Equinox2018

Time to go home, work and other commitments call. We finished packing the bags, made a final check of the boat and headed to the bus.  Two hours on a bus to Santiago de Compostella, and then 30 minutes on a train to La Coruna followed by another bus to the airport.  Then the inevitable hanging around before flying back to the UK and home.  A night in a bed that does not rock and a great shower awaits. This blog will resume in 3 weeks, when we start it all again. Distance covered today 0  nautical miles Trip distance covered  731  nautical miles Distance covered 2018  1451  nautical miles Steve (and Tricia)

The officers of Equinox (that’s us) and the crew of Equinox (that’s also us) met to plan the day. There was a great deal of cleaning to be done, and relatively little food left, so it was agreed that the crew would be encouraged to complete the work by the offer of dinner out in the town. All parties happily set to their jobs, Tricia mostly inside the boat, while I was outside. We dropped in on Pedro, the marina manager to finalise arrangement with him, and asked for his recommendation of a restaurant. He obliged and also insisted on making us a reservation. He said that it was a festival today, the feast of San Pedro, and we might struggle to get a table without booking. We had seen signs of activity going on, decorative lights had been put up in the streets and a fair was setting up. Pedro said we should expect a disturbed nights sleep. Knowing that the restaurants only start serving late, we rested a bit in the afternoon, and managed to watch most of the first ha...

Well, we are thrilled to have learned that Germany are out of the World Cup! And I understand this will be the first time England have progressed further in the tournament than Germany since 1966. We are happy bunnies here on Equinox this evening. The day started overcast again. The first half of the morning, Steve was working and I waded through the mountain of laundry. Mid morning we went off for our run and were intrigued to see lots of people wading in the shallows, while the tide was out, off the second beach. Being nosey, we ran down to get a closer look. They were mostly ladies, but a few men, collecting cockles. We arrived just as most of them were finishing their harvesting and were selling their catch to the fishmonger. As in our daily routine for the past week, we called into the bakery on the way back. We’re loving the freshly baked artisan bread here. After our simple lunch, we spent two hours cleaning the boat, Steve doing the fibreglass and I, the stainl...

It’s been a relatively quiet day, although we still seem to have done a fair amount, mostly with repairing and maintaining the boat. As it’s been another overcast day, we were able to run late morning again, along the promenade that sweeps round the bay. It was market day in town and we very quickly had the impression things are very inexpensive here. On our cool down walk, at the end of the run, we went back to the bakery and paid for yesterday’s, as well as today’s bread. Next stop was fruit and veg at the market and back home for lunch. Even with the clouds, it’s warm enough to sit on deck. Later on we returned to chandlery for more rope to replace some of the worn stuff. We recon it’s about half the price it is in UK. My sewing talents were further needed in whipping the ends of the ropes; all very ship- shape. We’ve increased our Spanish by about three phases to keep Pedro happy. I’m not sure he’s impressed though! Distance covered today 0  nautical miles T...

The fantastic weather of the last few days seems to have ended. There has been rain forecast although we have not seen any yet, it appears to be quite localised. In any event, the sky has been overcast with clouds sitting on the hills surrounding the ria, and the visibility has been hazy. It has been much cooler as a result, and we were able to run in our favoured late morning spot for the first time in a while. On the other days we have gone either early in the morning or late afternoon to escape the worst of the heat. It was apparently 38 degrees at one of the towns inland yesterday. At the end of our run we stopped to buy bread at a tiny bakery. The loaf was 1 Euro and we had only taken a 20 Euro note with us, which the lady was reluctant to take, as it would have wiped out her float of change. Even though she spoke as little English and we spoke no Spanish, we agreed that we would owe her the money and return to pay. I can’t imagine too many places at home where foreign visitor wou...

There are two golden sandy beaches in the town of Muros, one less than two hundred metres away from the boat. Last night we had collapsed early-ish to bed after our day out on the sea. After arriving, there was no wind and it felt very hot in the marina. There must have been parties going on at the beaches overnight, although the music had quietened before we turned in. We weren’t up especially early, although it can seem so, as sunrise is at 0700. By the time we went for a walk along the long promenade, the council workers were cleaning up the beaches, removing the remnants of several bonfires. Particularly, as this is Sunday, we were impressed. It was a slick operation and, by lunchtime, there were families on the clean beaches enjoying the warm sunshine. After lunch, during siesta time, we were glued to the football, enjoying England playing fantastically well, albeit against a very weak opposition. A happy afternoon! We then had to look into the next bit of boat maint...

Not such a peaceful night, there was a band playing music(?) in the marina until 1:00 am. We were both deprived of sleep by it, but eventually drifted off. Nevertheless, the alarm went off at 7:00 so that we could be away early, for a longish trip. We prepared the boat quickly and set off. The weather forecast was for good wind initially, followed by light winds from variable directions.  This proved to be fairly accurate, as we started with a good breeze, even before we had cleared the mouth of the ria. Over the next couple of hours it increased, and we reduced the sail plan to maintain good control. It then decreased again and we returned to full sail. We were going along nicely and then were treated to another escort of dolphins, we managed to catch some of it on film but it actually lasted at least 2 hours. At one point I had to go to the bow, and one landed so close I was splashed.  Eventually as ever, the wind died a little, the boat speed dropped and the d...

The wind that had been forecast howled all night and we were glad that we had found a safe spot in the marina to sit it out. In reality it was not as severe as some of the blows we experienced last year, but it could have been unpleasant if we had been somewhere exposed. The day dawned brighter than yesterday, and the wind died considerably as we breakfasted on deck.  While we ate, we were entertained by a local fisherman standing on the back of his boat in the marina, using a rod to fish. He tried a couple of other places and returned to try his luck from his boat again. He had just cast his line out beyond the end of the pontoons, when another boat came past, close in, and I think, cut his line with its propeller. He reeled in the line and was then seen tying new hooks etc on the end. The local boats are quite shameless about passing close to the moored boats in the marina, and making them rock about in their wash. We continued our exploration of Camarinas after breakfast, a...

Today and tomorrow we are in port, sitting out high winds and rough seas. Inevitably, having our deep draft, we out on the end of the hammer head of the little marina, here in Caminarias, but the wind is coming at us across the port quarter, so not too bad. We spent the morning catching up on the blog! The mid morning break was a walk around the town in search of the bakery, but, we suspect we missed it by a walk along one of the promenades between the white sandy beach and the fish processing factory. This Ria, as the guide books say, is stunningly beautiful but the little town is utilitarian rather than pretty. It’s clearly not a tourist or holiday spot, but seems to have the potential for it. On the beach there is a large bonfire, ready to be lit, with a huge pink octopus on the top. We can only guess that this is ready for celebrations on 16th July, when, we read, waterborne processions mark the fiesta of the Virgin del Carmen, practised through the region. Unfortuna...

What a difference a day makes.   We raised the anchor and headed out of Corme into about 2 knots   of breeze.   Tricia was content to make slow initial progress, sailing in the merest of zephyrs, but when it came to my turn to helm I was more impatient.   The engine went on and we moved forward a bit quicker.   We still had the sails up and so Tricia went to find the motor sailing cone, used to indicate to other boats whether sail or engine power rules should apply.   By the time she was on deck with it we had obviously cleared from the shelter of a headland, and the wind jumped up to a respectable 15-18 knots.   We put the motor sailing cone away, switched off the engine and enjoyed the conditions, a nice wind and much flatter water than yesterday.   We were being followed by another yacht who had been anchored close to us in Corme, and we realised that they were catching us up.   As the conditions seemed to have stabilised, we abandoned our...

We slipped lines from A Coruna marina at about 0900, having spent a couple of hours having breakfast, getting the boat ready and returning pontoon keys and electrical connections to the office. The timing was great because Steve had a work conference call at 0930 so I sailed the boat for the first hour and a half, while Steve was on his call. We had put one reef in the main and had half jib, which was just right in the force four wind. As we approached the headland, the waves increased to two metres and gradually the wind increased too. The helming was full on roller coaster, too much for me, so Steve carried on for a couple of hours. We then turned into the wind to reduce sail a lot more as the wind had increased to 30 knots, with 3-4 metre waves. I was really relieved when we got further round the corner in a little shelter from the wind and I could spell Steve on the helm. As we turned in to the bay, it was still pretty windy, but it all calmed down as we entered the litt...

This was to be our culture day, so, after a leisurely start, we took the half hour train journey to Santiago de la Compostela. It is the main regional city of Galicia, a university city and a UNESCO world heritage site because of the ancient walled old town with cathedral, build around 1200. The Cathedral is thought to house the tomb of St James, whose body, according to legend, was taken by boat from Jerusalem to Northern Spain. A thousand people a day visit the cathedral, having walked or cycled any of the routes of the Camino de Santiago. The way of St James was one of the most important Christian pilgrimages during the Middle Ages, together with Rome and Jerusalem. The Way can take one of dozens of pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela., although the absolute end is at Cabo Finisterre. Traditionally, as with most pilgrimages, the Way of Saint James began at one's home and ended at the pilgrimage site. However, a few of the routes are considered main ones. During t...

I’m not really sure how you can catch a cold when in the middle of the sea, but obviously I have managed it.   As a result, we stayed put and had a quiet day. We walked into parts of La Coruna that we had not previously seen, finding our way through the narrow passageways.   There are so many cafes that I doubt anyone actually eats at home. The weather seems to alternate between really hot and sunny one day and overcast the next. The wind kicks in during each afternoon and seems to whistle straight through the marina. Fortunately we are well protected in the midst of a string of other larger yachts.   We met a German couple who had been to the Caribbean and were on their way home, and another British couple heading for the start of the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers). I think they will join up with other boats in the Canarys and then go across the Atlantic together – another year perhaps? The plan had been to find a bar to watch the England World Cup ...

Another day of recharging the batteries.  We ran again on the same route as yesterday.  We would have done more but I think I am getting a cold and was not wanting to push too hard. While we were in the UK, Equinox has had a refit of her electronics, with a new chart plotter, radar, instruments and PC amongst other things.  Most of this has worked really well during the crossing and the difficulties we have experienced have mostly been down to us not knowing how to use some of the facilities. The radar in particular is impressive, being able to work out which targets are stationary, moving towards us or moving away, and colour coding them on the display. Very helpful. Prior to leaving I had not had time to do as much setting up of the new PC as I had wanted, and today I had the chance to move this forward.  I initially thought that there was a problem with the computer, but it turned out to be the keyboard, and I resolved the problem by using a spare.  (T...

We said goodbye to the last of our crew today, Gerry had to head for home with business commitments next week.   It had been a late call as to whether he would be able to join us at all, but the kind weather, both forecast and actually experienced for our crossing had meant that he could be with us.   We woke at a reasonable time, breakfasted and Gerry packed ready to go. After the taxi had taken him to the airport, we were just the two of us! We spent the day catching up on some of the things we had not had time for previously.   We were both tired from the efforts earlier in the week and so took everything at a leisurely pace. There was a desperate need for exercise, so we managed to go for a run for the first time in over a week. When we are at sea, there is only the opportunity for a very short walk. The breakwater next to the marina is a kilometre long, so we went along and back before heading on the attractive seafront promenade to the north and west of the marin...