Sail to the Med: Along the Algarve

Vicki and Andi Dunkel run sailing and diving holidays around Europe on board Isicia II, a classic 51 foot Beneteau First yacht. This year their route takes them from Scotland to the Mediterranean and here is a travelbite from their ship’s log:

Lisbon to the Algarve

This week's trip took us from Lisbon to the Algarve, a favourite holiday spot for Europeans. Continuing with light northerly winds and a lot less swell, our sail down south along the Portuguese Atlantic coast was very relaxed.

Our first stop was Sines, the birth place of the explorer Vasco da Gama. Reference to his name can be found throughout this fishing port and it was no surprise that the beach off which we anchored, overlooked by the town's castle, was called Vasco da Gama Beach.

South of Sines there are no suitable anchorages, so our next hop was a 55 mile journey all the way around Cabo de Sao Vicente into the Algarve. Force five winds and a cruising speed of ten knots ensured that we arrived in the Algarve for dinner.

Cabo Sao Vicente and Ponta de Sagres provide an impressive introduction to the Algarve, wild and windswept with caves and caverns. We took anchor off a beach in a lovely bay sheltered by Ponta de Sagres, which also gives its name to the local beer. We took a dinghy to the beach and sampled the beer against the backdrop of our first sunset in the Algarve.

After travelling south for the last two months it was a milestone when we turned east into the Algarve. Cruising along the coast past Lagos and Alvor fringed by golden beaches and rocky cliffs, snorkelling around the caves and caverns, anchoring under the stars in secluded bays and enjoying the local Caipirinha– it seems a long way from the start of our journey in the Firth of Clyde.

To find out more about holidays on Isicia II (suitable for all experience levels) visit their website at www.sailaway.eu.com or call (+44) 07904 267 561.


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