Position:  42:13.43N 08:54.02W

Islas Cies, Spain

The wind was still in the North when we set off from Combarro so we hoisted all sail and romped down the ria at 7.5 kts with the kids asleep.  As we came out of the shelter of the Ria the seas and wind increased until we had 24kts true from the NW.  It was a superb sail, always knowing that we were bearing off round each headland, but partly for practice and partly for prudence I put 2 reefs in the main and left the mizzen and genoa as they were. This made a good difference and is a good way to reef down when reaching on Nutmeg.

We were still doing 7-7.5kts and as the seas were quite steep I dropped the mizzen and we continued SW, narrowly missing a warship who was coming through the traffic separation scheme (of course I knew about the TSS, I just wasn’t going to beat into the wind to cross it at right angles…) and, with guidance from the Dutch lot on Ch74, we anchored right off the beach after a really good sail.

Sunset over Islas Cies

Islas Cies are a beautiful set of small mountainous islands which almost block the entrance to Ria de Vigo.  They are bird sanctuaries and are extremely attractive.  The main anchorage is off a sandy isthmus which stretches between two of the bigger islands.  This is one of those unknown gems that heathen Northern Europeans like us had never heard of until we read the pilot books but they are magnificent and just what the Holdens needed – sand, water and sunshine!  We took the kids for a quick walk on the beach as the sun set and went back to the boat for a good sleep ready for the next day.

The next day started with a morning of school for the girls and jobs for Dad, followed by a well-earned play on the beach in the afternoon.  This is what it is all about!

Islas Cies

The girls

Emilia & Jemima on the beach at Islas Cies

In the evening we did a pot-luck barbeque on the beach with the Dutch families which was a nice, chilled-out affair.  I think everyone has found it tough at times and the chance to unwind on the beach was good. 

After adding a little more sand to Nutmeg’s bilges from our shoes, beach towels etc, we went to bed but found we needed to wedge ourselves in because the swell was creeping into the bay and making us roll.  We definitely roll more than some of the more modern boats, presumably because of hull shape.

The following day was a repeat of the previous only we went for a walk on the island rather than school so I won’t bore with detail.  Suffice to say it was a very relaxing day!

View of isthmus & anchorage, Islas Cies

On our third night off Islas Cies, Sarah and I were sitting having a cup of tea at about 2200 when there was a sudden bang as if Nutmeg had been hit by something!  There was little wind but some swell and we rushed outside with the big spotlight to see what it was.  There, ominously just below the surface a few metres from our stern, was a rock!  We had hit the bottom!  We quickly upped anchor and re-anchored further down the beach and worked out what had happened.  There didn’t appear to be any damage. 

Basically, we were a bit unlucky.  When we had anchored 3 days ago, we had laid out 30m of chain according to the prevailing wind direction.  On the night we hit the bottom, all the boats had swung round quite a lot and we happened to be lying with our stern pointing towards the single obstruction in the anchorage.  This would still have been OK, but the tides had moved progressively towards springs and we hit about 30mins before low tide on the lowest spring tide, meaning our swinging circle was that bit bigger because the depth was less so there was more horizontal chain.

Well that’s my excuse and I am sticking to it.  So we have hit the bottom twice in 2 months – but who’s counting?!

One of the pilot books remarks that people leaving Northern Europe tend to prefer marinas until they reach around this point on their cruise, when they realise that it is actually far preferable to anchor.  We couldn’t agree more.  We have anchored for 8 out of the last 9 nights and it is so much nicer.  Even with the swell in some anchorages it is quieter, cheaper and just generally feels “right”.  We’ve not yet had any problem in setting our anchor – it has set first time, every time so far.

When we pulled the anchor up to leave Islas Cies, we found 4 or 5 bright purple starfish and numerous shells attached to the chain and anchor!

Islas Cies sealife

However, the urge came to push on the few short miles to Bayona so in the morning we headed South once more.  It feels odd getting to Bayona – Bayona is one of those “milestone” ports like Coruna, where you feel like you have achieved something major in getting there, and a whole new coastline and cruising ground is ahead of you – in this case Portugal.  To us, it felt like we had reached Bayona almost too soon – like we weren’t expecting to reach it for a few hundred more miles.  The rias are deceptive because the distances can be quite short if you are simply heading straight across the mouths of them.