2024 Sailing Galicia

  On Saturday morning we left Moana, a little bleary-eyed after “enjoying” the local music festival which had penetrated our hull until 4am.   The locals love to party!   We sailed East towards the head off the Ria de Vigo, just to take a closer look at the mussel rafts, before sailing West to the entrance and anchoring off the northernmost of the three Cies islands that protect the ria from the Atlantic.    The islands are part of the National park of the Atlantic islands of Galicia, and thankfully, we’d been granted a special anchoring licence by the regional government the day before.   We dinghied ashore, tied up on the end of the ferry pontoon, and just avoided a collision.   The walk to the lighthouse crosses a bridge that joins Illa de Monteagudo with Illa de Faro.   The two are also connected by a beach and lagoon.   The walk continues through pine woods before opening out to heathland with panoramic views from the lighthouse we...

We spent eight days in Moana, our first two nights at anchor, as it was baking hot, and we wanted the breeze, followed by a week in the marina.  This is the farthest south we plan to go.  The Ria de Vigo is only 15 miles north of the Portuguese border.  From here we’ll slowly make our way northwards, hoping to reach our winter berth in Coruna, by the end of August. Not every day was hot, however, and we used the damp time to catch up on a few boat maintenance tasks. Highlights of our week were: cycling 30km round trip to the east, under the 1km long suspension bridge that connects the northern and southern banks of the ria at its narrowest point; visiting Vigo by ferry on two days;  the restaurants and cake & coffee shops of Moana; and not forgetting sport: England footballers beating Switzerland and Netherlands to get into the European cup final, and England test cricketers blowing away the Windies in less than half the allotted five days. Vigo, on the sou...

On leaving the Ria de Muros on Thursday morning, we found ourselves following a German boat.  A question arises here: what constitutes a race?  Our insurance policy doesn’t allow racing, but if we’re in the same seaway as another boat, and sailing is naturally competitive… use your imagination.  In actual fact we were 25% bigger than the German boat, and soon overtook her.  Another fine day of sailing, with flat seas and great NE winds.   An interesting aspect of this coast is that summer winds are predominantly north-easterly, and as the coast runs north-south, albeit with the four great Rias of Muros, Arousa, Pontevedra and Vigo making the coast far from a straight line.  This results in the winds being vastly stronger a few miles offshore, and we found wind strengths varying from F3 to F6 as our course moved us a little offshore, and then back to F3 as we came inshore again.  It’s a bit like having an overtaking lane on the right. We passed the...

  We said farewell to Camarinas, a safe refuge from strong Atlantic    winds and for recovery from injury.   Two whole weeks after leaving Coruna, we still had a few more miles to sail to exit the dreaded Cote de Morte.    We enjoyed the most glorious sail, winds behind us, dolphins jumping across our bow, flat seas, fast speeds, and not a cloud in the sky.  Monte Louro at the entrance to Ria de Muros After six and a half hours, we found a quiet sunny and calm anchorage in the bay of San Francisco, just inside the Ria de Muros, and just south of Muros town.  San Francisco Bay in the Ria de Muros  One other sailing boat, flying a Polish flag, the Poles   are numerous here, joined us in the anchorage, as   did swimmers and paddle-boarders from the beach.

  The English Cemetery 5km N of Cabo Vilan On Saturday, June 29 th , I cycled to the English cemetery.   I paid my respects to the crews of three English ships that sank 135 years ago on the treacherous rocks around Cabo Vilan.   The greatest loss was HMS Serpent, with173 crew lost. I then cycled on to the lighthouse at Cabo Vilan, built in response to the sinkings.  I paused at a bay for a quick dip on the way.    Cabo Vilan from the east This 20 km cycle ride helped convince me I was fit to sail again Camarinas - Bobbin lace capital Camarinas is not just a small fishing town, it’s also the capital of Spanish bobbin lace making.   After the eighty years war in the 16 th and 17 th centuries between Spain and the Netherlands, soldiers returned to Camarinas with Flemish wives, who brought new skills which are still practiced today.    The speed with which today’s descendants of Flanders manipulate a dozen bobbins in the fin...

  On Friday 21 st June, we took the dinghy into the sailing club and chatted with the crew of a 12m Catamaran, Merlin, that had sailed non-stop from North Britanny in just 48 hours.  As they planned to depart for the Azores on the following morning, we aimed to take their hammerhead berth.  We took our first look at the small town of Camarinas, and enjoyed a wonderful lunch of shellfish, sitting out in the sun at the Ave Del Mar restaurant Saturday was a busy and long day.   Whilst still digesting breakfast we saw the French catamaran Merlin depart, and so raised the hook and tied up on the sturdy hammerhead berth of the Club Nautico Camarinas.   With access to water, we scrubbed the decks of all the salt and grime accumulated between Coruna and Caraminas, and took our washing to the laundry. After lunch, and a little siesta, we set out to walk to Cabo Vilan lighthouse, a lovely 10km round trip through coniferous forest and rocky heathland.   On retu...

  Our Thursday trip was a little easier, as the NE winds were mainly behind us, and we set off at 10.30, delayed a little due to forcing our anchor out from under a rock.   The most dramatic scenery was undoubtedly Cabo de Vilan, where several British ships sank 130 years ago, a loss which promted the building of a lighthouse. We arrived after a few hours in the tranquil Ria of Camarinas and Laxia, and anchored just north of Camarinas in sunshine, with several other boats and a dolphin display. Again, the waves and swell of the sea completely disappeared in the Ria, and we had a quiet night’s sleep.

  When we left you in Coruna, it was raining heavily and we planned to depart for our first leg around the Costa da Morte, to round Finisterre. Thankfully the rain ceased, and the mist lifted, but so, also did the wind.   We left at 10am, with sails heavily reefed, and bouncing and rolling around as we headed west.   This Atlantic coast is rough and unforgiving.   Earlier in the week we had hoped to stop and anchor off the small island of Sisarga, but the wind and the sea dictated that we kept well clear. As we rounded Sisarga and headed a little more south, the wind was a lttle easier, although the boat motion remained uncomfortable for the whole 6 hour trip. By 4pm, we were glad to enter the small Ria of Corme and Laxe.   An amazing transition took place, just a mile from the wild winds and swell of this exposed corner of Spain we anchored in complete calm.   The water was flat and the boat was still, the sun shone, and we felt to be in a small pr...