30/05/18
Saro's Gyda
Derrick Thorrington
Mon 11 Jun 2018 16:36
Biscay and
Viviero
We left Camaret very
early on 28th intending to catch the tide at the Raz de Seine and potter around
to Benodet as the previous evening's forecast for a Biscay crossing didn't look
good. Derrick had a last look at the forecast as we shot, on the tide through
the Raz, and realised that things had changed. If we could put up with a few
hours of motoring, we would then have good winds for the next 3 days. Change of
plan. Off we went.
We had a very fast
time once the wind had settled in. We sailed "Goosewinged" the whole time with a
poled out Genoa and Hydra (our new windpilot) steering for us. The first day was
lovely sunshine smooth seas. We saw many different types of seabird including
gannets, shearwaters, terns. petrels and even two bonxies. After this lovely
start the weather turned rather rainy and the seas became rolly as the wind
strengthened. There was nothing much that we could do due to the motion and
nothing much to see. Any boredom that might have set in however, was pushed
aside by the sheer amounts of dolphins that came to play.
We arrived at the
Spanish coast earlier than anticipated due to the speed of the
passage. The smell of Eucalyptus, from several miles out to see brought back
memories of the last time we were here. Although it was still dark we found our
way into the Ria and anchored off the sandy beach at Viviero as dawn was
breaking. Average speed for the passage was 7 knots. D was most
chuffed!
It rained for most
of the day but cleared by the evening. We went for a stroll and were very
pleased to see that Viveiro was much nicer than either of us remembered. Cleaner
and more prosperous. The run down supermarket that seemed only to sell skinned
rabbits and chicken feet on our last visit 8 years ago, was modern and well
stocked. We enjoyed a couple of days here acclimatising, before moving
on.
Rio de
Viviero