Good evening, friends!
How was your weekend? I hope it went well and that you had fun? This weekend, Carnival is being celebrated in many places around the world, including my country, Portugal. But today, I'm not going to talk about or share photos of the festivities, because I haven't really left the house, given the weather conditions - Storm Karlotta. I'm going to talk about my weekend. I was in Porto, visiting my goddaughter, and my compadre had recently had a part repaired on the engine of the boat he uses for fishing. As I hadn't had a chance to test it out yet, and as I was going to work the next day, the opportunity arose for me to get on the boat so that he could test it out in the Atlantic waters, right near Foz do Douro. Who could refuse this invitation? I didn't turn it down, as you can imagine. We left the port of Leixões and sailed southwest to a depth of about 20 fathoms, then returned to the port of Leixões.
Here I'll share the photos I took along the journey of just over forty minutes. We also passed two dolphins, which I didn't manage to capture in photographs, unfortunately, because just as I was getting ready to photograph them, they submerged.
At the end of the day, I felt like a kid after a whole day of playing in the garden with my best friends. That night I slept like a child... It's so good to change our daily routines, and what better time to do it than at the weekend (when most of us have free time to do something different).
Contact with water, or being near a watercourse, is so invigorating, don't you think? It seems that their energy is passed on to those who gaze at them, to those who listen to the waves and ripples, to those who smell the fresh scent of the sea, and to those who rock in a boat to the rhythm of the tides and ripples.
My friend was the first to jump into the boat, as expected, and start the engine
Our other friend, who accompanied us, took advantage of the very pleasant rays of sunshine to warm up and relax
While we waited for my compadre to carry out the necessary tests and actions to raise the "anchor", I still had time to contemplate the choreography of these mullets that incessantly walk between the hulls of the anchored boats. These were the ones near our boat
Time to drain the water that accumulates inside the hull, where the fish is stored until it reaches land, before setting sail
The frantic, continuous bubbling of the propeller's rotation underwater heralds the start of the experience I'm about to have
Next to me a sign! The four-leaf clover. For those of you who follow my posts know that I always write in the end : "Bem Hajam 🍀" 😄
The contrast between the water mirror and the orange of the boat made for a very interesting photo
After a few minutes, with the engine ready, it's time to loosen the ties
A region of the country that lives soccer intensely, there couldn't fail to be a boat nearby that didn't bear the coat of arms of the biggest club in the northern region - Futebol Clube do Porto
The quay of the Port of Leixões, flanked by the smaller vessels that occupy this arm of the quay, patiently awaiting their next trip
Blessed with a radiant evening!
As we round the south pier of the Port of Leixões, we see the Port of Leixões Cruise Terminal
Its captivating architecture leaves no passer-by indifferent
Like a gaze cast over the horizon and out to sea
Although it's a navigational rule that you can't sail at high speed out of the port until you reach the bar, the view is very interesting
The small silver waves that lap at the calm waters make the scenery almost enchanting
The Matosinhos south pier lighthouse in the background
Little by little we reached the exit of the Port of Leixões, making the view of the Cruise Terminal even more fantastic
Although it wasn't a cruise ship, this container ship was quite impressive in size
The view from the other side. It's safe to say that there is no less attractive side to this architectural marvel, which was built to receive cruise ships
This was the point to which we had to sail at low speed. One last photo of the lighthouse with the cruise terminal
At this point, my compadre warned us to hold on tight. Since it's not a pleasure boat, but a work boat, it doesn't have as many conditions to enjoy the trip, but it did have anchor bars that we could hold on to
A pleasure boat or speedboat has a much higher hydrodynamic coefficient. As this is an artisan fishing boat, the hull span is greater, which creates a greater effect on its passage!
What's left behind... only the open sea ahead!
Next to us Matosinhos and the Aurora viewpoint
Can you see the Arrábida bridge in the background?
This photo also shows the Arrábida bridge. Sorry for the low quality, but they were taken with my cell phone camera...
And this one is on the left. Can you identify it? It has a very characteristic shape
The instruments used for navigation and for setting the traps used to catch octopus
In addition to the name given to the boat - St. Peter - a small statue of the saint was also placed to protect the occupants.
Our Lady of Fátima is the saint who stands beside it
Even though we were sailing at 30 knots, the effect the hull had on the calm waters is very photogenic, don't you think?
Re-entry to the Leixões quay
Boat tied up and ready for a day's fishing
A well-deserved engine rest
The sun is low on the horizon, heralding another time of rest... and we're back home. I, in particular, and my friend who accompanied me, are smiling from cheek to cheek. My compadre is happy to have given his friends such an experience, and grateful to be able to count on the engine's performance for the coming seasons
I hope you've enjoyed this post!
Bem Hajam 🍀
Photographic edition with PhotoScape X
That's a pity you didn't manage to catch any photos of the dolphins, I think that would have been really awesome.
I managed to spot them... but I could only catch them with a camera with a telescopic lens. Unfortunately, when we got close to them, they certainly moved away as our boat was motorized... They were circling a small sailing boat that was out there. A shame, really!