It was a lovely night, we were anchored a decent distance from any other vessels, so The Red Hot Chilli Pipers [that's not a typo - they are a Scottish band..] were on at high volume. From my position drying up after a shower I didn't hear Mike bellow "MONICA!!! GET UP HERE IMMEDIATELY!" Once he'd penetrated the wall of sound I came up to see our anchor pellet whizzing by and also Plane Song on one side and a German boat on the other, both with lights and anxious people on deck, Bruce thoughtfully shining a torch at another boat for which we were heading.
There was plenty to hit - boats, banks, buoys - and somehow Stravaigin missed them all.
We came up with a theory which Bruce and the German considered likely - because one swings around so much on the river, it is possible that we caught our own anchor pellet [a small buoy on a light line so you can identify the anchor's position], swung round and tripped ourselves. When Mike started the engine, the Spurs cutters must have sliced through the line - it was a clean cut.
We were VERY lucky!
Lucky we didn't hit Plane Song, as we had agreed to take our Cobb barbecue ashore for a demonstration alongside theirs. I'd been a bit sceptical about this pricey bit of kit, but we are delighted - it heats up really fast, and yet is completely safe to move around with bare hands when lit and no ash can blow anywhere. There's a well round the outside of the charcoal holder in which you can put veg. etc, and it grills with the lid on. The outside is a sort of mesh which remains cool while letting the draught through.
Yes, that IS Mike with a cooking implement in his hands.....
And Bruce,
Cobb chef extraordinaire.
Right, any more information and I will be accused of being a spotter!
The swallows taking more spiders to their babies.
We had a great walk on the Spanish side of the river - sadly the castle is being restored, so there's little to see once you get there except an excellent view of the river. Stravaigin's just below a round white tower
Washing off the bikes, naturally!
Sadly, the wind was still in the South [completely un-forecast, it blew up-river every afternoon we were there] on our trip back down the river, so we had to motor rather more
.
Fortunately, the chart plotter had the river a bit wrong, we hadn't gone aground. Still, this was a disconcerting to see on the screen!
We spent another night in Ayamonte, taking advantage of the ferry to nip back to Portugal for fresh milk, 81% chocolate and Mueseli from Lidl. Simon Sands arrived, looking extremely fit after his walk down the Portuguese Atlantic Coast, and we headed for Cadiz the next afternoon.
The reason for the dog leg was the greatest number of fishing buoys we have seen since we left UK. However, it was a chance to beat to windward for an hour or so and discover, to our satisfaction, that the re-designed rudder has made a significant difference. We then headed South East and had a cracking sail - 8 knots sometimes - till sunset. 
The night was a mixture of sailing and motoring as the wind dropped as it usually does, so we approached Cadiz at first light, sailing through the Spanish fleet [albeit fishing boats] and keeping a careful eye on her warships over at Rota. I'd seen it on the chart, but the reality of the Bay of Cadiz is HUGE! When we reached our waypoint buoy at the entrance to the channel, we still had 12 miles or so to go till our anchorage
which was in the lee of a partly constructed bridge - sounds unappealing, but actually it was very comfortable and interesting - the cranes and the half finished supports [I know that isn't the right word] are rather beautiful]
We had a brilliant time in Cadiz - as Freddie Mercury sang, "I love to ride my bicycle!" - all over the city. Far too many photos - will edit before next edition.
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