Going North - Part I

Nortada is a word any Portuguese seafarer knows quite well! It refers to the predominant wind along the coast, that as the name reveals, comes from the North quadrant. Once it settles, the Nortada can stay for as long as a week, sometimes more. It is also the reason why the Portuguese coast its so easy to sail down, but so hard to sail up. Nortada is usually quite strong, sometimes reaching over 30 knots, creating some high and short waves that seriously hamper boat progression. The average sailor would say that sailing North in Portugal with the Nortada is in the least foolish, and at the most outright crazy. Nevertheless, this is what we at Clavadel set out to do last week, which means we are either very foolish and crazy, or we are just not the average sailors. Probably, a combination of both!

The project involves understanding the geographical organization of the genetic variation in Portuguese dolphins. This means animals have to be sampled from several different locations along the coast. Last year we pretty much covered the South of Portugal up to Sines, and this year we are going to do the North. After the first week completing sampling in the South (Portimão), Clavadel had to go up North. This means covering 330 nautical miles up the coast until Porto. In a sloop like Clavadel, this can be done with a small crew, but it has to be experienced. The first person I recruited was José Póvoa, who to the people participating last year needs no introduction. He spent 5 weeks on board Clavadel last week, arriving with almost no experience and leaving knowledgeable enough to pretty much do anything on board (including lifting and dropping anchor by himself). When I told him about my plan his answer was straight enough: "That sounds very good!". He would be the helmsman.

As 1st mate a heavyweight crew member whose experience would be a very important asset to this trip.

So, with the crew complete all we needed to do was check the forecast and plan accordingly. On the 22nd we left Portimão at the end of the afternoon planning to go straight to Lisbon with the Nortada. As we left the strong north wind immediately showed it's grace and we were soon doing 7 knots with full sails on, in a great sailing evening. Things were looking good and soon we were sailing into the sunset...

However, as we approached the cape S.Vicente things started to become much more grim. Wind was increasing, dangerously approaching the 30 knots mark, and waves were becoming bigger...much bigger! 1st mate immediately warned:"We have too much sail on!". He was right, and we rushed to the front to change the genoa for a smaller jib. Given the high waves, this was similar to a roller-coaster ride with right to some cold showers. As we were not expecting it, this meant we soon were soaked!!! As we approached the cape, it was clear the wind was just too strong and the waves too big. In addition of still having too much sail on, the dingy revealed to be ill secured for such a crossing and soon I had to hold it with my hands to keep it from swinging vigorously from side to side. It was clear we were in no conditions to cross the cape in this moment, so we just decided to drop anchor at the last safe bay before the cape (Mareta) and sort things out before moving on. At 0030 we dropped anchor at Mareta and went to sleep. We needed rest before moving North up to Sines.

The next morning we started by securing the dingy appropriately and reefing the mainsail by furling it in the boom. We needed to decide how many turns. 1st mate suggested 3... I was thinking 2, so just for sure lets make it 3. The problem with cape S.Vicente and Nortada is that you never know what you are going to find on the other side. Would we find the constant mild wind we needed to go up to Sines, or would it just increase making it impossible for us to progress? There was no way for us to know except to go out there and check.Forecast was grim... Nortada was settled in full strength. We would have to do 60 miles upwind in what is known by sailors as the dark coast. There are no ports and only a handfull of lighthouses until Sines. "So, 60 miles upwind with no possibility of stopping." 1st mate said, with a voice intonation that slightly suggested crazy! "Lets do it... we set sail and we decide as we approach the cape and get a feel of the conditions" he then suggested.

As we went along wind increased steadily. Fortunately, conditions weren't as bad as the night before so wind just topped to 27 knots. As we were crossing, wind direction changed to northwest which meant we would have the angle. "The wind is turning and it doesn't seem to be increasing at all... as for now we are doing fine... I think we can do it..." said 1st mate. I couldn't agree more! At 1200 we tacked and we started our ascent North. We still lacked the right angle, but we would tack again further north were the wind would be hopefully weaker and get away from the coast to get the right angle to get to Sines.

Things went according to plan and we were doing great. In front of Praia do Amado we tacked and we had some great wind. 1st mate was still on the helm since the last night.. Zé was supposed to be the helmsman but 1st mate just wouldn't let go of it!!! He would actually only be released for about 3 hours by me, but spent pretty much all the time at the helm. "You've got to be tired! Let me replace you for a bit" Zé would say. "I'm fine... I'll get tired eventually... save your strength..." 1st mate would reply. I've never seen anyone hold that long! However wind was increasing and eventually came back to topping 27 knots. Waves were big and we were rollercoasting along them. Zé eventually gave up to seasickness and had to go down to rest and resist it. Eventually night settled in and we were sailing at night under the most star filled sky ever. The north star was right in front of us, and so was Sines!!! We arrived at 0100 and dropped anchor helped by Zé (who had recovered by now). In Poland, a boat that can effectively sail upwind is said to be brave. Once in Sines we all drank to celebrate the brave ship we had just sailed upwind. Clavadel is a brave boat indeed!!

Next day we took the time to rest and prepare for the next crossing up to Lisbon. It was previewed to be somewhat quieter but it was along stretch. We had to go wide to avoid the high waves that inevitably form around Cape Espichel, and to get the right angle to sail upwind. We also took the chance to dry some clothes and do some shopping. Next day started at 0400, and at 0500 we were leaving Sines.

Ironically,the wind was very soft not reaching over 14 knots. I knew the Nortada would eventually show up so I just waited... and waited... and waited...and then got tired of waiting and changed the jib for the genoa again! At this time we were quietly sailing along the bay of Setúbal. However, we soon were in cape Espichel, and the wind rose again. Soon I had to change the genoa for a jib again. With the high waves this was more than exciting. I was extremely tired at the end of the procedure, and worse of all, I was getting seasick! As I got back to the cockpit I sighed "How I love sailing!!!". "Of course you do!" said 1st mate. The journey was going smoothly and on time however, and the occasional showers just added to the fun. Just look how happy Zé was after one of them!!!

As we progressed further into the protection of the Lisbon Peninsula the waves started to get smaller, and we were soon sailing in the most amazing conditions. Strong wind made us go fast in a very quiet sea. At 1800 we moored at the Algés marina just as we predicted. At the reception, when the gentlemen there saw the port of origin (Portimão) he asked: "And did you had a good trip?!". We had just sailed 140 miles upwind against the famous Nortada, so I replied "Yes,we had a great trip!!!".

First international crew

According to nautical tradition, every time a guest come on board who was born on a different country than the one where the boat is registered, a courtesy flag of the guests country should be raised on the boats starboard. Following that same tradition, and given we already have people from several different countries confirmed, we wil also raise a flag for each international crew member on board. Tomorrow, the following flag will be hoisted:

Week of rest!

After last Saturday, the forecast advised us to stay in the Marina on Sunday given that strong winds were expected. But we still had Monday and Tuesday to go out before Ana had to leave. However, on Sunday we had our first "casualty".Mário was not going to be able to come back, which left me and Ana alone. In any case, we could still sample from Clavadel with the big pole, which was better than nothing. However, the forecast got it completely wrong, and as soon as I woke up I could hear the topping lift vibrating, meaning wind was up from 15 knots at least. This was confirmed as we got out and the wind was indeed blowing with a speed of + 15 knots. The sea was correspondingly bad (to sample at least, not for sailing), but I decided to keep going hoping the forecast of almost no wind was still valid. Soon I realized it wasn't, as the wind just gained strength. Also, menacing clouds were forming in the horizon clearly indicating a front was approaching. It was clear the weather was not going to get better anytime soon, so I decided to head back to port. On our way, we got the inevitable drops of rain!

As we got to port, I went to check the forecast that had (naturally!!)changed drastically, and apparently now Tuesday was going to be a bad day as well. As such,I just said that Ana could leave if she would like, which she did given she still had some work for her MSC to be done. However, Tuesday was not that bad. Actually, it was not bad at all, and I realized that weather forecasts weren't really reliable for he present conditions.

In any case, in only four days of work I almost doubled the number of samples I had for Portimão which is not bad for a start. As for now, it's pretty much sorting the boat out and getting ready for the new volunteers who will be arriving shortly.

Sampling video posted...

You can see João Mendes piloting the dingy, Ana in the middle pretty much watching at this time given she already had drain the battery by now, and obviously me in the bow (trying) to do some sampling. Images were recorded by my father who also did the editing.

Saturday, the 14th

Last Friday Mário had to leave which left only me and Ana on the boat. On Friday we didn't go out because I had to sort out some things on board (namely the water pump that was broken meaning with had no tap water on board) and because the bus that was supposed to take Mário to Évora never came, I had to get to Tunes and leave him on a train.

Two people on board means we can only try and sample from Clavadel using the large pole, but fortunately on Saturday two heavyweight crew members came to the rescue. My father and one of his friends, João Mendes, decided to come and help for the day. Given they are both experienced seamen and that both know this boat quite well, I envisaged a quiet day where I could focus more on getting the samples from the dolphins and worry less about boat stuff.

We set course to the commons spot with very little wind and a flat sea. At some point, Mendes spotted a dolphin on the starboard. As I looked at it I soon realized it wasn't a dolphin, and on closer inspection it revealed to actually be a Minke Whale. It was relatively small individual and was a bit suspicious of the boat, even though it circled several times around us as if inspecting us. We took some pictures, and we could see the white belly as the animal turned underneath the boat.














We continued our way to the dolphins spot seeing the whale slowly swimming away. This is the 4th cetacean species that I've seen this year. The first were the bottlenose, then two harbour porpoises we saw on our first day, the commons, and now the minke. Not bad for a week in the sea! Once in the dolphin spot we took a while to find the first group, which led some of us to think they might not be there that day. But eventually we did find them at a distance and decided to move there. Curiously, a whale-watching boat operating in the area saw our change in direction and stopped to see if they could see anything. They eventually did and moved straight to their position as if they were a cruise missile! As we got there we realized it was actually a big groups separated into smaller groups and so we could carry out our sampling activities away from other boats. However, just as on Wednesday, they seem to be not the least interested in our boat, and we spent around 3 hours changing groups and/or waiting for behaviour to change and got only 1 sample. At some point, the wind was getting stronger and it was just very hard to manoeuvre the dingy and to avoid water getting inside in big waves. The fact that we were 4 on board meant that Ana could come in the dingy and take photographs of the animals.And she did indeed!!As Mendes put it, she fired the camera as if it was a machine gun! We eventually ran out of space in the memory card (4 Gb) and out of battery. So there are really only photographs of dolphins (and the occasional water!) from this day. This was very good, and at the end of the day I got the impression some of them I had already photographed last year.

(Commons breeding off Portimão)

Stronger wind means that we could come back to port on sail, thus saving some fuel. As I had someone I could rely on to sail the boat, I took my chance and rested for a bit while coming back (this actualy means sleep!) a rare commodity that I cannot afford the luxury to have often on board!

Thursday, the 12th.

These last few days have been really tough. Even though we've spent several hours in the sea finding several different groups, we managed to collect not even a handful of samples. Starting by Thursday, shortly after writing the last post, we found a group of commons independent from the one found by the whale-watching boats,which was fortunate given we cannot sample in the vicinity of other boats. We got into the dingy and this time I gave some waterproof trousers to Mário because the last days he just became soaked which is uncomfortable. However, the trousers were bright yellow and we just started making jokes that the dingy should be called the "Yellow Mario Dingy" (Bote do Mário Amarelo)!

It was a small group and their behaviour was not the best to sample so we just decided to wait until either their behaviour changed or they joined a bigger group. That eventually happened, and the group just started to move quickly offshore until the met a bigger group that was feeding. At this point, we could observe a feeding frenzy including common-dolphins, storm-petrels, shearwaters and Gannets.

(You can see some shearwaters in the front, with a common-dolphin surfacing in the back, with a strom-petrel immediately above it)

However, after feeding, the big group dispersed an we were left with a small group again, and this time socializing, which makes it really hard to sample, as they not only don't mind the boat, but may avoid it altogether.Nevertheless, we were able to take one sample, but after a while it was clear that it sould be useless to stay with that group, do we moved on. At some point, another small groups approached Clavadel, and i just took my chance with the large pole. I got another sample, bu soon after that, the group was back on their way and we just had to set course to port. As we were coming back, a slight breeze started to rise, and we were able to sail back with the spinnaker on. Progressively the wind rose up, an we ended doing some real quality sailing, with boat toping up to 7 knots.

At some point, Mário made the following remark: "Can you imagine that some guys actually get paid to do this?". I had to agree, it is indeed outrageous!!!

First days, first samples!

Finally we set out to sea to look for dolphins. The first crew is composed of Mário and Ana. Ana has been working with shark ecology in the University of Porto, while Mário works with Hyla frogs in the University of Évora. They are now both in CIBIO (Center for Research on Biodiversity and Genetic Resources) taking their MSC's and decided to come on board before their teaching modules start.

On our first day out we decided to try and locate the bottlenose dolphins. As it was the first day we left relatively late. The fact I had to explain certain things about the boat to them, and that we had to wait for another boat at fuel pier, all contributed to that. We set course to the place I've seen them 2 days earlier but once we were there we realized it would have been to much luck to find bottlenose in the same place as 2 days before. We changed course to farther offshore but still no luck. We could hear the whale-watching boats reporting common-dolphins but I really wanted to try and find bottlenose. Unfortunately, all we saw was this:

Lots of empty ocean (at least in what concerns to bottlenose)!!!

So next day, I decided to aim at the commons. Mário and Ana will be here for a short while, and I wanted to take advantage of them being here as much as I can, so I decided to prioritize completing the samples from commons. We set course to the dolphin spot we identified last year, and with a little help from the whale-watching boats, we were soon in sight of a big group of common-dolphins. We took some time to take pictures from as much animals as we could before starting our sampling.

The group was quite large and was displaying the ideal behaviour for sampling. We got into the small dingy and immediately the animals started bowriding. We got 3 samples before the groups dispersed and changed their behaviour. They were clearly feeding and not caring for our boat too much at all. From there it was really hard to approach them so we decided to return to Clavadel. We also decided to feed ourselves and after the dolphins fed they starting exhibiting some socialization behaviour, with breeding going on. We then realized on small groups readily approached Clavadel, so I decided to try and sample some with the large pole. I was lucky and got more 3 samples. This means that on our first day of dolphins we got 6 samples, a very good number for the first day!

The next day we were really motivated to go for more samples. 6 was the number we were aiming at again. However, in spite of the great visibility, almost no wind and the heat wave, dolphins were hard to come by! We eventually found a group of six with the help of the whale-watchers, but they were apparently resting. We stayed with them for several hours waiting either for their behaviour to change or that they would lead us to another group. That never happened, and I got into the dingy and realized on of the dolphins was probably sick. He had a strange breathing pattern and almost didn't react to our approach. The other ones looked healthy, and looked as if they were keeping the sick dolphin company.














I decided to leave and look for another group, but the odds were grim. We could see the whale-watchers coming back and forth not finding anything. At some point they spotted us and came straight to us hoping we had something. As they reached us they realized we didn't and took a U turn and headed to a completely different direction. It is only ironic that, had they waited 5 minutes, they would have found a group of commons! Me and Mário got into the dingy and approached the group. They were visibly nervous and not in a mood for sampling. Nevertheless, they were bowriding and I took my first sample. From there, they just started to become suspicious and wouldn't let us approach them. I quickly called off the sampling and went back to Clavadel.That was not a good group to sample! As we were heading back, we spotted one marine turtle and the first lost bird of the season came to rest in Clavadel.














As we were back, Ana became jealous of Mário and insisted she wanted to learn how to drive the dingy. I took her for a quick lesson and in a short while she was doing it very good. So now, both of them drive both boats very effectively, and maybe I should start worrying they might decide to take them somewhere (Morocco maybe)!!!

Today, we are on our third day of sampling, aiming at commons again. We have some whale watching boats in sight, and hoping to find dolphins there. I will update in the next few days!

Sorting the boat out.

This entry marks the beginning of the daily logs from the 2008 expedition of Clavadel, a boat dedicated to the research of the genetic structure of common and bottlenose dolphins along the Portuguese coast. This was created to allow people involved in the project to follow the daily routine of people working out there in the sea. Given that many of them are not Portuguese native speakers, the blog will be written mainly in english.

Thislast few days have been pretty much spent sorting the boat out after a winter of maintenance work and obviously, the mess left after last year work. Just to get an idea, this is how the saloon and the bow cabin looked like the first day I got into the boat.

After a few days, however, this was looking much better,and although not perfect it is at least minimally organized and livable.

The first two volunteers have arrived today, right on time for the good weather. Up until now, weather was terrible for sampling, but now these days are gone and we should have a very good week. Tomorrow we'll try to look out for bottlenose dolphins. Given that I have seen them on Saturday in front of Alvor bay, that we still need to do some things (namely, filling the fuel tank), and most important, I don't have enough bottlenose samples, we are definitely betting on the bottlenose.

The crew is settled and feeling strong, the boat is ready and I'm eager to go out to sea. So tomorrow, fieldwork for 2008 begins.