Figuera de Foz to Nazare - 38 Miles

Cliffs at Nazare

MONAY 30 OCTOBER 2007

We had showers before leaving at 9.15 a.m. and Roger put his back out putting his socks on. The wind had died down but there was about a 3 metre swell, which made the trip a little rolly to start. The wind then strengthened from behind which stiffened the boat and we were managing about 7 knots with full main and genoa. By the time we reached Nazare the wind was about Force 5-6, with a large swell running into the harbour. 

This coast can be extremely dangerous in strong winds and swell, but once inside the harbour the sea flattened, but there was still a strong wind. I jumped off the boat onto the pontoon with the line and slipped, with half my body in the water. The strong wind was blowing the boat onto the pontoon and crushing me between the boat and the pontoon. Luckily some men from an Irish boat came and pushed the boat off me and helped to berth the boat, but I felt very battered and bruised!

A customs official arrived immediately for paperwork before I could even get out of my wet clothes. However, he was very friendly and very handsome – which always helps! We were finishing off securing the boat, when a policeman turned up to look at our passports. We then went to the Marina to complete the paperwork there with the marina manager. You might be forgiven for thinking that three people to do a job which in the UK would be done by one is a bit excessive. However, we learnt that there is also a (English) Harbour Master who was yet to appear.

There are quite a few English, Welsh and Irish boats here, including the Irish couple from Arklow on Broadsword who we’d met in Pavoa de Varzim, and we chatted to a couple from Conwy who have been living on their boat about four years.

We had a quite evening on board, nursing our injuries.

Marina: 14.50, free showers

Aveiro to Figuera de Foz - 39 Miles

Leaving Ria Aveiro

MONDAY 29 OCTOBER 2007

Another early start at 7.15 to make the tide and we arrived at Figuera de Foz about 2 p.m. We were greeted by the Customs official who wanted us to complete paperwork before finding a berth. By the time we had done this, filled with diesel and done the paperwork with the Marina, it was 3 p.m. so we went in search of lunch. Because we had the usual bottle of wine, the rest of the day was spent having a long siesta. It was quite windy in the night.

Marina: 17.50, free showers
Diesel: 1.19 euros per litre, 67.79

Pavoa de Varzim to Aveiro - 50 Miles

Bridge in Aveiro

SUNDAY 28 OCTOBER 2007

Susannah moored by the salt pans in Aveiro

The clocks went back today and because we had a long way to go before it got dark, we had to set off at first light, about 7.00 a.m. We sailed and motor-sailed to Averio and made good time, arriving at the mouth of the Ria Aveiro about 3 p.m., an hour and a half before high water. There was about a 4.5 knot tide going up the river, which wasn’t mentioned in the Pilot Book – we were actually doing about 9.5 over the ground!

Aveiro was once a great sea port and there is still a lot of large shipping which makes the area seem industrialised with docks most of the 6 miles up to the town of Aveiro.

The salt pans of Aveiro were mentioned in a will of 959 A.D. and the town was extremely wealthy from the salt and bacalhoeiros who fished for cod off Newfoundland, but in 1575 a storm caused a sand bar to block the entrance to the harbour, creating a large lagoon area stretching about 30 miles north and 10 miles east.

We followed the buoyed channel to near Aveiro. According to the Pilot Book there is a floating pontoon where boats can moor or wait for the lock to open at high tide and enter the canal. The pontoon was extremely small and a 18ft boat was already moored there. We had no choice but to moor alongside this small boat, which was quite difficult in a fast flowing tide. A new bridge is being built over the lock and it was obvious it would not be opening for a quite a while! Projected finish date for the project was August 2007! There is a large area of salt pans near the pontoon and information about how the salt is made.

Roger didn’t feel it was safe to leave the boat, so I walked the 10 minutes to town, which was worth the walk. Aveiro is known as the little Venice of Portugal because of the canals and bridges criss-crossing the town, and the beautifully painted boats which were used to harvest seaweed.

Pavoa de Varzim

Jan and Tini on Cocon

SATURDAY 27 OCTOBER 2007

We had a lazy day with breakfast in a café and working on the computer. Tini and Jan invited us to Cocon for afternoon tea and cakes as it was Jan’s birthday. We went into the town of Pavoa de Varzim and had a superb dinner for 42 euros in a lovely restaurant

Train to Oporto

View of Vila Nova de Gaia from the Cathedral

FRIDAY 26 OCTOBER 2007

The new metro system runs trains every 20 minutes into Oporto and we got there about lunch time. We had the cheapest Menu del Dia yet – 5 euros for a 3 course meal and drink!

Oporto seems a strange mix of beautiful 15th and 16th century buildings surrounded by alleys of terraced houses, many of them in a poor state of repair. Many of the houses are beautifully tiled on the outside and the walls of Sao Bento Station, Oporto’s central railway station, are decorated by fantastic Azulejos – Painted Ceramic Tiles.

The views from the Cathedral over the red rooftops are amazing. We walked over the Dom Luis I bridge, which was built in 1886 by an assistant of Gustave Eiffel, and had spectacular views of the River Douro, Oporto and Vila Nova de Gaia, where all the port lodges are.

12 years ago Roger, Tony, Jessica and I canoed 250 kilometres on the River Douro from Miranda do Douro on the Spanish border to Oporto, and it was interesting to see where we had landed the canoes when we had arrived. The new Infante Dom Henrique bridge upstream from the Dom Luis I bridge was being built at the time, and we had to time our passage under the bridge as the workmen kept dropping things off it!

Roger had another custard tart, and decided this one was definitely the best so far.

We caught the metro back to Pavoa de Varzim and went to have dinner with Jan and Tini on Cocon.

Viano do Costello to Pavoa de Varzim - 21 Miles

Viano do Costello Swing Bridge

THURSDAY 25 OCTOBER 2007

We had a leisurely start, as we did not have too far to go, and left about 10.30 after a very cheap breakfast in a Portuguese café – 2.60 euros for two coffees and two croissants! We motor-sailed most of the way, apart from about an hour where we managed to sail.

Pavoa de Varzim is a new, friendly Marina – some of the buildings are still being finished- and seems a better option for visiting Oporto than Leixoes. When we arrived we met Diane, one of Roger’s sailing students, who is delivering a boat to the Canaries.

A café in Lisbon professes to make the best custard tarts in Portugal, so Roger is doing his own research to see if this is true. He had one this morning on the boat, and one this afternoon in a café after we’d been shopping. The one this morning was the best so far.

Jan and Tini, the dutch couple on Cocon are going to spend the winter here and we spent a pleasant evening catching up and having a meal on our boat.

Baiona, Spain to Viano do Costello, Portugal - 35 Miles

WEDNESDAY 24 OCTOBER 2007

It is definitely getting warmer! After an uneventful motor-sail in a flat sea we were welcomed to Portugal by the Marina staff. A swing bridge has been installed at the entrance to the Marina since we were here 3 years ago, so we berthed on the waiting pontoon. 

We decided to stay there overnight rather than go in to the Marina and have to wait for the bridge to open. It seemed peaceful enough, just outside a café/bar – that is until the Karaoke woke us up at 1.00 a.m.! The Portuguese girls are no better singers than Swansea girls! However, the café did have WiFi which we managed to log onto.

Marina: 14.40 euros

Entering Portuguese waters

Portosin to Baiona - 48 Miles

The Pinta

TUESDAY 23 OCTOBER 2007

We had a misty start but will now be heading south for the next 360 miles until we round the tip of Portugal. We need to get the boat to Seville before the bad weather sets in and it was unfortunate that we had to by-pass the beautiful Rias Bajas, but the scenery was superb, particularly as we went past Isla Ons and the Islas Cies. We sailed close to the beach where we had anchored three years ago and noted the contrast between then (hundreds of people in July) and now (totally deserted).

We berthed in the Baiona Yacht Club Marina about 5.30 p.m., passing the replica of the Pinta, which landed in here in 1493 bringing the first news of the New World. After wandering around Baiona, we went to the Parador for an excellent meal.

Marina: 16.45
Diesel: 85.28 (1.09 ltr.)

Camarinas to Ria de Muros, Portosin - 42 Miles

Portosin

MONDAY 22 OCTOBER 2007

We left about 9.30 a.m. and rounded Cape Finisterre in a flat sea. We arrived in the first of the Rias Bajas, Ria de Muros and berthed in the Portosin Marina. Marina costs are much cheaper in the low season, so it is possible to stay in Marinas all the time without worrying about the bank balance.

Portosin is a small, friendly marina, but the water was rather dirty and there was a dead cat floating in the water! We had had an excellent meal in the yacht club when we were here three years ago, but it is only open at weekends in the low season, so we found another Italian restaurant.

Marina: 16.40 euros

Sada to Camarinas - 60 Miles

SUNDAY 21 OCTOBER 2007

Ria de Camarinas

An uneventful motor sail in light winds and flat seas.

Marina: 16 euros

Vivero to Sada - 60 Miles

Torre de Hercules, La Caruna

SATURDAY 20 OCTOBER 2007

We are getting a little nervous at sailing around Finisterre this late in the year – it’s not called the Costa del Morte for nothing - so we will have to do as much mileage as possible now.

We left Vivera about 8.45 a.m. when it was light in a slight mist and motor-sailed. We were able to sail for a while with a Force 5 behind us and then motor-sailed again when the wind died and the sun came out, arriving about 7 p.m.

We filled up with diesel and later went to find a bar where we could watch the final of the Rugby World Cup, as England were playing South Africa. All the bars had televisions but none seemed to know about the Rugby World Cup, and Barcelona was playing in an important football match, so in the end we went for a meal in an Italian Restaurant.

After the end of September marina prices in this part of the world are a lot cheaper so we intend to avoid anchoring as much as possible from now on, possibly gaining an extra safety factor with more unpredictable weather and the approaching equinox.

Marina: 13.69 euros
Diesel: 92.38 euros (1.09 ltr.)

Back in the UK

15 SEPTEMBER TO 19 OCTOBER 2007

Needless to say this was a very sad time for us. My mother appeared to stabilise and then degenerated further, so we both flew back to the UK. Our son and daughter-in-law, Tony and Lisa, flew over from Australia and our daughter from Canada to say goodbye to their Nana. She died peacefully in her sleep on 5 October.

Luarca to Vivero - 50 Miles

Vivero

Vivero
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

MONDAY 17 SEPTEMBER 2007

We waited until about 8.45 a.m. to leave when it got light and because the forecast was not good for the next couple of days we decided to go straight to the Marina in Vivero. We had more fog, thunder and lightening. The storm was so close that we were worried about our electrical equipment, so we put the chart plotter in the oven to protect it (the idea is that the oven functions as a Faraday cage). 

The visibility improved but there was a strong Force 5 about two hours before we arrived in Vivero, when it began to rain steadily and we got soaked mooring the boat, helped by two friendly Germans.

Gijon to Luarca - 43 Miles

SUNDAY 16 SEPTEMBER 2007

We left Gijon about 11.30 a.m. after cleaning the outside of the boat, which was filthy after nearly three weeks in the river at Ribadesella. There was a flat sea, but visibility was very poor with fog, thunder, lightening and heavy showers which showed up on the radar.

On Susannah we tend to adopt standard fog procedures; fix position before losing visibility, plot a paper fix every half hour (using dead reckoning and estimated positions – verified by GPS), ensure that our See Me active radar reflector and navigation lights are on. We wear lifejackets, clipping on when the sea is rough, but remaining unclipped in more benign conditions. The theory being that recovering a man overboard in fog would prove very difficult and constitute a greater danger than being hit by a larger vessel and being dragged down with the sinking ship. Sheila monitors the radar and keeps a visual lookout while Roger keeps a visual lookout and blows the foghorn. If sailing we furl the headsail to slow us down and improve all round visibility and, if possible, we navigate to shallow water where there is no chance of being run down by big merchant shipping.

In the event we had thick fog nearly all the way which just lifted a little as we approached the difficult entrance (i.e. rocks and shallows in the approaches) to Luarca. Luckily, we managed to spot the leading marks – just as well as the chart plotter was completely wrong (i.e. the GPS position according to WGS 84 was, of course, accurate, but the electronic cartography – probably based on old local harbour charts was not).

We arrived about 7.30 p.m. and had to lasso one of the buoys, which are metal and close together, and then dinghy ashore with a line to hold the boat away from the other buoys.

Ribadesella to Gijon - 29 Miles

Boarded by Spanish Customs

SATURDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2007

We left Ribadesella about 8.30 a.m. and motored the whole way to Gijon in a flat sea, with a slight swell. Just outside Gijon, we were boarded by some very charming Spanish Customs men. 

We arrived about 2 p.m, took on diesel and went in search of a Vodafone shop. We found two which were both closed, so we went and had a drink until the shops opened at 5.30 p.m. All the other shops seemed to open except the Vodafone shops because it was Saturday afternoon! We decided not to wait in Gijon until Monday to sort out our internet access, as there was a 2.5 meter swell expected by Tuesday and there are no safe harbours for the next 90 miles or so. In southern Biscay there is often a savage swell which makes sailing uncomfortable or downright dangerous even when only light winds are forecast.

Marina: 26.50 euros
Diesel: 53.71

Ribadesella

Ribadesella

THURSDAY 13 - FRIDAY 14 SEPTEMBER 2007

Mum seemed to be more stable so I flew back to Spain to help Roger move the boat further along the coast.  We had to try to get the boat past the exposed Portuguese coast before the winter set in. There are not very many harbours on the west coast and if the weather is bad, these ports are often closed. 

While I had been away Roger had become friendly with a Dutch couple, Jan and Tini, who have been living on their boat for 11 years.

On Friday we went for a lovely walk up the River Sella. The countryside here is stunning with the mountains in the background

Llanes to Ribadesella - 18 Miles

Ribadesella

SATURDAY 25 AUGUST 2007

We arrived in Ribadesella about lunch time and berthed alongside a French boat on the town pier. We went for a walk into Ribadesella to find a Travel Agent to book my flight home to see my mother, but they had closed at lunch time and wouldn’t open again until Monday. We enlisted the help of the Tourist Information Centre, and using their computer managed to book an Easy Jet ticket back to the UK for tomorrow.  Roger will stay with the boat.

Suances to Llanes - 33 Miles

FRIDAY 24 AUGUST 2007

On Wednesday I found out my mother had had a stroke and I needed to return to the UK, but because of the strong onshore winds, it wasn’t possible to leave Suances until Friday. In view of our previous experience in the river we felt that Suances was not a safe place to leave the boat.

We couldn’t leave the river until just before high tide, so as to minimise the chances of serious breakers across the bar, which was about lunch time, and then motor-sailed the whole way as what little wind there was on the nose. There was quite a swell left over from the strong winds which made me feel a little seasick. Roger managed to catch a good sized mackerel and another fish, which we think is a bream. About 7.30 p.m. we arrived in Llanes, a very small fishing harbour, and there were a lot more small motor boats here than when we were here four years ago, making it very difficult to moor. In the end we rafted against a fishing boat and hoped it wouldn’t be leaving at 4.00 a.m.!

We went for a drink to settle my stomach (always a good excuse!). Llanes is a lively town divided in two by an inlet leading to the inner harbour. There are some beautiful buildings with some lovely architecture. Plenty of restaurants were offering the best value Menu del Dias we have yet seen, so decided to have a meal and not eat the fish Roger had caught. We had a three course meal and bottle of wine for 22 euros for the two of us.

Catch of the Day: 1 Mackerel, 1 Bream

Llanes Harbour