Calypso Capers

Bare Arse Bay

aka Ensenada de Barra Adam and Lynne had a short weather window to head North from Lisbon and they went for it. Through the summer the prevailing winds down the West coast of the Iberian peninsular are solidly consistent Northerlies, known as the “Portuguese Trade Winds”. The time to move North is in the early […]

2019 -The Season Begins

See All Travel Logs For 2019 All Travel Logs For 2019 Back to Xufre For Boat Prep. and Launch ….with a bit of tourism thrown in! We had barely scratched the surface of the Spanish Rias and loved what we experienced last year – and so this year we will begin and end the season […]

2018 highs, lows and statistics..2019 plans

Reflecting on what has been our most enjoyable year so far it is very difficult to pick out highlights as there were so many. Lowlights were few and far between. 

HIGHLIGHTS

Biscay crossing – we had almost perfect conditions for our crossing. This was our longest trip to date

Road trip home…..through the vineyards again!

Inevitably we departed the boatyard later in the day than we had intended – having tried 3 different methods of securing the new boat cover. Fortunately it was not far to the camp-site at Santiago de Compostela, and we arrived with plenty of daylight left to get the tent pitched.

Winding down to season end……………Vilanova and Xufre

We were booked to be lifted out of the water for winter at the Xufre boatyard on nearby Illa Arousa on 26 September and left the marina at Caraminal on 19th September. The forecast had changed and so rather than anchor of A Pobra Do Caraminal we headed 2.5 nm up the ria to Escarabote

Vilagarcia, Cabo Cruz and A Pobra do Caraminal

The marina at Vilagarcia sits within a self-contained basin of the commercial port, with a narrow entrance channel. We did not notice any excessive swell during the two days we were there. The office and facilities are situated on the ground floor of the building on stilts in the corner of the marina

Portosin, Muros, Caraminal, with visitors

We had agreed to meet Mark and Sue in Portosin on Sunday 2nd September, subject to weather conditions allowing us to get there in time. If not, the airport at Santiago de Compostela is equidistant from many of the stops on the way there, and as they were arriving mid-evening on a Sunday, the Cookies had booked an airport transfer taxi.

Rounding the End of the World!

When we returned to Coruna our friends, (“acquired” last year in France) Ros and Alan, were in the marina on Musetta. We enjoyed a couple of evenings with them before saying “hasta luego” and heading South. We had friends from England due to visit and wanted to meet them in the Rias Baixas, South of the renowned Cabo Finisterra, where apparently the weather is warmer and generally more settled.

A visit home and back across Biscay

The photo above is the aftermath of our family & friends party – our way of catching up with everyone during a short visit home – but which is very hard work and we are pleased to be back in Spain for a rest!

However I pen this at midnight, after an early night to bed, listening to fireworks and excited chattering……………….

Mera, Ares and dolphins!!

We left Coruna and headed out to anchor for a few days whilst the weather was so settled. First stop was Ensenada de Mera, shown above, just 2.5 nm across the bay from Coruna. The main town beach is in the distance, with the smaller and prettier Praia de Espineiro in the foreground left. We were joined by Adam and Lynne, who anchored closer to the main beach than we did – shown in the photograph above.