June 17th - July 3rd
After quite a few days spent at anchor in the bay at Pobra, in the rain and with the heating on at times, we started to run low in water so decided to head across the Ria to Vilagarcia. Just as we were getting ready to lift the anchor we saw the Aduanas cutter arriving beside Amethyst and after taking all their particulars they came over to us. We showed them the form we had received from their previous visit in Baiona so they didn’t come aboard, just took the form and copied all the details on to another one which Mike signed and we received a copy.
We had a good sail across to Vilagarcia during which time the sun came out, but unfortunately it didn’t last, as it rained again in the evening and the tent went back up. Other than to fill up with water and catch up with the laundry, the main reason for going here was because for the last year Mike has been conversing with a local, Paco, on the Yachting Monthly forum and he wanted to meet up. Paco treated us to some drinks and food at lunchtime and then we adjourned back to the boat. He’s a really nice guy who knows the area very well and keeps his own boat at Vilagarcia and Sanxenxo. His elder son is studying to be an architect, but will probably need to leave Spain in order to gain experience, as unemployment levels are still very high for young people in Spain. I hope that the Spanish economy starts to improve fairly soon as most young people are getting a very poor start in life at present.
We also met Bill & Aly Drain who sail a Beneteau 36cc, Fallen Angel, and are slowly making their way to Greece. We invited them round for drinks in the evening, which was followed by a delicious meal on board Fallen Angel the next night.
Three weeks ago, on our way down the Portuguese coast, we met a young Frenchman who was sailing south in a 25 footer. He had blown out both his sails in bad weather and was trying to get them repaired. We didn’t see much of him as he seemed to sleep quite a lot of the day, but he was always very pleasant. A policewoman was trying to find him as we left, so I assumed that there was some minor problem with his documents. He was still in the same place when we returned on our way north and he tied up alongside us because he was leaving the following day.
Whilst out walking in Vilagarcia, we saw him walking towards us and Mike went over to speak to him. However, we noticed that he looked very spaced out, and wasn’t focussing on anything, although for a brief moment he seemed to recognise us. A man in a black suit suddenly stepped forward, said he was from the French Consulate and asked us if we knew this man and if we had been on board his boat.
When we explained that we’d only met him briefly in Portugal, he told us that his boat had foundered and he’d been rescued by a Turkish freighter. The poor man had lost everything he owned and we realised that he was still in a very fragile state of mind. We couldn’t do much apart from offer sympathy as the consulate official was anxious to leave in order to start organising his transfer back to France.
Saturday 21st of June summer started – what a difference a day makes!! After we motored out of the Vilagarcia marina, we hoisted the main and tried to unfurl the genoa but once again it was seized, so we will have to take off the drum and swivel to find out what the problem is. Meantime we sail with the main when there is wind. We drifted up to Rianxo and anchored in the bay in beautiful clear blue skies and bright sunshine. After we’d had our evening meal and were sitting in the cockpit watching the sun go down, we had another visit from the Aduanas, but Mike waved the two forms at them and they seemed to be happy with that. The following day the wind picked up to force 6-7 and continued day and night for about a week, although it was quite welcome as the temperature has been up in the high 30°s every day.
We had a good sail down to Playa de Trinanes to meet up with Amethyst and co-incidentally Paco and his wife had sailed into the bay just before us, so they came over for a drink. We spent the evening aboard Amethyst and returned the hospitality the following night. From there we had another excellent sail down to Playa de Barrana and anchored just off the marina and a very busy and loud beach. We stayed here for several nights and when the wind eventually died, we took the opportunity to drop the genoa. While laying it out on the deck, I noticed quite a few tears along the leach, so Mike spent the rest of the morning sewing it back together. Hopefully this repair will last for the rest of the season and we’ll probably order a new set of sails for next year. The sail is now safely bagged and stowed away in the forecabin.
From there we sailed down to Riveira and enjoyed the peace and quiet of the beach. It was another lovely clear evening and once the sun went down we adjourned below to watch the British Grand Prix. Halfway through, we felt a massive amount of swell and looked out of the hatch to see about ten antennas at the stern of the boat. It was yet another Aduanas cutter, so we had to produce our latest form for them to copy and return. Last year they didn’t check us once and so far this year we’ve had four visits!
The following morning we motored back up to Pobra do Caramiñal marina, as we wanted to make a start on dismantling the forestay and got all the preparatory work done before spending the next morning disconnecting the forestay, removing the drum and swivel and then replacing the forestay and tightening everything back up. The next job is to try to determine the problem and fix it or buy a new swivel. To be continued in next blog!
