Monday 3^rd September – Arrival Gijon

43:32.810N 5:40.117W

We arrived in Gijon at first light after a more challenging passage than expected or desired.

After a quiet start last night with us motoring on in light winds and clear skies, night fell.  As we travelled west, the swell increased, coming in on our beam and making life more uncomfortable.  There was a dark wall ahead that turned into dark cloud and eventually rain and then drizzle, and the wind built to around F5 from astern.  A following tide, normally a bonus, also meant we had to slow down to avoid arriving too early and in the dark.  However, the main fun for the evening came with the fishing boats…

Having travelled most of the night with one other yacht motoring a mile or so ahead of us, and the odd fishing boat or ship in the Bay, at around 4.30 I managed to flush out the entire Spanish fishing fleet working off one headland.  Richard and the radar were drafted in to help with my watch as we worked out who was where on their apparently random courses.  We headed further out to clear both the fleet and the worst of the swell round the headland as it was starting to get rough.

Eventually we were able to resume course, but the fun wasn’t over.  Shortly after, we saw bright flashing yellow lights on a couple of fishing boats heading our way.  This meant they were ‘purse seine’ fishing (this is where two fishing boats tow a net between them as they motor along – I was pleased that I remembered this from my yachtmaster theory course and got a gold star from Richard).  Seeing these boats was not good news – we had to make sure our paths remained clear or we would have been part of their catch.  Finally, there was another boat just outside Gijon to avoid – it was working in the entrance, with its lights hidden amongst the shore lights of Gijon itself.  Again passed without incident but took a bit of work to spot and sort out.

Having made it safely into Gijon, the marina here is great – the staff were really helpful as we checked in, the facilities are good, and there is plenty of space as the peak of the holiday season is over.  Basically we were told to go and find a space we liked.

After some sleep, and a session of cleaning the boat, we went into town this afternoon - another thumbs up.  This evening we have had a wander around; there are loads of restaurants and pretty squares lit up in the evening.  We chose a small Sideria for dinner where they serve tapas and cider from about two feet in the air (the cider that is, not the tapas).  We were the only non-Spanish in there so we felt it was a good choice.

We are not sure how long we will be staying here.  The strong winds which have been blowing off Finisterre are due to creep round the North Spanish coast tomorrow into the Bay, combined with increasingly high swell.  The only good news is that the wind should be blowing from behind us – allowing us to run downwind.  We will be watching the inshore forecast to see if we will be able to do some short hops down the coast towards La Coruna out of the worst of the wind and swell.  Though a few days here wouldn’t go amiss !