Friday 2nd July  The night was overcast and the wind continued on the nose with SW'ly force 4 - 5 and heavily overcast.  We tacked in towards the N. Spanish coast with no sign of the wind shift that we expected.  Finally, after passing through squalls and rain the long-awaited front passed us and within a few minutes wind shifted right round to WNW - and - at last we could get  a decent angle on the wind and aim where we were trying to go.  We hoisted the cruising chute in the afternoon.  For those of you not familiar with this sail, it is a bit like a spinnaker, but a little easier to fly (well - should be!).  Ben and I had had one practice with it before in light winds off Plymouth a few weeks ago - with great success, and I also hoisted it with Jim a couple of w/ends later - but this proved a bit more challenging.  The wind was stronger, and I nearly lost the tack of the sail as the line flew out through my hands and gave me a couple of good blisters!  At the same time I lost the 'snuffer' line (snuffer is a long sausage-like cover that helps with the deployment and recovery of the cruising chute). Anyway, with Ben's assistance and Jim on the helm we recovered our pride and flew the sail for a few hours. At 2000 hrs we sighted land some 30 miles east of La Coruna.

Saturday 3rd July  The wind continued to go around to the north and by 0200 when Sylvie took over my watch we had wind almost dead astern - with a preventer line stopping the mainsail from a gibing. Earlier, Ben had taken his 10 - 12 watch and was loving the coastal navigation, taking bearings of the lighthouses (of which the Spanish seem to have an amazing number) and seeming very confident (having only completed his yachtmaster's sailing course a few months ago). By morning we had passed La Coruna and were on the final leg to Camarinas.  We passed Cabo Villano at 1140 (a vicious-looking headland with a high and proud looking lighthouse on the rocky outcrop of granite.   Soon after, we turned head-to-wind, hove-to and double-reefed the main and set a reefed genoa for the last few miles.  The wind was force 5 - 6 and a heavy sea was running.  We soon sailed into the well-sheltered bay and after handing sail, we motored into the small harbour of Camarinas and found the harbour master waving his arms and pointing at a berth at 1300 hrs.  We were soon tied up, ashore, and in the local club Nautico for a lunch of calamaris AND chips!  We had successfully completed our longest passage of just under 4 days at sea and a distance of 424 miles.  As we were finishing lunch, a lady came in asking if we were the crew off Catou - and were we Canadian? (It is a requirement by 1st mate that we have to fly the Canadian and Quebec flag from port cross-trees).  Turned out the lady was French-Canadian from Montreal - and her husband was a Kiwi - who came from very close to Ben's parents in North island. Two boats in a small marina, each with a Quebecois and a Kiwi on board!   In afternoon we did our own thing - Ben and Jim went for a walk and Sylvie went for a sleep and I caught up on some e-mails etc..  We took an early evening stroll into town, found an excellent restaurant and had a lovely meal for 4 (with 2 bottles wine) for 47 euros!  The bar below the restaurant was heaving with Spanish football fans - who were out for an evening watching Spain play Paraguay in the 1/4-final of the world cup.  Hurrah! Spain won and went through to the semis, we survived to tell the story, and the roads were full of cars with horns-a-hooting and cheers everywhere.  Back for a good sleep.

Sunday 4th July   Up at 0745 to see Ben off home.  His taxi arrived promptly at 0830 and we waved him off.  He was flying back after very kindly (by Lucinda) being allowed out to play for a week, shortly before he was about to become a father for a second time.  He was a great crew member, very keen, and great company, and we soon missed his company on board. We took a stroll into town after Ben's departure - to see if, by any chance, anywhere was open to get bread and milk. The place was dead, but Sylvie spotted an elderly woman walking very purposefully with a purse in her hand, so Jim quickly increased his pace and followed her.  We soon smelt fresh bread and as we rounded the next corner, Jim was wondering where the woman had gone - so we looked about and found her going into a church !   After our abortive attempt to locate bread and milk, we found a place for a coffee and breakfast, after when, we went back on board, and while Sylvie worked on some mosquito netting, Jim and I did a few jobs including checking the engine and oil level etc...

After lunch - of calimaris again, we decided to take a walk to Cabo Villano lighthouse some 4 Kms away.  On the walk through wooded hillsides, Jim spotted a cement factory, which I have to say, looked somewhat unusual without the usual silos and commercial dust.  It soon turned out to be the local CEMENTERI - with the third 'E' of the sign missing !  Finally we saw the Cabo Villano lighthouse and an extraordinary number of wind generators - hundreds and hundreds of them scattered over the mountains and hills as far as the eye could see.  Most of us have driven past them and observed them from a distance, but when standing close by, the noise is like an industrial washing machine high overhead.  We were surrounded by these massive giants spinning at high speed.   We decided on a quiet evening on board, but by late evening Sylvie was feeling very unwell and was very sick for much of the night.

Monday 5th July  Now, I wouldn't normally discuss Sylvie's requirements to cure her very upset stomach!  This morning, we had considered leaving early to sail south, but a pharmacy visit was paramount to fulfill Sylvie's requirements before we went anywhere.  Now, my French is limited, but my Spanish is downright appauling - but I accepted my challenge.  Jim and I found the pharmacy open at 0900, so we walked in to find about 5 elderly ladies in a queue - so we joined it. I knew Jim was wondering how I might demonstrate my charade for Sylvie's cure (I was aware of his sniggers behind me in the queue).  Fortunately for me, the word 'suppository' is very similar in Spanish and English so, other than holding my stomach and pretending to be sick across the counter, no other actions were required.  I studied the Spanish instructions on the box with total incomprehension, and nodded that they seemed suitable for our requirements.  The Spanish ladies who had been in front of us in the queue, were, for some reason still all milling about by the counter, nattering away (one had removed her shoes and shopping basket and was checking her weight on the scales), and they all joined in the discussion and laughed at my mock-sickness over the counter -  presumably thinking that I was in desperate need of the tablets-in-question.  Anyway, after handing over only 3 1/2 euros, which I thought was pretty good value, we escaped relatively unscathed from the ordeal - with the giggling of the ladies ringing in our ears!

We decided to sail at 1130, after we had tucked Sylvie up for a good day's rest in the leeward bunk.  The wind was strong but it was behind us (for a change), so we slipped moorings and within 10 mins were sailing fast out of the bay.  We turned south in glorious sunshine and a strong force 5-6 NNE wind, and under genoa only, set course for cabo Finisterre, the most westerly point of Europe, and flew off at a cracking pace. The sea was moderate and with a heavy N'ly swell behind us we sped south.  Sylvie was tucked up in her bunk OK and was very comfortable with the lee cloths up.  It was a wonderful sail, and about 10 miles south Finisterre we turned NE into Ria de Muros, the most northerly of the Spanish Rias.  With the wind on the nose, we beat up the ria in strong winds and arrived off Portosin on the south shore at 1900hrs.  The day's run was 50 miles at an average speed of over 8 knots. Total distance so far is 617 miles from Weir Quay.

We will stay here for 3 days, hiring a car on Wednesday to take Jim to Oporto to catch his flight home, and at the same time collecting our friends Nigel and Helen Horner from Chaceley, our next crew for the following week.