Atlantic swell crashing onto the base of the castle walls (well it’s impressive on video, OK!).

The 4-metre Atlantic swell made Baiona Marina a noisy and uncomfortable place to be, with ropes and fenders squeaking and pontoons lurching 24/7. Next time we’d spend the whole time at anchor!

We researched Christopher Columbus and one of his ships the “Pinta” which left Baiona for the New World in 1492. David and I found the Columbus link fascinating, while the kids preferred the waffles…

A replica of the “Pinta”, the ship from which the New World was sighted in 1492.

“Can we have a cockpit table one day, Daddy?”

My search for wi-fi (wee-fee in Spanish) continued – this is the only place in Spain (to date) we have been where there was no wee-fee to be had – plenty of internet access (pay per minute) but only one place in the whole of Baiona where we could plug in the laptop. While I searched for wee-fee, David searched for gas (of the cooking variety), which involved dragging a trolley (T/T CAPE), empty gas bottle and two complaining kids around Baiona for hours on end. Luckily, I had work to attend to…

Baiona beach looking towards the marina with the castle in the background.

Baiona to Islas Cíes – and back again

We made yet another attempt to land on the Islas Cíes (and claim it for Wales), but once again, high winds (25 kts+) and a very crowded anchorage put us off. So we about turned and had a very enjoyable and fast sail back into Baiona doing 7 kts under genoa alone.

The mystical Islas Cíes.

The southern light on Islas Cíes – this was as close as we got!

The ever elusive anchorage at Islas Cíes (each ‘splodge’ on the edge of the beach is a yacht!).

Scrubbing CAPE’s bottom

After this second abortive attempt at Islas Cíes, we took the hint and retired to a calm and empty anchorage in Baiona to scrub CAPE's bottom with the washing up brush and some ‘scotchpads’, in the hope that this might make our circumnavigation faster. The ‘blade’ on the back of the brush (the bit you use for scraping off the burnt bits) was brilliant for dealing with slime and the odd barnacle, but this did make the washing up all green – hopefully this will wear off over time.

While David and Lawrence had been extolling the virtues of diving weights for an easy life in the water, I have resisted until now, but have since given in and bought myself a weight belt and neoprene gloves. I nicked three of Lawrence’s weights and tried swimming with 3 x 2 kg of lead and nearly drowned. When I finally surfaced and dumped 1 x 2 kg, I found 4 kg about right. The gloves were brilliant and meant that I could scrub for longer…

The children also insisted on spending their pocket money on buying themselves weight belts and 2 x 1 kg weights…

Portugal – here we come!

So, with a clean bottom, and the alarm set for 05:30, we were ready to head for Portugal. Beth was all set to design a new T-shirt (to replace the one she did with ‘España’ emblazoned at a jaunty angle across her chest) and Dave had the position marked on the chart for when we needed to swap flags. In the end we got up about 06:00 and were ready to go by 07:00 (after a bit of a fight with the windlass, which didn’t want to get up that early…and is still on strike).

Leaving Baiona at the crack of dawn.

We left Baiona with no wind, so we once again motor sailed downhill (we were going south – that’s downhill isn’t it?). The forecast wind eventually made its appearance and with a full main we reached speeds of 9 kts and finally made the 55 mile passage in 8 hours. We crossed into Portuguese waters accompanied by a pod of common dolphin, tail slapping and squeaking (squeaking so loudly that they woke the children who were asleep in the forward cabin). By the time we reached Póvoa de Varzim, we had to fight 35 knots of wind to get into the harbour. The wind hasn’t dropped since! (Still, at least the sun is shining…although Sarah wore a fleece today, complaining that it was only 20º!)

Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal

Since arriving in Póvoa de Varzim we have:

·        explored the town (including its museum)

·        climbed the rope climbing frame (or at least the kids have on our behalf)

·        marvelled at the striped beach tents designed to combat wind-inflicted flesh wounds

·        sampled clams, pasties de bacalhau (salt cod parcels – a lot tastier than they sound), Portuguese puddings (including Pudim Abade de Priscos – a custard tart flavoured with port, spices and lemon) and pastries

·        tracked down gas (of the cooking kind), due to David’s efforts, still dragging his trolley, kids and empty gas bottle, but now stopping at every bar on the way…there and back.

·        been converted to Vinho Verde (‘green’, dry, slightly sparkling wine at less than £1 a bottle).

Not bad for 48 hours!

“Dad, what do you call this knot?”

Acres of stripy canvas protect the tourist tans from the flesh-stripping, sandblasting, Portuguese trades (and you thought it was windy in Aber!).

The cultural bit – one of the many tile murals on the harbour walls, depicting life in Póvoa de Varzim.

Tomorrow we hit Oporto – watch this space!