The trip up the Canal de Faro was fine, the channel is well marked and until the last half mile or so there was plenty of water under the keel. The anchorage however was a different issue, the pool has a number of fixed local moorings that take up most of the space and we couldn’t find a spot that would give us sufficient swinging room as the wind and tide changed. There was a spot but there was a small boat with two guys fishing from it stuck right where we wanted to drop the anchor In the end we decided that we were better off further back down in the channel so retreated. We dropped the hook about 500 meters downstream of the pool in a deeper area. We had plenty of depth but the tide was racing past so we stayed on the boat rather than venture into town. Chris is more confident leaving her when we have been anchored for a full tidal sequence (tide in and out) as we know that she is well set. We ate on board and watched the birdlife and river traffic. Our main problem was major swings from one side to the other caused by the strong tides, the whole boat would suddenly sway to starboard and exert a strong pull on that side of the bridle (the two lines that come from our anchor chain to our two bows). This could pull out the anchor so in the end Chris sat up late on ‘anchor watch’ during the main tidal changes and then slept in the saloon, checking every so often. In fact there were no problems and we are very happy with the ROCNA anchor we bought before leaving England last year.
We picked a quieter tidal period the next morning and dinghied ashore. You moor in the Doca de Recreio, this involves entering a small channel under a low bridge into a very packed small harbour area in the centre of town – presumably the old harbour. Faro old town is quite attractive with nice buildings and more storks nesting on the high points (lamp posts , chimneys etc). Given that it was Sunday there was not much open but the streets and shops were well cared for and the squares were full of flowers and orange trees loaded with fruit. We had a coffee in the square and picked up emails then motored back to Splice. We decide that we would sleep better in the previous anchorage so made our way back down the channel to Culatra, anchoring and going ashore for dinner- very nice lamb chops. They were cut much thinner than you get in the UK but were cooked to perfection and accompanied by salad and chips.......and a drop of vino tinto.

We left just after eight the next morning and apart from a very bumpy exit from the Ria (the wind was against the tidal inflow and this creates a standing wave and very confused seas in the small exit channel) we had an easy trip back to Portimao. There was very little wind so we had to motor all the way but combined with only a slight swell this made it a relaxing trip. We dropped anchor back in the bay about 2.30pm. Dinner was shore in the bar overlooking the anchorage, very good ribs.

Next day we dinghied up towards the fisherman’s pontoon, stopped to have a coffee and pick up emails then it was off to Pingo Doce to do a big shop with trolley, crate and bags! Boy it was hot, but motoring back to Splice cooled us down. We relaxed onboard reading, Chris even put up his hammock. Carolyn baked a lemon cake which we sampled with a cup of tea and ate dinner onboard as we had a full fridge and replenished stores.

This morning we have been organising for the fridge engineer to come tomorrow. We will motor across to Lagos early to meet him on the pontoon. Hopefully we can get the initial part of the problem sorted and then the further work will be done when we lift out next week.
The photo shows Chris helming the dinghy out of the low bridge of the Doca de Recreio, Faro