TNS voyage 616 Lisbon to Gibraltar.

 Days 1 to 4

The voyage crew found Tenacious moored under the watchful eyes of the statue of Christ the Redeemer, within earshot of the majestic bridge over the Tejo river.

After an introduction to the permanent crew: captain Simon, first mate Ben, second mate Tom, third mate Rory, bosun Fi, chief engineer Marco, second engineer Jack, cook Micah, medical purser Vicky, bosun’s mates Karen and Katie and cook’s ass Colin; a short safety briefing and dinner we enjoyed a night ashore before getting ready for our adventure.

Saturday was busy. We had more briefings and  braced the yards in the morning. Followers of the previous voyage will be delighted to  hear that the weather was warm and sunny.

The afternoon saw us on mooring stations and gliding down the river, past the monument to Henri the Navigator and the Belem tower, towards to open ocean. Later in the afternoon, as we were heading south, we set to flying and inner jib, fore course, lower and upper topsails and main lower and upper topsail in light winds.

After a gentle sail overnight, we woke up to a slightly changed wind direction and wore ship to take advantage of it.

At sunset what little wind had died down, so we handed the square sails and the flying jib, set main and mizzen topmast staysails and turned on the engines.

Overnight we rounded Cap St. Vincent and are now heading along the southern coast of Portugal towards the Mediterranean sea.

Monday morning was taken up with happy hour and hands aloft, which made us a little late for lunch – sorry Micah!

We are now enjoying a lovely afternoon watch with calm seas, clear skies and a warm sun, accompanied by the occasional dolphin.

Forward Port: Antti, Charlie, Debbie, Donal, JC, Rachel and Ruth