We pulled up our anchor on Saturday 27^h September at 9:00AM and headed off out the narrow inlet towards Portimao 37:07.40N 8:31.49W 

Fiona was behind the helm as she normally is, this is mainly due to my short attention span where I will normally be too busy doing something else than paying any attention to what I am supposed to be doing. Anyhow we left on a rising low tide so we could clearly see the channel on the way out. All was well until we run aground.  We were cruising down the river under motor and bang we just stopped dead in our track.  The depth gauge read 0.7 meters which is taken from the bottom of our keel which is 1.85 meters below the water line giving us a total of 2.55 meters but we had hit a massive bar, I mean this thing was almost sticking out the water, and from the push pit I could see we were in deep enough water but looking forward there was a wall of sand across us.  Fiona nearly went over the handle bars and in a panic screamed leaving me to put the boat in the neutral. We reversed back which was really quite easy, Fiona went forward and signaled back to me what path we should take to get out which we did. It is so deceiving water, you can not tell its depth from far and the swirls and ripples on the top of it normally tell you the opposite of what you think.

As we sailed out of the inlet, turned and headed into the next harbor only a few miles down the road but unfortunately we were told we had to detour.  Can you believe it, someone had decided to hold the world championship power boat racing out the front of the harbor entrance.  I guess it was not all bad being able to watch the boats fly passed in pit lane style seats. The power boat ‘Hustler’ cruised past, a massive F1 looking thing, the same boat that I had seen cruise past Silky many times before back in Southampton. I always wondered what they did with the thing and it is quite amazing that I finally got to see it in action.

Once we made it into Portimao Fi and I plonked ourselves on a wall in the middle of town like a couple of pikie’s as we have done so many times before, locked up and headed off towards the supermarket.  I was also on a mission to find another prop but being Saturday I was out of luck. We bought a heap of food and jumped back on board to sail back down the river where we once again caught up with our cruising friends Den and Sadie. We anchored in a lovely little bay out the front of a few lovely restaurants cooking up Sardines on the BBQ, this is where we ended up for dinner, Sardines of course.

The weather had taken a turn for the worst and all it did for the next 2 days was rain, none of this normal rain you get but big, bad and very fat rain. It sounded as though the rain drops were going to punch holes in the roof of the boat. It did not stop for at least the entire night and when we finally got up I was expecting the water line to have risen up the side of the boat but all was good we still floated after all. The weather meant we could not be bothered going anywhere fast it also meant that we could not watch the last power boat race of the season either so we just did nothing. In the evening we were invited onto our friends boat for a 5 Star meal, a hot curry with all the trimmings like mango chutney, lime pickle and pupadoms, mmmmmmm…. After a board game it was back to Silky for a nights sleep and some more rain only to wake to more rain.

It was now Monday so the shops were all open and Den kindly gave me a dingy rid up to the boat shops to see if I could pick up a prop but you would not believe it nothing at all and there were heaps of them. I tried to order one but it was a weeks wait and that could mean 1, 2 or even 3 weeks for all I knew as it had to come from France. It is not like in the UK, France or Germany ect were you get a 24 hour turnaround. So it looked like I would be doing a little more rowing.

Special comments by Fiona:. Admittedly I panicked when we all of a sudden we stopped and run aground, throwing me forward.  In theory I knew what to do but I was caught off guard and was a little startled to say the least!  Once we were ok and off again my nerves subsided.

It was all happening once we arrived in Portimao, with all the power boats screaming passed us, jet fighter planes and helicopter’s above.  What a welcoming!  Unfortunately though we were also greeted with rain, thunder and lightening which has been consistent for a couple of days now.  I guess our run of beautiful sunny days was bound to let up sooner or later.

Day 67

Destination – Portimao

Traveling Direction – East

Wind Direction – South East

Swell – Slight 0.5 mtrs

Average Speed – 3.7 Knots

Top Speed – 5.0 Knots Through the water

Total distance – 9.94 Nautical Miles

Travel Time – 2.66 Hours

Temperature – 26 degrees

Crew     - Fiona (Not happy about running aground)

Missing Work – Not Yet

Expenses – Provisions €52.08

Next Destination – Albuferia