Just past noon today, Sun 5th May, we’re one week out from Malahide and we’ve been motoring most of the 28 hours since we departed La Coruna. As to whether we got into La Coruna before 1200hrs on Wed 1 May, yes we did, we got in at 1100hrs. So, we’ve been very lucky to have solid Northerly winds to speed our crossing of Biscay, John and I had estimated 4 to 7 days, we never expected to do it under 4 days.

 

The entrance to La Coruna is marked by the oldest working lighthouse in Europe, the Torre de Hercules; built by the Romans. It was much photographed in passing by the crew and we all promised ourselves that we’d walk the short distance to it from the town marina. Promises, promises. We never made it to the ‘Torre’. Indeed, we had other failed outings. The skipper sent Mr White, Mr Kieran and Mr Dillon off to the shop to get the ‘messages’-  in particular some nice sausages, rashers and eggs to make a nice breakfast fry on board before we departed for Lagos. Encore’s ‘three wise men’ failed in this modest mission, not once but twice. Back to the boat they came, not bearing gifts, but bearing big grins on their pusses and the Dunnes Stores shopping bags empty as a Fianna Fail promise (Mr Magee of the Moorings, Malahide, please note). If you can’t beat them join them and the whole crew got waylaid. We did, of course get the shopping, just in time before the shops closed on Friday night.