When I was studying in 2011 the route along the Western European Atlantic coasts for the Baltic - Canary Islands Passage, all the relevant literature mentioned that if you get caught in bad weather in the Atlantic, there are no ports on the coasts that will offer you safe anchorage. Their advice was to stay away from shore until the storm subsided. Probably these tales were written by people who never traveled this sea.

Indeed, in the early years of the annual Passages we have sailed away from the European shores, leaving the "wild monster" of Europe (according to the scribes) far away from us, heading south in maximum speed. But when we soon closed the books and opened our eyes, we discovered the port of Vilamoura in Southern Portugal, Cascais at the golf of Lisbon, Peniche in the middle of the Portuguese coastline, Porto and Vigo further north and the legendary A Coruna in southern tip of Biscay.

It happened to visit Peniche for the first time in April 2015. I have set sails heading north, from Gran Canaria to the Baltic, with a first crew change at A Coruna. We had already visited, as usual, the port of Vilamoura in the Portuguese South and were sailing north heading A Coruna (Spain) with N, NE winds 7 Beaufort. Two days and nights after living Vilamoura and while we had already covered some 190 miles and passed Lisbon, we were still sailing at constant tack with the wind remaining northerly and increasing to 35 to 40 knots. Mattresses, pillows and generally the interior of the boat had become soaked again. The crew's Sailing Gear were now a permanent uniform during watches and when sleeping. Early on the third day and while sailing 20 miles offshore to avoid coastal fishing nets, we decided to pull into a port and wait 24 hours for the wind to turn to the northeast as the forecast said. Nearest port was Peniche. The port entrance that is facing south, with the north winds blowing, had no swell and sailing inside was easy. All of us were sitting on deck looking this amazing, giant breakwater, while the vast harbor that jutted out captivated us for good.

The town's marina, located right next to the old fortress, was small with no pleasure yachts docked. A few small speedboats were moored to its few floating piers, ferrying day-trippers to the small island of Berlenga, located 7 miles west of Peniche. The outer floating jetty was free for visiting boats. This monstrous Atlantic harbor is a brillant harbour only for passing ships and crews. It seems that no one envisions their sailboat to be loged in "Peniche!" For visiting sailors, however, this place is "the Blessing of Zeus," the protective hand of the Goddess Athena", which bringing peace to ships and crews. And when, at dusk, the Dionysian smile will have returned to the faces of the sailors, then it should be time for a night out at the local fishermen's hangout, the port tavern A Sardinha!