December/January Portimao

December.
The start of the month the weather was glorious! Lots of sun and very pleasant temperatures. Towards the end of the month it turned rather worse. Depression after depression rolled in from the south and with it massive waves breaking onto the beaches. They also found there way into the Marina and we had to move to the aft cabin for some peace and quiet at night. Extra mooring lines were required to hold us still. On a couple of occasions we even went out walking to be away from the incessant noise and motion. Boats left unattended didn’t fare so well with damage to craft and the pontoons. ‘Piano’ coped admirably but she certainly disliked the constant wet weather. The first hint came when the shore power tripped . This happened more and more frequently while we checked with everything turned off and then methodically putting one item on at a time, Then we tried changing the shore lead and the post which we were plugged into but neither solved the problem. At worst it was tripping every 20 minutes.
We then had a phone call from Adrienne (Malcolm's sister ) to say that his dad had been taken into hospital and he needed to fly home quickly. Malcolm packed and left for home but while he was waiting for the plane he had a text to say that Don had passed away in his sleep.
Meanwhile I had to stay with the boat and try to get the electrics sorted. After discussion with Andy on Velzian I decided to call in an electrician. Luckily John was in the Marina with another boat and could come straight over ! Wow! What success! He then tested all the electrics and couldn’t find the problem. He did however find a fused wire in the 60A charger which was not only not causing the problem but not actually working at all ! He unscrewed it and took it away to mend in his workshop. When he unscrewed the RCD and shook it he heard a rattle so suggested we had a new one. He returned the following day and refitted the two parts and since then NO MORE PROBLEMS! - even the washing machine has stopped tripping the system out - unheard of before!
Anyway with this solved it meant that I could fly home for Don’s funeral and some visiting. I was told to bring an empty bag with me …
The weather in England was COLD—what a good job that I still had suitable cold weather clothing !
After the funeral we managed to catch the last day of the boat show and armed with a long list we proceeded to order or buy what was on it. Although there are chandlers out here everything is 4 times as expensive as GB - hence the need for the empty bag !
We continued on to Kent to visit my mum after a tiring day. We also called in on my brother and his family.
Next trip was down to the cottage in Penryn to take all the stuff which we had stored in Southend . We drove down on my birthday and it didn’t rain, blue skies all the way. Of course no one was working on a Saturday afternoon at Rustlers but we did get to see the guy who was just moving into the cottage for a long let. We also saw Jenny and Ray who were pleased to see us (they live across the road). We also called in at the ‘Bosuns Locker’ for a few more bits.
Once again our dear friends John & Val gave us a bed for the night and we had plenty to tell them - and lots of news to catch up on. We were up bright and early the following morning and headed back to Southend.
Back in Southend all that was left was to squeeze the numerous boat parts into the two bags and get them home to Portugal. Never have I had such heavy luggage! The solar panel was entrusted to the outsize baggage man with its fragile stickers all over .
When we landed at Faro Anton was there with the car so we managed to get it all back safely to Piano.
Home to the warm !! We spent a couple of days with Anton Denise and Maria , visiting Loulė with its superior markets.
Lunch in a pleasant square was Pizza.
The other day out was to Silves and then a Roman ruin at Milreu Home via Carvoeiro and a walk along the cliffs.
As Usual the photos are on Picassa so browse at your leisure.