LLANES. Spain

5TH JULY

 

Now in Llanes.

just outside the harbour where we initially dropped anchor before going into the marina

A coastal town ( obviously!) in the Asturias, northern Spain. Towering above what at first appears to be the small town is the majestic Sierra del Cuera where the mountains and rugged coastline are absolutely stunning. I did however not enjoy our entry as before leaving Santander i was feeling rather sickly and my neck/head were making themselves known with a grip i recognized to my dismay!  I thought it would pass as we set off along the coast but not to be , so i spent at least 2 hours being sick and uncomfortable.. I don’t think it was sea sickness but couldn’t be sure.

When we arrived at Llanes  3 pm ‘ish .We were to drop anchor in a lovely cove which we did but it had that ‘swell’ that was sure to make a night aboard not great in the least . Chris was aware of my sickness and felt helpless knowing that i may throw up any moment as i dropped the anchor! when a man in a rib. motored up to us and gesticulated in a friendly manner to follow him into the harbour ‘as the sea state was to get worse’. Chris tried to tell him what our draft was. 1.9 metres  ( meaning… we had to be sure if the tide went out we would still be floating! ) he seemed to say it was ok.( but neither of us could truly understand the other!)

I was called up again to pull up anchor and follow this guy into the harbour..  at the same time as putting fenders and dock-lines out!… as we turned the corner of the sea wall we realized there was a TINY brand new marina there.. and  we had 2 seconds to dock along the pontoon as soon as we went through a ‘ storm/swell gate’ . I have never moved so fast . But we did it again without any scratches!! .

At last we were in calm waters and chris blurted “there maybe a God after all”. I took some anti-sickness tabs and had another sleep then some comfort food ( cold Birdseye custard) . Starting to feel a bit better we took in our surroundings and then ventured into town to find the ‘capitan” to pay any dues.. only to be told the marina had only been open since April and they had no means of charging anyone yet… Wow… what luck! Feeling we had  won the lottery sauntered off to delight in this gem of a place….

At around 22.30hrs . we noticed the depth under the boat to be 3 metres… then 2.5 and when it dropped from there we became concerned as we had been told there would be at least 2.5m ! Low tide was at midnight so we stayed up watching the monitor as it countdown… 2.3    …..    2.2  …… 2.1…. oh my . we put out extra fenders and  tied two halyards (ropes) from the mast ashore so if we were to sink into the sand and tip we would tip onto the pontoon…

The flow of water through the marina began to slow down. We had  a 4 metre drop of tide in total and it stopped at 1.9 metres which was our draft!!  we did not go aground thank goodness.  What a day !!

The Cubes of Memory– by Augustin ibarrolla. A major piece of artwork… thought a party of school children had painted the rocks prior to them being dumped in the water barrier!!

We have decided to stay here a few days and look around and get some           scenic walks in. The weather has been mixed, with wet, sunny, dull grey, rain and warm days. i would prefer not to have the rain but the semi-dull days are rather pleasant making walking a lot more enjoyable. we’re getting a bit more accustomed to having a rest in the afternoon and going out later at night as the locals do..  Life is good..

Somoya sits in the tiny harbour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ps i am now reading my first book since we left……. great read so far.. Written by my sister-in-law

http://crookedcatpublishing.com/our-books/once-removed-by-k-b-walker

The book was fab.. what a talented sister-in -law i have .. well done Kimm.

 

 

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Short hop to Laredo on the Costa Emeralda

30th JUNE

Chris and i had a couple of nights recuperating from the exhausting journey so far. we hadn’t realized how tired we were!.  Thought we would get to see all the sights of Bilbao but instead stayed close to the marina, catching up with emails and sleep. Cleaned the boat and aired the bed mattresses.

Young children being towed back to base after a day sailing in Bilbao harbour

A street in the suburbs of Bilbao

 

We ventured up the ‘lift’ on the hillside to the old part of Getxo and found a tapas bar with wifi during the evening. Only to be cut short by a thunder and lightening storm which drenched the mattress in the foreward cabin that i had left open to the elements! (another lesson to be learned from that!)

 

 

 

 

 

On the 29th June we set off for a short sail to Laredo further west along the Spanish coast which took a couple of hours. The marina here is new although not properly functioning .ie. no shower or washing facilities etc. it is not documented in the latest pilot guides. Apparently the local government has run out of money ( as have so many parts of Europe)and  this is the reason for the incompletion. We had a reduction for the first night here and 2nd night was free. For what reason , we are not sure!  but we happily accepted it! This large marina was empty but for a handful of yachts.

 

 

 

The town is pleasant enough and much better when you explore the old streets up the hillside. which we will hopefully explore more. It is a busy  holiday destination for the Spanish and French and gets very busy in high season, with a lot of touristy places and restaurants and a huge sandy beach which we had the pleasure of strolling last night.  The weather has been overcast and rainy at times. Not seen any Brits yet: mainly French sailors around the marina.

Not sure where we will move on to next …. MANYANA

PS.  A happy birthday to my nephew David today xx

 

JULY 2ND 2102

Had my 53rd birthday yesterday! I feel about 30 but my body is beginning to show signs of the aging process :(  ….Ah Well… tis my lot and i am enjoying life :)  Thank you to all my friends and family for their birthday wishes.

The day was overcast and a bit drizzly so we went to find the old church ( Santa Maria de la Asuncion)in Laredo. There was a mass in progress and musicians outside which was pleasant to hear. It looked like the old part of the town was under some kind of cultural and physical renovation. I wondered if money would also be an issue here too. 

We found a footpath that took us up to several viewpoints overlooking the town and marina. Saw some warbler type birds and huge raptors we couldn’t identify as we had forgotten to bring the bird book from the boat! It is a beautiful rugged coastline dotted with large sandy beaches which gives you the best of both worlds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch we napped on deck and ventured out in the evening all dressed up in what ever ‘red’ clothing we could find to join the locals glued to the TV screens in all the pubs and restaurants. It was the final of the European Cup and Spain were playing Italy!  Spain slaughtered Italy with an impressive 4-0 win. Fireworks and hooters were part of the background noise till the early hours!!                 ………………We had great fun.

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SAYING OUR GOODBYES IN BILBAO

26th June 2012

Howard and Chris are to leave our company today. We had a brilliant night out to celebrate with quite a few drinks.. even me who tackles no more than the occasional peach Schnapps diluted like ribena!  I shall say no more !

All spruced up for dinner.

 

Chris and i have not once regretted asking Howard and Chris ( nor John on the uk leg of the journey) to join us.

We would have struggled with out you guys but now feel ( particularly me) that we could tackle any long hauls that we may have to do ( the longest ones are done ).

However Somoya will feel very quiet till we get used to being on board ourselves again.

The Lads

 

We will miss the tinkling of the Ukelele accompanying Chris’s wonderful, soft gravelly voice and his wicked sense of humour!

Our new treasured friend. Thank you Chris

Chris C found his company and knowledge of sailing a great support, easing the load on his shoulders. Many thanks for that :)

I found him a gentle happy soul and very easy to have around and have now officially made him an honorary sailing brother whom would be welcome aboard at anytime.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Howard, we will miss your energy and truly are amazed at how you threw yourself into the role of ‘cabin boy” without any complaints and without prior experience. ( Chris, however says you didn’t fill one duty as cabin boy ….. he eagerly awaits your next visit ! )

My brother and friend whom i love dearly. Thanks Howard x

 

 

Our wonderful singing nights ( and days!) brought back lots of happy family memories and your recitations were second to none. I am so happy to have shared this with you, Thankyou. :) Hopefully you have left us with a new perspective into sailing life and will not look at lights on land or off shore without wondering their meaning!

 

A special thanks to Kimm and Janice for accepting their time with us. I know it must have felt an age without them. I hope to see you both here next time with your men!

 

John. Thank you for being with us at the beginning of our journey. You allowed us to build confidences that otherwise would have taken longer. You persevered through the dreaded sea sickness en route to DunLaoghaire  and came through unshaken to help us another day to Fishguard. You can step on board Somoya anytime.

We have been friends a long time, and gone through so much together. Thanks for being with us here.

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ONTO SPANISH WATERS

After thinking i had posted a long account of the Biscay crossing to Spain i finished to find i was no longer connected to the internet and lost all i had written….. ARGH!

I had better write them in ‘pages’ on my laptop then transfer across to the blog. So here i am for a 2nd time……..

Somoya sits in Cameret

The crew on Somoya had an extended stay in Cameret France due to poor weather AGAIN, which did give us more time to practise our French on the locals! Never before have i heard so many languages mixed into one sentence!

We had a lovely meal in a harbour front restaurant which all the clientele  went eerily silent as we took our places at the table near the window… no idea why. Of course this made us silly and giggly to the extreme! However we were not kicked out and the room seemed to relax by the time we got to our puddings!

By now we were having to comprehend the possibility that we may not be able to sail all the way to Bilbao in time for Howard and Chris to catch a flight to get home on the 26th June. We decided that we would get as far as possible then Howard and Chris would have to catch public transport to Bilbao from somewhere in France. We were in the hands of the gods now and hoped for decent weather.

canna see them pirates you talked about!

At last we decided to set off on the 22nd June and go towards LaRochelle in France giving us the opportunity to stop over for rest or use as a bolt hole should the weather deteriorate  en route to Bilbao.

Leaving Cameret

At 15.00hrs we slipped another tricky pontoon without scraping any other boats or walls at Cameret. (High five Chris) and with a south westerly (15 knots) wind. moderate sea and swell set sail.

Everyone talks about the unsettled seas around the Raz De Seine. Which was to be a challenge for us , but Chris M and Chris meticulously planned our departure  to enable us to pass through at it’s most benign..We met the disturbed seas at around 17.30hrs and chris handled the boat without any difficulty. ( incidentally the waters in the Ramsay Sound between Fishguard and MIlford Haven seemed much more intense)

High Swell in the RAZ

For the next 22hrs we settled into our watch pattern . this time 3hrs on and 3 hrs off. ( which proved to be the best arrangement .We agreed that 2 hrs gave too little sleep and 4 hrs on watch would be too much)

One can not disagree that this was quite boring at times, hour after hour with not much to see or do. We were amazed there was so very little commercial traffic on this supposedly busy thoroughfare. Trying to stop your eyes from glazing over was a task in it’s self.  The wallowing nature of the sea tempted you to sleep. I was lucky that my night duties over the years stood me in good stead for such times! Howard and I kept a look out for any ships in the horizon and the ‘Chris’s kept us on course. :)

On the 8th hour of sailing having heard the latest weather forecast and knowing that we all felt well we made the decision to crack on and change course straight for bilbao. So with a deep breath in preparation for an extended time on board and chance of a day to relax before going home in Bilbao we turned from a south easterly direction to a course southerly/southwesterly.

DOC Martland having his break

(Somoya managed to sail for about 14hrs without engine on which had not been the case for anywhere so far)

We plotted our position on the charts every hour even though we had the chart plotter and all its gizmos!  It gave a small pleasure as if ticking off another few miles! and also, from a safety point of view, knew where we were if all the electronic gadgets packed in !The phosphorescence gave a shimmering display every now and then which perked up whoever was on duty at the time and Howard and Chris M had a show of Dolphin, porpoise and Minke whale all at the same time. Chris and i kept an eye on a collared dove taking shelter for a few miles. How lucky we are :)

Numerous Dolphin dancing in the seas of Biscay

Consensus of opinion during out adventures together was that we have never eaten so many sweets, biscuits and snacks.. and that coming from a sweet-toothed Brook is something!  :)  We did eat some good food too but snacked mainly on the overnight stints and when it was difficult to accomplish anything down below in the sea swell.

Dining in the Biscay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

By now the facial hair on the men was beginning to take shape and i will not mention the state of my own hair … Note to one-self

“need a serious haircut for this type of past time”

 

 

If you are happy and you know it clap your hands ….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were greeted with sight of land at 20.00hrs on the 24th June and after a whopping 57.5 hours at sea and 344 miles under Somoya’s hull  navigated our way into the huge harbour at night and docked in the Getxo Marina in Bilbao on the 25th June at 00.30hours

Congratulations to the Crew … we did it !

Now to bed…. sleep, and sleep some more before hitting the town in celebration later…

 

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INTO FRENCH WATERS

Well. What can i say it has been days since my last posting…. Lets think back.   Oh My  … we were just about to leave the Scilly Isles..

We left these gorgeous sunny Isles in the afternoon and crossed the English Channel during the night. With light winds on the nose  (again!)  and an annoying sea swell we had no option had to put the engine on  at times. Once we got used to the “swell” and overcame any hint of nausea with plenty of Sturgeron and these cute little decorative patches curtest of our resident GP.Chris M :) we settled into the night watch 2hrs on /2 off..

Crossing the shipping lanes was quite a challenge. It was so difficult to see anything… the horizon seemed to merge into the sea!. The sky was reasonably free of cloud but the moon didn’t cast much light to help us. One knows that all boats(should) have their lights on therefore  reducing collision risk . But it is so weird trusting this!. When you spot the navigation lights in the  distance first we have to decide in what direction it is coming from and to. Then estimate its size… The lights sometimes tell you this depending on their configuration on the vessel.. .. then how fast is it going?… then is it on a collision course with you or not!!  whopeee…:). I was on watch with Chris C this voyage and Howard with Chris M.. .Howard and i were the crew   trying to keep our beady little eyes on the sea and inform our skipper on duty whilst they keep us on course!  It is amazing what games/songs/ chat/food/ hot drinks/ snacks come into play when trying to keep alert. Howard , of course, is the master of all things fun… so he kept us alive and chirpy at the most dull moments!

Of course we will not be telling tales on who snored the loudest or who was the ‘windiest’ / noisiest or who told he dirtiest joke. or never washed or who’s bad hair day was every day  !   that will remain between us…. mind you …. a few pounds across my palm ……..   He hee…

As i write now i find it hard to remember each stage and when we saw dolphin/whale etc. Most days we would see them. and they never failed to excite us.

Tiring as each crossing is . we always perk up at the point of arrival into a new port .. this was to be Cameret Sur Mer on the  Brittany coast of France near Brest… At last…. (Howard and Chris were already a few days behind where we had hoped to be with them)

It was the early hours of the morning we arrived and after a sleep went Howard and i went to explore and had coffee in a cafe trying our spoken French with wonderful aplomb!  It was great to be on foreign  soil .. our trip was taking on a new vein….

AM A VERY HAPPY PERSON :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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