15. July 17th to Aviles (nm 22.5)
With mixed feelings we decided to leave Gijon, but not
before we had met up
with 'Ondine', a french Rival32 and her owner Danielle.
We had seen them before, very briefly leaving L'Herbaudiere. Danielle is a
little pocket dynamo! She is sailing mostly single-handed and hopes to get
to Madeira this year. Sometimes she persuades friends to join her for the
longer trips. Nothing appears too much of a problem for her, she faces a
situation and works out how to deal with it the best she can.
We were headed towards Ribadeo and had decided to break the journey with an overnight stop in Aviles and then go on the 45 miles or so the next day. After we had anchored in the less than beautiful spot (between a coal quay on one side, an aggregate quay on another and a beach with discarded tyres - nice!), Ondine motored in beside us. We shouted to Danielle where to drop the anchor and how much chain to put out. We spoke on the vhf about our plans - she was unsure whether to motor further up the river into the town - which in contrast to the industrial docks is supposed to be quite pretty. She decided to sleep on it, one thing we both agreed, neither of us would be hanging around here longer than we needed!
16. July 18th: to Luarca (35.2nm)
We weighed anchor at 0640 bound for Ribadeo. The wind was westerly at about a force 2 to 3 with quite a short steep swell from the NW. these are not ideal sailing conditions when trying to head west...so engine on again. Progress was painfully slow, often less than 3 knots. At times the wind increased and we tried to sail but found that a counter current was drawing us back east at about 1.5 knots (which would account for the slow speed under engine.) One headland in particular seemed reluctant to let us pass, we knick-named it Cape Vindictive (aka Cape Vidio).
As we had been going so slowly, we decided to call in at
Luarca about half way to Ribadeo and aren't we glad we did. What a charming
little place! The vistors moorings are a little peculiar - a buoy to tie
your bow or stern to and then you take a line ashore to keep you
perpendicular to the quay. This type of mooring is common in the
Mediterranean, but not where the quay wall is 30 feet above your head - it's
a little difficult to get ashore to tie the line. Fortunately we had help
from other boats to take our lines which made the whole process a
lot easier. The next problem will be how to leave. We decided that as Luarca is so nice and we had such a frustrating day today, we will not leave
until the wind turns out of the west.
To leave or not to leave: After 2 lovely quiet days, we decided we should move on to our original destination, Ribadeo 20 odd miles west. We had seen the forecast the night before and it was OK, but before slipping lines we checked with the boat next door - a dutch couple ,Hans and Dory on a boat called 'Happy Monster'. They were also preparing to leave, but when we started discussing the forecast from that morning, we talked each other out of it. Once the words 'rough' were mentioned with regards to the sea state, we both thought better of it and went back to the normal days routine of a leisurely breakfast on deck in the sun. A few boats that had been in harbour did leave, but since we were not in a hurry, we could afford to wait for good weather. There were a couple of boats on charter or that had been hired from a club that needed to be back at their origin by a particular day, so they were keen to go despite the weather this is not such a nice situation to be in. many companies will fine people for returning boats late - indeed they may have more customers waiting to hire that boat, but this can make people take more risks than they should and go out in conditions they are not properly prepared for. So it was with great interest we watched as every boat that had left returned one by one during the afternoon. One boat had been gone for about 10 hours, so it must have been bad for them. We had made the right decision to stay put.
On more story was from a french couple. They had been
moored in the harbour for a couple of days as well. We noticed the husband
as he left the harbour on the boat alone, his wife was last seen standing on
the quay with an overnight bag, waving goodbye and taking a picture of her
husband and boat as she let his shore lines go. The gossip was that he was
determined to sail that day and the wife refused, so she was put ashore to
get a bus to the next port where they would meet up again. As with all
the other boats that left, he too returned to harbour finding conditions too
much for him, especially alone. When he came back he had to go through all
the rigmarole of mooring up again. he had lost his spot so had to use his
anchor. He was not in the best frame of mind to do this - he was clearly not
thinking straight after his very
trying day. Initially he had tried to raft
up between us and Happy Monster, but there was no way he could stay there.
the swell and wind in the harbour were making all the boats roll about and
all 3 boats would have been damaged. Terry took lines ashore for him to give
him a hand, but he never said thank you. to be kind, we put it down to his
bad day. His
day was not finished yet - another boat tried to anchor next to him and
managed to pick up his anchor chain with their anchor. There were a
lot of people being severely tested that day. The moral of the story -
We (women) are always right!!
17: 22nd July to Ribadeo (25.8 nm)
At last a good forecast! so good infact that there was too little wind to sail! We motored the whole way to Ribabeo but it felt good to be on the move again. The town of Ribadeo stands on the west side of the River Eo and is the first town in the Spanish region of Galicia (Gijon to Luarca had been in Asturias). We anchored just down from the aggregate quay in the wide river estuary opposite a very genteel looking place called Castropol. We launched the dinghy and motored up to the fish dock and walked into town. There are some very old buildings, some of which were being done up and others which were definitely derelict. Ribadeo looks as though it is on the verge of some major revitalisation. the commercial centre was mostly pedestrianised and modern - it reminded us of Nuneaton, although not so many charity shops! Our friends on Happy Monster and Ondine had also made the trip but were in the very new looking marina. We hoped to go on the next day, but they would be staying.
18: 23rd July. to Ria Vivero (32.3nm)
We left at 7am and motored into a very light north west wind, which was forecast to increase later in the day. An early start gets you away and hopefully into your destination before the afternoon sea breeze kicks in. This time, we motored all the way. the promised strong wind did not materialise and we anchored in front of a lovely wide sandy beach with the fishing village of Cilero to one side and Vivero tucked up the river. After a few jobs on board we launched the dinghy to go to look at Vivero, being Saturday evening we thought that the town would be lively. However, we were very disappointed. There were a few bars, but they were all close to a very busy road. the side streets looked narrow and interesting but all we found were a few shops and night clubs preparing for the evening trade. we did not find any cafes or restaurants, only a big supermarket that had no bread. there were plenty of people but they were all in their cars - obviously getting out of the place! So we got back in the dinghy and went round to Cilero. the place looked much better immediately. at last there were people - lots of them, sitting outside crowded bars...but on closer inspection, no food. we thought, oh well, if you can't beat them, join them! so we had a drink or 2. a little later we found out that there was a local fiesta celebrating their patron saint of the sea. there was a very sombre procession at around 10.30pm followed by fireworks. The next morning (after a late night snack of sardines and bread) the fire crackers started at about 10am, loads of them going on for ages, then fog horns and a sea plane swooped over the bay. When we looked out, we saw all the fishing boats, large and small all crammed with people going off on a kind of nautical procession around the bay. the firecrackers and horns continued at intervals for most of the day.
19: 25th July. Ria del Barquero (9.5 nm)
After a windy but very comfortable night, on the Monday, we made the short hop round to the next Ria to have a look there and maybe go ashore at Barquera to get some supplies and water. Unfortunately there were no facilities for yachts in the small harbour and the anchorages were too exposed to the freshening wind for our comfort, so we moved across to the other side of the Ria to get some shelter. Again we were in front of a beautiful sandy beach with only a few people on it. That night the wind really got up and was howling through the rigging and tugging at our anchor, but we held firm with no problems. once the wind abated, the swell rolled in and had us flopping about side to side. Time to move on.
20: July 26th. to Ria de Cedeira (27 nm)
Since our Navtex has not been working (piece of equipment that picks up weather and navigational information) since N. Brittany, we have been relying on the coastguard, other boats and the internet (via cyber cafes) for weather information. in Barqueras we were pretty much alone and we could not pick up the coast guards regular weather broadcast, i decided to try and call them directly. calls to the local traffic centre went unanswered and then playing about with the VHF radio i accidentally pressed a button that sent out a message to 'all ships' - usually something you only do when you have a problem (sinking, dismasting that kind of thing). then we had a call from the local traffic centre to see if we did have a problem. i explained that we did not, but since i had his attention, could he provide a weather forecast for us. this was not my intention when i pressed the button, but it certainly worked! after about 10 minutes, they relayed the forecast to us (after having to get it translated into english for me). it looked ok for us to make the trip past the most northerly point in Spain - the Punta del Estaca de Bares and Cabo Ortegal to the Ria Cadeia. Once again, all under engine as there was hardly any wind except at the Cabo Ortegal where the little wind there was funnelled down the ria and along the headland to produce a nasty sea and wind for a short while. That day we also saw thousands and thousands of small brown crabs in the sea making some kind of migration; from where to where, we don't know, but the sea was teeming with them for much of the day. We anchored safely in Cedeira, a very quiet looking fishing town with only one other visiting boat in the anchorage amongst the local fishing boats. We went ashore again in search of supplies only to find that Cedeira too was gripped by fiesta fever and everything was closed. we did find a bar and a Cyber Cafe and had a couple of beers. Again our attempts at spending money had been thwarted! The weather from the internet looked OK, but not great, but we thought if all looked ok in the morning we would head on again.
21. July 27th. to Sada, Ria de Betanzos (39 nm)
We left under engine and we arrived under engine. those
are the only similarities i can draw from this passage. When we weighed
anchor at 7am, the sea was calm and there was no wind. we motored for 3
hours towards Cabo Prior north of La Coruna. Ahead of Cabo Prior, the wind
increased as we would expect at a headland, but afterwards, instead of
decreasing, it got stronger and stronger. We could not make directly for La
coruna so had to take a longer route tacking into and away from the bay.
there were some heavy showers with some very strong gusts in them, but we
were hopeful of the wind easing after the showers had passed through (as
forecast). But it didn't. We decided we should head for Sada instead of La
Coruna as it was in a better position relative to the course we could make
against the wind and the Ria looked as though it would offer protection from
the strengthening southerly wind. As we made our way into the Ria past the
entrance to Ria de El Ferrol (new huge breakwater at entrance not on
anyone's charts), we were reasonably comfortable and were coping in the
gusty winds (Terry alot better than me to be honest), but as we made a
slight adjustment to our course for
the entrance to Sada, the wind howled
straight up the Ria. we reefed the mainsail again, but still the gusts had
us on our beam ends. the breakwater was less than 2 miles away, but it took
an eternity to get there (1.5 hours). We managed to find a little shelter on
the southern coast of the ria and put the engine on, this helped us claw our
way towards the breakwater, still having to ease the mainsail right out at
the increasing gusts. Eventually we were round the corner and into the
harbour. we made our way to a marina berth and got some help tying up - they
all wanted to know what it was like out there....there had just been a gale
warning issued for Finisterre and there were 35knots of wind recorded in the
marina. We must have had gusts of more than that in the open water (34 knots
is force 8 = gale). no wonder it was a difficult passage!But thanks to
skipper and his cool handling of the boat and me, we arrived in one piece.
22.29 July to La Coruņa (13.2nm)
2 Days later, showered and rested we made the short hop
round to the big city of La Coruņa in the
north-west corner of Spain. We took a buoy outside the 2 yacht clubs rather
than anchoring as the ground was reported to be foul (meaning that your
anchor can become stuck under a rock or other debris, but in this case it seemed this could have been dis-information
spread by the clubs and marina to encourage yachts to use their moorings).
Later in the evening we went ashore and found a lovely lively city with
plenty of bars and restaurants varying from very posh and pricey to the more
down-to-earth local places. Another thing La Coruņa
had
that few other places in Spain have had so far is a decent chandlers -
supplies of specifically boat things like blocks and shackles, rope,
electrical items etc. Unfortunately for us it was the weekend and everything
closes on friday or Saturday lunchtime until monday. We only found one of
them open, fortunately they had a mainsheet block we needed.
23. 31 July. to Corme, ria de Corme y Lage (37.4 nm)
Monday morning had us off again in an improving forecast south-westwards again. On sunday evening we had met up with Daniele in Ondine again as she came into La Coruņa. She was meeting a friend there who would crew for her. We shared a bottle of champagne to celebrate her reaching La Coruņa. On the Monday morning we motored out to the Islas Sisagras and then the wind filled in enabling us to sail to the small anchorage off of the small fishing village of Corme. The beach was once again tempting but a toe in the water put us off venturing in!
24. 1 August. to Ria de Muros (55 nm)
The following day, we had set off intending
to visit the Ria Camamarinas, which were reported to be very nice. This is
the last Ria Altas before the Cape of Finisterre. We had a great sail in a
lovely following wind and reached the mouth of the Ria by 10.30am. Not far
away we could see the Cape of
Finisterre - a huge high cliff of 250m, 7
miles long stretching southwards. Terry suggested that we keep going - the
weather was good and we were making good progress. It would be a long day
(there is another 20 miles to go to the next port at the end of Finisterre),
but it would be over with. I agreed (after quite a bit of thought) and we
pressed on. We flew southwards passed the 3 capes that make up the
peninsular (both Torinana and Nave are further west than Finisterre actually
is) along the Costa Mortes hoping that it would not add us to it's
reputation (see video clip). Apart from having to reef going down-wind (not in the book) and
the usual strong head wind as we entered the ria, we had a great day. It's a
huge relief to have got another landmark under our belts. The weather
has definitely improved this side of the Cape too - the sun has not been
shining much for the last couple of weeks.
Terry in dramatic boat rescue!!!!
Once we were anchored just off a sheltered beach to the north of Muros we enjoyed a much earned beer in the cockpit. A British registered catamaran anchored a little way off and we watched them set their anchor and jump straight in the dinghy to go ashore. About 15 minutes later Terry said 'do you think that catamaran is dragging it's anchor? I am sure it's moved.' Sure enough we watched it being blown out into the Ria, it's owners nowhere to be seen. We thought that we had to do something, so we quickly launched the dinghy (which entails turning it the right way up on deck, blow it up with the foot pump, put it in the water, get the outboard motor and set it on the stern - about 10 minutes worth of frantic activity), meanwhile the boat was drifting further and further away. As Terry got into the dinghy, we noticed that the owners were also returning but Terry thought it best he go and help if he could. 20 minutes later the cat' was re-anchored next to us. Again, as soon as the anchor was down the owners jumped in the dinghy to leave the boat. Even before they had gone, we could see the yacht dragging off again. They got back on and tried a 3rd time, this time waiting to check that they were indeed holding. We are constantly surprised a the little regard some people have for their boats - preferring to be on time for a dinner appointment in this case, than ensuring their home was safe.
25. 5 August to Bayona 45nm
We rattled round Ria de Muros for a couple of days but after one very uncomfortable night anchored in a bay we decided it was time to move on. We had moved 3 times that day to try to find some shelter from the brisk NE wind shooting down the ria and eventually found what looked like the ideal location. Unfortunately the late afternoon sea breeze continued to intensify throughout the night to near gale force gusts down the mountains. The noise of the wind screeching through the rigging was unbelievable making sleep virtually impossible. We sat up most of the night checking the anchor was holding and playing drafts to take our minds off the dreadful noise.
We left Ria de muros in a breezy N5 wind and shortened the mainsail before exiting the Ria to be prepared for conditions in the open sea. After another hour or so, once we had lost the fetch from the ria the wind died away completely leaving us to motor most of the rest of the way to Bayona on a hot and sunny day. We saw lots of pods of dolphins, but they did not want to play with us- probably due to the engine noise. We also tried to fish off the back of the boat with zero success again.
We arrived in Bayona late Friday afternoon and initial impressions of the place were not so good. The harbour was seethingly busy with everything from multi-million pound motor cruisers, speed boats, jet skis and pedalos. The noise across the harbour almost matched that of the screeching wind the other night and the wash from all the boats tossed Roam around all over the place. We had heard that Bayona was lovely, but even after going ashore, it looks like a huge holiday resort and tourist trap. Portugal is only 30 miles down the coast and we will probably move on sooner rather than later.
Fish!! At last we have
caught some fish! Whilst in Bayona harbour we could
hear them slapping against the side of the boat. We thought we would give it
another go, already doubting that the outcome would be the same as usual.
However this time, virtually with the first cast, up popped a lovely
mackerel on the hook. We caught 3 more in about 30 minutes. See...nothing to
this fishing lark after all!! Terry then made a lovely mackerel curry
for dinner!
Logbook 5: Portugal - Atlantic
Logbook 2: On Our Way, Devon & France
