Extended stay in Camarinas. June 29th to July 2nd.

 

The English Cemetery 5km N of Cabo Vilan

On Saturday, June 29th, 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 16th and 17th 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 fingers of two hands is breathtaking.


After having my head staples removed on Monday we sat out two days of strong winds and we were ready to leave Camarinas on Wednesday morning.               

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crossing Biscay. Day 2 Sunday June 9th -> Monday.

Image
  Sunday was a day of continuing good progress, seas still lumpy, but we felt we wanted to eat as normally as possible, albeit out of bowls rather than plates, which we held onto whilst eating.     We passed Lands End at noon and Wolf Rock an hour later.   Liz was now getting into the passage, and had overcome earlier feelings of seasickness, and prepared a wonderful lunch.   Rice salad, salmon, tomatoes, and beans remaining from the previous evening’s Ox cheek casserole.  All washed down with the finest mineral water on board. As we saw Lands End disappear behind us, we studied the several alternative weather forecasts we’d downloaded before losing mobile coverage.  The forecasts all pointed the same way, that in the early hours of Monday morning we could expect stronger winds again. During my sunset watch, 9pm to midnight, the wind strengthened from 3 /4 to 5/6 , always from the direction WNW.   We gradually reefed until we had two reefs ...
Read more

A week in Coruna. Wednesday 12th to Wednesday 19th June.

Image
Having enjoyed our second breakfast on arrival, courtesy of Sam and Rose, our first day in Coruna turned out to be quite busy. Our first formality was to say hello to Lorena at the marina office.   We’d been in contact by email for several weeks, and Lorena is the lady who makes dealing with Coruna marina a simple pleasure.   She’s efficient, communicates well, and seems always to be looking for the best option for the visiting sailor.   We booked in and paid in advance for a week, and Lorena took more interest in our papers than any marina we’ve visited.   She also directed us to the police station to get our passports stamped. After showering (and skipping lunch) Sam took us on a brief tour of downtown Coruna to the police station.     We were asked to return an hour later and as sailors do, we found a bar.   The passport process couldn’t have been more straightforward, we completed one form for all four crew, an officer checked it and stamped ou...
Read more

Crossing Biscay. Farewell Portishead, Saturday June 8th.

Image
Biscay has a somewhat fearful reputation, and as the crossing from Portishead to La Coruna is almost twice the longest non-stop voyage we’ve achieved with Eas Mhor, and nearly three times the distance we’ve ever sailed as just a couple , we were glad to have Anna and Bones on board, a decade younger, and with some five times our experience, including many Atlantic crossings.  A strong, well-maintained boat, and an experienced crew were important.  And so also was the weather.  A ridge of high pressure was extending from the Azores to near Ireland and a low pressure zone sitting over Norway, which together promised settled favourable winds in the arc from West through to North for up to five days, our planned minimum journey time.    To our surprise and delight, Martin and Lyn met us as we locked out of Portishead.   It was great to be waved off by friends, and as we packed away fenders and mooring lines, not expected to be needed until Thursday, our frien...
Read more