37:00.492N 007:56.374w          Happily we left lagos after a week, Dawns parents had visited us, however time waits for no man, so after a night stop off at villamoura we headed for a weeks anchorage at Faro. The journey was only 10 miles to the head of the estuary and with perfect winds, an oversized Genoa and a mizzen we streamed along in perfect  25 knot winds at an ungodly 6 knots. Faro is a few miles up river and has been recommended. We were slightly nervous as Mithril has a 2metre keel so we have to be careful re shallow/river anchorages. Anyhow we entered quite a complicated estuary system, however the buoys were in the correct position and soon we were at the anchorage. Now in sailing circles anchoring has probably contributed too more nautical divorces that any other part of sailing. This was no less eventful. There was a small area where boats with our depth can go, and there were all ready a few boats there. We were entering at high water which is a bit of a no no as when the tide drops there goes the water under the boat. Anyhow with a fair amount of “drop the anchor now you cloth eard bint” and “your in the wrong area you complete idiot” we dropped anchor and everything seemed fine. We made a cup of tea and sat down with the kids for a card game. It was a memory game…..I think, anyhow I lost and went up to the deck to survey faro and feel a master of the universe. It was so perfect, everything was calm, the boat was so still the rough seas of the Atlantic were shielded from us , it was tranquil. In fact it was so calm and perfect because we were high and f-----g dry. Dawn was duly screamed for. We started engines, pulled on anchors etc. We were solid.

The initial feeling are one of fear, self loathing and a huge amount “how the f---k are we going to get out of this. Immediately  I got in the dingy and rowed out a kedge anchor to prevent us from rolling (a lesson learnt from the RLNI in Fleetwood….G-D bless them).

Now for some groveling on the anchorage next to us was a german lady who we had said hi or is it heil too. Anyhow she seemed pleasant. Now a few of you know I have ambivalent feelings towards Germans, however needs must, we were concerned that if the boat rolled over the kids could get hurt. So cap in mouth we asked whether she could look after them  until we got the boat out. She agreed. On top of which she was really very very nice and I am now going to have to be open minded regarding them. drat.

So me and dawn are sat on the boat it is 7.00pm we are waiting till 04.32 am in the morning for the next high tide, not knowing when at any point the waters will subside enough and we will fall on our side. Truth be told we had a huge argument as too whose fault it was. We were tired depressed, the kids not with us and I guess we both vented. So then we sat in silence for a few hours trying to ignore each other (hard in a cramped cockpit). Then we started tentatively coming up with a plan to get us out of here. IT did not look good. The boat was truly stuck in glutinous mud. So stuck in fact that she did not roll. We (dawn) calculated that at 02.30am we should float, as there will be equal water to when we think we grounded. Time went slowly. 02.30am came and we were still solid. I got out in the dingy and with the use of an oar did some soundings. We knew we only had till 04.32 after that the water would start to subside. 03.30 came still we were not floating. Conversation was drifting towards “can we get a tug to get us out of here” 04.20 arrived we decided to turn on engines and ram our way out. You have to be careful as the water inlet can suck up mud into the cooling of your engine. First we gave a few pulls on the kedge anchor…we moved!!!! We exploded into a whirl of activity Me gunning the engines, dawn arranging to pull up anchor via our generator 240v and in pitch Black with one eye on charts and depthsounder,,we both seemed to just go into a zone of moving 28tons of steel it was frantic exhilarating and scary. We kept moving we couldent believe it we were so resigned to being stuck. Anyhow we raised two anchors and with engines in full rev we steamed like a bat out out of hell missing boats on either side for a desperate lunge for deep water. It was like coming up for air when it runs out when you are underwater. It was one of those time s you feel alive. 04.32 on a cold faro morning. We did it ourselves no RNLI. We (dawn) got us too a anchorage and that where we are now. Love you Dawn.

PS  At 8.00pm I picked up Hannah and Gabriel from Kirsten. As we were rowing back  Hannah said “I mentioned the war once, but I think I got away with it”  Emes