Log Entry: July 2
        
         Sorry we didn't write sooner, but with welcoming each boat as they came in, we
        had too little sleep and tooooo much champagne!!
         The last hours of our trip were not nearly as peaceful or quiet as the first five
        days! The shipping lanes in close to shore were busy!  The large ships were lined
        up in both directions and moved at 20 to 30 kts. We had to alter course a couple
        of times to avoid those ships!  The good news was that we hit the busiest areas in
        daylight. Some of the later boats had to deal with the traffic in the dark. This is
        always more difficult and one boat had to deal with fog and about one mile
        visibility or about three minutes to react if you do see a ship. He did not have radar
        and was navigating with a sextant (no GPS or plotters)!  Most had concerns and
        stories, but it was just another challenge for all of these world travelers.
         After we cleared the shipping lanes and approached the coast of Portugal, the
        winds started to build. It was dark now and the winds had reached 20 kts and above
        with gusts. The seas were also starting to build, but were still relatively calm. We
        had almost no water on deck during this whole passage, except for the rain showers
        and squalls. We were still under full sail as we rounded Cape St. Vincent towards
        the south coast of Portugal. The wind continued to build. We weren't very familiar
        with the area and we knew we were going to enter a strange harbor in the dark in
        a couple of hours, so as the wind topped 25,  we started to reduce sail. The wind
        steadied at 30 or below and we were under power one more time. As we
        approached Lagos, there were many unusual lights on the water. They were stacks
        of fluorescent lights that blocked out everything around them. There were no other
        navigation lights, but some did look like they were moving. Nothing like another
        challenge of going into a strange harbor at 1:00 am!  We still aren't sure what they
        were but think some lights were tied to buoys and others were on boats jacking for
        fish at night.
         We finished the leg to Portugal at 1:06 am. It took us five days, 13.1 hrs. The
        next boat finished over 15 hours later.  All of the other boats finished during the
        next night and early morning. We were at the dock to welcome and congratulate
        each boat. We did have a good amount of champagne and not a lot of sleep!  It was
        well worth the effort. Each of us had accomplished something significant and
        everybody was smiling, happy and glad to be in Portugal.
         Each of the other boats had longer and faster sails than we experienced during
        our last day because the 25-30kts of wind moved way off shore and held all the
        way to Lagos. Nothing is free! With the increased winds and boat speeds, came the
        waves. We were through the area before the waves had a chance to build.  By the
        time the other boats experienced the increased winds, the seas were bumpy(rough)
        and confused. This made for an uncomfortable last day and night for the other
        boats, but they did have a fast sail. Even the 80 foot Gitana had problems with the
        high winds and seas for the last day of their crossing.                                              The hugs, kisses, congratulations and stories for all lasted several hours. It really
        was a great experience. We are both so thankful for having the opportunity to travel
        the world!