This 2 videos at the bottom cover the roughly 700 nautical miles from Southern Portugal to northern Spain —a journey that meant constant monitoring of the weather and the depth sounder. This leg was all about “The 20-Meter Rule.” To avoid the local Orca populations (who have developed often destructive interest in sailboat rudders), we kept Moxie close to the shoreline, staying within the 20-meter depth contour.
Leaving Lagos, we quickly learned that the Portuguese coast doesn’t do “steady.” We rounded Cape St. Vincent and were immediately greeted by a 25-knot “compression zone” that forced a double reef in the main, only for the wind to vanish entirely 30 minutes later.
Our stop in Cascais (near Lisbon) became a five-day sanctuary. While a powerful storm howled outside the marina walls—giving Moxie a persistent salt-water shower—we enjoyed “swishy” restaurants and even managed a bit of boat maintenance.
Anthony tackled an oil change and a watermaker leak, while I opted for a slightly different kind of maintenance: a long-overdue manicure.
As the seas calmed, we pushed north to Nazaré, the big-wave capital of the world. Standing at the Farol de Nazaré lookout, you get a true sense of the underwater canyon that funnels massive swells toward the shore. Fortunately, the “monsters” were sleeping during our visit, allowing us a peaceful departure toward Póvoa de Varzim.
Póvoa was a charming fishing port with one minor drawback: the local seagulls. They seem to view yacht pontoons as their private lounges, leaving us with a daily “souvenir” on the decks. However, the town redeemed itself with a local restaurant serving the best pesto we’ve ever tasted.
Crossing into Galicia
The transition into Spain’s Galicia region felt like entering a different world. The Rias coastline of lush, green estuaries revealed hundreds of tiny bays. We felt a collective sigh of relief as we passed through “Orca Alley” without a single sighting,
Our final push from Muros to A Coruña was an 80-mile motor past the legendary Cape Finisterre. Known to sailors as a place of fierce winds and rocky perils, but for us, it was shrouded in fog and light drizzle, which we strategically used to scrub the last of the Portuguese bird poop off the decks!
We pulled into A Coruña with a few days to spare before our flight. The marina is perfectly situated in the heart of the city, and we’ve spent our final days enjoying happy hours with fellow cruisers and prepping Moxie for her solo stint.
We’re officially closing this chapter for a short break. We’re swapping the Atlantic swells for the Rocky Mountains as we head back to Colorado for three weeks to recharge.