Figueira and the North wind

Nortada had come to stay, and although me and Mário did get out, we had little hope of getting anything. We were forced to stay in port longer than we would have hoped. One day, the same couple that had changed impressions about the sailing conditions early on, gave me a book about the Golde Globe race, the first round the world race, and the first time someone sailed around the world single-handed, nonstop (the book is called "A Voyage for Madmen") and I read it in two afternoons that we were forced to stay in port! We did find dolphins, but the difficult weather conditions and a leaking rifle meant no samples. I contacted the manufacter of the rifle, and was told the problem lied in one of the seals. They were sending some, but until then I tried to make a few from some pieces of rubber I had available. At some point I thought I fixed it, only to find out I hadn't in front of a pod of dolphins. It was frustrating, but at least the dolphins were where we expected them to be. Not so bad. Mário left, and was replaced by Eva and Cristina, two biology students whe heard about the project from Margarida. They arrived just in time for the good weather.

Eva

Cristina

On the first day we did see some dolphins, but they never allowed us to approach. This was typical behaviour of dolphins in Figueira, and I was expecting it. The next day though, we found a nice group. However, using the pole is far more difficult than using the rifle, and we got only 2 samples. It was clear that stocking up on gas canisters was the way to go! Cristina was replaced by Diana (another student from Aveiro), and Karis and Ben joined us again this year. After two days with no dolphins, and one forced to stay in port due to the big waves (we faced two that were well in their 5 meters!) we finnally had a great day. We got 10 samples, and again reached the magic 30. The pressure was off as for now. Unfortunately, Nortada came back and we were forced to stop. Yesterday, the wind inside the marina reached 30 knots, meaning outside it was building up to gale force!

Diana

Karis

Ben

Dolphins

Eva and Diana eventually left (they were reluctant to do so, but I explained they needed to get a life of their own!) and so did Ben. We are staying here for a few more days after which we move to Peniche. We won't stay there for long, and will then move to Sines, the last difficult location. After that is Sagres and Portimão, where we expect much easier conditions, both weatherwise and dolphinwise. Let's hope this remains true!