June 29, 2019, and we are still out in the middle of the ocean with no sight of land!

While the winds are light, they are in the right direction and we are finally sailing with the trade winds and current down the Portuguese coast.

So many cruisers who voyage straight from the Azores to Mainland Portugal would have said the whole passage was windless and forced them to motor. These same sailors would now proclaim that there was too much wind and in the wrong direction! Many cruisers we met in the Azores sailed straight for Lisbon and ended up being blown south by the wind and current. One couple fought the winds and current for 4 days before giving up and seeking safe harbor South of Lisbon. When the winds disappeared, they slipped out and motor quickly up the coast to make their way to Lisbon.

None of these stories would have ever come from us. There are a few reasons, most importantly being that we don’t have the ability to “motor” through calms, let alone “motor” against wind and current for 4 days straight!

Instead, we chose the long route and sailed way above the peninsula so that we could drift down with the wind and current and reach our destination without any drama.

While everyone else who motors directly gets there in about 6 to 7 days, we are on day 17 and still without sight of land!