Royal Air Force Yacht Club

Hi

Please find attached part 2 of the Blush travels south and haven't started part 3 yet.

Bit of a dilemma as not sure if we should progress along the Algarve and through to Spain or go south to Morocco.

Thoughts about Newtown Creek ( you should see the equiv here called Alvor - brill but full of Brits ) and anchoring issues.

I bought a new anchor from a company called Manson the one we got is a Manson Supreme and it can be a standard anchor or self tripping for use in rocks or foul ground. Its the only Lloyds approved anchor in existence and I can say that we sleep easier now using same instead of the trusty CQR. When you let it go you must not be going fast astern as when it bites it actually forces the windlass clutch to reverse and the chain goes out straight. Red Donnelly has a Rocnor which is similar both are New Zealand design. The Manson importer is in Havant should you be interested.

We have managed 14 nights solid anchoring moving from place to place and only came in for water, fuel, laundry and a proper shower. The anchor set 1st time every time and gave us great confidence.

Now in Portimao Algarve

All the best

Mark & Amanda

We left La Coruna for Sada which is about 8 miles and if sailing from the North it‘s actually nearer than La Coruna.

Sada has a very easy entrance and the marina is well run, modern and the Harbour Mistress speaks excellent English. The marina has better facilities than La Coruna and town has all you would need to store up or relax, etc after the trip.

We got ourselves secured on a berth facing the expected direction of the gale with additional lines out and yes, it blew - apparently we had 60kts through the marina, it was very noisy but otherwise no problems.

As an aside, when we left La Coruna we left a Brit' catamaran who was waiting for some spares to arrive - he decided to anchor inside the new wave break in the harbour for shelter from the gale. We met them later on and he told us that the marina staff came out and ordered him out or they would call the marine police. He moved back out to the more exposed anchorage and then 3 Spanish flagged yachts anchored where he had been!

After Sada we headed for Laxe where we anchored facing the very pretty beach on a southerly breeze.  The preferred option for the night was Corme however the pilot guide did not recommend this as it was open to the south. Things being what they were of course, the wind changed during the night albeit very light but making the beach a lee shore and Corme the better option. Funny how it's harder to sleep when you can hear the waves breaking rather close to the boat!  We did venture into Corme the next morning and what a beautiful place it is, but Amanda wanted to press on so we did not stop and set course towards Ria Camerinas.

Ria Camarinas has some outlying dangers which we cautiously rounded and proceeded in towards the harbour, anchoring just outside the marina - no issues with mooring the dinghy there. The staff were very helpful and the young lady in the Yacht Club bar fell about in hysterics every time I tried to speak Spanish - can't think why (?) and we always ended up with what we asked for.

A marina berth here would cost  €600 per year including power and water.

Blush in Camarinas

The town is small but has all the requirements for food and provisions but the anchorage is the sports ground for the fishing boats who delight in going full speed past the visiting boats. One could spend days here just moving around the Ria visiting all the different anchorages.

We met a number of other yachties here all heading south in one way or another and all like minded and happy to help each other.

The weather was very mixed and eventually we left for Ria Muros against the choice of some others due to the swell being between 3 - 4 metres, getting clear of the entrance of the Ria was lumpy but the wind was 15kts and once we could alter onto the course for Cape Finisterre we were on a broad reach with one slab in and making good speed, then the swell was not really a problem.

There were 2 occasions when we had to reduce sail further when we ran into rain squalls and the wind speed increased rather quickly to over 25kts during the squall before going back down to 15kts.

Rounding Finisterre and we were on a dead run and in the swell that was un-sailable so wet had to jibe the angles. The others caught us up the next day but they had all had to motor.

Amanda looks serious whilst steering

The entrance to Muros is fairly straightforward although the wind accelerates between the headlands so having the reef in was appropriate and the ability then to roll away some jib makes sailing more comfortable.

We rounded the headland and into the harbour at Muros and anchored in the best shelter, it does shallow rather quickly and the give away in the morning was the man in his wellies cockelling 20 feet in front of the boat!

Muros looking across to Portosin - evening

Muros has no marina so to dinghy ashore is the only option and there was no issue with the locals, also you anchor further up the harbour than the fishing boats go so no problem with their wash.

Muros is a brilliant little town which has been developed for tourists so a good selection of places to eat and to provision are easily found.

My big regret was not to go to the other anchorages around the Ria but we decided to push on further South mostly because of to the time of year.

We left out Ria Arosa for another occasion and made for Ria Pontavedra where we decided to go right to the top to Combarro which is a restored traditional fishing village, where we stumbled across a brand new marina not listed in any guide.

At € 29 per night and not yet completed we thought it was pricey until we went further South!

Tough decisions for selecting the berth

Isla Cias

The Isla Cias is located just north of Bayona and is a great anchorage with some interesting walks ashore. We set the anchor in about 8 metres and I used the fishing line for the first time - fishing diligently for about 10 mins until I got bored and went about other duties including inflating the dinghy to go ashore. Just before jumping into the dinghy I remembered the fishing line and brought it in complete with 2 mackerel ! Amanda took the ‘priest' to them, gutted and cleaned them and we had them for breakfast - excellent even for a non fish eater but the boat stank of fish cooking smells for days afterwards.

Amanda deals with the fish

Isla Cias from the anchorage

In the morning we found ourselves surrounded by fishing boats and I got the impression that one in particular did not like our presence and we had a staring-out session.  After a walk ashore we cleared away and went into the Ria Vigo and into a small harbour called Cangas - very pleasant but expensive marina and the town was really pleasant, anchoring is possible but there is a lot of wash from the local vedettes which also affects the marina.

We sailed from there to Bayona and anchored.   Bayona is really nice but pricey because of the tourist trade. We caught up with some others who we had met up with along the way and had a few drinks.  But after a couple of days I got a touch of itchy keel and we departed south for Portugal.  We sailed all the way out of the harbour however once clear of the marina wall the wind failed so yet again on with the metal sail .............