ahora

Back to Faro

After two wonderful weeks in Rio Guadiana, it was time for me to sail back to Faro. The wind was favorable and since I had a haulout appointment for ahora at the end of June, it was time to raise the anchor anyway.

Early in the morning we were pushed by current and wind towards the river mouth.
Riley from La Vagabonde had the same goal…
…and took some nice shots of ahora and me while underway.
The trip downriver was as relaxed as the trip upwards…
…and the sailing was so smooth that I could even feed Riley with a slice of melon while underway.

We reached the anchorage just before Vila Real around noon when wind and current turned. Perfect timing and on that day ahora’s engine stayed cold. I am particularly happy every time I get a day of sailing completely without the engine. I also see it as good training in case the engine ever fails. Of course, traveling like this is only possible if you allow yourself enough time to wait for suitable winds. But when sailing, the journey should be the destination anyway.

On the next morning I got up at 5 a.m….
…to catch the land wind that pushed ahora back towards the west at 7 knots. What a great sail!

The higher the sun approached the zenith, the weaker the wind became and around 10 a.m. I had to start the engine.

After I had started the engine, a new crew member unexpectedly came on board. The pigeon had probably been blown too far out to sea and was visibly exhausted.
After being a little skeptical at first, she finally tried the oatmeal and water I offered her.
When the wind picked up again and I set sail once more, my new friend became increasingly interested in sailing …
…and even got pretty good at steering.

Unfortunately, as soon as we reached the Culatra breakwater, my new crew member took off so that my autopilot will have to take over again in the future.

This photo was taken by friends of mine who passed me on the way.
Arriving at Ilha Culatra felt like coming home.
After all, I had stayed there for 4 months during the Corona lockdown.
It was thus really nice to see old friends again.
After a few days of relaxed island life …
… I sailed over to Faro to the crane and ahora got out of the water for the first time since I launched her in Hamburg about a year ago.
She is now on dry feet again.

I myself will fly to Germany for two weeks to see friends and family and to move my belongings from Constance to Leverkusen to my grandparents’ attic. Friends of mine had to take care of the official move out of my sublet apartment in Konstanz at the end of April due to Corona.

However, I am already looking forward to put ahora back into the water end of July.

All is well

Jan

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Leave a Comment:

8 comments
JENNI says 21. July 2020

Hi Jan, I have just met you following Riley and Elayna´s videos of their voyage in La Vagabonde.
I am related to Riley – his dad is my cousin. I hope to meet them personally sometime as I am Australian born but have lived the last 30 years in Argentina working and seeing my 5 children grow up here before spreading their wings. We all love travelling.
All the very best for you. Just thought I would say a quick hello to let you know who is on the other side of the screen!!!! Cheers!!

Reply
    Jan says 21. July 2020

    Thanks Jenni!
    So nice to hear from the people reading this 🙂
    Hope one day I can sail to Argentina as well!
    Best
    Jan

    Reply
Gina Kleine-Jaeger says 21. July 2020

Hello Jan I was just introduced to you from Riley and Elayna’s you tube channel. I just wanted to say hello, I think it is so interesting and cool that you all have chosen a life to sail and travel around on the water. I am retired now but I grew up in Huntington New York, right on the harbor. I come from a family of boaters and had no idea that there was such a big community that I could access online I could take me to places I have never been before. Every weekend we spent on the boat and that was our summer vacation for two or three weeks to travel up Long Island sound to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket and over to Rhode Island –that area. I have been married to a German guy from Osnabrock for the last 30 years and we moved to Charlotte North Carolina. I miss the water and the beaches very much. You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone Anyway I just wanted to say hello
Stay well. Gina Kleine-Jaeger. Charlotte, NC

Reply
    Jan says 22. July 2020

    Hi Gina,
    thank you for your lovely comment! So nice to get to know the people who read my blog a little better…
    Take good care and stay healthy in these crazy times!
    All the best
    Jan

    Reply
Carla says 5. August 2020

Tolle Freunde hast Du, die die Wohnung in Konstanz geräumt haben. Eine gute Reise wünsche ich Dir und safe travels!

Herzliche Grüsse vom (Schiff auf dem) Bodensee ⛵️

Reply
    Jan says 8. August 2020

    Danke! Ja ich habe wirklich tolle Freunde!
    Grüß mir mal den See!
    Jan

    Reply
Jon Parker says 18. August 2020

Congratulations, I love your journey. The scenery is beautiful and stunning. I am sure that you guys already have a chill time together.

Reply
    Jan says 18. August 2020

    Thank’s Jon! 🙂

    Reply
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