We’ve finally left the boatyard, Lisbon and the Tejo river and are on our way south again. We were delayed by the fact that, on getting back in the water on Tuesday evening’s high tide, we discovered a slight weep in the new plumbing fittings which had to be dealt with. It’s neaps – so the tide is only high enough for us to leave for a short period – and by the time the mechanic had arrived in the morning, fixed the problem and left, the tide was heading out again and we were stranded on the very shallow boatyard pontoon. Frustrating but no problem – off we went with Kate’s shopping trolley (G disclaims ownership) and did a bit of a stock-up at the local Lidl; scrubbed down the boat for the first time since we left home; did some passage planning; watered up; had new arrivals Pete and Lucy over for drinks … and so filled the day quite usefully until we had enough height of tide to leave. A lifting keel and rudder are useful for some things but if you are trying to do tight manoeuvres in marinas (or mudpools, in this case) you need enough water to have keel/rudder down in order to make the boat go where you want it. Finally we had 2m on the pontoon which was enough, sprung off, and as the sun was now setting, anchored for the night half a mile downriver opposite Seixal. A lovely calm evening, with supper on deck washed down with a tetrapak of local Vinho Branco. G knows how to treat a girl!

We were very taken by the Tagus Yacht Centre. The family running the place were lovely – completely customer focused and, best we could tell, highly competent. In a short space of time we made various friends in the yard, and would not hesitate to overwinter there in future.

So it was up with the sun this morning, with a windless day for our motor-sail 60 miles south to Sines. Sines is the last practical overnight stop between here and Cape St Vincent, so this is a good solid step forward for us. We are definitely ready to be moving on. We had a big pod of dolphins with us briefly, doing formation diving from one side of the boat to the other, but they clearly had other business to attend to. Tried fishing again but as usual noted the difference between fishing and catching…. and then at about 2pm the wind finally got up and went into the north, and so up went the ParaSailor and off went the engine – yeah ☺.

Today's photo of formation dolphins approaching from port side.