Bilbao to La Coruna
Pelican
Darryl and Anne Saxton
Wed 14 Oct 2009 14:49
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We arrived in Bilbao on Monday lunchtime after a
difficult night. The winds were OK but we had to contend with a very big cross
swell which rolled the boat from side to side like a mad thing. Darryl and his
Dad both stayed on the helm together all night, whilst I looked after the
navigation and plied them with coffee and chocolate.
Tuesday in Bilbao was very busy as we were making
adjustments and minor changes as a result of lessons learnt on the way down. We
have adapted the reefing lines on the mainsail to make it easier to put reefs
in. The steering wheel required a little adjustment. We have sewn leather covers
over the guard rail fittings to stop the foresail lines catching on them. We
have rewound the foresail furling lines as they seemed to be slipping a
bit. And finally I also got round to digging out my 1920's hand cranked sewing
machine and knocked up a Spanish flag to hoist on our courtesy line. Not bad for
a days work!
We left Bilbao this morning. It was a shame not to
spend time having a look at the place, but we are all very concious of our tight
schedule and have agreed that we would prefer to spend time relaxing once we
reach Madeira and then in the Canaries - and therefore closer to our
destination.
Our next port of call is La Coruna and we hope to
arrive on Saturday afternoon. This means we should get back into our '8
hours on - 4 hours off' watch pattern however there is still a big cross
swell and I suspect not much sleep for anyone tonight. Hey ho. More coffee
anyone?????
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