Ria de Aviles - Luarca

Nano's blog.
Nigel Anderson
Fri 11 Aug 2006 19:56
Date: 11-08-06     Time: 19:00 UTC      Position: 43:32.88N  006:32.09W   Name: Luarca 

Click here for English version;

Der vi lå igår var i et litt industrielt område. Vi så først etterpå at det var nå anlagt fasiliteter for fritidsbåter lenger opp i elva, ved selve Avilés-by. Fabrikken like ved oss så litt mistenkelig ut - lange haller med god ventilasjon, store siloer for et pulverstoff osv. Jeg gikk en liten tur for å utforske mer - og sikker nok var det et aluminiumsverk, eid av Alcoa! Det så litt shabby ut, mer røyk over halltakene enn vi er vant til, og Boston Consulting har ikke vært her fordi portvakten var bemannet med tre mann på kveldstid! Arbeidskraften er vel billig her, så vi får ikke bekymre oss for mye om deres utfordringer med slike ting.
 
Det var en liten kafé et par hundre meter fra brygga vår, og i tilfelle det var satt opp av dem for å betjene kunder som kom med båt, stakk Agnetha og oss innom en liten tur for en kveldsøl. Her var det ikke mange turister som har vært før. Tre 0,33cl fatøl kostet under fire euro - 11kr stykket. Vi har betalt omtrent det dobbelte på mer fasjonable utekaféer i steder som Gijón.
 
Enda en gang var det spørsmål om vi ville ha nok vann under kjølen ved lavvann. Litt oppslag i tabellene og beregninger viste at vi ikke ville det. Ved å dra båten helt ut på enden av pongtongen vant vi 50cm mer dybde, og det skal ha gitt os 30cm under kjølen ved lavvann, som var halv ett. Siden jeg ikke var våken på det tidspunktet vil vi aldri vite, men nok var det iallfall.
 
Vi hadde en forholdsvis tidlig start idag. Det kom en uniformkledd mann og fortalte at vi måtte flytte oss innen en time fordi det kom en båt som skulle bruke plassen der vi lå. Vi dro avgårde kvart over ni i strålende sol og helt vindstille. Jeg liker ikke å gå for motor, men denne gangen var det bare å bite i det sure eplet. Solgangsbrisen ville dukke opp litt senere allikevel. Men vi gikk for motor slengte vi ut litt dorgeutstyr, og raskt hadde tre makrell og en stor horngjel - nok til middag for fire. "Madame" hadde gjort det samme, og hadde også fått makrell, så vi kunne ikke gi bort noe fisk til dem, så nå blir det fiskemiddager et par dager. Solgangsbrisen kommer sigende på sakte, og vi heiser seil som kombinert med en gunstig tidevannsstrøm gjør at vi holder 3,5-4 knop resten av formiddagen. Vinden øker litt til, og vi seiler fortere utover ettermiddagen. Ankomst Luarca halv fire. Her hadde jeg god tid til å barbere meg - som du ser i bildet er det på tide!
 
Det ble også tid til en fin tur rundt denne flotte fiskehavnen. Det er en trang dal med en elv med bygniner på begge sider og opp dalsidene. Den indre havnen er stappfull av fiskebåter, men i den ytre havnen er det tilrettelgat med noen fortøyningsbøyer. Vi og Madame hadde hele plassen til oss selv, men da vi kom tilbake fra turen vår, kom en nederlandsk båt inn, som vi hjalp med å få et tau i land. Havnen er dessverre utsatt for dønninger for kommer gjennom åpningen mellom moloene og skaper en urolig sjø her inne. Vi får håper det løyer litt utover kvelden slik at vi får en god natts søvn..
 

English version

The pontoon we lay at last night was in a rather industrial area. Only after we had tied up did we see that there is a new facility for pleasure boats further up the river in the town of Aviles. Well - we seemed to be lying well, and it was free. The factory nearby looked suspiciously like an aluminium factory similar to the one we work at in Norway. I strolled along the road to the main gate, and sure enough it was "Alcoa Primary Metal" on the name plate. The place looked a bit shabby and there was more visible smoke coming out of the pot rooms than we are used to.
 
Believing that the pontoon may have been put in place by the local restaurant, we decided to go and have an evening beer there to patronize their establishment. Three beers (0.33cl) for less than four euro - about half the price of the more fashonable restaurants in the larger towns like Gijón, and in relation to Norwegian prices - well it just doesn't bear thinking about.
 
Another issue was how much water we would have under the keel when the tide went out. Having had a similar challenge the previous day, I had hoped to avoid such things. Out with the tidal tables and calculations - the answer was that we did not quite have enough water to tolerate waves from passing fishing boats and larger ships. We pulled the boat out as far as possible from the end of the pontoon and gained a valuable extra 50cm, so all went well. I wasn't up at half past twelve when my calculations sail was low water to check the margins, but we should have had about 30cm. As we didn't touch down during the night I presume my calculations weren't too far off.
 
We made a relatively early start - nine thirty. A uniformed man came by to say politely that we would have to leave within an hour as there was a boat coming who uses the pontoon we were on. No problem. It was a beautiful day of sunshine with no wind and relatively calm sea. We motored out along the truly fantastic coastline. Whilst waiting for the sea breeze to pick up, we got out the fishing gear and trolled for mackerel (or hopefully tuna). Within half an hour we had three fine mackerel and a large garfish - enough for dinner for four. This would have been ideal for sharing with "Madame", but they had the same idea and had already caught enough fish for themselves! After a while the sea breeze started to get going and we could set sail; combined with a favourable current, we made 3.5-4 knots the rest of the morning, steadily getting more wind and better progress after lunch, arriving at Luarca at three thirty, leaving me plenty of time for a shave, which as the picture shows is getting rather necessary.
 
We  had plenty of time to wander round the town, which was full of activity. A swimming race was in progress, lots of people in the streets and some entertainment for the kids. This is a charming place - a narrow valley with the harbour and a river running inn from it. The town is build on the sides of the valley. We will explore more tomorrow. the iner harbour is chock a block with fishing boats, but some provision has been made for visiting boats in the outer harbour in the form og eight strong moorings, where one ties stern to the mooring, and take a bow line in land. Unfortunately some swell penetrates the harbour, and the boats do not lie at rest here. Madame and Nano had the entire place to ourselves, but returning from out trip we saw a dutch boat come in, whom we helped to get his line ashore - not easy in this swell..