When we finally got to Port O'Conner and turned around to go back home, the wind was really blowing. The waves were really big and we had to smash our way through them. We accidentally got out of the deeper channel and when the boat was bouncing up and down - we started pounding into the ground. Pam was steering - she held it together really well. It was pretty scary. We even got solidly grounded for a few minutes. We were finally blown into deeper water, so we could keep going. Finally, we gave up on trying to sail into the wind and tried to motor. We motored for a way and then the engine started to overheat... We had to slow down to keep it from overheating. But we were only doing a half a knot, so it would take us about twelve hours to get home at that rate. So Charl finally decided we should turn around and sail back to Port O'Conner. But by now it was dark... We would have to try to sail back through that area that we ran aground in. And to make it even more difficult this time, it was dark so we really wouldn't be able to see the channel bouys. Steve steered going back and Charl stood out on the bow of the boat, trying to see the bouys. We only slightly ran aground once going back. We just slid through a muddy stretch. But we made it back, we were all happy to be back on ground. We called a friend to pick us up and drive us back to Palacios. Charl stayed on his boat and was able to sail it back the next day. Unfortunately, after he got back, he realized the hull had cracked by the rudder - from all the pounding on the ground.