�� There were more signs of life in Viana as we had breakfast and prepared for departure. The huge green bridge designed by Christophe Eiffel (of Paris tower fame) was alive with trains and cars, and pedestrians were marching purposefully in all directions. Soon after our call to the marina office the swing bridge opened, I slipped our lines and our adventure continued.

�� We were optimistic of better winds today with the Parasailor ready on the foredeck, but within minutes of hoisting the mainsail the wind diminished. We motored for a while passing the site of a wave farm where I was very disappointed not to see a thing, then with a slight increase in wind we decided to give the Parasailor a go. I was a little nervous as we hadn�t flown it since our tuition day, but after a few minor adjustments Brindabella topped 7.1 knots of boat speed with about the same amount of apparent wind. It is quite a sight; so big with its bold cyan, white and grey design and of course the air foil through the centre. Before we knew it we were snuffing the beast, posting it through the forehatch and rigging mooring lines.

�� Leixoes did not look pretty. Not only did it not look pretty, but it smelled awful with a power station up wind of us. The service of the marina staff was second to none though with two dock masters waiting at the entrance signalling to us where to berth and then running down the pontoon to not only take our lines but thoroughly tie up Brindabella with spring lines. The service was about the best thing the marina had to offer as above the 350� high concrete block wall around us were buildings being demolished (including the marina office), shabby club buildings and a high stack of containers and cranes. That with the horrible smell we descended into Brindabella�s extremely untidy saloon where we were now trying out storing the dinghy ready for offshore trips. With other stuff piled on top we had to put up the other side of the table which felt most odd.

�� Thunder rumbled above as we walked to the supermarket watching a huge orange sun drop into the sea behind the beach. It was an interesting shop with about a third of the supermarket�s stock being fish in one form or another. We bought fruit and vegetables and returned to wonderful news of Daniel�s promotion. A proud mum chatted on Skype while cooking dinner. Feeling totally washed out today for no apparent reason I hit the sack and didn�t surface until morning.