Leaving the Rias via Caraminal, Moana and Baiona
We left Xufre on 12 May and headed 4 nautical miles across Ria Arousa to A Pobra do Caramiñal. As the photo shows we had a sunny and calm crossing, arriving at the almost deserted outer visitor pontoon.
We really like this town and the setting and layout of the marina is good, however it is poorly maintained, the showers are used by the adjacent public bar and bits are dropping off!
Last year we chose to anchor off rather than give this marina our hard earned cash, but this year we had decided to keep the dinghy on the foredeck and use marinas, given that there will be very few anchoring opportunities when we set off down the Portuguese coast.
We would only stay here one night before heading South, and the only reason that we didn’t take advantage of a free night on the Xufre pontoons was that we wanted to see our friend Luis at our favourite restaurant, Nojira. At least we got a low season rate, 18.85 euro after our Cruising Association members’ discount.
On a midweek night before the summer season has really started, Nojira was predictably quiet.
Before we ate Luis took us on a tour of the huge garden behind the restaurant, which is Luis’ family home. He has started to develop a vegetable patch and has ideas to develop an old stone outbuilding into a private dining facility. With its very high stone walls it is a private and slightly magical place.
We had an excellent meal as usual and afterwards the quiet night allowed us to have a drink with our hosts and leave at a late hour.
Thanks for your friendship over the last few years Luis. But sorry your dress spoils the “cool” pose!
We needed to make progress South as in a few days we could see a period of high winds that would keep us in port.
The following morning we headed South with the intention of moving around 20 miles down one ria into Ria Pontevedra to stay in the busy resort of Sanxenxo. This is an expensive marina in high season but with an unusually low cost in low season.
However we were having a great sail and so decided to carry on to our following destination, Moaña in Ria Vigo. Typically having made that decision the wind died and the engine went back on.
As we arrived at the end of Ria de Vigo we passed the two lighthouses that we walked past last year.
And as we turned the corner and sailed away from the lee of the off lying Islas Cies we had enough wind from directly behind us to goose wing up towards Vigo, reminiscent of our first trip here, following Adam and Lynne on Charisma on a beautiful and memorable day in 2019.
This year though we were headed for Moaña which sits opposite Vigo. We like Moaña, it has a reasonable mooring rate (21 euro a night) and there is a ferry across to Vigo.
The marina is surrounded by a semi permeable concrete wave break. At low tide this blocks the view from the boat, but we love the view across to Vigo at high tide.
Before we left Galicia we wanted to make the most of the Galician seafood, which is a real highlight of the area.
We bought razor clams to repeat a dish we had at Nojira. We ordered razor clams with cashew nuts, a terrible sounding combination but trusted our experience that Luis is a genius rather than a madman. Which proved correct!
We had visitors Paul and Maggie, the English couple who invited us into their house at Aldan last year and fed them our version of Luis’ dish. We loved it and we think our guests did too.
We had a great catch up with Paul and Maggie. They have put their lovely house with great views over Ria Aldan on the market. They are buying a piece of land farther South near the Minho river where they are going to build a house. Exciting stuff. And apparently there will be space on the large plot for us to pitch up with our micro camper……. on hearing this the best bottle of wine was retrieved from the stores!
After that we had a chicken one pot stew. It is a good way to entertain with our single induction hob, but went down well all the same.
Given how clean the marina is, with the discontinuous wave break allowing the tide to run through the marina, we lowered our net from the boat and were very surprised when our next Galician seafood meal arrived on deck……………..
When we were sailing towards Moaña we realised that the solar panels were not charging (Paul had looked at his phone app to see what power was being delivered – zero!) On arrival we found the molten fuse holder shown here.
We also had a non-functioning mast top tri-colour light and dim stern light.
Adam and Lynne on Charisma had electrical work done here in 2019 by the chandlery that sits just West of the marina on the opposite side of the main road.
We called in and they despatched two technicians the following day who sorted out all the problems. The view was that the fuse had failed to blow but a loose connection caused the holder to melt and fail.
The service was excellent and the charge very fair. We know that Adam and Lynne had been happy with their service and so are happy to give the details to anyone following who needs help of Nacomaritima Vigo S.L. Tel. 986 173 843
After the very hot start to the season the weather had turned cooler and more unsettled.
We chose a grey but dry day to jump on a ferry and head across the ria to Vigo. Ferries run Mon-Sat from Moaña on the hour and back from Vigo on the half hour until the last ferries 22.00 from Moaña and 22.30 from Vigo (a few less sailings on Saturdays – consult the timetable at the ferry dock that is immediately next to the marina).
When we landed we took a photo of this sculpture and sent it to our friend Rick who had described an accident he had suffered a few days earlier that sounded very similar.
We had a day of retail therapy in the big city centre and lunch in a characterful back street restaurant, but the highlight was the visit to an art gallery we have visited before , the Museum of Contemporary Art at Rua Principe (the main shopping street). We found a major exhibition of sculpture by Francisco Leiro, including his maquette for the large piece replicating Rick’s accident……
After a long day in the city we caught the ferry back and ate on deck on a lovely mild evening.
On Friday 20 May we settled our bill with the marina and at 09.00 headed off to Baiona. There was no wind to speak of and so we motored the whole way, 14nm inside 3 hours. Sometimes We think that we should be more diligent sailors and actually use the sails more! Today, however, we felt that the motor was justified when the racing fleet practising for a posh regatta in Baiona came out to meet us, looking for wind under mostly bare poles:
For us, the small town of Baiona does not live up to the hype that its receives. There is a good selection of bars and restaurants and a small beach next to the marina. The walks around the castle wall is picturesque and having a cup of tea in the Pousada was a highlight last time we were here. It is lovely, but perhaps we have been spoiled by the amazing places we have visited in Galicia and expected more.
This week, however, the excitement of the big boat regatta with seemingly very professional support (each crew had a fully equipped full size shipping container workshop/store and all had chase boats) certainly created a great atmosphere here.
And we love the plush clubhouse of the Monte Real Club De Yates Baiona (the Royal Yacht Club of Baiona).
Strictly speaking we are not sure whether visiting yachtsmen are allowed in here, having read reports from some who have been refused entry.
On our two visits, however, we have arrived and requested a table “para comer” (to eat) which may have made a difference, or maybe it was just because we got out posh frocks and ironed them!
Paul has been working with the Cruising Association on their Orca project, designed to gather and disseminate information on the new phenomenon of orca (killer whales) attacking and damaging yachts around the Atlantic side of the Iberian Peninsula which began in 2020 as Covid lockdowns eased.
Paul has been agreeing the detail of a collaboration with a group of scientists who have been studying the problem. The Grupo Trabajo Orca Atlantica already record “interactions” and provide useful information. He took the opportunity of meeting one of the most active of those scientists, local resident Alfredo Lopes of CEMMA, together with Pablo who acted as interpreter. Good progress was made and the CA project should progress well with their assistance.
Northern Spain has been everything that we had hoped it may be – and sooooo much more.
But it’s time to leave and soon we will head down the Portuguese coast, hoping that the orca attacks are sorted out! In the last 2 years they spent the early part of the summer on the Strait of Gibraltar before heading up the west coast in the latter part of July, so we need to reach our winter destination of Lisbon before then.
Distance travelled to date in 2022 – 49 nm PREVIOUS LOG