The Tuk-Tuks lined up

After our stay in Povoa it was on to Porto and a short 12nm sail in light following winds.

The start was at 09:00 and I think we crossed the line with three other boats.....we knew our position wouldnt last and within a few minutes the big boats had huge spinnakers up and were doing 7 or 8 knots. We were still messing about trying to get our cruising chute up. However the cruising chute gave us a respcetable 4 or 5 knots and we even overtook a couple of boats.

With 200 meters to the finish we needed to get down wind and managed to wrap the chute around the forstay in the process.
Myself and John then had to wrestle the brute of a sail down on to the deck it took about 30 minutes and........we were last in again.


The Marina in Porto is not in the pilot book but its not too far from the entrance on the stbd side and before the first bridge. The marina staff see you into your berth and also bring you bread every morning, a nice touch.


On the evening of our arrival a rally dinner was held at Douro Marina, again a prize giving for the fast boats who are really racing each other. A great evening with much wine and beer.

The next day a Tuk-Tuk tour of the city was planned, however it had turned a little cold so they gave us blankets while in the Tuk-Tuks. These electric vehicles are great for getting into tight places and into the city centre.

We visited most of the city sights and then a wine tasting at Churchills Port wine lodge. We had the afternoon to ourselves and relaxed on the boat........John went walking