Community >> Continued from page 5 Mal and Rui
From Vilamoura, Pickle headed homeward, enjoying a brief stop in Lagos before rounding Cape St. Vincent and making her way north. Unbelievably, her bad luck was not yet over. “In Sines, we had a terrible accident again,” Mal says. A huge storm caused more damage that needed fixing but also revealed a fun fact. “The Portuguese navy gave us their mooring,” Mal remembers. “One of them came to see me and said, ‘Can I show you something?’ “He turned his lapel over on his uniform and there’s Lord Nelson on the inside of the lapel - he’s on every uniform. I never knew that. So I said to him, ‘Do you know the story of the Pickle?’ ‘Oh yes,’ he said. Here we are, 200-odd years later, and they’re all absolutely aware of what went on and how it happened and what significance the Pickle had! Incredible.” Fixed up once more, Pickle called at ports including Nazaré, Viana do Castelo and Lorien on her way to the UK - always receiving a hero’s reception wherever she docked - before finally making it home where she was met by local mayors, BBC reporters and thousands of cheering well-wishers. This impressive tale was all recounted to me over galões and toast at Ferragudo’s A Gaivota restaurant, where Mal - who is in town to present Rui with a painting of Pickle as a thank you - is on first-name terms with
the staff. “Wherever he goes, he makes a connection with a local bar or restaurant,” his friend, Stewart Bentley, tells me, and that certainly seems to be true. A Gaivota is one of two restaurants (the other being family-run Praça Velha II in Estômbar) that became Mal’s ‘local’ during his time in the Algarve, and it’s clear that owners Maren and Mario like him as much as he likes them. “They threw a party for us here on our leaving night. Anything the crew wanted, it was theirs free of charge,” Mal beams. “They really looked after us when we were here, and I wish them every success.” The role Portugal has played in Pickle’s restoration clearly matters to Mal, and it’s something that is now fixed in her not only historically, but also physically. “There were some coins we found underneath the mast, Danish Kroner,” Mal reveals. “With the Portuguese influence on this vessel, I thought it would be appropriate to put in some Portuguese coins too.” These were provided by “a really old lady from Lisbon” who sent Mal two fifty escudo pieces bearing the face of his childhood hero, Vasco da Gama. Mal clearly feels indebted to all the skilled craftsman and experts he found here in Portugal, too (“a lot of the skills have not died here,” he says), but ultimately it is Rui Pinto that is the main focus of his gratitude. “The project would have been doomed without Rui,” he says matter-of-factly. “It was destined. I don’t believe in all that mumbo jumbo, but I do believe that sometimes things happen for a reason. How is it that we came in within two miles of probably one of the best boat builders in Europe? How is it that we became such great friends? How have we produced this wonderful friendship with no common language?” Having paid a visit to Rui’s hometown on Pickle’s voyage back to the UK, Mal hopes his friend will one day visit him and the ship
in the UK. “I would look forward to that,” he says. “He wants to see [Mal’s other vessel] the Spider T, it’s one of his dreams. I would love to take him out into the North Sea.” Until then, Mal’s got plenty to keep him busy. Pickle is currently moored in the marina at Hull, and will be part of the City of Culture celebrations next year. She has also forged close links with HMS Trincomalee in Hartlepool, the oldest battleship currently afloat in the world. Mal has launched a new company HMS (Historic Motor and Sail), a non-profit agency that promotes training, education and living history. And there’s more. “I’m doing Trafalgar Night shortly,” Mal says enthusiastically. “A group of re-enactment people called Hearts of Oak are coming from Anglesey and staying the weekend. We’re going to be partying” “Our chef Christine from Your Chef Ltd has actually just found out she’s related to Admiral Lord Nelson,” he casually adds. It’s just another example of the sometimesfreaky twists of fate that litter Mal’s story. Others includes the fact that his house in the UK was built in 1805, the year of the Battle of Trafalgar, and also that his wife’s birthday falls on Trafalgar Day. One could also argue it was fate that brought Mal and Pickle to Portugal, where they found what will forever be a welcome second home. @schoonerpickle
Pickle sets sail
Bonus for Boavista team Having won the second division the Boavista team went to Vila Sol Golf with its six-man team to play against the other 19 teams from the Algarve in a 2-ball better ball competition. The Boavista team came in with three scores of 37-38 and a fantastic 43 points which gave Boavista a clear win on the day over a very competitive field. This year’s Boavista team sponsored by Casas do Barlavento, Intermarché Lagos. Pashmina Indian Restaurant in Luz and
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www.tomorrowalgarve.com
TomorrowAlgarve
team bus sponsored by Multi rental in Lagos have had a fantastic year and would like to thank all their sponsors and look forward to another successful year in division one in 2017. For those of you who don’t know much about Boavista Golf Resort – it opened in January 2002 with its 18-hole championship course. The resort has a golf academy with practice facilities which include a driving range and a short game practice area.