Isla de Norde
andromeda of plymouth
Susan and Andrew Wilson
Fri 21 Aug 2009 08:03
Off the Isla del Norde – Ria De Vigo
Sun, sea, sand, heat, a breeze and plenty to watch, that is what makes an
ideal anchorage. The water is only 19 degrees so a bit cold for swimming
but we have had a lovely day watching everything going on here. The beach
(about 300metres away) looks lovely and sandy and got bigger as the tide
went out. The sun has been beating down all day but the heat moderated by
a gentle breeze blowing across the decks, just the day for having a doss
on deck whilst people watching. Its always so fascinating being on board,
there is so much to look at. There are the boats arriving, motoring
around, deciding on their anchorage and then letting the anchor down,
sometimes first time, sometimes a few more (we know how they feel). There
are also the boats leaving, doing the reverse although it has to be said
you can usually get your anchor up straight away unless you catch a cable
like some friends of ours did. We have watched the ferries coming in
disgorging their passengers all day until 7 o’clock or so when they
started picking them up again.
Early this morning – ok – 10 o’clock here, 9 o’clock uk time, we watched
some fishermen casting out their nets and pulling them in, their labour
rewarded with about 4 octopii. There have been about 6 diving boats in
the bay, every one intent on collecting scallops from seabed. The police
boat has been round and took great interest in a yacht further in but not
us (that’s a relief) and yesterday we watched about 100 boats cross the
bay spinnakers billowing, in a regatta, headed for Vigo we think. They
made their way past the big behemouths anchored in the deeper waters. It
is like a very slow ballet at times as all the boats swing round in the
wind usually all in the same direction but when the wind changes the
smallest boats respond first first, to be caught up with eventually by the
behemouths and for a while we all face the same way again.
The dinghy has been put on the water today, engine tested and is ready
for an evening trip to shore once the beach has cleared a bit then, it
will be back for tea before being gently rocked to sleep for another
night.......what can I say, this is the life.