Yesterday was such a beautiful day at sea. We followed fresh grilled tuna lunch with fresh grilled tuna dinner watching a fabulous sun set.

It is amazing how humble being at sea makes you. You are alone on watch, surrounded by a huge expanse of water rushing by. The wavelets, stirred up by the boats movement, phosphoresce with plankton as they are disturbed. The sky is just filled with stars and the cloudy strip of the milky way is so clear. Their are so many shooting stars I started running out of people I hoped would win the lottery. You are all ‘made’ now.

Oh, but all great things must end. First the wind really built quickly. We decided to take down the main and run down wind with just the foresail poled out. The pole stopped the sail collapsing as the waves built up and the whole thing could easily be reduced or rolled up by one person if things got worse….and they did.

The winds picked up further and the foresail was reduced to a hanky. Yet we were still doing 7-8 knots. The waves became large and confused as the Atlantic Westerly swell collided with the new wind produced North Easterly waves. We just had to endure the boat being tossed forward, side to side and white water breaking over the gunwales.

We never felt unsafe, just unable to walk about, cook, go pee or ‘most importantly’ get any sleep. With the stronger winds we were making our port of call faster, so there was a bright side. We had picked the Spanish port of Ria de Cedeira, not for her great tapas, but because she was an ‘all weather’ port with a great sheltered anchorage in all winds.

As we entered Spanish waters the first thing we encountered were Spanish fishing vessels.  These guys really know how to play ‘chicken’.

 As we rounded the headland most of the waves had eased so we were able to sail into port with ‘so semblance of dignity’ which I promptly destroyed by having a great big poo and pee on the deck as the human anchored up. Just to show the neighbours we have no airs.

So we made it. The big bad Bay of Biscay crossed. Got a lot more water to do, but that was always going to be the worst one. For now I think I will eat, drink and get some sleep. The anchorage is very pretty hidden in steep cliffs of conifers. It has beautiful beaches and terracotta tiled cottages, but not what I always thought of as Spanish. Exploring tomorrow with lots more details for you then.

PS The rain in Spain does not mainly fall on the plain

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