The removal of boats from the cove at Culatra in the Ria Formosa was one more action prompted by the discredited Polis Litoral Ria Formosa Society which, under its out-of-control former boss Sebastião Teixeira, had a mission to rid the islands of islanders and the immediate sea of a long-established community of boat owners.
In May 2016, while the islanders’ fight against Polis was in full swing, the boat were moved from their Cova de Culatra moorings under the instruction of the Maritime Police, since which a hawser has been erected across the mouth of the natural shelter to ensure nobody sneaks back in.
The boat owners remain unclear why they have been moved on but agree that life is more dangerous outside the shelter of the cove in the often dangerous currents of the channel.
Those that decided to stay with their boats, many of whom have lived for decades in the shelter afforded by the cove, now face swiftly running tides and frequent heaving swells that make essential trips to the shore impossible in bad weather.
One such doughty foreigner, a former Royal Navy serviceman, Robert Campion, was moved far from the safety of his original mooring and faced increasing disability for as long as he was able until, with a badly ulcerated leg and suffering from depression brought about by the enforced move, appears to have ended his own life.
One of Bob’s neighbours out in the fast-flowing strait said it was suicide, “he had shut up the boat and turned the gas on,” although this has yet to be confirmed by the authorities.
Correia da Manhã reported that the Maritime Police concluded that there was “nothing suspicious” about his death, not mentioning suicide or anything about his dire situation.
Campion had been unable to leave his boat for days due to his ulcerous leg and exposed bone, as he feared the increasing challenge of trips to the shore.
An earlier attempt had ended in near disaster after Campion spent an hour and half in the sea one night, two weeks ago, having fallen from his dinghy and lacking the strength to climb up the ladder to his boat. Two young men from the village heard his cries and rescued him, but not without difficulty.
So far from shore, there was no one nearby to keep an eye on this old sailor. The others who had been evicted from the Cove called on him occasionally but the weather has been bad for a few weeks, making visits hazardous.
Robert Campion was about 75 years old, he had served in the Royal Navy and was an experienced sailor, mostly in the Caribbean.
Another Briton, a 77-year-old lady whose boat now is moored out in the strait, now has to row ashore twice a day in order to give her pets some exercise, whatever the weather, putting herself at risk each time.
This lady, preferring to remain anonymous, gets worn down by the winter rain and winds with the constant worry that her anchors won't hold.
The Maritime Police visited her boat last week and told her she must move even out further away from the island, increasing the danger of her situation.
To block any boat owners returning to the safety of the cove, even in stormy weather, the authorities have spent public money on pile-driving large wooden post into the sand and fixing a steel cable between them (see picture below taken at low tide).
The Maritime Police moved these boat owners from the cove last May, under protest, with no reason given. The group employed a lawyer to try and stop the police action but in the end they had to move on or be towed away. The cove now is completely deserted for no good reason with continuing suspicions that there are hidden plans to build a tourist resort.
The boat owners also have been fined by the Maritime Police for 'disobedience', with a further court case pending.
One of the boat owners commented to algarvedailynews, “we all felt our little problems with the Maritime Police were nothing compared to the houses being pulled down on the island but Bob's death has altered my mind and made me see we should have protested more. Bob also had a cat which has gone missing the police would not let anyone go on the boat to see if it had survived...”
It is curious, after decades of inactivity, that the Maritime Police decided to apply whatever laws they could muster just as the islanders’ dispute with Polis was at fever pitch and Sebastião Teixeira was at his messianic pitch.
The same laws have been used to clear the temporary moorings in front of Olhão’s fish market. These were used by passing boats that are turned away from the marina even though many of its berths are empty in the winter months. No good reason has been given for preventing these visiting yachts from mooring overnight.
Teixeira’s sacking from the presidency of Polis this autumn has served to calm the islanders’ situation, and dialogue at last has been opened with the government, but for the boat people, there is no national campaign, no TV interviews, not deft lobbying of MPs, just a grudging resentment that they have been moved on for no good reason and that their lives now are more at risk as they grown older and less able to get themselves out of trouble.
