Pax latest

Hi everyone

Finally made it up the Rio Guadiana, good to see lots of old friends and be
made very welcome by the locals too.
After leaving Gibraltar we did some great sailing through the Straits,
although we managed to shred the staysail rounding Tarifa in big winds.We
were windbound in Barbate for a couple of days but set off round Cape
Trafalgar in lively seas and big winds, and anchored in Sancti Petri safely
for several days while thunderstorms passed over us. Sancti Petri was well
worth a visit,an old village which was abandoned during the Franco era,it is
gradually coming to life with bars , restaurants, watersports and holiday
homes developing.Whilst there we made an expedition up the narrow waterways
towards Cadiz by dinghy accompanied by Cape and Tengy's tenders -that was
fun!
Gradually we headed west calling in Rota, the lower part of the Guadalquivir
[the river that goes up to Seville], and El Rompido to the entrance of the
Rio Guadiana. Entering El Rompido proved testing as we missed the channel
markers and touched bottom on our way in, fortunately Paul got us off and we
found the poorly marked channel eventually and enjoyed anchoring in another
well shelered river.
We actually came up the river at the end of September but ended up returning
with Samarang [a 25tonnes, 18meter ex-RAF pinnace] in tow down the
Guadiana, west to Culatra and up the channel to Bruce's yard , Faro. All
went well and it was an extremely interesting experience, felt good to
rescue her as she had partially sunk in the river and is now on the hard
awaiting lots of tlc.
Back up the Rio Guadiana we are spending some time on the quay or anchored
off Alcoutim and getting on with maintenance and more improvements. Our
pickup was still here after 18months and once Paul had recharged her battery
she fired up first time, so we are able to drive off down to the coast for
essentiel supplies.
Cape , Moxie and Pax made an expedition upriver last weekend and anchored
off a small tributary, the Rio Vasquo. We took our tenders up so far and
then walked further upstream until we could wade to a roman dam and enjoyed
a picnic , swimming and exploring the beautiful valley.
Our plan now is to get Pax ready for December and head off to the Canaries,
most likely via Gibraltar and the Moroccan coast to Lanzarote and Graciosa.
So we are looking for crew for that trip, allowing 2weeks to complete it
from here [or at least 1week from Gib].
We have met up with Paul and Maura on Noble Warrior , they may join us along
with Cape. So hope to hear from you all and better still see some of you
soon.
Chhers H&P