Diary 7 July - 17 July
Tuesday 7th July 2009
Posn 42deg36'.276N 08deg56'.047W
Well, what a couple of days it has been. First though, we think the webmaster is doing a fantastic job and we hope all our readers agree, in fact you should all buy him a drink - red wine or real ale will do the trick. BUT ... you make one spelling error and he takes the proverbial. Course we know it was Patrick McGoohan - we watched every episode. In fact, it sounds like something to put on an Amazon Wish List. Still, what can you do?
Cambados did not disappoint when we got ashore yesterday - there are lovely stone-laid, tree-lined (palms and planes) streets that are almost pedestrianised and a lovely square, Pazo de Fefinans, with a small palace and the 15th century church of St Benito. The ground floor of the palace was where the wine was kept and large casks are on show. The upper floor provided the living space. Cambados is home of the famous (?) Albarino white wine, and in fact as you walk around the town there are vineyards scattered among the houses. So we bought a pack of three bottles - we think we may have been a bit too stingy in our purchase as it is only just OK. We also took the opportunity to top-up our Spanish SIM card. We would recommend a visit, but the depths will be tricky for a lot of boats.
Posn 42deg36'.276N 08deg56'.047W
Well, what a couple of days it has been. First though, we think the webmaster is doing a fantastic job and we hope all our readers agree, in fact you should all buy him a drink - red wine or real ale will do the trick. BUT ... you make one spelling error and he takes the proverbial. Course we know it was Patrick McGoohan - we watched every episode. In fact, it sounds like something to put on an Amazon Wish List. Still, what can you do?
Cambados did not disappoint when we got ashore yesterday - there are lovely stone-laid, tree-lined (palms and planes) streets that are almost pedestrianised and a lovely square, Pazo de Fefinans, with a small palace and the 15th century church of St Benito. The ground floor of the palace was where the wine was kept and large casks are on show. The upper floor provided the living space. Cambados is home of the famous (?) Albarino white wine, and in fact as you walk around the town there are vineyards scattered among the houses. So we bought a pack of three bottles - we think we may have been a bit too stingy in our purchase as it is only just OK. We also took the opportunity to top-up our Spanish SIM card. We would recommend a visit, but the depths will be tricky for a lot of boats.
After lunch we set off for Pobra do Caraminal - where we are now. There was little wind when we started at 1400 but by the time we were out into the middle of the Ria we had 15-17kts and a super sail, albeit that the wind backed just as we were about to tack for Pobra and had to sail on north for a while. We have a tried and tested tacking arrangement which involves Phil pressing the right buttons on the autopilot and releasing the sheet, while Norma hauls in the lazy sheet as the boat goes through the wind. Phil usually finishes off the grinding if we are close-hauled in a good breeze.
Arriving in Pobra we were once again struck by the serendipity of sailing - we had posted a request on ybw.com forum about having mosquito nets made. We had planned to do this ourselves but a failed purchase of a sewing machine from LIDL - you get what you pay for - meant we lacked the mechanical means. However, imagine our surprise when a guy we had met in Portosin and Camarinas, posted back that he would do the nets. Yes, there he was, on the pontoon as we arrived in Pobra. Small world, but our good fortune.
The other two successes have been that whilst we are not complete technophobes, neither are we easy technophiles, so when our laptop started to give us problems before we left, we bought a back-up PC and quickly loaded the software we needed to operate our e-mail via the SSB, but had not got round to testing it - well, it worked. What a relief. The second success was that the wifi amplifier that we bought in Vilagarcia is doing its stuff and we have been able to access the internet from the boat. This is much more convenient although it does cut down coffee or beer drinking opportunities in wifi cafes and bars - incidentally, the Spanish pronounce it 'weefee'.
We keep up with the boat maintenance too and it was gearbox oil change and water filter change to-day, as well as some of the hand washing that you can read about on our new page titled "Life on board", under the "Interesting Stuff" tab - we hope to write about the differences between life on board and life ashore. Some of our family and friends have no experience of sailing and so no frame of reference for what our daily lives are like. For example, we have been asked if we anchor at night when doing such as the Biscay crossing and this is not a stupid question if you simply do not know how it all works. So, we hope to shed some light on what the basics are like - how basic we get remains to be seen.
Friday 10th July
Posn 42deg36'.274N 08deg56'.046W
We are just getting ready to leave A Pobra do Caraminal and head for Rianjo/Rianxo. We have had a very relaxing stay here and find the town very pleasant without being particularly striking. There is a very nice beach in front of the town and adjacent to the marina. At low water there are large numbers of people out there up to their waists with rakes, gathering shellfish. This morning they were joined by a large number of people in boats doing the same. From our observations it is now clear that the long pipes are on the ends of long wooden handles attached to large metal rakes. The shell-fish must breed very quickly as there is activity every day.
Posn 42deg36'.274N 08deg56'.046W
We are just getting ready to leave A Pobra do Caraminal and head for Rianjo/Rianxo. We have had a very relaxing stay here and find the town very pleasant without being particularly striking. There is a very nice beach in front of the town and adjacent to the marina. At low water there are large numbers of people out there up to their waists with rakes, gathering shellfish. This morning they were joined by a large number of people in boats doing the same. From our observations it is now clear that the long pipes are on the ends of long wooden handles attached to large metal rakes. The shell-fish must breed very quickly as there is activity every day.
We have made progress with our mosquito nets thanks to the assistance of Roberto and his lovely wife Daphne and daughters Bora and Tea, http://sybrancaleone.blogspot.com We have a fully functioning mossie net for the companionway, involving a large amount of lead, and clear designs for the rest of the hatches. We are bidding for a sewing machine on e-bay and hope it will fit in Brian and Jill's car when the come down. We spent a very pleasant evening with Roberto and his family and hope we will meet up with them again.
11th July 2009
The trip to Rianxo was uneventful - no wind. We are anchored just off a lovely beach - how do we know it's lovely? It fills up with holidaymakers from 1700 until about 2100. Then later on there are the beachparty people, but we are not disturbed. Yesterday was a first - Norma swimming off the boat. She says the water is warm enough to swim, but then she says that about the water at Portrush. Not much chance of Phil getting in without a wetsuit or until much further south.
Our neighbouring boat is 'Sarah Jane' skippered by Mike, who is sailing alone. We keep meeting up with him - first seen in La Coruna - and he came over for coffee and a chat. He is very experienced and knowledgeable - makes us feel like real novices.
The trip to Rianxo was uneventful - no wind. We are anchored just off a lovely beach - how do we know it's lovely? It fills up with holidaymakers from 1700 until about 2100. Then later on there are the beachparty people, but we are not disturbed. Yesterday was a first - Norma swimming off the boat. She says the water is warm enough to swim, but then she says that about the water at Portrush. Not much chance of Phil getting in without a wetsuit or until much further south.
Our neighbouring boat is 'Sarah Jane' skippered by Mike, who is sailing alone. We keep meeting up with him - first seen in La Coruna - and he came over for coffee and a chat. He is very experienced and knowledgeable - makes us feel like real novices.
To-day we took the dinghy ashore - rowing for the exercise and because it is easier to haul the dinghy up the beach without the outboard - and have been exploring Rianxo. The first port of call was the bus stop as we hoped to take a trip to Padron, but we had just missed one bus and not another for a couple of hours, and since everything shuts down on Saturday afternoon we have postponed our trip until Monday.
Rianxo is very nice - it has narrow winding streets (pedestrianised), and a couple of lovely squares. We have been entertained by a Galician troupe of musicians and singers - yes they are bagpipes. That Celtic thing.
We called into a cafe for beers and wifi, and were just wondering how the Galicians might be celebrating the 12th, when we had the most amazing surprise - in walked two of the local Orangemen! So Ulster says Yo is here in Galicia. Just can't get away from it.
The rest of today will be a lot of hard work laying in the cockpit, reading, Norma swimming ... and so it goes.
Tuesday 14th July 2009
Posn 42deg38'.828N 08deg49'.418W
Well, we got that wrong. May have had some laying in the cockpit but no swimming ... then that's weather for you.
Nevertheless, we like Rianxo. This is one of our top places in the Ria de Arosa. However, we have had an interesting few days.
After posting on Saturday morning when we were anchored at 42deg38'.637N 08deg49.023W, we hung around in town and sat at a bar watching the prelude to an evening concert by a Spanish band called 'Oceano'(not to be confused with the band conceived in 2006, comprising former members of several Chicago metal outfits, and together rapidly became one of the standouts of the Chicago extreme metal scene. Describing themselves as one of the angriest bands on Earth, OCEANO channel this through their music, creating in the process some of the heaviest, most guttural and all-out brutal music to be found anywhere). Well, it wasn't them at all. In fact, there was nothing 'heavy', 'angry' or 'metal' about them - saccharine would be more like it, but they were OK and the sun shone and it was free and we were sitting having a few beers. They managed to get the lunchtime clientele to do a spot of hip-shaking and foot-tapping. We bought a few supplies - we had invited Mike for dinner (pork) and we bought some razor clams and small mussels from the Mercado Municipal for Sunday dinner - you know, traditional 12th July fare.
Posn 42deg38'.828N 08deg49'.418W
Well, we got that wrong. May have had some laying in the cockpit but no swimming ... then that's weather for you.
Nevertheless, we like Rianxo. This is one of our top places in the Ria de Arosa. However, we have had an interesting few days.
After posting on Saturday morning when we were anchored at 42deg38'.637N 08deg49.023W, we hung around in town and sat at a bar watching the prelude to an evening concert by a Spanish band called 'Oceano'(not to be confused with the band conceived in 2006, comprising former members of several Chicago metal outfits, and together rapidly became one of the standouts of the Chicago extreme metal scene. Describing themselves as one of the angriest bands on Earth, OCEANO channel this through their music, creating in the process some of the heaviest, most guttural and all-out brutal music to be found anywhere). Well, it wasn't them at all. In fact, there was nothing 'heavy', 'angry' or 'metal' about them - saccharine would be more like it, but they were OK and the sun shone and it was free and we were sitting having a few beers. They managed to get the lunchtime clientele to do a spot of hip-shaking and foot-tapping. We bought a few supplies - we had invited Mike for dinner (pork) and we bought some razor clams and small mussels from the Mercado Municipal for Sunday dinner - you know, traditional 12th July fare.
Then we made an interesting discovery - Shawn the Sheep (pace Julia) turns out to have been adopted as the emblem for Rianxo and we have the photographic evidence to prove it. They are such fun people in Rianxo.
When we returned to the beach to row out to Minnie B, the wind was up and this was going to be a wet one. Yup, it was SSW F3-4 and that meant a long fetch and we were on a lee shore. It was a hard pull , but all those sessions in the gym paid off and we got back without getting too soaked. Then we had some thinking to do as we were not in a great place with the wind direction, so after Mike rowed over for a consultation we headed off across the bay and re-anchored at Playa Laganon (42deg38'.608N 08deg51'.014W) - yes, another reminder of Belfast on 12th July. Now, we are starting to wonder about fate and coincidence. We had a good evening with Mike who regaled us with stories from his travels and days in the Royal Navy.
Talking of stories, a few days ago we were talking to a guy (no names, no pack drill) about ensigns. This is actually a bit of an issue we have discovered. At its simplest, there is a view about that the Red Ensign does not engender the most favourable response among people all over the world (except in GB ... and, er, Gibraltar). In fact, there are some close neighbours of GB who refer to the Red Ensign as "The Butcher's Apron" - I mean to say ... Well, the story we were told is that the crew of boat sailing these parts with the ensign of a royal club from said near neighbour admitted that it is actually registered in GB and should be wearing ... yes, that''s right ... the 'Butcher's Apron - now is that a bit cheeky, or what??????? Not only that, apparently the owner is also a member of a prestigious sailing club (which incidentally, does not have a club house). Ooooh!!! We should make it clear that Minnie B wears the ensign of RNIYC - said without a hint of pomposity.
Sunday was forecast to be wet. It was. All day. In the evening we decided to head into the Rianxo marina as we needed to do some e-mails and use Skype to talk to Brian and Jill. It was still wet but the rain eased off mid-evening.
On Monday 13th, we took the bus to Padron, about 16km inland and the supposed place where St James's relics were landed in Spain before being moved on to Santiago de Compostela. The town is quite small with a compact 'old' part - it is nice without really offering us anything we had not seen elsewhere - there is the occasional street art with sculptures which offer some interest. Notwithstanding this, the bus ride is through very pleasant countryside that has hints of Alpine vistas and the bus took a different route there and back. We had lunch at a small cafe in a sheltered square, where the Menu del Dia was Euros 12, and we shared as the portions are huge. We had squid in a tomato and olive oil sauce, followed by grilled salmon with potatoes. We were offered either vanilla cream or cake for postre (dessert) and since we had a croissant (complimentary) with our coffee in the morning, we went for the vanilla cream, not knowing what we would get. OK ... custard with cinnamon on top. Not OK. Despite this, with one drink and one coffee thrown in it was good value. In the evening, we went to a couple of bars as they provide a small snack with your drink, so we didn't need a great deal else. We enjoyed the street art and the new parks and fountains about the place. Then we watched a couple of episodes of 'Bleak House'.
We had decided to stay another day, as we have been getting an intermittent dribble of water from the base of the wooden surround for the mast support, and we wanted to try to sort it out. It has been a puzzle as there is no obvious ingress point and we were also unclear how it could be a plumbing problem given the pipe runs. Anyway, it needed to be investigated, so out came the forward toilet so that we could see the water pipes, then down came the headlining in the head and part of the saloon, and a thorough search for signs of water ingress followed ... nothing. The only thing we can think is that it could be a spot of condensation as there were a couple of points where the insulation was cut away to accommodate junction boxes, but then we have had lots worse condensation conditions than down here. It remains a bit of a mystery but we fashioned some insulation and put that in and will continue to monitor.
Talking of stories, a few days ago we were talking to a guy (no names, no pack drill) about ensigns. This is actually a bit of an issue we have discovered. At its simplest, there is a view about that the Red Ensign does not engender the most favourable response among people all over the world (except in GB ... and, er, Gibraltar). In fact, there are some close neighbours of GB who refer to the Red Ensign as "The Butcher's Apron" - I mean to say ... Well, the story we were told is that the crew of boat sailing these parts with the ensign of a royal club from said near neighbour admitted that it is actually registered in GB and should be wearing ... yes, that''s right ... the 'Butcher's Apron - now is that a bit cheeky, or what??????? Not only that, apparently the owner is also a member of a prestigious sailing club (which incidentally, does not have a club house). Ooooh!!! We should make it clear that Minnie B wears the ensign of RNIYC - said without a hint of pomposity.
Sunday was forecast to be wet. It was. All day. In the evening we decided to head into the Rianxo marina as we needed to do some e-mails and use Skype to talk to Brian and Jill. It was still wet but the rain eased off mid-evening.
On Monday 13th, we took the bus to Padron, about 16km inland and the supposed place where St James's relics were landed in Spain before being moved on to Santiago de Compostela. The town is quite small with a compact 'old' part - it is nice without really offering us anything we had not seen elsewhere - there is the occasional street art with sculptures which offer some interest. Notwithstanding this, the bus ride is through very pleasant countryside that has hints of Alpine vistas and the bus took a different route there and back. We had lunch at a small cafe in a sheltered square, where the Menu del Dia was Euros 12, and we shared as the portions are huge. We had squid in a tomato and olive oil sauce, followed by grilled salmon with potatoes. We were offered either vanilla cream or cake for postre (dessert) and since we had a croissant (complimentary) with our coffee in the morning, we went for the vanilla cream, not knowing what we would get. OK ... custard with cinnamon on top. Not OK. Despite this, with one drink and one coffee thrown in it was good value. In the evening, we went to a couple of bars as they provide a small snack with your drink, so we didn't need a great deal else. We enjoyed the street art and the new parks and fountains about the place. Then we watched a couple of episodes of 'Bleak House'.
We had decided to stay another day, as we have been getting an intermittent dribble of water from the base of the wooden surround for the mast support, and we wanted to try to sort it out. It has been a puzzle as there is no obvious ingress point and we were also unclear how it could be a plumbing problem given the pipe runs. Anyway, it needed to be investigated, so out came the forward toilet so that we could see the water pipes, then down came the headlining in the head and part of the saloon, and a thorough search for signs of water ingress followed ... nothing. The only thing we can think is that it could be a spot of condensation as there were a couple of points where the insulation was cut away to accommodate junction boxes, but then we have had lots worse condensation conditions than down here. It remains a bit of a mystery but we fashioned some insulation and put that in and will continue to monitor.
Tomorrow, all being well, we head for our next ria, the Ria de Pontevedra. We have enjoyed Ria de Arosa, and our top towns are: A Puebla do Caraminal and Rianxo, and our top anchorages (subject to weather) are Isla Toxa and Rianxo.
Incidentally, all those who thought we are nuts, going on about 'The Prisoner' since it was a TV series and not real at all, well here's some evidence to the contrary, and in Rianxo too ...
Friday 17th July 2009
Posn 42 deg 23.780N 8 deg 48.278W
We arrived here in Sanxenxo on Wednesday afternoon. We had a good sail, in sunshine, for the 24 nm from Rianxo, beating out down the Ria de Arousa in light SSW wind, then a reach past the Isla Ons and finally arriving at Sanxenxo, in Ria de Pontevedra. This was a shock to the system, after the comparative quiet of the previous towns and villages, we had arrived at a ma jor tourist resort. You can understand why, as it’s very attractive, easily reached by road, and there are no viveros to “spoil” the view. The town is packed with hotels and apartment blocks in front of the extensive beach. The marina is very smart, with expensive looking shops and bars – but once again , no launderette (see “On board living”). We are berthed alongside, on a long outer pontoon, adjacent to the sea wall. The Pilot Book is well out of date about berthing.
On walking around town, we realised there was a heavy police presence and found out why – the imminent arrival of the King and Queen at the Real Club Nautico de Sanxenxo (RCNS) in the marina, at the end of our pontoon! So, when King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia arrived at 9pm, we had a great spot to see them. The occasion was a presentation to the crews of Telefonica Black and Telefonica Blue, the Spanish entries in the Volvo Round the World Race 2008-09. The King is a keen sailor and seemed to have a lot to say to the Spanish and intenational crew members. It was a great privilege to be here for the visit.
Posn 42 deg 23.780N 8 deg 48.278W
We arrived here in Sanxenxo on Wednesday afternoon. We had a good sail, in sunshine, for the 24 nm from Rianxo, beating out down the Ria de Arousa in light SSW wind, then a reach past the Isla Ons and finally arriving at Sanxenxo, in Ria de Pontevedra. This was a shock to the system, after the comparative quiet of the previous towns and villages, we had arrived at a ma jor tourist resort. You can understand why, as it’s very attractive, easily reached by road, and there are no viveros to “spoil” the view. The town is packed with hotels and apartment blocks in front of the extensive beach. The marina is very smart, with expensive looking shops and bars – but once again , no launderette (see “On board living”). We are berthed alongside, on a long outer pontoon, adjacent to the sea wall. The Pilot Book is well out of date about berthing.
On walking around town, we realised there was a heavy police presence and found out why – the imminent arrival of the King and Queen at the Real Club Nautico de Sanxenxo (RCNS) in the marina, at the end of our pontoon! So, when King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia arrived at 9pm, we had a great spot to see them. The occasion was a presentation to the crews of Telefonica Black and Telefonica Blue, the Spanish entries in the Volvo Round the World Race 2008-09. The King is a keen sailor and seemed to have a lot to say to the Spanish and intenational crew members. It was a great privilege to be here for the visit.
On Thursday we awoke to the sound of rain, so settled down to a morning iof jobs around the boat. Well, actually we awoke at 0400 to the sound of Club music from two bars across the marina - it stopped at 0500. That isn’t in the Pilot Book either.
The day brightened and in the evening we walked to the next town, Porto Novo, where there were celebrations to mark the Festival of Carmen. We arrived to catch the end of an open air service, and then watched the traditional Galician dancing and music. It was actually rather low key and most of the audience seemed to be the parents of the performers, but nice nevertheless.
The day brightened and in the evening we walked to the next town, Porto Novo, where there were celebrations to mark the Festival of Carmen. We arrived to catch the end of an open air service, and then watched the traditional Galician dancing and music. It was actually rather low key and most of the audience seemed to be the parents of the performers, but nice nevertheless.
We rounded off the evening with a visit to RCNS – we were armed with our introduction cards from RNIYC, but there was no need and we were welcomed to their magnificent club house (complete with gym and swimming pool) and sat on the third floor terrace watching the last of the day’s light over the Ria – a fabulous view.
We have also solved the water dribble problem – insufficiently tightened flushing filter housing for the watermaker – doh!
Today we intend to move to an anchorage at Camabrro, further up the Ria – yesterday we saw a warship with some sailors taking it up the Ria.
Today we intend to move to an anchorage at Camabrro, further up the Ria – yesterday we saw a warship with some sailors taking it up the Ria.
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