February starts like every year – with my birthday! The day starts with glorious sunshine, but the temperatures are crisp and fresh. OK, not as bad as in Germany, because there’s still nothing to stop you wearing shorts and a T-shirt. In their absence, Jens and Aneta from Marieke give us a birthday surprise – a chain of birthday bunting they’ve crocheted themselves. Super!!! Axel gives us a delicious birthday breakfast and then a nice excursion. We drive across the Portuguese-Spanish border to Huelva and take a look at the fairly new Marina del Odiel. At the moment we’re thinking about spending this year in Portugal and Spain and then spending the winter here again. Marina del Odiel would be an alternative to Marina Vilamoura. Let’s see…
As a cycle race is taking place in Huelva, we postpone our visit to the city centre and set off again. We continue by car along the Parque Natural Marismas del Odiel. We drive past a huge lagoon landscape surrounded by pine forests and finally see flamingos! Great!!! A short detour to Punta Umbria and the hope of getting a seat at the Restaurante Chiringuito Camarón. Unfortunately in vain, although it smells sooo delicious like grilled prawns. Unfortunately, the next stop at Playa de la Bota doesn’t get us any further in terms of food, but it does give us a beautiful view of the Golfo de Cádiz. We return to Vilamoura via various shopping stops. We take the opportunity to stock up on provisions by car before we return our hire car the following week and, after a glass of champagne on board, we have a delicious dinner in the Tai-Tai restaurant back in Vilamoura and then, unfortunately, our birthday is already over.
On 9 February, we finally leave the marina again. We leave Vilamoura and sail to Portimão. However, the term sailing is once again hopelessly exaggerated. Zero wind and a grey, overcast sky. Well, better than mid-February on the Baltic Sea. We head west and once again stick to the 20 metre depth contour. Just yesterday orcas were sighted off Albufeira. That’s exactly where we want to go. Fortunately, we don’t see any orcas and after an uneventful 20 nm we finally reach the anchorage in Portimâo or Ferragudo. There’s not much going on here, so we can simply drop anchor in the middle of it all. Live music plays from the nearby beach bar and the sun finally comes out in the afternoon. The day ends with a beautiful sunset, which not only we but also countless tourists enjoy from the harbour pier.
The alarm clock rings at 7am on Monday. After a quick breakfast and a quick clearing up, the anchor is raised and we sail a short distance up the Rio Arade to Parchal. We arrive at the Portimão marina shipyard on time at 8.30 a.m. and the crane team is also there on time. Fortunately, there is no wind and we manage to enter the very narrow lift area without any problems. A little later, the large travel lift lifts La Ola out of the water without any problems and we are ashore. Unusual! We’ve actually never seen our catamaran out of the water before. The underwater hull, which is due to be given new antifouling in the next few days, actually looks absolutely spotless. Hardly any mussels, no fouling. The nibbling fish in Vilamoura must have been very busy. The rudders were not damaged by the orca encounter last year, even when viewed from land. However, the sacrificial anodes on both propellers are completely missing. While we check in at reception, La Ola is given a nice steam-blast and it’s revealed that a new coat of antifouling is a good thing. We’ve got our pitch right next to the sailing yacht Born to live, whose owner we already know from the Trans-Ocean chat. Now we get to know Guido and later his wife Ilona in person and chat for a while. Later, Andre and Petra come by and want to buy our folding bikes from us via the TO marketplace. The deal is quickly finalised and we chat to them for a while before they get on their bikes. We also take our bikes off the deck and cross the bridge to Portimão. We want to buy some cheap floor mats so as not to give the boatyard dirt much of a chance and find what we are looking for in the Chinese shop. Back on board, we quickly tidy up the deck as the boat is to be thoroughly washed by the shipyard team the next day. Then we hide away in the saloon, enjoy fast food from the airfryer and watch Bohemian Rhapsody on the on-board TV. It’s getting increasingly uncomfortable outside and the rain is pelting down on deck.
The rain continues through the night and the wind picks up. Well, at least we don’t have to worry about the anchor or the mooring lines. It continues to storm and rain all morning, so the washing programme has to be postponed until the afternoon. At least everything gets a good rinse from the rain. But as soon as the sun comes out, we start scrubbing. However, it quickly gets dirty again on deck. The new floor mats help, but the dirt can’t be stopped completely.
After a quiet night, work continues early the next morning. A whole team polishes La Ola in every nook and cranny. Even under the bridge deck she is made spick and span. As soon as you don’t look, our propellers are already dismantled. They are sanded down and given a special anti-fouling coating. And then the hull is also drilled. Two new through-holes in the owner’s cabin for the air conditioning system and two much smaller holes for the new underwater lighting are drilled cleanly. In the afternoon, our friend Jens arrives from Vilamoura and brings some long-awaited parcels for us. He also helps us install a new water filter, which should ensure that we can drink our water from the tank without worrying about bacteria. Unfortunately, we end up missing a tool, so the final installation has to be postponed. Instead, we go out for pizza together in Ferragudo and finally say goodbye to each other again for the time being.
The next day also starts early. Now the underwater hull is sanded down and the deck and stainless steel parts are polished. We are not only impressed by the punctuality of the Vasile and Slick Hull team, but also by their meticulous work. For example, a toothbrush is used to polish under the brackets of our trampoline nets. What a Sisyphean task!!! Another employee removes our decorative strip on the hull with a hot air dryer and spatula. The trim has probably suffered badly from rubbing fenders in the past and no longer looks nice, and is missing in many places. So we’re having it redone. Unfortunately, we made the big scratches on the port hull ourselves during one of our last mooring manoeuvres in Vilamoura. Now they are being nicely filled and made pretty again with gelcoat. La Ola is starting to look like new! We can finally fit the new water filter today. In the evening, we relax in the lounge and enjoy veal sausage and pretzels, which for some reason are currently on special offer at Lidl. So Oktoberfest is also possible in February…
On Friday we start working early again. Even my barbecue and the life raft are polished! While we continue to work hard on La Ola, Axel and I make our way to the boat chandlery. We want to fit our dinghy with wheels so that we can pull it onto the beach more easily in future. We already had dinghy wheels on Hello World and found them very practical at the time. Without wheels, we would have no chance of pulling our current dinghy ashore and would either have to moor it to a jetty or anchor off the beach. Unfortunately, the wheels are not in stock and have to be ordered, so we return without having achieved anything. Before that, we go on a little tour of the shipyard and check out one or two specialities on land. A quick chat with our Dutch catamaran neighbour Petra and we’re back in the saloon working on our laptops. At lunchtime, we set off on our bikes again and cycle to Portimao for shopping and lunch. Back on board, we listen to the sanding and polishing machines again. In the meantime, the underwater hull has also received a partial coat of epoxy primer and the first layer of antifouling can be applied. Two more coats are to follow so that we should hopefully have no problems with fouling for the next two to three years.
Work also continues on Saturday. A small team polishes and the new decorative strips are fitted. Axel and I take it a little easier. After breakfast, we stroll through the various boat chandlers and buy a few things to further optimise La Ola. For example, we want to replace the life raft mount and buy some webbing and shackles. The old webbing looked rather unattractive and the operation of the life raft in an emergency didn’t seem to be ideal. In the afternoon, we continue with the installation of the air conditioning system and connect the hose to one of the new air outlets. Unfortunately, we are still missing a suitable hose for the final installation, which has now been ordered and will soon be delivered to Vilamoura. Fortunately, it’s not urgent yet, as the temperatures in Portugal are currently only around 15° C. Instead of air conditioning, we need heating. In the evening, the kitchen stays cold and we spend the rest of the day cosily in the lounge in front of the TV.
For once, there’s no work on Sunday. So we start the day a little later and while away the morning. At lunchtime, we take our bikes to Ferragudo and Praia Grande. While we quickly find a parking space with our bikes, Ferrari, Porsche and co. struggle a little more in their search. It’s difficult when you can’t park your luxury car right next to the beach bar. We are lucky and get a nice table at the Nau beach bar. After listening to the live music from the anchorage last Sunday, we want to listen to it on the spot today. There is also super tasty food! We are once again delighted and will definitely come back here again. After a short walk along the beach, we return by bike and spend the afternoon relaxing in the cockpit in the beautiful sunshine.
Our slick hull team starts work on board again punctually at 8 o’clock on Monday morning. It’s time for the second coat of underwater paint. Small adhesive tape deflectors are attached to the hull so that the condensation from the fresh night does not leave streaks in the fresh paint. So much love for detail! The polishing machines are also back in action and the stainless steel railing is also given a good scrub with the toothbrush today. We start another shopping trip to Lidl and come back on board with a good supply of wheat beer cans. We order new socks for our fenders from the ship’s chandlery. The old ones are a bit worn and don’t really match the blue colour of the rest. The ball fenders don’t even have socks yet. And we want to protect the beautiful, freshly polished hull as well as possible from new rubber abrasion from the fenders. Our neighbours from Born to live have their last day in the shipyard and will be back in the water in the afternoon. I’m sure we’ll see each other again somewhere at anchor. We have now completed the polishing work and underwater painting. Now we just need to wash and wax La Ola again and she’ll be as good as new. In addition, our propellers still need to be screwed back on and we also want to have a rig check done.
Now that the deck and hull have been polished, it’s time to wash them. Once again, the guys from Slick Hull work very meticulously. The entire deck is scrubbed by hand, kneeling down and removing every last speck of dirt from every corner. We would probably have just taken the pressure washer and worked with the scrubbing brush, but this really gets it one hundred per cent clean. Unfortunately, as predicted, the rainy weather sets in at midday, so the work is cancelled for the time being. But the pelting rain washes away a lot of dirt from the deck. Meanwhile, Axel and I take care of the smaller jobs below deck and are glad that we don’t have to be outside in this awful weather.
Fortunately, the next morning starts again with sunshine and pleasant temperatures. And work on La Ola continues punctually at 8am. The rest of the boat is scrubbed and then allowed to dry over the lunch break. Then we continue with the waxing. The German rigger Kahn from Peter Keeping also comes round and does a rig check on us. Our bobstays – the parts that hold our gennaker pole down – are also replaced. According to reports from other Lagoon owners, they always cause trouble at anchor in tidal areas because the anchor chain gets caught in them, so we have decided in favour of a removable solution made of Dynema. Meanwhile, Axel is installing the new attachment for our life raft. It should now be quick and easy to use in an emergency, without the need for a knife or similar as before. In addition, it should now be so well secured that it cannot be accidentally lost in heavy weather, which has already happened to our previous owners on the Bay of Biscay. Last but not least, we book the crane for Friday so that we can finally get back into the water. Oh yes, and of course the daily shopping cycle tour is not to be missed. In the evening, there’s delicious currywurst from the grill and the evening TV programme from Germany.
After a foggy night, sunshine awaits us again in the morning. It’s simply marvellous when you can already anticipate a summery day at 7 o’clock in the morning. While the final work is being carried out on La Ola, we prepare for the crane appointment. We tidy up below deck, do some more shopping and finally take the bikes back on board. One of the last items on the work list is to refit our propellers and paint them with a special silicone antifouling. In the afternoon, Vasile comes round for the final inspection, but is not entirely satisfied. For him, only a 100% perfect job counts as finished and so he criticises various little things that we wouldn’t even have noticed. We then got out the cleaning cloth again and polished and waxed it.
Work starts shortly after 7 a.m. on Friday morning. La Ola is washed again from top to bottom to remove even the last traces of dust. The boat was probably not even this clean when it left the factory. The crane team arrives on time at 8.30 a.m. and La Ola is already hanging in the straps. A quick coat of antifouling under the keels and then it’s back into the water.
Summary after eleven days ashore: the stay was worth it! La Ola shines like a bacon side, the underwater hull is armed against fouling for the next few years and we were able to make some improvements. Even if the time ashore was associated with minor inconveniences such as spartan cooking and toilet and shower facilities on land, we are glad that we stayed on board. This meant we could sort out many details on the spot and Lucky the cat didn’t have to move to some holiday flat. Lucky survived his stay ashore surprisingly well. Even though we were worried about noise and strangers on deck, Lucky spent the days very relaxed and wasn’t even impressed by workers with polishing machines right next to him. It’s amazing how less anxious Lucky has become since coming on board! And hiring Slick Hull was one hundred per cent worth it from our point of view. Vasile’s team did an excellent job, was punctual, courteous and very meticulous. Vasile coordinated all the individual trades perfectly and solved any problems that arose quickly and easily.
After such a long time ashore, we are glad to be able to drop anchor again after a short stretch down the Rio Arade. Before we head back to Vilamoura in a few days, we stay a little longer and enjoy the view of Praia Grande.