something got caught in the propeller or rudder as suddenly engine rpm reduced from 1800 to 1500 and boat speed from 6.5kts to 5.9kts. There was quite some large seaweed floating around at that time and I thought…oh oh…Bingo! Luckily I could free it up without jumping into the water and the journey proceeded with sharp look-out for more obstacles causing potential trouble.
We have now moored at Douro Marina in Porto for a longer stay. The approach can be a bit tricky but in today‘s condition it was all easy. We arrived 1 hour before high tide during slack time and currents in the river were close to zero. Swell on the bar at the river’s entry was moderate with 10kts winds from South. However, I have learned that direction of swell and direction of wind are not necessarily unidirectional here on the Atlantic.
Porto – just Porto…
Weather is like a good Scandinavian summer…😉
Fair winds…
Yesterday, we did welcome Steffi and Rolf arriving in Póvoa de Varzim on their SY Piccolina – a very well maintained HR42E. They both completed a non-stop trip from Azores and are Trans-Ocean & Intermar members. An interesting couple and journey, which you can read more about on their website under this link.
Fair winds…
The next longer stop shall be Lisboa and I am planning to berth in the Marina Parque das Nações first two weeks of September. On the way South, I will do some more 🚴♂️ Biking and even plan a three days Bikepacking Tour on the way along the spanish and portuguese coastline. Stay tuned….
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