Adeus Porto!

After a windy night in our Porto marina we are now heading north towards a suitable harbor in Spain. Big rolling waves are now giving us a dramatic send off!

Jennifer crew presentation 4

Lars from Ramlosa/Helsingborg, Sweden has a great motto: "Life should be meaningful and fun". He is a very active and energetic gentleman, always willing to give a helping hand. During his student years he was very active working as a volunteer for the student union of two institutions of higher learning, both located  in Gothenburg; Handelshogskolan (School of Business Economics and Law) and Chalmers University of Technology. Today he is dividing his time between two of his privately owned companies, sales of solar panels and import of tiles on one hand and volunteer work for the recently established Smaforetagarnas Riksforbund (Swedish Small Business Association) on the other hand. This association is serving its 23 000 members with financial and legal advice.

Lars started competion sailing already at the age of 11, often together with or against Christian (who is also onboard Jennifer) and he continued to compete until he turned 20. At that age he lost contact with Christian. Forty years later Christian contacted Lars via social media and asked him to assist him as a volunteer in a sail boat race in the Gothenburg harbor.  He happily agreed and these two old friends are now enjoying each other's company on and off the big blue.

Jennifer crew presentation 3

Jack from Montjavoult (pop. 473), France is a famous French cartoonist, musician, singer and composer. He was, by chance (or luck), born on the same day, date and year as me, Sept. 19, 1946. We are now trying to figure out our respective time of arrival on that historic day - but this question came up too late in time for us to find out for obvious reasons.

In his younger years Jack helped out as a junior sailing instructor in France. As a student he worked several seasons for Club Med and was well paid for charming vacationing ladies with his nautical skills. He has also done a bit of sailing in Sweden together with his friend Christian, who is also onboard Jennifer.

Jack speaks good German and he likes to practice his Swedish on his fellow crew members, sometimes with funny results. I tried a Swedish joke on him. He didn't get the point however, but the rest of the crew thought that his reaction was just as funny as the original joke.

Porto streetcar...

...or tram or tramcar, the latter term is used in Portugal for this type of rail bound vehicle. The first tramcar line in Porto was inaugurated in 1895. The network expanded rapidly to become the most important mode of transport until the early 1960's.

Today the Porto tramcar circuit is operated by fully restored vehicles of the 1920's, 1930's and 1940's on three lines, two circular lines in the oldest part of the city and one line that runs along Rio Douro. Yesterday I had a most enjoyable ride on this beautifully restored vehicle.

Porto - pop. 240 000

Jennifer and crew have now arrived safely at Marina da Afurada located in the outskirts of Porto on the river Doura. It took us 25 hours to cover 150 NM from Cascais, a bit longer than the distance from Lagos to Cascais (110 NM). This was our second sail night and it is quite challenging to sail in the dark. Fishing nets and local fishing boats are difficult to spot - you have to focus 100% on your duties during night watch in order to avoid unwanted encounters.

Porto is famous all over the world for port wine. All the famous Portuguese wine houses have beautifully appointed showrooms located next to River Doura. Tore and I skipped these and all other tourist traps. Instead we made a 14 km long hike along the river, stopping only for lunch (big, tasty and enough food to fill a doggy bag for our onboard dinner) and one (1) beer stop in the oldest part of Porto. Once again we travelled a few km on an historical streetcar - we are both railway enthusiasts.

Jennifer crew presentation 2

Tore from Gothenburg, Sweden is my cabin mate and also team mate while on watch duty. We are also in the same food preparation group. Luckily for me he also enjoys cooking!

Tore started sailing 40 years ago at about the same time when he joined the Swedish police force. He has done a fair bit of sailing with friends and with family in rented boats in Sweden and in the Mediterranean sea. 

After 13 years with the police force (1965-78) he resigned, handed in his badge and became a claims investigator. He continued with this work until his retirement in 2016, in the beginning working for a private company and later with his own investigation agency.

Tore and I enjoy the same type of humor, I could not have wished for a better cabin mate. Only thing I worry about is running out of jokes before our five weeks on the same boat are up...

Jennifer crew presentation 1

Ingemar from Karlstad, Sweden has been working for Sjoraddningssallskapet (Swedish Sea Rescue Society) for the past eight years. This society is responsible for 80% of all sea rescue in Sweden and receives no government funding.  The society is financed by membership fees,  donations and volunteer work.

The society operates 230 rescue vessels of which 3 are based in Karlstad on lake Vanern, the largest lake in Sweden and 3rd largest in Europe after Ladoga and Onega. On the Karlstad base you will find two boats and one hoovercraft and Ingemar is licensed to operate both types of vessels.

In 2017 Ingemars rescue team of five  was voted rescue team of the year after saving a German family from their capsized catamaran on Lake Vanern. Before his retirement Ingemar worked as an electrical engineer and consultant for major companies in Sweden.

Hoovercraft  SSRS