04.00
Doncha just love anchor watch? Thought I would share this with yous for something to do while I wait for dawn.
Avy-J is currently stuck in a Spanish anchorage anchored in water deeper than I would have liked, with a boat that came in and anchored close-ish downwind of us just before sunset – – and the anchor alarm goes off at four in the morning.
06.00
Two hours so far of monitoring things suggests we seem to move a metre or so downwind in the strongest gusts. We have moved maybe 20 metres or so since setting the hook. Pretty sure we will make it to dawn (maybe another 90 minutes} without having to take decisive action if the wind doesn’t get up much more. Catherine gone for a lie-down.
We have 40m chain out in about 11m at the current state of tide, an hour and a half to high water. I would put some of the warp out as well, but it makes recovery more difficult in an emergency as the windlass won’t get a grip – and anyway I don’t really want to drop back much further. Getting out before dawn is not an option as this wee bay is hemmed in by densely packed mussel rafts (viveiros) that can only be navigated safely in full daylight.
The anchor was allowed to settle then set with about 1500rpm astern, quite a lot of tug with our big three bladed prop, and it’s not gusting over 20kts. The wind has turned through nearly 180 degrees though, so I am guessing it is a reset issue.
What with the suicidal jetskis rampaging around yesterday evening and now a very disturbed sleep, it will be a relief to see the sun come up and get the hell out of here.
09.00
Got our anchor on board, Suspiciously clean but with weed wrapped roun the roll bar. Motored round to Vilanova marina threading our way through the hundreds of Viveiro in an unexpected 20 knots of wind.
Vilanova is a dump, You don’t even get a key, you have to ask the single on-duty marinero to let you in. At night apparently a guard dog runs loose, and you have to wait for the marinero to grab it!
The alleged restaurant on site no longer exists, WiFi is non-existent and it’s nearly a mile to the only supermarket. I am beginning to think this must have been a paid entry in ‘Atlantic Spain and Portugal’, or at least written by someone who has never been here.
It was blowing 20 knots when we came in, and Windy says we may be here for a while. We’ve been stuffed in a corner it is not going to be easy to get this long keeler out of. Cheaper than La Coruna , but still overpriced at 22 euros a night for a 9m boat, no center cleats on the short pontoon and I am not even sure we could get out of this berth at low water springs. .
No-one speaks any English, so the idea of getting any help with the morse control is probably a non-starter, and I’ve gone off doing the job in the immediate future. The chandlery is very fishing-orientated, but not entirely useless.
I give it one star, wish my Spanish was a lot better. The annoying thing is, that wind this morning could have taken us down to Bayona. Now we could be in for a long beat or a few days here.
Forecast is for an insane 35 degrees this afternoon. We are going to see if there is a beach just North of the marina – there is one shown on the map we were given. Then maybe a shower – at least they look good.
Is this the start of your blog?
Hi there, A wildcard enquiry here; I noticed on the YBW forum that back in September you were enquiring after a secondhand Plastimo Neptune for the Avy-J. Well time has moved on, but would you be interested in buying a brand new one? I bought mine in 2002 for my narrowboat but I sold up and went to work in Thailand for 5 years. Paid £399. It Languished ever since in mum’s loft and had never been out of the box until minutes ago when I inspected it and took photos. It has oven, grille and two burners. It’s all complete with the grille tray, shelf, etc and has the pan-clamp/gimbals (with fixings still taped on) as well. The protective sticky film is still on the stainless. I’d be asking £200 and would post at cost, but heaven knows what that would be to Portugal, assuming you’re still there. It weighs 16.6kg and the cardboard box is 510 wide x 470 deep x 530mm high. I’d be delighted if my hoarding proved of use to you! Cheers, Steve.
Hi Steve,
Very interested. We are coming back to Scotland next week and could probably take it back as hold luggage with Ryanair when we return.
I will email you.
Hi to you both.
I’ve just stated reading this and find it really interesting. I plant to work my way through it. Your relaxed writing style makes for easy reading. I think you have the basis for a good book here.
Best wishes
Andrew
Thanks Andrew, good to hear from you. The blog stopped after we escaped from Cascais, so am now in the process of trying to bring it up to date. Catherine’s log is well worth a read.
Talking of books, I did turn a previous log – my wife and I’s 2006/2007 cruise to the Canariea and Azores – into a book