Lagos marina and part of the old town
It looks like Lagos is going to be our home for a few weeks.
This unplanned halt to the cruising plans is due to a bent prop shaft. There have been signs of a problem for a while and during the trip down here Anders was reluctant for the engine to run above 1400 revs, as this produced uncomfortable vibration. Anders is suffering some anguish about lining up the engine with the new prop shaft, apparently it is about 10mm out of alignment. All will be revealed next week when the engineer at Sopromar, the local boatyard start the job.
We feel it is better to get it sorted now so we can hopefully have a summer of carefree cruising. The boatyard, run by Hugo and his brother in law Pedro, appears well run but very expensive. Lifting out Moonshadow cost 450E and with the repairs to engine mountings and with the new prop shaft we will be spending close on 3,300E. This means we will be dipping into the money we had put aside to overwinter Moonshadow in the Med.
In the meantime we are sitting on the yacht on the hard, alongside some rather smart yachts with acres of beach just a short walk away. Lagos old town is quaint with street bars and cafes, shady squares and street sellers. The narrow, winding streets sneak away at every corner cosily protected by the 15th century city wall. Mid May is still early season here so there is only a trickle of tourists.
Cooking in the galley and a nesting storks - a common sight in Lagos
We feel it is better to get it sorted now so we can hopefully have a summer of carefree cruising. The boatyard, run by Hugo and his brother in law Pedro, appears well run but very expensive. Lifting out Moonshadow cost 450E and with the repairs to engine mountings and with the new prop shaft we will be spending close on 3,300E. This means we will be dipping into the money we had put aside to overwinter Moonshadow in the Med.
In the meantime we are sitting on the yacht on the hard, alongside some rather smart yachts with acres of beach just a short walk away. Lagos old town is quaint with street bars and cafes, shady squares and street sellers. The narrow, winding streets sneak away at every corner cosily protected by the 15th century city wall. Mid May is still early season here so there is only a trickle of tourists.
Cooking in the galley and a nesting storks - a common sight in Lagos
Even though the tourist brochures boast just one day of rain throughout the summer season we have just had a thunderstorm. We were cycling in the old town at the time and a very thoughtful shop owner came out and rolled out his sun blind so that we could shelter under it with our bicycles! This we were thankful for, though we did retreat to a cafe for a coffee to warm us up.
It wasn't long before the sun came out again and we were back in the boat, refitting the main sail after a fourth reefing point to the main was added and the leech was restitched by Antonio of Forforvelas Sail repairs.
Most days are spent doing a million and one jobs on the boat while we await the major repair. We have sanded down part of the brightwork in the cockpit which was looking rather sad and in great need of attention. We tackle one side at a time so we have somewhere to sit in the meantime.
We took a break on Sunday, May 24 and cycled to Praia de Luz which took about three quarters of an hour each way. A small, sheltered beach with cascading white apartments, many of them empty, but all of good quality. The disappearance of Madeleine McCann together with the recession and high exchange rate has had a devastating effect on the tourist trade here. "At least that family have got jobs, thousands of people are out of work because of it," lamented one ex-pat who now sells grotto trips in Lagos marina.
It is exactly a week later and we are still sitting on the hard in Lagos. Our prop shaft finally arrived two weeks after it was supposed to have been ordered! The next hurdle is having it fitted and everything lining up correctly. There is constant activity in the boat yard, but suspect the Portuguese are jumping the queue!
We have had a couple of days of southerlies which bring the frothy waves rolling into the beach which brings out the surfers. It is also great fun in the water, leaping over the breaking waves just at the right moment. More families on the beach this week, probably because it is Whit week at home.
Time scales and tight schedules that we always seem to be following at home seem to have followed us here. Even though we are in the hands of others as far as the boatyard is concerned it is hard to let go of that constant urge to do things within a certain time. I am trying hard to slow down my personal clock so that I undertake things with a little more thought and patience instead of characteristically rushing into action and then worrying about the consequences afterwards. Be in the moment –echoes of my yoga teacher.
Late on Friday afternoon the shaft arrived but we had to wait until the following Monday for some action. The stainless steel shaft an inch in diameter and 11/2metres long cost 650E, the flexible coupling cost 295E then there was 600E of machining costs on top of that! The shaft was machined on Monday afternoon and finally fitted on Tuesday morning, by which time Anders , who had been constantly measuring up the alignment with the engine with his spirit level , was about to explode with concern. However, the engineers appeared cool and told us in broken English that they were happy with the job. Anders started to breathe more easily.
The next job was to repair the skeg which had a groove ground away to allow for the extraction of the prop shaft. This was done on Tuesday afternoon and we were promised the highlight of going back in the water on Thursday morning.
We also took the opportunity of asking Antonio to rivet two blocks to either side of the mast so we could install a lazy jack system and remove the old Dutchman furling system which had caused us some sail damage in the past. The yard has a huge crane, that would have delighted Luca , and Antonio was hoisted up in a steel crate to do the job.
It wasn't long before the sun came out again and we were back in the boat, refitting the main sail after a fourth reefing point to the main was added and the leech was restitched by Antonio of Forforvelas Sail repairs.
Most days are spent doing a million and one jobs on the boat while we await the major repair. We have sanded down part of the brightwork in the cockpit which was looking rather sad and in great need of attention. We tackle one side at a time so we have somewhere to sit in the meantime.
We took a break on Sunday, May 24 and cycled to Praia de Luz which took about three quarters of an hour each way. A small, sheltered beach with cascading white apartments, many of them empty, but all of good quality. The disappearance of Madeleine McCann together with the recession and high exchange rate has had a devastating effect on the tourist trade here. "At least that family have got jobs, thousands of people are out of work because of it," lamented one ex-pat who now sells grotto trips in Lagos marina.
It is exactly a week later and we are still sitting on the hard in Lagos. Our prop shaft finally arrived two weeks after it was supposed to have been ordered! The next hurdle is having it fitted and everything lining up correctly. There is constant activity in the boat yard, but suspect the Portuguese are jumping the queue!
We have had a couple of days of southerlies which bring the frothy waves rolling into the beach which brings out the surfers. It is also great fun in the water, leaping over the breaking waves just at the right moment. More families on the beach this week, probably because it is Whit week at home.
Time scales and tight schedules that we always seem to be following at home seem to have followed us here. Even though we are in the hands of others as far as the boatyard is concerned it is hard to let go of that constant urge to do things within a certain time. I am trying hard to slow down my personal clock so that I undertake things with a little more thought and patience instead of characteristically rushing into action and then worrying about the consequences afterwards. Be in the moment –echoes of my yoga teacher.
Late on Friday afternoon the shaft arrived but we had to wait until the following Monday for some action. The stainless steel shaft an inch in diameter and 11/2metres long cost 650E, the flexible coupling cost 295E then there was 600E of machining costs on top of that! The shaft was machined on Monday afternoon and finally fitted on Tuesday morning, by which time Anders , who had been constantly measuring up the alignment with the engine with his spirit level , was about to explode with concern. However, the engineers appeared cool and told us in broken English that they were happy with the job. Anders started to breathe more easily.
The next job was to repair the skeg which had a groove ground away to allow for the extraction of the prop shaft. This was done on Tuesday afternoon and we were promised the highlight of going back in the water on Thursday morning.
We also took the opportunity of asking Antonio to rivet two blocks to either side of the mast so we could install a lazy jack system and remove the old Dutchman furling system which had caused us some sail damage in the past. The yard has a huge crane, that would have delighted Luca , and Antonio was hoisted up in a steel crate to do the job.
Bikes are great for transporting sails and shopping and above Antonio fits blocks ready for Anders' Lazy Jacks
Thursday morning dawned and for the first time since we arrived in Portugal things started to happen when we expected. We rose early to anti-foul the skeg and touch up before going in the water. In we went with the help of the Sopromar travel hoist and the engineer was promptly on board to check the running of the shaft.
We then cast off and took Moonshadow for a short trip with the engine on at full revs. Anders' ear was glued to sound, which apart from some small vibration from somewhere else in the boat, seemed far less distinct than before. Fingers crossed we will be on our way tomorrow.
We then cast off and took Moonshadow for a short trip with the engine on at full revs. Anders' ear was glued to sound, which apart from some small vibration from somewhere else in the boat, seemed far less distinct than before. Fingers crossed we will be on our way tomorrow.
