19° of Separation

19° of Separation
Gosport to Galicea
John Lancaster-Smith
At times we questioned what we’d done. Thankfully Caper eventually parted
with her hull’s moisture and we launched in mid-April. Our beloved Contessa
32 Tiptoe had been sold to acquire longer legs, the ability to accommodate
more crew and greater capacity for fuel and water. We’d secured the boat
and now it was time
Gosport
to prove our worth.
Galicia beckoned.
Scilly Is
50
On the 3rd June I
had gazed down over
the Bay of Biscay from
38,000 feet. Everything
Caper
looked perfect and with 48ft S&S Yawl
FRANCE
48
the promise of northeasterly winds for at
least the following five
days, the portents were
good.
46
Bay of
The next day was
Biscay
gloriously sunny and
as I collected Richard
(our southbound crew)
from the Gosport ferry, 44
neither of us could
Gij
AC
on
or
uñ
contain our smiles, in Cabo
a
Finisterre
Vig
anticipation of what
SPAIN
o
6
2
lay ahead. Meanwhile 10
Tracey stowed the last of our gear and at 1500 we left Portsmouth, a little
late on the west going ebb, having bunkered and stored fresh food for the
next five or six days.
As the breeze fell lighter we hoisted more sail; first adding the staysail
and then christening the mizzen staysail. The wind proved a fickle affair,
so motoring interspersed with short tacks, we made our way up the Solent.
There was a beautiful sunset at Hurst narrows, but by late evening the
wind had died completely, despite the 1800 forecast NE5-6, and we started
n
n
n
n
w
w
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John Lancaster-Smith
our watches motoring towards the Casquets and the south-east corner
of the TSS. The wind filled in shortly before the dawning of a dreich
Wednesday, enabling us to sail once again, and by 0900 we were reefing
the main. Close to Alderney we updated our 8-day GRIB charts, then at
midday passed west abeam Platte Fougère lighthouse on Guernsey and
sailed parallel to the Brittany coast towards the Kéréon lighthouse on Ile
d’Ouessant. From here the tide would be favourable from 0450 for 4½
hours. Late in the afternoon, the sun emerged, but the risk of a crash-gybe
was ever present as we ran on a confused sea before a stiffening breeze, so
we handed the main. Our swift progress was short-lived and soon we were
forced to motor if we were to make our tidal gate. A relatively peaceful
night followed, save for the first of several (thankfully false) MOB alarms
due to a tag being buried under a discarded jacket.
0800 Thursday saw misty conditions and a cloudless sky as we
approached the Kereon lighthouse, southeast of Ile d’Ouessant, with
243nm on the log since our departure 41 hours previously.
This was our first cruise that was not à deux and we decided to
review our progress once we arrived at the Chenal du Four. Apart from
motoring for 10½ hours, things were going nicely; Caper was handling
well and proving to be a very comfortable sea boat. We slept on our breaks,
which was not a problem for ex-longhaul crew, and thanks to Tracey’s
preparations, we were eating excellently. A diversion into Brittany seemed
an unnecessary delay, especially when we had a favourable forecast. Passing
swiftly between Ouessant and Ile Molène we continued onwards to Biscay.
Clear of Ouessant and the Chaussée de Sein, the tidal streams are light,
consequently we set our southerly course towards Gijon on the Asturian
coast, 290nm away. With a northnortheasterly breeze, a well rested
crew and a sunny morning, there
seemed no excuse, so we christened
the cruising chute accompanied
by the mizzen staysail. What a
cracking way to set off on our first
venture across the bay. With midevening’s familiar pattern of the
wind dying, we handed sail. We
French customs, extremely close
were twice buzzed by F-ZBES, the
French Douane’s aircraft, which came in extremely close to observe our
signwritten transom.
The rest of our crossing was fairly benign, save for some alarming ‘clunks’
from the autohelm. The sound seemed to disappear after an adjustment
and lots of motoring on a glassy sea. We witnessed some gloriously starry,
moonless nights with some magnificent phosphorescence illuminating
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19° of Separation
not only our bow wave and prop
wash but anything else that moved
in the water. I’ve never noticed
fish darting away from the bows
before. I missed the main event,
though I certainly heard it from
my bunk, when numerous dolphins
came roaring in to play. The sight
of their phosphorescent trails was
Strange tide 110nm north of Gijon
apparently quite amazing. The only
other notable occurrence was approximately 110nm short of Gijon when
our VMG dropped to just 2 knots. On closer inspection of the chartplotter
it showed a WNW set of just over 12 knots. Thankfully this was short
lived. Finally by the early hours of Saturday 8 June (as GRIB predicted)
the wind filled in from the west and by landfall at 0624 we had fully reefed
the main. There followed a swift arrival into the main harbour at Gijon
where by 0900 we were safely secured alongside, with 555nm logged and
three very wide grins.
Gijon has changed significantly since my father’s account of his visit in
Marlin (RCC) on his way to the Mediterranean. Our first visit to this part of
6
8
Spain found us taken by 10
the friendliness of the
locals and impressed 44
that it is impossible to
Ce Ria
de
order a drink without
Cu Gijon
Vi Via
ir
ve
di
a
ve
i
ll
ro
ll
AC
being presented with
er
ez
o
or
uñ
some food.
Cabo Camariñas
a
Monday 10 June saw Finisterre
Muros
Portosin
a small supplement to
Vigo
our stores, as we were
Baiona
still dining on Tracey’s
procurement
from
home. Lack of tide prevented us from refuelling, though, despite motoring
for 50 hrs, we still had sufficient in tanks. Customs paid us a friendly visit
and I negotiated an all important Spanish SIM card. At lunchtime we cast
off, heading west passing Musel’s huge breakwater, rounding Cabo Penas
and continuing to Cudillero, under main, mizzen and yankee.
The timely appearance of a fishing boat helped us to locate the entrance
and we were welcomed in by the crew of Man o’ War (RCC), who had
just moored and wished us well with our efforts. Forewarned is forearmed
so, safely moored some ten minutes later, we set about launching the
dinghy and going to explore. Ashore we found Man o’ War’s crew and
discussed the intricacies of the local moorings. Later, having brought one
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John Lancaster-Smith
of their crew back to their boat, we
accepted their kind offer of a wee
dram. Supper was slightly later than
planned . . .
A bright start on Tuesday saw
progress of 30nm further west
when we called in at Viavellez
for the night. The pilot made
interesting reading. The actuality
was more so. A tightish harbour
for a 48ft boat, we unusually had
trouble persuading our Rocna to
hold before taking a stern line to a
ring ashore. This whole sequence
was under the watchful eyes of the
locals, who seemed concerned. A
Finally settled in Viavellez
passing fisherman pointed out where we should anchor and took our stern
line. At low water we were to discover the cause of their concern when
we observed the rocks in the position shown to anchor in the pilot. A
delightfully sheltered spot, but regrettably the only taverna showed no
sign of having been or of intending to open.
An uneventful departure on Wednesday led to an at times enjoyable sail
along the Asturian coast, under cruising chute and mizzen staysail. The
wind backing east made San Ciprian an uncomfortable prospect, so we
continued to recce Portocello (regrettably too tight) and finally anchored
in Puerto Cabello in (our first) Ria Viveiro.
From above I’ve observed that the Galician weather dawns misty and
then clears as the morning progresses, and so it did on Thursday 13th
(day 9). After over 90nm we had made reasonable progress west, but whilst
our charts and books finished at A Coruña and our insurance at Cabo
Finisterre, we now firmly had the Rias in our sites. Richard decided to
enlist until after the 23rd and so our day’s target became Cedeira. Sailing
appeared an option mid-morning, but despite bending on more sail we
continued to bounce up and down in the same (now slightly larger) hole.
Eventually Skipper succumbed. The engine was started and we arrived
mid-afternoon.
My father observed that Cedeira’s entrance is difficult to make out,
though, of course, we had the luxury of a chartplotter and not a mid 80s Sat
Nav that updated perhaps only every 45 minutes. A beautiful (if windy) bay,
we anchored clear of the yachts that had motored past our ‘bouncing’ antics
earlier in the day. We had heard praise of Kilowatti Bar, but sadly, being a
public holiday, it was closed along with most of the town. Thankfully we
found an excellent alternative shortly before it was descended upon. We
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19° of Separation
enjoyed a fine first meal
ashore and afterwards
chatted
with
two
Galicians from Vigo,
who strengthened our
resolve to visit Galicia
proper. We made our
way back to the jetty
with the crew of the
neighbouring Bowman
40, whose complement
included
an
excolleague of Richard.
Entrance to Cedeira
He mentioned they
had a copy of the Galician pilot, so more research was clearly required,
and with the promise of a night cap, it seemed only polite to accept their
invitation.
Reefing seemed prudent the next morning, although the wind should
moderate on leaving the bay. Initially we set off on port, unfurling the reefs
in the yankee1, before tacking parallel to the coast. Progress on starboard
was much harder work, consequently we shortened the yankee and later
handed the main. For four hours we were hard on the wind, but managed
to gain sufficient lift to make our way past Cabo Prior and Isla Blanca
Caper at anchor in Cedeira
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John Lancaster-Smith
before bearing away into the shelter
of El Ferrol, Galicia’s equivalent of
Dartmouth. We anchored off Punta
Redonda, Ensenada del Bano, at
1900 and commenced the process of
drying out.
We were now within striking
distance of A Coruña, our target for
Sunday night to celebrate Richard’s
Fish farm debris
birthday. With a day in hand we
set off to recce Ria Ares. On leaving Ria de Ferrol we bore away, setting
course to investigate Ensenada de Cirro. A slow sail inshore of the fish
farms, we identified two possible anchorages. It was still early on a sunny
day, however, so we decided to head for Ares. After the previous day’s
exploits, the sheltered conditions and the prospect of a run ashore, we
decided to stay put. Once anchored I spent some time trying to make out
the burgee on a purposeful looking yacht. Soon my curiosity was satisfied
by a visit from the crew of Kalabash (RCC).
Our evening ashore generated a recommendation to visit the village of
Redes, (possibly for a birthday brunch). The chart showed a fish farm in
the bay, so despite its absence on arrival, an anchor buoy seemed sensible.
Our trip ashore found a beautiful village, but little promise of brunch. Our
first empanada (local pasty) was, however, very good. Returning to Caper,
I pondered the whereabouts of our anchor buoy. There was insufficient
tide to pull it under the surface. A brief survey revealed it on a beach
downwind.
This gave us a dilemma. With the trip line still attached to the anchor
there was a real possibility that it might foul the propeller as we moved
forward. We discussed how we might avoid escalating the situation. On
retrieving the anchor we discovered that our initial suspicions were well
founded. The anchor was snared on a combination of fish farm mooring
lines and nets. With some further lateral thinking and good team work,
we were shortly free with all our equipment, the locals no doubt suitably
entertained.
The sail across to A Coruña was uneventful save for an enjoyable beat
on flattish water and arriving at the same time as an engine-less yacht. A
visit to the fuel berth required a number of credit/debit cards, as each only
allows you to bunker €100 of fuel and we needed 285 litres.
A forecast of strong winds and heavy rain, together with a lack of
onward charts or pilot book and a birthday to celebrate, all ensured that
the following day we would be in port. A lengthy walk found an excellent
marine bookshop and I called our insurers to extend our cruising area to
the Portuguese border.
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19° of Separation
Next morning was hard going, having achieving little useful sleep
owing to complaining warps and fenders as the surge passed through the
marina. We continued west on a ‘left over sea’ with little breeze, but a
forecast of more by noon. Shortly after 0900 it arrived and we hoisted
mizzen and yankee, but as other yachts overtook, these were supplemented
by the main. With our sights set on Corme, or possibly Camariñas, we
made good progress on the quartering breeze until it dropped and we were
once more held captive by a lolloping sea. We therefore motored the final
hour, anchoring in 2m north of Camariñas marina, shortly before we were
descended upon by two other yawls and the mist.
For Wednesday morning and our rounding of Cabo Finisterre, the
forecast was for NW3-4 increasing to F4-5 with a rough sea and regular
swell. We made good progress on a beam reach and mid-morning passed
one yacht sailing nicely to windward, whilst another slammed into the
waves as it motored inshore. Before noon we rounded the cape, bore
away and ended up with a great beat to Muros, where we anchored midafternoon. We mounted an expedition ashore for some vino and tapas to
celebrate surviving the Costa del Morte.
The Galicians in Cedeira spoke of the beautiful islands of the Parc
Nacional Islas Atlanticas. All that was required was to apply for a permit
online. Following our first cooked breakfast of the cruise, we set off on a
beautiful, cloudless morning towards Cabo Corrubedo, the southernmost
extremity of Ria Muros that separated it from Ria Arousa. Our excellent
sail lasted less than an hour before the failing wind heralded the onset
of rain. We motored to clear the Baco Las Basonas reef and then went
back inshore to tackle the Canal Sagres towards Aguiño under sail.
Subsequently we bore away towards Isla Salvora’s sheltered east coast and
commenced the ‘straightforward, online process’ of applying for a permit.
Sadly it transpired that whilst renewal is straightforward, the initial
application requires more forethought. We continued across Ria Arousa
to anchor off Piedra Presina, inshore of the fish farms.
June 21 saw a greyish start, but a change in the weather. Blue skies
soon appeared and we enjoyed a beautiful sail passed Islas Salora, Ons
and Onza into Ria Pontevedra. This ria is somewhat more populated than
those we had previously visited and we proceeded to anchor off Combarro
around lunchtime. The old town, whilst a little touristy, is well worth
exploring. It has some beautiful buildings and a collection of Horres, in
which they traditionally stored their produce.
Dolphins escorted us off the premises the next morning. We completed
our circumnavigation of Isla Tambo and pursued a British yacht down
the ria in beautiful conditions once again. The Cies group of islands, Isla
del Norte, Isla del Faro and Isla de San Martin, tantalised us, but with the
permit situation still unresolved, we ignored them and instead rounded
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John Lancaster-Smith
Cabo del Home into Ria Vigo to anchor inside Cabo Pequeña. Being a
Saturday the anchorage was busy, but come early evening we were able
to re-anchor in what prove to be a very unsatisfactory spot. The ‘willy
waws’ made their presence felt through the night. While we had plenty of
swinging room, I had to check from time to time that we weren’t dragging.
The sunny, sheltered conditions on the 23 June could not have been
more different. We weighed a clean anchor and set just the yankee and
mizzen for the 10nm trip across to Baiona. The northerly wind swiftly
picked up to F6-7 and we peaked at 8½ knots on a big swell, heading to the
west of Islotes Serralleiras, upon which big breakers were crashing down.
On our arrival outside Baiona, a small dinghy capsized and turned turtle.
The crew were wearing nothing more than shorts and no life jackets. With
the big waves, a gusty breeze and a mere 15°C water temperature, they were
clearly struggling. We motored over to standby. Eventually they righted
the boat and the younger of the two climbed aboard. It took another five
to ten minutes before he recovered the elder, made all the more difficult
by not having anything to grip him by. They gave us a cheery wave and
several thumbs up, before heading back to the beach.
Carrying on to the MRCN marina we called up on the radio to enquire
about a mooring. They were most helpful, guiding us to a vacant berth
and taking our lines. Once secure we set about exploring where we might
suitably celebrate the First Mate’s birthday. Following another noisy
night in a surging marina, we decided to anchor off Playa de Santa Marta
to enjoy a relaxed afternoon prior to Richard’s departure the next day.
We then had a week à deux before Simon joined us in Portosin for the
Biscay crossing home. We commenced our journey north in variable
winds, anchoring off Ensenada de Limens on the other side of Ria Vigo.
Later, mindful of our ‘willy waw’ experience a few nights previously, we
Lively seas approaching Baiona
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19° of Separation
decided not to tempt fate and continued 3nm to anchor off the beach
outside Cangas marina.
At this point the remote control for our anchor windlass failed, no
longer allowing us to raise but only to lower the anchor. An hour’s worth
of fiddling later this situation was reversed and a message sent to Simon
to source a new remote.
Next day we enjoyed a pleasant beat to anchor off Punta Sopelo, Porto
Nova for tapas and vino ashore.
For the last few days the forecast had been pretty consistent: very
pleasant but with little wind much of the time and generally none before
lunch. With this in mind we did a few chores and then set off at about
1130 with yankee and mizzen set. Straightaway progress was good and
before we knew it we were on our ear with gusts over F6. A few furls in the
yankee calmed matters and benefitting from a nice flat sea, we were 7nm
upwind after just an hour. Arriving into the clearer air of Ria Arousa F6-7
became the norm and further reefing was required. We decided against
continuing further up the ria and bore away for Aguiño, though first we
must tackle the Pasa del Carreiro (which is ‘not recommended except on a
calm day’). The wind, the following sea and a missing port hand mark all
made for an interesting passage, but we were soon anchoring in Aguiño.
The wind stabilised at a steady NE7-8. A trip ashore during a brief lull
to F5 was thankfully aborted and so for 41 hours we utilised a certain YM
(RCC) columnist’s tactic of placing a waypoint on our nearest danger and
set about relaxing and catching up with some chores.
WindGuru again proved a reliable forecast and on 29 June we left for
Portosin in NNE6. Having retraced our footsteps through the Canal de
Sagres, an attempt to raise a reefed mizzen ended up with the reefing line
being pulled through the boom. Once clear of Cabo Corrubedo the lumpy
A calmer sunrise in Aguiño
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John Lancaster-Smith
sea, combined with a shifting wind, made for little or no progress until
we were into Ria Muros itself. Here dolphins heralded a cracking sail to
Portosin and our rendezvous with our northbound crew. We had always
intended to start our journey home at the end of June. Once Simon was
onboard we carried out some last minute maintenance, reprovisioning
and a had meal ashore.
We left Portosin on the evening of the 30 June. The forecast had little
changed. We could expect some stiff north-easterlies for the first 36
hours, then a brief lull before backing westerly. This wasn’t exactly how
it transpired as the wind immediately backed to north-west. We had a
torrid time making any northing at all between Cabo Finisterre and the
off lying TSS, in a shortish chop. At 2300 we discussed diverting into
Finisterre and trying again the next day. This would risk us losing our
weather window to cross the Continental Shelf and it would also be hard
work. We settled instead for triple reefing the main and tacking away from
the cape to find a longer sea.
Fishing boats caused a certain amount of concern as they appeared to
work in pairs at high speed in the dark and only turned on their AIS at the
last minute. In the early hours we were caught in F8 gusts that required all
hands to drop the main, leaving us under mizzen and no.2 yankee, which
had been bent on before departure. With a less alarming angle of heel, we
researched the source of some localised flooding that included the First
Mate’s clothes locker. Various theories were considered and an intention
to reef in a more timely manner was decided upon.
Eventually we tore ourselves away from this north-west corner of Spain
and early the second evening we enjoyed better sailing on smoother seas.
Our sailplan was now supplemented by the triple reefed main. French
Customs once again buzzed us, surprisingly in Spanish waters, and three
hours later we tacked back onto port off Camariñas. The wind continued
to moderate and approaching the traffic in the last of the TSS around 0230
it died. The skipper, sensing the lack of progress, appeared on deck.
Being ‘on passage’ I reached for the engine key. As I turned it, the panel
lit, then darkened and my heart sank. Investigation with the multimeter
showed 13.5v at the battery. The problem must lie elsewhere. Crawling
into the cockpit locker, I inspected the multiplug at the rear of the panel
to discover the positive wire had completely corroded away. Fortunately
we had some spare tinned cable left over from the installation of our
wind generator. The faulty connection was bypassed, the engine was now
serviceable and the skipper then went back to his bunk.
As daylight arrived so did the breeze, filling in to a useful SSW3. Now
on a comfortable reach, I pondered quite why the house batteries had not
benefited from six hours of motoring. I re-started the engine and sure
enough the second/house alternator was not coming on line. After a little
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19° of Separation
investigative work it transpired the field connection was not receiving
sufficient voltage to excite the alternator into life. A jury rig was devised
that would now have to be used every time the engine was started.
Meanwhile we bowled along in thick fog, tracking a ship on radar just
1nm away.
The wind veered, now becoming a steady WSW5-6. As darkness fell,
however, we decided a second reef in the main might be prudent. It appears
that we must be learning as in the early hours of 3 July we again handed
the main as the wind strengthened to gusting F7. Moderating to W5-6 by
mid-morning, we re-hoisted a double reefed main. By noon all reefs were
out and we had added the mizzen staysail. Our afternoon on this greyish
sort of a day was brightened up by the appearance of a pair of humpback
whales, just close enough. Then we had to reef again.
By now some alarming ‘clunking’ noises caused us to look more closely
at the steering pedestal, in particular its bearings. In fairness it had good
reason. The shaft’s front bearing had completely collapsed. The shaft
had come rearwards and the aft bearing was following suit. We discussed
rigging our emergency steering to explore more thoroughly, but decided
instead to apply some witness marks and monitor at regular intervals for
any further movement. Thankfully none occurred and we enjoyed our last
day at sea in sunny conditions with an algae bloom in the early morning
before taking practice sun sights at noon. Gradually, having avoided ships
in the TSS, the westerly became light and we motored the last hour or so
towards The Cove, between St Agnes and Gugh, in Scilly.
It was only when I attempted to use more than one rotation of the
wheel that I realised that was all that was possible. We threaded our way
through a dozen anchored yachts to the head of the bay, to anchor in just
under a metre at low water. Tomorrow would see the dismantling of the
pedestal, but right now, with 556nm and 96 hours under our belts, we had
an appointment for last orders at the Turks Head.
After a day’s tinkering, we decided to take advantage of the benign high
pressure conditions and arrived back in Gosport three days later, having
stopped at Helford River, Dartmouth and a night entrance to Beaulieu
River en route.
So why 19° of separation? Well that is the difference in latitude between
Muckle Flugga and Baiona, the northern and southern extremities of our
cruising ground to date.
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