Ria de Viveiro

As we walked around on Ribadeo on Sunday we’d searched unsuccessfully for a Camping Gaz supplier. What I thought was the logical potential supplier, garages, just stocked the large orange Spanish gas bottles. We therefore consulted the helpful marinero when he came into work on Monday and were instantly pointed in the right direction. Slightly confused we followed the directions and did indeed find that the only supplier of Camping Gaz in Ribadeo was the shop for designer kitchens. It seemed a little bizarre to be exchanging a gas bottle surrounded by top quality kitchen units and granite worktops!  The other task before we left was to get the usual supplies of bread and milk plus some more of that lovely jamón. Temptation struck and we came away with a whole 7kg leg. I suspect it will turn out to be a good buy and we will enjoy slicing wafer-thin strips off it over the coming weeks.


The passage west to the Ria de Viveiro was in light winds and drizzle which was a real shame as we were passing spectacular scenery with granite cliffs and wooded hillsides. As we passed the aluminium works at San Cibrao we were called up by 2 ships anchored offshore and asked to pass astern of one of them as they were preparing to lift anchor and go into port; the AIS transponder again proving its worth.

As a result of the drizzle, the approach into Ria de Viveiro was nothing like as stunning as green hills and bright flowers that we were surrounded by as we had approached Ribadeo. Once inside we chose to anchor close to the shore in the lee of the Isla da Area hoping for a better view of the ria when the weather improved in the morning.

 Nibbling slithers of jamón to accompany a glass of wine, we hatched a plan to stay at anchor for a day or so and then move into the marina at Viveiro to explore the old town. It was a great plan but did not account for an unexpected increase in the wind during the night, far more than forecast, which also backed to the south-west putting us uncomfortably on a lee shore. So, at one o’clock in the morning we upped anchor and moved into the marina, taking the last spot on the visitors’ pontoon which just happened to be the right size for BV.

Later in the morning the arrival paperwork was made very easy by the Marina Manger, Fernando Medraño, who spoke very good English. It was almost a shame that he spoke such good English as Nicky had spent an hour or so working out the necessary Spanish phrases. A short while after we left the marina office, the police visited us on BV and checked our passports. That seemed to be enough arrivals paperwork so, after a brief lunch, we set off into the old part of Viveiro, which dates from the 1500s, to explore. The following pictures give a feel for the town with its narrow streets and distinctive glazed balconies.

 

Viveiro certainly seemed to have more than its fair share of churches and convents and was very quiet and empty as we walked around in the middle of the siesta. Once we had explored the old town we headed uphill, through the eucalyptus woods, to the very windy Monte San Roque viewing point, which gave great views over the ria.

Ribadeo

Once we had moored up (with the help of the Marineros) we headed for the Oficinas, armed with all of the ship's papers, passports and other documents we thought we would need to complete the arrivals process. Our knowledge of Spanish is truly inadequate but we managed to muddle through somehow. Photocopies of lots of the paperwork (insurance certificates, passports, sailing qualifications, and ship's registration documents) were duly taken and arrival forms and crew lists completed. The marina manager shrugged knowingly, stating that "in Spain, paperwork is king".

We spent the afternoon walking around Ribadeo and stocked up on a few items at a supermarket including several bottles of Cava, chorizo sausage and some of the amazing cured ham (Jamón) which carved very thinly straight off the leg. We also bought some mussels for dinner.

Nicky had crossed the Bay of Biscay before but for me this was a first. We were also further west and south than we have been before in BV so it was a good excuse to celebrate with some champagne at sundowners. As soon as we had polished off the bottle, we were visited by three Customs officers. Another form was filled out and we were presented with a copy to prove that we had formally cleared customs. It was all very easy, especially as one of the Customs officer's english was good. Maybe all official paperwork should be completed after drinking a bottle of wine?










The mussels allowed us to try out our new large pan; a generous leaving gift intended to allow us to cook even larger crab and lobster. 

In the morning we jogged up to the headland to look at the lighthouse at Isla Plancha which had looked so spectacular as we had entered the ria.

Raimundo Ibáñez's palace

Raimundo Ibáñez

Ribadeo 's heyday was in the 18th century when town's wealth primarily came from the Spanish American colonies. Raimundo Ibáñez, the Marquis of Sargadelos, was a particularly successful entrepreneur establishing trades in linen with the Baltic states and cod with North America. His palace, including a statue of him on the steps, epitomises the mixture of the old (sometimes fading) and the new architecture.

Around the tourist stuff, the day to day living chores also had to be completed and so BV was turned into laundrette for the day. It was a bit of a chore with the marina's laundrette closed (Sunday) but at least the warm weather dried everything quickly.

Tomorrow's task, when the shops are open again, will be to try to exchange one of the Camping Gaz bottles and to buy some more Jamón, before we head off west to explore the next ria.

The Bay of Biscay

The neighbours

We anchored for 2 nights in the river Odet whilst we waited for the right weather to cross Biscay. It was a lovely spot with reasonable shelter from the wind just up from the large bridge at Benodet.

At 0600hrs on 2 May we moved briefly to Benodet to top up the water tanks and get rid of our rubbish before quietly slipping out of the river heading south.

Our track and a sunsight plot; just a mile out!

We had completed some careful planning because the French Navy were planning some live firing exercises on our route starting on 3 May. By leaving when we did, not only would we benefit from the start of the good weather window, but we would also be clear to the south of the 150 mile long temporary danger area. .. or so we thought! Once we approached the area we were intercepted by a French Navy ship and told to head to the south-east for 10 miles before resuming our course for Spain. We did as told and then found that it was not just us who seemed to think the exercise started a day later. Several freighters were diverted as well as a host of fishing vessels. When queried by as to why we were all being moved away a day early the response was, "yes it was supposed to be tomorrow but we changed our minds yesterday and the exercise started yesterday." A shame they didn't put out a new warning Notice to Mariners as it would have saved them a lot of work.

We spent most of the crossing running with our genoa poled out on the opposite side to the mainsail. We like that set-up when going downwind and the windspeed is around (or above) our 15 knot true windspeed limit for flying the cruising chute. With just two of us we have that self imposed wind limit so that the foredeck work is manageable.  Above 15 knots our cruising chute is powerful enough to lift me off the deck as I try to pull the sock down over it, if the sail doesn't collapse properly, which can get a bit emotional if BV is rolling.

With the high pressure dominant the wind veered around so we finished the journey on a beam reach. There was a 9 hour patch on 3 May when the wind dropped off to just a few knots and so we motored. But mostly we had a very civilised 15 knot wind pushing us along with our Hydrovane self-steering worked extremely well.

During the day we were both up reading, taking sun sights and starting to learn some Spanish, though one or other of us tended to take a nap in the afternoon in preparation for the night watches. At night we worked a 3 hours on, 3 hours off watch routine. For the first time I also tried out Scopoderm anti-seasickness patches; they seem to work brilliantly so I will be using them on all of our longer passages from now on.

On both nights we experienced amazing phosphorescence in the sea. Our wake, particularly just behind the DuoGen and the Hydrovane, glowed brightly green and was speckled with huge flecks of bright light; the bow wave was speckled but the phosporescence there was a little less intense. We were also lucky enough to be visited at night by a school of dolphins. We couldn't see the dolphins but their wakes were glowed brightly so it looked as though we were being escorted by ghosts.

The dolphins returned during the day on several occasions, staying to play in our bow wave for hours at a time. We never tired of watching them.

Around our watch system we ate together. The meals we had prepared in France made that all very easy. The mornings were cool so Nicky made porridge. Once, as an experiment, we tried porridge with pineapple; not a great taste sensation combination! The pain au chocolate was, as always, a firm favourite and Nicky used them to tempt me out of my bunk and get me on watch!

Dolphins was what we saw most of on the crossing once we had left the French Navy behind. It seemed slightly odd to us because we are normally used to dodging shipping when we cross the English Channel. Here it was all very relaxed and with the depth off the Continental Shelf at over 4000 metres there weren't even lobster-pot markers to worry about.

The depth guage got a bit confused as the depth went above 160 meters but came back as we neared Spain.

Isla Pancha lighthouse

The approach to Ria de Ribadeo is dominated by the coastal road bridge which spans the ria and, on the right, the lighthouse on Isla Pancha. The hills behind are green and were slightly misty as we approached on the morning of 4 May. With the bright blue sky and sea it was a beautiful landfall. I should have had my camera out and taken a photo but we were busy negotiating the dog-legged approach and I missed the opportunity.

We moored up in the marina without any difficulties. There was even a member of the marina staff waiting to take our lines and to help us settle in. It was a great end to our crossing and proved that it had been well worth waiting for the right weather window to make it all very painless.

Time now to start enjoying Spain!

The main bridge spanning the Ria de Ribadeo and the marina just beyond