After leaving the bay near Finisterre - westernmost point in Europe, while coming off the sea around a narrow point into the bay by Muros we caught a rope. Some fishermen's extremely long thick lines fowled our left propeller.

We did not issue a Pan-Pan call, though that would not have been improper, owing to immediate danger of losing power and from our being moved by current towards a rocky shore and initial inability to get control.

The right engine-prop also briefly was entangled but got free.

We readied the anchor in the narrows off the shore as an emergency measure while drifting against our will - as we'd totally lost the left engine, the prop was totally wrapped and the line wrapping it was dragging us back to whatever must have anchored it.

We eventually got enough thrust from the right engine and used heavy right rudder to make headway. We could only do 2.1 knots however and were pulling left. Sue sighted a buoy three boat lengths back that was submerged and would come to the surface as we dragged it, maybe weighted down by too much gear and an anchor in the current before the line grabbed us. We very slowly made way around the rocky point into the bay named San Francisco, but we could not make any significant right hand turns and finally anchored to the left of where we aimed for under very stressful conditions.

THANK GOD FOR OUR SPADE ANCHOR AND OVER 120 FOOT OF CHAIN.

We drifted downwind a short distance in more than 35 feet depth off a municipal beach when our anchor finally grabbed. We ended up lying with a 12 knot wind perpendicular on our right beam with the stern virtually anchored from the left propeller wrapped line proceeding back up wind behind us and going downwards at a 50 degree angle towards the bottom, upwind of us.

While we had dragged downwind waiting for the anchor at the front of the boat to set, the wrapped line stayed tight and held the stern from swinging free. We decided I had better get my wetsuit on and get into the water with a knife. Sue sharpened the knife well while I shimmied into the wet suit.

I had not used my SCUBA gear for 3 years and worried about breathing bad air from it, so opted to examine everything by snorkel and free dive under the boat. Just before going in, Sue bid me a cheery "Don't have a heart attack" send off, and I plunged into the cold water.

I was so happy to find nothing was hindering the right prop. The left one was fouled totally with at least a 10-12 inch gob of twisted line before and after the prop, with one strand I could see going between the prop blades on the left, and the large-sized diameter hard twisted stranded line going aft at a 45 degree angle towards the boats right side - also visible from looking from the back deck as it went downward under the middle of the the stern and into the depths towards the upwind direction we came from.

When the line going backwards was cut after more than five tries it snapped downwards fast taking a trap and its length and weight downward behind us, freeing the boat, which visibly moved with the weight removed, and boat immediately started rotating clockwise to align with the wind coming from the direction we anchored, with the front anchor holding the bow into the wind for the 1st time.

I swam under to the left prop six or eight more times, and finally sawed thru the line where it passed between the front and back of the prop - between blades on the outside nearest me. The prop and shaft remained frozen, but I knew then our right engine could power us without the trailing gear.

I was feeling exhausted and nauseous from the exertion, stress and adrenaline after bobbing in the bouncy water on my snorkel while holding my own line to go down to the prop shaft between dives after this interval. We decided 'let's get a professional diver to remove the line', which we did that afternoon by motoring and anchoring in Muros bay. Finally moving to the marina that evening with clear prop and the engine finally working again. After

That did not stop me making my worst docking ever in the marina ... Scraping Poor Angel Louise's fiberglass port topside as we landed. Most of the insult from my poor docking with the strong wind has been removed with 3M Restorer Wax.

Exhausted we went to explore the town, Friday night getting our revenge on the crab pots with food from the sea.

During a peaceful walk back home to the boat, a some bird flew over and bombed gigantically all over Sue and I, getting both of our hair and shirts coated in the process . . . we laughed that it was a fitting end to a stressful Friday.

Ed & Sue, SV Angel Louise friend of Boatshed