4th September – Cabo La Cruz – A scene out of Cars Movie

We arrived in Cabo La Cruz yesterday. This was a surprise to the marina staff as they did not seem to get visitors. We have now found that it has only been open for 2 months. The marina is lovely and small and as so new – you guessed it – pretty empty. The marina office, toilets, laundry and bar are in wooden sheds, in the style of chalets. I guess they ran out of money, but it is quite rustic. We enjoyed a nice couple of cold beers at the bar. We were brought some complimentary tortilla and also some mussels. Despite the Ria being full of viveros (platforms like pontoons with ropes hanging off them which mussels grow on) we do not seem to be able to buy them fresh, but you can buy them canned. I am very surprised at the amount of food that is sold in tins. We found the supermarket today and also a nice looking butchers, but having stocked up a few days ago in Cariminal we did not need anything.

We are still suffering with the strong winds at night but the forecast is for there to be no wind for the next few days so we might get a better nights sleep.

There is a beach close by, which we have been visiting by dinghy. It seems to be more stoney and crushed shells than sand, so not so nice on the feet. It is also bitterly cold, so much so it is painful to swim. The canoe has been a worthwhile investment and is being used to go and explore rocks. We have managed to fit 1 adult and 2 children on the canoe, only a matter of time before we all try to get on it. The boys have found that spades work very successfully as paddles and the 3 of us went for a long paddle to the rocks. We then went exploring in the rock pools and found little fish and shrimps. The water was very warm in the pools and the rocks were quite hot to walk on too.

Our berth looks out over the fishing harbour and the boats used to harvest the mussels. The wheelhouse is very far forward and they have a high splayed bow. They would not look out of place as characters from the Cars Movie. We think they look like the tractors that Mater plays tractor tipping with. But this time a dinghy would be zipping around sounding its horns and making them all tip backwards. Ethan also thought that the new road down to the marina from town with its twists and turns looked like route 66.

We spent 2 nights at Cabo de cruz. The marina was cheap at €20 per night.

VILLAGARCIA & VILLANOVA

Villagarcia is the biggest city in the Ria and the boys were pleased to see a McDonalds. In return for doing the shopping they got to go. Russell had to have a beer with his meal, because he could. He decided that it was wrong, it just didn’t work. There was also an indoor play area that the boys went and played in.

Russell is still trying to find a bulb for the deck light, and he and Oli went for a long walk to a number of shops in search, but with no luck. Ethan and I did the shopping in Gadis and got some more of their favourite crisps which are onion and tomato flavour. We can only buy big packets so we have the routine argument of he had more than me, so crisps are now a treat rather than a daily occurrence.

Villagarcia was a big marina and we were as far away from the exit as possible. It was much nosier than other stops as it was very close to a commercial port. It was strange to hear the propeller vibration sounds as a ship left in the morning. We had not heard these since leaving Marchwood. There was also the sound of the lorries used for unloading and a jack hammer. All in all at €27 per night we decided to just stay the one night and moved on to Villanova the next day.

Villanova was nicer, but the same price. This had the disadvantage of a very noisy vhf in the harbour office blaring out until 10pm at night. The beach was nothing to write home about, but the market in town (once I eventually found it) was worth the effort. I was able to get fresh mussels at €2 of 1.5kg , calamari €6 for 1 kg and monkfish for €12. We enjoyed lunch of mussels, fresh bread, and half the calamari dusted in flour. Ethan watched as I cut off the baby squids heads leaving just the tentacles. I then cut the body into rings. The boys devoured them very quickly and I could have done the whole lot. The other half I did on the bbq with the monk fish. We managed to get the boys to eat some salad, they are at least happy to try new things once.

We decided to move to San Vincente on the edge of the Ria. This is a tourist place which is frequented by city dwellers at weekends. The marina is very small but nice. This was the first time we had used a bow anchor as we were a bit big for the small finger pontoon. The beach was massive, but we woke the next morning to thick fog and the mist failed to really clear all day. It did lift a little in the afternoon so we went to the beach. There was decent surf for the boys to play on the body board. The sand was very fine and the boys were pleased that they had got rid of the stoney beaches inside the ria.

Both Oli and Russell got stung by something in the sand, so we had a shorter visit. Some Piriton and hot water seemed to ease the pain and there have been no ill effects. Russell has learnt to be more sympathetic in future as he just thought Oli had stepped on a sharp stone. I may be taking piriton to the beach in future.

We stayed for 2 nights which cost €61. We hope that our recent experience of prices increasing does not last. On the plus side we have 2 stops left before our bargain nights in Portugal with the Arc discount begin.

We also took the opportunity to fill up with fuel. We fitted 108 litres in at a cost of €162. We then left for VIGO which is a big port and city. We had not planned to stop but with a couple of cloudy days forecast we thought that stocking up with provisions may be a good idea. There is also a sea museum which might be of interest and give an opportunity to do a school excursion. A number of cruise ships visit so hopefully it will have an English translation. There are 4 marinas to choose from, we are aiming for the one closest to town.

1st September – A Pobra do Cariminal

The Ria de Arousa is the biggest of the Rias on this coast.

A ria is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea.

There are lots of marinas and bays to anchor in. Think Poole harbour but bigger. From the entrance to the Ria to A Pobra de Cariminal is about 8 miles. You are still in very deep water and it feels very odd when you get ships passing you on their way up to the large town called Vilagarcia.

The marina at Caraminal was large and fairly empty, but did show signs that there were other visitors. It was also very cheap at €17 per night. The town was a decent size and had two large supermarkets next to each other. Spotting it was a long walk from them it was decided that Oli and I would shop and Ethan and Russell would return to the beach opposite the shops with the dinghy. This was met with much amusement from the people on the beach. It was obviously not a common occurrence. The quick pick up was foiled by the shop wanting to see my passport or drivers licence before accepting my cash card. This meant Russ had to go back to the boat. He returned and the manager then apologised on realising it was a prepaid cash card and not a credit card. I didn’t need the ID after all. I now keep my drivers licence with me just in case.

We also needed to get gas which was a decent walk to a petrol station where we purchased ice cream but no gas. We had asked the police for directions and they had told us if the petrol station did not have it a hardware store on our return would. Luckily it opened again at 4pm and we only had to wait ten minutes. The gas cost €15 compared to the £25 we were charged in Falmouth.

We stayed a couple of days in Cariminal. The beach was quite stoney but the water was warmer.

Spain Photos Aug and Sept 2012

Biscay Crossing Photos

1st September - The Joys of anchoring

We arrived in Portosin a few days ago in the Ria de Muros. We spent the first night in the marina which cost €33. The marina was ok , but quite a walk from the small town which did not have very good shops for the yachtsman. We got the bike out and I set off in search of shops. Luckily as I left the marina someone had kindly painted arrows on the road, so I knew which side to ride on. The streets are eerily empty. Having managed to buy some chicken breasts, fish and some milk (more UHT – what is wrong with fresh milk?)  and bread I headed back to the boat on my little bike. The boys were waiting patiently for sliced bread so they could have toast. This is a marina treat when plugged into electric. The bread is called Bimbo which obviously gets a laugh. The boys are relieved that you can still buy nutella but we have not found the syrup for pancakes.

We then set about the washing ritual. It was sunny and breezy so the washing dried nice and quickly. I think the wonderwash (despite being imported from America) has paid for itself. At €5 a wash and we probably do 4 per week. I am hoping this will decrease soon as we dispense with jeans and socks. Yesterday we had the first really hot day. The wind is currently out of the North East and has a real nip to it.

We were told the Tour de Spain was coming through the town, so we walked down but were in the wrong street so missed it. Apparently an English man was in the lead. We did see a couple of helicopters and heard some sirens. I guess as they pass through so quickly no one bothers to do much about promoting it.

We decided that given the wind was coming straight in the Marina we may find better shelter at anchor on the opposite side of the Ria. This turned out to be true and we anchored off a lovely beach. We got the anchor down but the switch to bring it up would not spring into life. Russell tracked it down to the wiring between the switch and the button failing and rummaged in one of his numerous spares lockers and found a new piece of wire. Whilst I played suduko with the boys, Russell replaced the faulty wire and we could get the anchor up again.

We bbq’d the fish onboard and then as it was still hot we went for a swim off the boat before enjoying a hot shower. We had a bit of an unsettled night as we would get sustained gusts finding their way through the valley. By the morning it seemed to have calmed again and we enjoyed a morning of school work followed by an afternoon on the beach. The boys enjoyed snorkelling amongst the rocks and loved chasing the fish. The water is getting warmer, but still chilly for sustained swimming so the boys have been making use of their shorty wetsuits still. I was tempted by a wetsuit swim suit, but I am hopeful that the water will keep getting warmer.  Ethan has lovely brown legs from just above the knee down.

We went ashore in the evening to bbq the chicken and played ball games on the beach. All was still and quitet. A perfect day in a lovely location, this is what sailing is all about…. However, as soon as we got into bed the gentle lapping of the water turned to more of a slap, the gentle flutter of the courtesy flag became an annoying flog. The wind had decided to come out to play. Again it came in big gusts spaced just far enough apart to jolt you awake just as you were nodding off. By the early hours of the morning the gusts were becoming more violent and the boat was swinging unervingly on the anchor. A few trips on deck sugeested we were staying where we should. At 3.30am it was evident that we were not quite where we had started the evening and were not sure if this was just because we had taken up the slack on the chain or we had dragged and reset. Russell sat up for a couple of hours to keep watch and having had gusts of 32 knots and still remained in the same place felt it was safe to return to bed. It doesn’t seem to get light until 7.30am and we decided that when it was light we would move to the next ria down which has a variety of Marinas and boasts supermarkets.

When we lifted the anchor we found we had hooked a lobster pot. The first night we had been circled by a pot boat which seemed to chuck out pots just before dark and not mark them. We can only assume that it was one of these that we had become hooked up on. Luckily for the fisherman we were able to unhook it from the anchor so we didn’t have to cut it free. Unluckily it was empty so no lobster for tea tonight.

With 20 knots of breeze from behind we just pulled out the genoa and set off at 6 knots. With the wind blowing off the land the huge swells we had been enduring had gone. 2 hours later and the wind has typically died and we find ourselves motoring again.

Today is Saturday 25th of August. 3 months today we will have started the ARC.

We left La Coruna for Corme. The high winds of yesterday have left another uncomfortable swell and the forecast force 4 has not shown up. We are yet again motoring …..

Russell had wanted to wait a day for the swell to settle but today we were forecast wind and tomorrow we were due nothing. Not wishing to motor for another 50 miles, I felt it was better to take the wind. The forecast was to be on the nose for the first part of the journey west, but to go north west during the day. This would be favorable and also give us a good angle once we had cleared the headland and started our descent south down the west coast of Spain.

We had planned to leave at 10am and just take the trip as far as Corme, an anchorage 35 miles away. We would then spend the next day in Corme and in the late afternoon continue to Muxia. The forecast had strong winds in for the day after and we wanted to be in a sheltered marina. It seems every 3 days you get strong winds. Just before leaving it started to rain and we decided to have a coffee, this was a mistake as our delay meant that when we got to the fuel berth the tanker had arrived and we had to wait 40 minutes for it to deposit fuel and wait for the tank to settle. I took the opportunity to go and get some bread and milk. I found a little shop and armed with my phrase book and some hand gestures managed to buy it, plus cream and lovely strawberries. Spanish is in some ways like French and I keep finding myself reverting to French rather than Spanish.

 

It was a good job we filled with fuel as again the forecast seemed to fail us and what breath of wind we had was on the nose. We learned that the left over swell was immense and we needed engine power to push us through the uncomfortable sea. Oli looked a bit green but no one was seasick.  We were not alone, as a few other boats were also motor sailing. The seas calmed as we rounded the northern tip of Spain and started heading south. We tried sailing briefly but were only making 1.5 knots and had 15 miles to go. We then tried fishing, but no luck.

We started doing some school work, despite protests that friends back home don’t go back to school until September. The school work does help on passages to keep the boys up on deck and out of mischief. We learnt about nouns and pronouns. It is 20 years since I finished my English a level so I am grateful to the work book explaining things first and giving good examples and exercises.

It seems very odd being so close to a rather rugged coastline that would not look out of place on the film set of Jurassic Park and still seeing 75 meters of water on the echo sounder. The Chart plotter is becoming a good aid to navigation and I hope that the rocks are where it says they are. They seem to pop up sporadically and you cannot see them as they lie beneath the surface. The swell hitting rocks is putting up some impressive plumes of white water. I guess there are too many to put some visual mark such as a buoy, so paying attention is vital. The peninsulas are covered in wind turbines.  Despite being in Spain we are still in jeans and jumpers.

We started to go into Corme but decided against it as the swell was quite something. It is quite a way to get into the bays (called Rias) before you get shelter so we didn’t want to waste time going in to find it was too uncomfortable.  The other yachts behind us carried into Corme and we continued to Muxia, arriving a few hours later.

We negotiated the entrance with all its covered hazards. It becomes unnerving when you drop down to 10 meters under the keel. The swell was so large that the hill with a small building was playing peek a boo. Once into the bay and in shelter of the big rocks the swell subsided and made entry into the new harbour easy. We had no shortage of berths to choose from. For some political reason this marina has never been finished and is not allowed to charge. It has pontoons completed in summer 2010 and electric meter boxes  complete with taps but the water is not attached and the electricity was apparently turned off this week. Despite it being free it is virtually empty (you can count the boats on one hand) and a steady stream head to Camarinas marina on the other side of the bay.

Muxia has a lovely beach 5 mins walk from the marina and has 2 supermarkets.  I suspect that the locals are unhappy that the marina is being overlooked by visitors as I am sure the tourist trade would be beneficial. The streets seem pretty deserted, but there is a steady stream of religious visitors to the town as apparently the Virgin Mary came here on a stone boat.

The only thing that we have not managed to obtain is internet to check weather. We have now worked out how to get a grib file but as yet have not tried it using the sat phone. The next trip is 25 miles to Portosin.

The boys seem to be settling into the hour of maths and English a day and hopefully I can use the time to keep the blog up.  

There is more strong winds forecast for Monday so I think we will be here for a few days. Our next trip takes us around Finisterre, which looks like a pretty horrible headland. Let’s hope we will be sailing round it rather than motoring…

The story so far… Hamble to La Coruna – 5th to 21st August 2012.

Today is Wednesday the 22^nd of August and we left Marchwood 3 weeks ago. We spent a few days in Hamble so I could finish work, had a fab leaving do at the King and Queen drinking Pimms in the sunshine. Then over the next couple of days, we said good bye to family before departing on Sunday afternoon (5^th of August) with a great sail to Lymington. It was a beat all the way, but the sun shone and with a spring tide, we were there in no time. Just as we got to the entrance we heard someone calling us on the VHF and my step dad Charlie and step brother Felix were waiting for us in Lymington. We enjoyed a BBQ and found that Sailor Jerry Rum (a leaving present from my brother) goes very well in hot chocolate and on BBQ bananas.

The Monday was spent in the Yacht Haven marina having electronics and a new rev counter fitted. This has meant we started our year with a brand new counter, so we know exactly how much motoring we will be doing this year.

The wind was not being kind and we stayed another night up at the town quay before setting off for Dartmouth at 3am on Wednesday morning. The hope being the wind would decrease in the night and make for an ok passage through Hurst and the forecast for the wind to swing favourable would happen at daylight. Needless to say that neither happened and we had wind on the nose and motor sailed for much of the passage. The first part was not that nice and Ethan was sea sick. Thankfully he threw up in the recycle bin which made clearing up a bit easier. We made reasonable passage time arriving in Dartmouth for 5pm. A shower at the Yacht Club and catch up on weather and Olympics was enjoyed before a good nights sleep.

On the Thursday we decided that the weather window to cross Biscay was not promising and we needed a few days R&R. The forecast was for sun so we took a leisurely motor (no wind) to Salcombe. A BBQ lunch was followed by the beach and the first swim in the sea this year. It was freezing and the boys couldn’t understand my fuss at getting in the water. This was because they had a shorty wetsuit and I just had my new M&S swimsuit. I will be writing to suggest the tummy panel includes thermals for next years range.

We were very pleased that the anchor and windlass worked, as it was un tested and we would be calling on it a lot over the next year. As we anchor I get to do the driving and Russell drops the anchor. This requires me shouting depths so we anchor in the right amount of water and he lets out the right amount of chain. As it gets shallower my voice becomes higher in pitch, especially anchoring at low water when you have to allow for the incoming tide. We laugh at this as when you watch boats anchor the same is apparent with most crews. We were dismayed by a 40ft plus Hanse with a couple on board half way up from Salcombe town to Frogmore Creek (our overnight anchorage) anchored in the channel very close to a beautiful wooden boat. She was obviously telling him that they were too close, and he was saying it would be fine. A few hours later they rock up at Frogmore Creek and again decide to anchor in the channel. Imagine my dismay as she starts reading the depths. 2, 1.5, 1, 0.5 and I am thinking – they are in the channel they should have much more water than that. We then start laughing as the voice increase at 0.3, 0.2, 0.1 and we think – why are they not aground. He drops the hook and we realise that she was reading the speed not depth. Perhaps I have been doing it wrong all these years? Perhaps my former colleagues at the RYA can enlighten me on the correct anchoring technique?

 

The next day we took a trip in the dinghy to Kingsbridge and had the best Salcombe produced chocolate ice cream was enjoyed. This is my favourite one so far. My mission over the year is to try as many as possible and perhaps write a book that you will all be able to pay 50p for from the bookman. We spent the afternoon on the beach with the beautiful people of Salcombe. Now if you have been to Salcombe you will need no explanation, for those who haven’t let me try and explain. If I was to say Made in Chelsea would fit in just fine then it might help. Lots of young people. The girls tend to be skinny and tanned (not sure if it is a bottle or from the recent holiday in the South of France). The men are not quite such good eye candy, but a few are not bad and I do not believe their trunks come from M&S. They play beach volley ball and slap eachother on the back when they score. The boys reward the girls with a consolation hug and kiss on the perfectly tousled hair. he gets a sly wink form the lads, code for you are in there later and the move on with the next point. There is always the fat friend who I cannot believe is comfortable in her Bikini but would look odd in a one piece, and the not so attractive male who is probably bank rolling the whole excursion. They rock up in a Boston Whaler, big rib or a White Shark (why are white sharks blue in colour?) which they anchor off the beach with all the others. The male with the most bravado gets to do the David Hasslehoff swim to it and bring it to the shore at home time. Now Weymouth Beach do not allow you within a mile of the beach in a dinghy because you will obviously chop everyone up. In Salcombe the beach is small and the propeller blades are massive, there is no RNLI life guard telling you the tide is too strong. Perhaps we are of a class where we are deemed responsible enough to watch our kids or at least we bring the nanny to do that for us.

We needed weather forecast so off to the yacht club full of nice to do people down for Salcombe week. On the way it seems the fishermen decorate their boats and do a procession and throw some water bombs. The boys think it is fab and want to get wet, Russ and I are not so keen. We manage to dodge to the pontoon and try and tie up. Now, another thing I have noticed this year is dinghy tying etiquette. Again, has there been an RYA update that I have missed. A long painter means that you can push dinghies out of the way to get to the crowded pontoon. It may mean your dinghy is at the back of the queue when you stagger back but with some pulling the dinghies part and you can get in. So why is everyone tying some very imaginative knots (what is wrong with a bowline) that straps the dinghy in tight. I had to clamour through 3 dinghies to get to the pontoon. I untied the multi purpose frapping knot and retied a bowline. They are probably still there now trying to work out how to untie it. A swift kick of the offending dinghy and a quick pull in on ours and we can all get ashore. Simples!

The weather forecast said it was going to be pants for a while so we sped of to Plymouth in a brisk easterly. Polled out the genoa and we were off like a rocket. Big following sea made for great surfing, of which I am the master and bagged the top speed of 10.7 knots. Russell maintains that he would have beaten it but the log under reads on the opposite tack. Falmouth Coastguard told us that the wind was due to go south west again so we sailed past Plymouth and went to Falmouth. There we spent the next week…

We started at Turnaware point at anchor and moved further up stream again at anchor. We planned to go to the smugglers cottage for dinner, but on finding out that the pub was closing and all the staff had been sacked (their interpretation) we decided against it. The wind started howling and we learnt that the anchor would hold us in fair wind or foul. I spent the night not believing this to be true, but in the morning we were still there. The anchor was probably so dug in we would need a JCB to get it out. The next day we dinghied to Truro and stocked up at Tesco and found a pub with wifi to check weather. It was not a pretty sight and we knew we would not be going anywhere and headed to a Marina. We then spent 4 nights at the Falmouth Premier marina. This was the cheapest option but 20 mins walk to town, and also the home of Princess Anne’s new yacht which was berthed a mere 4 boats away. I wanted to go and ask if she wanted to come for a drink later, but chickened out. Russell wanted to tell her that her wind generator was very noisy, or as he said ones generator was very noisy. This was not helped by 3 days of gales peaking at storm force 10.

We saw the Blades air display on the Thursday. We were surprised it was not cancelled but apparently they like it windy. We also went to the swimming pool which was near to the castle and no longer has a direct bus. We were told to get off at the Falmouth hotel which was a short walk. On the way back we found the footpath but the way there was via the road which was not a short walk up a big hill. We also visited the Maritime museum which has Ben Ainslie’s Laser  called Rita. This is the same name as his Finn. Oli would like to know why his boat is called Rita? I have tried google but no luck in finding the answer.

We finally set off on Saturday (18^th August) at midday. There was no wind forecast and we motor sailed in the heavy swell left from the gales. Oli, Ethan and Russell all succumbed to seasickness over the next 12 hours. We considered a detour into L’aberwach (France) but decided best to press on, hoping the seasickness would pass and not knowing what other weather window might be available. I have never seen so many ships going round Ushant, so we stuck firmly outside the traffic separation zone. Oli stayed on deck for the whole night, refusing to go below for fear of being sick again. He had puked on the galley rug, his trousers and on Russell. We bundled him up in a sleeping bag and blanket, and when it rained we covered him with waterproof jackets. Ethan woke full of beans.

Spirits were lifted by a number of birds who decided to come and hitch a ride. They seemed pretty tame and liked Oli. It was good to see him smile.

By the end of Sunday I told Oli he had to pull himself together and a good night’s sleep in his bed ould be best. He reluctantly agreed on the grounds that I stayed with himuntil he was asleep. This did not take long. In a day and a half we had managed to sail for about 4 hours, but the fuel gauge seemed to be ok on the low engine revs and a little wind assistance through the main. We tested the sat phone by calling my Charlie for a weather update. There was nothing nasty on the horizon. At 5am on Monday morning we got some breeze. We pulled out the Genoa and our speed increased form 4.5 knots to 7, we were finally sailing. Unfortunately it was not to last and 2 hours later the wind had completely died again. This was not what I had expected from Biscay. The seas were flat and no wind.

 

On Monday night / early Tuesday morning the tank was showing a quarter left. We knew we would not get to La Coruna on this. We decided when the tank went to red we would have to sail, however slow it was. The seas were calm and we had got rid of seasickness and settled into life at sea. We turned the engine off at 6am on Tuesday morning. Within half an hour we had breeze from behind and we put the spinnaker up. We were making 5 knots. All day it gently increased and by 3pm we were 2 hours off La Coruna and were doing 7 and a half knots, even more if we got a good surf. The sun came out and we were blessed with lots of dolphins who came and played in the bow wave for several hours. The boys thought this was brilliant, and after the initial removal of feet dangling over the bow for fear they would be bitten they were retuned in the hope that a Dolphin would touch them.

We were tied up in la Coruna by 6 and went ashore for a well deserved beer and ice cream.

La Coruna turned out to be a lovely place. We found the supermarket and enjoyed some tapas in one of the hundreds of bars and restaurants. I cannot believe that they can all keep going. The marina was pretty empty and when I asked the Irish Marina Staff if it was a bad year, was the marina was normally this empty. He said it had been a good year with as many as 60 visiting yachts, in the past they had 20. He said things in Spain were economically bad and the price of fuel was going up. It cost us €1.46 per liter.I assume it was built just before the recession and as such half of it lies completely empty. To berth out boat on a pontoon berth with water and electric for a year was euro 2500. This is stupidly cheap. A night cost us Euro 26 with a 10% ARC discount. We could even get wifi on the pontoon with our small portable booster. The showers were nice and there was washing machine and dryer, but I opted to use my trusty wonderwash. Now any live aboard must have one. It is a hand cranked washing machine. It is a drum that you turn the handle on. It works on pressure and takes 2 minutes to wash and 30 seconds to rinse. I wish they did a spin dryer and the only draw back is wringing out the water, so things take a while to dry, but I am hoping the hot weather will alleviate this problem.