Update from Leixeos 24 Sept 2007

Wed 12th
We caught a bus into Coruna and then another express bus to Santiago de Compostela which is a pilgrimage place for those that are so inclined. I’m sure there’s a load of information on wipedika or somewhere if you need more. It was a good day out and an interesting old town but there were a few too many people trying to get their god out of my pocket in the name of someone else’s religion. (rant over) We also tried in vain to get a wifi booster & usb connection to make it easier connection to the internet – but no luck again. Terry & Vicky came into Sada with a torn mainsail on their Oyster 56 – Chantana.

Thurs 13th
We moved from Sada to Camarinas leaving at about 6am local time so we had an hour and a half of darkness – which was OK in the Ria until we were nearing Coruna and the fishing fleet (about 30 boats) started playing ‘dodge-ems’. They were steaming all over the place and it was quite difficult to work out where they were going to pass us, we put the radar on but they were so close and so many it just looked like a rash on the screen. However - all without incident. It was a long day (about 11 hours) and we all (Kiara, Seawalk & Balchis) all arrived in the small marina safely. Seawalk also has a web site at http://blog.mailasail.com/seawalk . The web site Babelfish can be used to translate the words from Dutch (or any other language) but the grammar doesn’t come out very well, put alta vista in google and babelfish is in the listing (not sure of spelling).

Charlie & Alison (Breagh) and Terry & Vicky (Chantana) also came into Camarinas – so it was a nice get together with people we have met along the way.

While in Camarinas T helped Xing (St Vincent & Grenadine flagged boat with a Swiss couple on board) with a problem on the electric windlass, Terry and another Dutch boat (live-aboards) with some HF radio problems. C went a walk with Diana round the point of the ria.


Sat 15th
Moved out to anchor in a lovely little bay just round the corner from the marina and went to the beach with the dinghy. Next morning we headed out to move down the coast and round Finisterre (5 boats in company) and anchored at San Fransisco bay near Muros, a great anchorage and beach complete with (visiting) pirate ship. A short walk in the village got us to Sahorta Café which had free Wifi, great coffee and very helpful owner.

Mon 17th
Muros to Ria de Pontevedra and into the marina at Sanxenxo, topped up with diesel (at 1.03 euro / litre). Terry & Vicky (Chantana) are here and T came round for a chat & we went round to Chantana later in the evening. Racing starts on Wednesday so it is very busy, we’ll move on tomorrow (only half an hour to PortoNovo). PN is an interesting little town but the fishing boats travel past at stupid speed and make the pontoons very uncomfortable.

Wed 19th
After PortoNovo we moved to an anchorage on the east side of Islas Ceis, just a little north and west of Baiona. Very good anchorage in clear water and sand – quite tropical really. We had a great time on the beach and walked to the top of the island for a great view. A ferry runs from the mainland and there is camping and 2 restaurants on the island. Kiara, Seawalk and Xing are also in the anchorage along with a couple of other boats that we haven’t seen before. A couple of fishing boats are working amongst us at anchor and sometimes come a bit close for comfort. Next morning while walking up the beach, we see that the fish are only about 1 metre away from the shore and that must be why the fishing boats are so close in.

Thurs 20th
A short hop (no skipping no jumping) to Baiona where we see Palletline from Ardorran at a mooring buoy. Terry & Vicky had left but asked me to see Keith on his Oyster 47 to talk radio stuff and he passed over some pamphlets on harbours further south (K is heading north on Cornish Oyster). Baiona is a bit expensive for not much in the way of facilities or security and the diesel is 1.09 – luckily we don’t need any. Vicky and Darren on Nocturne also come into the marina after selling the yacht that they were lifted from by helicopter (near Finisterre) last year.

Fri 21st
Just as we are getting ready to leave, Alex, the Skipper / engineer from Infinity comes over to chat about places that may be worth visiting on the way south. We have seen Infinity earlier and it may not be able to get into some of the places that we may choose to visit… it’s a 90 feet motor boat (ship), one week old , all brand new and shiny. However, we give some advice and also some computer files of info that should help. Keith pops over with a bottle of wine (thanks Keith) and we (Kiara and us) head out of Baiona to make for Portugal. The trip starts with a little wind that will be just nice when we turn after heading out of the ria and get the wind and waves more astern, but during the trip the wind (and the waves follow) pick up to about 20 knots over the deck and with 6 boat’s speed that all adds up to a lumpy sea. When we turn into Viana do Castelo (and the wind) it is up to 32knots or there abouts. We arrive at low water to catch the start of the flood and minimise the river current across the marina mouth and there is no problem. There is now a swinging pedestrian bridge that opens (pretty much) on demand and is open all night, and a waiting pontoon in the river – so really easy.

So here we are in Portugal – Viana do Castelo is brilliant – very pretty old town – very friendly and helpful people (marina a decent price). We have a day of sight-seeing on Saturday, also shopping, a meal out and a couple of beers with Diana and Jaap in the evening. We also met Mo who is travelling on an old boat (with a couple of v. old Frenchmen) that he bought in France. Mo lived in Scotland, for a while, at Fourdon and had a mini-market shop in Stonehaven and when I met him I thought of the book ‘ Life of Pi ’. Good luck with your travels, Mo.

Sun 23rd
We have now arrived in Leixeos and met up again with Breagh, Seawalk and Nocturne, and of course Kiara is here also. I will apologise now for our Dutch accents and give you more detail on this area after we have visited Porto tomorrow. Had a quick look at the weather (Mon 24th) - we may be here for some time.

Photos update 20th Sept