Royal Air Force Yacht Club

We left Gijón on 25 July and had a gentle broad reach for some 45 miles to the little fishing port of Luarca. The inner harbour dries, so we had to moor stern to a buoy and throw a bow line to the high harbour wall. Not having our dingy inflated, this was proving a little tricky until a helpful lad dived in, took our line and climbed to a bollard. Even then all was not relaxing. It was high springs and, although our initial calculations showed enough water, by midnight this was looking dubious. We hauled ourselves as far out as possible but by 0100 were almost aground with supposedly an hour yet to fall. However there we stayed and all was well - it was only a week later that we discovered from local tide tables that our almanac and plotter details were nearly an hour late!

After the night's experience we did not stay in Luarca but moved on to the large and well equipped marina at Ribadeo in the first of the northern rías, just into Galicia, where we spent a couple of sociable nights before a motor of 30 miles in light airs to Viveiro.

 Our intention had been to spend a couple of nights in Viveiro and then explore the anchorages around the nearby rías. However Tony's back had been playing up since Gijón and had become fairly incapacitating. After a further 4 days exploring the attractive town (or in Tony's case limping around gently), a visit to A & E was needed. The Spanish truly put the NHS to shame. The E111 form was produced and after barely 30 minutes wait a friendly and efficient doctor shot a jab in the bum and wrote two prescriptions, dispensed at the nearby pharmacy for all of €3.

By 6 August we were on our way again with a storming sail in N5 and 3 metre swell past Cape Ortegal - the northern tip of Spain - which sadly we barely saw through the mist - into Cedeira to anchor in the bay, well sheltered from the swell.

With the swell diminishing and a fair F5 we had a comfortable sail to A Coruña where we moored in the Dársena amidst boats of eight nationalities, mostly heading south.  We have found plenty of space in the Dársena since Marina Coruña opened a year ago. This latter is massive and very well equipped, but the walk from a berth to the marina exit is further than from the Dársena to the centre of town!

Being settled in A Coruña gave us a chance to do the tourist thing. We took a tram up to the old Roman lighthouse, the Tower of Hercules, and viewed the compass rose with mosaics of the Celtic nations. Scotland, Man, Eire, Wales, Cornwall, Brittany, and Galicia we recognised, but can anyone tell us where was Tarsis?

Santiago de Compostela is under an hour by train from A Coruña so we decided that this was a simpler route than a pilgrimage on our knees. However after a decent lunch on the outskirts we did then take the pilgrim route marked by scallop shells to the centre and the cathedral square. Externally this is a magnificent building in a superb setting, but we both agreed that internally it was not a patch on either Winchester or Salisbury cathedrals. The cathedral was packed with visitors, many queuing to touch or kiss a holy relic of St James behind the altar. Whilst this may have given them some hope of salvation, it would also seem an excellent way to pass on swine flu!

Sarah's brother Robert joined us ten days ago for a week. We went back north first to a sunny anchorage near Ferrol where all - even Tony - swam. Then to Cedeira, in thick fog for much of the way, where we saw a magnificent display of fireworks and the next day a procession of fifty boats following the statue of a virgin on a fishing boat. Hauling up the anchor proved a problem as it was firmly ensnared with a huge grapnel, thick and thin ropes and net. Amazingly the windlass took the strain and we were able to hoist the mess on the spinnaker halyard before cutting it all away with a bread knife.

The next days were spent ambling around the rías of Ares and Betanzos with a pattern of haze in the morning then warm sunshine from noon before returning to A Coruña on Wednesday last. Since then we have managed a night ashore staying with friends made out here in their beautiful converted farmhouse and having our first bath for over a month.

 We are now waiting for Martin Walford to join us tomorrow and then the right weather window to return north. At present the weather files are indicating strong winds on the western flank of Biscay on Wednesday and channel gales at the weekend, so our timing is uncertain.

Best wishes to all

Sarah & Tony