We motor-sailed most of the way to Lisbon due to a lack of wind, anxious to avoid the high winds which had followed us south. We saw loads of Dolphins during the passage and the journey was blissfully uneventful…at least until a few hours outside of Lisbon when the nav gear on the helm failed catastrophically leaving us with only our trusty iPad for navigation. Having been told that marinas closed during big storms we were anxious to secure safe harbor, after some deft negotiations by yours truly we secured the last remaining berth at Cascais marina, close to Lisbon. We moored safely on the 26th of November and were soon joined by new crew, Sverre and Lea who would join us for the passage to Gran Canaria. We spent a full week in Port, waiting for a break in weather and a replacement helm unit. Provisioning Sverre style and some sight-seeing in Lisbon were undertaken and Barry received a surprise visit from his daughter and partner. They came bearing the gift of a guitar and some delicious jam. Yum. We also visited a few of the local bars, just to be sociable. Our new auto-helm arrived just as there was a break in the weather and as time was short we decided to sail straight from Portugal to Gran Canaria and the start of the ARC Atlantic Rally!
