Busy,Busy,Busy

Since we arrived in Ayamonte we have been busy teaching, researching the area and making new friends. Glad to report that all three areas have proved successful with our Fastrack sailors achieving the coveted Yachtmaster Offshore certificate.
Back in tidal waters we have noticed that a few areas have silted over the winter months and depths are nothing like chart datum suggests leaving our students scratching their heads at times. Thankfully the problem can be overcome by applying the basic principal of if your not certain where you are or if something appears different, STOP re-assess or return to safe water, which more often than not is exactly where you came from. The nice thing about tide is that allows you visit place which at times seem out of bounds, so a quick lunch stop can be found in the most unlikely of places.
The area continues to impress us and this week we have been busy exploring by land with trips to Portimao, Vilamoura, Sanlucar del Guadiana and Huelva. We are pleased to report that Ayamonte is still our chosen base, all we need now is somewhere to live!
The Andalucian people are friendly and open to meeting and welcoming new people to the area, compared to many places we have visited during our time in Spain this does make a refreshing change. As with most things in Spain, services for business are not greatly advertised but with our new Andaluz friends things seem to be falling into place and once again we have cold beer thanks to Matías Wouterse the local fridge and aircon guru.
El Rubicon is now ready for her next guests arriving tomorrow and looking forward to yet another great sailing week on the Spanish and Portuguese Algarve.
If you are interested in tidal sailing courses, please get in touch or if you have information on the area we would love to hear from you.