There are mornings when you wake up on a sailing boat and immediately start thinking about wind direction, tides, weather forecasts and where you might get to before dark. This was not one of those mornings. After the long afternoon getting into Barbate, neither of us was particularly interested in sailing anywhere. La Sirena was
A Day Ashore in Barbate – Tuna, Cold Beer and Absolutely No Sailing Read More »
We left Cádiz at lunchtime, which was not the plan. The plan had involved dawn, coffee in travel mugs and the sort of efficient departure that makes you feel briefly competent. Instead, we had spent the morning staring at a battery monitor, buying a replacement part and watching other boats leave without us. By the
The Long Afternoon to Barbate Read More »
The alarm went off at 5:30. I was already awake. There’s a particular kind of excitement that comes before departure day. You’ve checked the weather twelve times. The route is planned. Water tanks are full. Food’s onboard. The marina bill has been paid. All that’s left is leaving. The forecast looked decent. Light easterlies early,
We Were Ready to Leave at Dawn. The Boat Had Other Ideas. Read More »
Ryan We left the boat in the marina in Cádiz and spent the day exploring the old city on foot after arriving by sea.It was the first proper break from the boat, the kind of slow day where you walk without a plan and let the place unfold around you. The marina sits right beside
Exploring Cádiz on Foot After Sailing In (A Slow Day Away from the Boat) Read More »
Ryan We arrived in Cádiz by boat after a few days at sea and ended up taking a full harbour day to sort the boat out and reset.It started with oversleeping in the marina, the first proper rest after the crossing, and that strange feeling when everything finally stops moving. First thing I noticed when
Arriving in Cádiz by Boat (Our First Harbour Day After Sailing In) Read More »
The first thing we noticed wasn’t Cádiz itself, it was the boat. She stopped leaning.Not dramatically. Just enough that a mug stayed where you put it. After the Strait, everything still felt switched on. The engine noise lingered in your head. The radio crackle. The sense that something very large and very uninterested in you
First Night in Cádiz: When the Boat Finally Stops Bracing Read More »
Ryan woke up before the alarm. That already told me what kind of day it was going to be. The Strait had been sitting there in our heads for weeks. Not fear exactly. More like a low, constant awareness. You don’t “arrive” at the Strait of Gibraltar the way you arrive at a marina. You
The Strait Day: Tankers, Tides, and the Moment the Atlantic Lets Go Read More »
Ryan We came into Portimão just after sunrise. The sea was flat for the first time in days, so quiet it almost felt wrong. The engine had been coughing, low oil smell drifting through the cabin, but we made it in. The marina looked half empty. Rows of clean charter boats on one side, us
The Harbour Day That Fixed More Than the Engine Read More »
Ryan The morning looked innocent. Flat light, gulls acting like they owned the place, chain lying like a good dog. That’s when you do the work—the boring stuff you only notice when it fails. I started at the bow because that’s where the night talks back. Snubber off, fingers on the splice, no heat, no
Small Jobs After a Big Night (Ryan vs. Liam) Read More »
Liam’s Take Didn’t move. Wind was nothing. Anchored holding fine. Swell wrapped around a bit, but I’ve slept worse in a car park in La Coruña. Tightened the topping lift, cleaned the scuppers. Solar’s working again. One of the stern lines smells off. I’ll bleach it later. Mam rang. Asked if we were back on
