Inching closer to the end of the earth

A year afloat: to the Caribbean and back
Sam and Alex Fortescue
Fri 8 Oct 2010 18:25
43:39.2N
008:03.75W
 
Well, the sun's not shining yet. But we're about 30 miles closer to Finisterre and the elusive dividing line between the wet, windy top-left of Spain and the late summer sun of Portugal.
 
We decided to take advantage of a brief weather window to head west to an anchorage called Cedeira, just round the corner from Spain's northmost point - the feared Cabo Ortegal. It wasn't much of a window - more of skylight - and sure enough, the wind hit 30 knots coming into the harbour here. But the key point was that the fierce chop and swell had subsided enough for us to round the headland.
 
In fact, most of the day saw some great sailing, with us buzzing along at about 7 knots. But the forecast gusts did eventually materialise and the last three miles took us an hour with the donk on and the sails stowed. We're now anchored up in what looks a bit like a Scottish sea loch - complete with Scotch mist. The protection is perfect and the wind has dropped away to nothing.
 
We've had a moderately successful 'tapas' evening based on frozen Spanish nibbles. We didn't really do them justice though, as everything went soggy and refused to crisp up in the oven - a bit like us with all the rain.
 
We're sorry to have left our growing Viveiro social circle behind us  They all put our early departure down to the rashness of youth. The real break in the weather is on Sunday, when a veritable armada of boats will set sail for Finisterre and beyond. Until then, though, l'Admiral will have to spend two more days smoking his pipe and watching the comings and goings in the harbour. Our Danish friends will be interested to know that the Viveiro ria was almost glassy calm as we set off this morning - ideal for a day's exploration.
 
It's great to be in an almost silent anchorage again. Looks like an early night, though.