41 08.563N 008 39.068W

Sunday 21^st June 2015

Our passage from Viana do Castelo to Porto started in a promising fashion with good sailing in 14kts of wind – for 20 minutes! This was followed by a period of motoring on a glassy smooth sea. The clear water and smooth surface provided visibility as if through a pane of glass and this revealed a phenomenon I had never seen before. From the surface down as far as could be seen were crabs, loads of them, apparently swimming. They were about 3 inches across and, as we approached, adopted the ‘fight pose’ with their claws outstretched.

Douro Marina in Porto was another welcoming destination and this was enhanced by the 50% ARC participation discount. The delightful lady in the marina office pointed out that the _expression_ ‘ejira’ in Portuguese means ‘attractive foxy lady’ so I was rather taken with that!

We could not understand why but the forward heads had become blocked again on passage. This required another ‘rubber gloves job’ after settling up and indulging ourselves in a ‘dirty beer’.  Unlike the previous day, there was no tangible explanation for the blockage. I reckon that the forward heads had been a headache for the previous owner as when I bought the yacht, he had used so much drain cleaner that the enamel was missing at the bottom of the toilet bowl. I think the forward heads may need the same designation as Turkish sanitary plumbing and necessitate the judicious use of a nappy sack.

An evening sortie into Porto by way of a ferry and an ancient tram was most enjoyable and we had some cardiac exercise up all the steps to the Cathedral – and back down again. The evening (and Dave’s last night) was signed off in style with a glass of PORT.