SY Hullu Poro – Page 124 – Boating & Biking Adventures

🍷…Port wine…🍷

On September 11, 2021

Port wine originates from Porto, Sherry from Spain and Madeira from Madeira. Three different fortified wine products with different names. This and a lot more we learned during a Port wine tasting today along the old lodges of River Douro, the place where it all started in the year 1756! Arranged by the Douro Marina, we enjoyed good accompany from Kate from Churchills Ports, who took us through the whole program. After 2.5 hours and lightly tipsy we placed our order and proceeded with strolling through this lovely city…

☕️ Afurada – fishing village

By Bernd

On September 10, 2021

In Portugal

It has become a habit now that I have morning coffee and a small piece of pastry in Afurada – the old fishing village here at the South banks of River Douro. It is just 5 minutes walk from the marina. These little cafes in Portugal are the “synonym“ for pubs in England – social meeting points of the locals to meet and chat!

The little cafe called Cristina and it’s friendly staff have now started to teach me some words in Portuguese every morning I turn up and try to place my order. In the evening the village turns into special street food atmosphere with simple restaurant arrangements serving seafood prepared on smoking charcoal grills next to the tables placed along the streets.

I enjoy my days at this historical spot in Porto away from the main tourist crowd and look very much forward to welcome Susan tonight here in Portugal.

Fair winds…

Porto – City strolling…🚴‍♂️

By Bernd

On September 7, 2021

In B(H)iking, Portugal

🚴‍♂️…shift lever needed…

By Bernd

On September 7, 2021

In B(H)iking, Portugal

My left hand shift lever is playing dirty for a while, so I went to a Specialized distributor to get it checked – confirmed, replacement best option. Unfortunately they did not have stock, so the journey went on to another bike shop…no success apart from almost 30km city ride, up and down, more or less cobbles and another project at hands…was not in the mood for photos on this trip…but I know for sure: Porto is a not a biking city! 😉

🚦Traffic light system🚦

By Bernd

On September 7, 2021

In Portugal

☝️Hurricane Larry…🤔

By Bernd

On September 4, 2021

In Portugal

Hurricane Larry is today forecasted as shown on the two photos for Monday, 13th September, our planned departure date from Porto. It is amazing how the direction of Larry’s movement impacts our conditions here in Porto. While the wind direction with 18kts from North would be perfect, the waves and swell with max 2.8m coming from Larry would not be pleasant. The swell period with up to 20.4s is very long but also means that it is even more difficult to see the buoyage from the fishermen. Weather and time are the tow keys to sailing in safety, comfort and style. We will keep watching…🧐

Took a first glance…

By Bernd

On September 3, 2021

In Portugal

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…

☝️Porto – just Porto…

By Bernd

On September 3, 2021

In Portugal

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…

Conflicting city – Póvoa de Varzim

By Bernd

On September 3, 2021

In Portugal

🙋‍♂️ Piccolina arriving…

By Bernd

On September 2, 2021

In Portugal, Trans-Ocean e.V.

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…