‘City Break’ in Vigo

We have moored in the Real Club Nautico de Vigo Marina which is perfectly positioned for exploring Vigo because it is right next to the centre of the old part of the city. The marina buildings and the main clubhouse, pictured above, are shaped like a cruise liner with funnels and decks. Inside the wooden panelling and chandeliers complement the feeling that you are on an old cruise liner rather than a shore based building.

Our pilot books warn that the marina is tightly packed with yachts and very short of manoeuvring space. Unlike modern lightweight cruising yachts BV has a long fin keel and so she prefers to go sideways rather than backwards when you select reverse. The longer keel helps make her a fantastic and comfortable yacht when at sea but the compromise is that tricky manoeuvres in marinas are not her forte and need some careful thought and planning. In a quirky way we like the challenge that brings but, as a result, we tend to take things very slowly and carefully so we don’t cause any damage to BV or other yachts in a marina. Because of the warnings about the lack of space here we took the opportunity to fill up with diesel before finding a mooring berth. The refuelling pontoon is right by the entrance to the marina so we could arrive easily, tie up and find out where we were going to be moored whilst the tanks were filling up. One of the mariñeros was on hand to help with the refuel and pointed out where we were to berth. He then rushed off and, without being asked, stood by in his RIB so that he could help push BV around in the marina if needed. All very helpful.

As it happened the marina has been redeveloped with a new pontoon layout in our mooring area so there was more manoeuvring space than we expected. Also, with next to no wind blowing us around we ‘parked’ BV exactly where we wanted her and with no assistance from the mariñero’s ‘tug boat’ services; most satisfying as we had an audience.

Blurry eyes from too much vino tinto?

We quickly got our bearings in Vigo and, of course, just had to check out the tapas bars. There are a lot of different choices of tapas you can order but the selection pictured on the right just arrived and was included gratis as part of our drinks order. It provided much needed sustenance as well as some extra time so we could pore over the menu and decide what to order next!