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
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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.
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