When we aren’t having ‘adventures’ like losing the
propeller, we sail uneventfully from place to place. In this case, we sailed
along the Costa del Morte (the Coast of Death!)
from Laxe to the Ria de Camariñas, averaging 5–6 knots with no trimming of sails
(tweaking bits of string until the sail shape looks about right).
The Costa del Morte from a safe
distance.
A closer look at the Costa del Morte. To get an idea of
the scale of these rocks, the lighthouse keeper’s house on the right was a
three-storey mansion.
Camariñas
The scenery in the Ria de Camariñas is stunning – in some
places more like the shores of a Canadian lake than the Atlantic coast of
Europe, and in others like the Caribbean. The
town itself is a bit disappointing and has its back to the Ria – we nearly
didn’t stick around. However, we upped anchor and moved across the Ria to
explore the beaches.
The view from CAPE’s
cockpit over breakfast.
When the expected Southerly gale swept in, we went into
the marina (Club Nautico Camariñas) which was efficient and friendly with a
cheap bar and lots of people on passage. We would like to thank Nick and Cathy
(FAIRWINDS) and Richard and Eilish (and Matthew) (GRANUAILE) for lots of advice,
inspiration and a stonking hangover. We hope to catch up with you again
sometime, somewhere between 30 North and 30 South!!!
On hearing about the floods back home in the
UK, David, Bethany and Bryn perfect
their flood rescue technique.
The mundane side of life on board – but at least it’s not
raining!
Sarah proving to the crew who really wields the power on
CAPE. “Next time you moan about having to peel
the potatoes, Lawrence…”
On the fish front
Once we were safely anchored off Camariñas, a shoal of
trigger fish took up residence under the boat. While they aren’t the sharpest
tool in the box, they do have big dorsal spikes and sharp teeth, so handle with
care! In fact they are so stupid that they kept chasing the same plastic fish,
getting caught again and again for 3 hours, providing great entertainment for
the crew of CAPE. David even caught one on a
fly rod – the first outing for the fly rod since the River
Dee.
Taking trigger fish for a walk – they followed the lure
around the boat for hours.
This trigger fish was gutted to find himself inside the
boat – then on the chopping board.
On the fish front, we have added trigger fish, mackerel
(Spanish mackerel have slightly different markings and green tails) and flounder
to the menu. The trigger fish needed a scalpel to cut through the skin it was so
tough. Not worth the effort either – if we get another one it will be trigger
curry unless anyone out there has a good trigger fish recipe (Sturdy – over to
you!). The flounder ended up as fish pie (with added tinned tuna) one evening
and the leftovers were recycled into fishcakes for lunch the next day. I have to
say that there will be a whole section on fishcakes in the cook book. We are
also now very selective about which mullet we eat and only take ones from the
cleanest anchorages – we've seen what they will eat given the chance...
Lawrence
continues to search for the elusive razor clams without success. The kids and I
collected a quarter of a bucket of clams before a nature reserve man appeared to
inform us that we weren't supposed to be collecting them on that particular
beach. We didn’t tell him about the flounder we shot with the spear gun just off
the beach!
That particular beach.
Muxia
Muxia is across the Ria from Camariñas. It is quieter (in
fact so quiet that the shops didn’t re-open after siesta!) and a bit classier
than Camariñas. We did the cultural bit here, visiting the impressive
17th Century church of La
Virgen de la Barca, which has ship models suspended
from its ceiling. Unfortunately even this was closed with viewing only allowed
through a grille.
Anchored inside the harbour at Muxia.
The church of La
Virgen de la Barca has ship models suspended from
its ceiling.
Opinions were split on this bit of modern
art.
Caption competition
Answers by e-mail please! We will publish the winning
entry in the next blog…
And while you’re at it, please give us some feedback. Let
us know what bits of life on board you want to hear about and we’ll do our best
to answer your questions honestly (the clean ones anyway).
