Iles de Cies and more fog
Tillymint.fortescue
Tue 18 Aug 2009 19:32
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42:13.304N
008:53.94W
Sunday 16 August - When we last spoke it was cold
and foggy and skip had been abandoned up top with just a Thermos for company.
This jolly odd weather persisted until mid afternoon when the fog faded and the
wind picked up a little just in time for us to sail past in sight of
Cap Finisterre with it's (apparently) famous lighthouse marking
the westerly-most point of mainlaind Europe - just over 9 degrees west.
Foggy days are generally slow news days, so there's not much in the way of
scenery to tell you about apart from a close encounter with some Spanish
fishermen. They were bobbing around in the thick fog, well offshore in tiny
boats with no radar reflector, headlights, fog horn or loud music to
indicate their presence. 'Nuff said! We weren't
on a collison course but they did glide by just off the port side and gave us a
merry wave as we passed. The pilot books say that the local fishermen are
the biggest (happy) hazard to sailing in these waters and we can
see why....
We started the day with no fixed destination in
mind; there are many Rias along the way so we could decide as we go, according
to the wind and the mood of the crew. We had no appetite to motor for the day
but a good following wind built up over the afternoon and, with seas running in
the same direction, it turned into a gorgeous afternoon for a gentle waft
along the coast. We decided to press on to Iles de Cies, arrival estimated at
9.30pm. Alex goose-winged the sails and I roasted a chicken for dinner; a first
on both counts but still rather poultry achievements for the day.
The Ilas de Cies are a very small chain of very
pretty islands just off the mainland between the major ports of Vigo and Bayona.
We approached them just as the sun was setting, half a mile of deserted beach
and a few yachts bobbing contentedly in the sheltered anchorage; this promises
to be a fine port of call, something of a Robinson Crusoe experience maybe?
During the evening we heard a now familar sound drift over from the island,
the sound of bagpipes (or the Spanish equivalent?). We had heard them
in Viveiro and Cedeira and now from the island, an unexplained aspect of Spanish
culture and to be investigated further when we get home.
This morning the day started strangely, bright at
first then the chilly fog rolled in again and hung over the islands all morning.
We went ashore and walked up into the wooded hill tops to admire the view, the
definition of optimism! We came back to sea level in time for lunch and headed
for the beach cafe just ahead of the massed hoards from a large ferry that had
arrived from the mainland. Not so Robinson Crusoe after all..! The last ferry
has left the island now and the beach is once again deserted and we the wiser
for knowing how the locals spend their Sundays.
Just a week since we crossed Biscay and life holds no major dramas, nothing
has broken on the boat for a while and my biggest worry is that our sailing
tales are getting dull....zzzzzzzzzzzz |
