42:07.360N 008:50.768W
Whisper
Noel Dilly
Sat 4 Aug 2012 12:16
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"Bayona - Friday 3 August"
We had anticipated a day trip from La Coruna to the
Ria de Vigo but the lack of wind and enormous waves slowed us down considerably.
It was a good passage, sunny and warm as we were close to the coast the scenery
was magnificent. The UK's east coast wind farms are nothing in comparison to the
hundreds upon hundreds of windmills littering the beautiful west coast of Spain,
the stark white wind vanes were like legionnaires standing on the high
headlands. Perhaps painted grey or blue would have disguised them against the
grey rock, green vegetation and blue skies of their environment. As
evening fell we enjoyed a Chilli con Carne whilst sitting in the cockpit, the
Auto Helm taking care of our course.
I took the first watch 10pm until midnight and had
the pleasure of seeing the sun set to starboard and a few minutes later a huge
full moon rose from behind the cliffs to port. My next experience was a little
more nerve racking. I negotiated a rocky headland complete with lighthouse,
altered course after studying the chart plotter carefully again for any
additional rocks, which I might not have noticed the first time I checked before
changing course, the moon was bright and visibility good, the seas swell
beautifully calm, only the waves crashing on the distant headland rocks - all
was well. Imagine my horror a few minutes later when about 10m away I saw a huge
white crest of a wave breaking! I leapt to the chart plotter frantically
enlarged the definition - nothing dangerous to see; off came the auto Pilot as I
took control of the tiller - nothing more to be seen! I watched carefully,
steering away from it. The crashing white foam reappeared only to disappear
and reappear again, but by this time I had thankfully passed it by. I drew the
conclusion that it must have been no more than the wind blowing the top at off a
water turbulence but nonetheless it was quite
frightening at the time alone in the dark with the crew fast asleep
below!
The entrance to Bayona, a small charming port
situated at the southern end of the Ria de Vigo, is quite dramatic as it
is exposed to the Atlantic swell with extensive reefs both to port and
starboard. The port is famous as La Pinta was the first of Columbus' ships
to arrive back in Spain after discovering America. There is a replica of it here
in the harbour it looks so very small and top heavy. It is thought that on her
return to Spain she may have been damaged in storms off the Azores and was close
to disaster, fortunately the pilot on board was a local man who was able to
bring her into the safety of Bayona.
We have survived the Bay of Biscay and will now
spend a week or more in the beautiful Ria de Vigo. We have joined an
Ocean Cruising Club Rally and will be exploring the delights of
the area in company. Evidently several of the boats here have joined this
particular annual rally before so it looks as if it will be good fun and
hopefully not so scary as night passages on watch alone at the
helm!
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