Camarinas, Atlantic Spain to Gibraltar

 We left lovely Camarinas on Thursday 28^th May for the 68 mile passage to Baiona. The wind looked perfect on the forecast but there was not enough to sail until 1300hrs. We put two poles up and flew twin headsails all the way to Baiona. We decided to anchor for the night off the beach at Panjon, which is just across the bay from Baiona.

The Pinter in Baiona, Spain

The next day we contacted Baiona Marina to book a berth for one night. They no longer had a fuel berth, so we took on diesel at Monte Real Club de Latas de Baiona nearby. A famous person had been here before us and his ship, The Pinter, was tied up nearby. We returned to Baiona Marina and tied to their long pontoon for the night. We were surprised that there was no security. There were no gates requiring keys or codes for berth holders and the toilets and showers were always open.

 

Torn sacrificial strip

Jeremy had researched bicycle shops, so we walked along to one that happened to be owned by an English speaking Belgian, who was also a sailor. He didn’t usually have parts but he did have a sprocket somewhere. He found it and amazingly, it was the right size for our anchor windlass. Back on Sal Darago, Jeremy took the anchor windlass apart again and fitted the new sprocket. Would it work this time? We wouldn’t know until we anchored. We provisioned and prepared Sal Darago for our next passage, which would be two nights at sea, and would take us to Cascais in Portugal.

I remembered in the morning that we needed to mend the tears in the sacrificial strip on the genoa. For non-sailors, this is a long strip of usually different coloured cloth sewn along the long edge of the genoa. When the sail is furled, this sacrificial strip protects the sail from sunlight and prolongs the life of the genoa. Ours needs replacing soon. In the meantime, Jeremy was able to stick spinnaker tape over the tears. Fortunately, there was little wind, so we were able to do this.

 

Passing Cabo Sao Vicente, Portugal, in rough seas

We left Baiona at 0900hrs. By lunchtime we had two poles up and we were flying twin headsails. The northern Portugese Trade winds were helping us and we had current in our favour. The wind was cold even when it was sunny. The lumpy sea became a noticeable swell and there were a few breaking waves. At night, we had to watch out for fishing vessels as we passed Aveiro in Portugal. Towards the end of the second day the conditions were good. There were no strong wind warnings. We were near enough to mainland Portugal as we passed Berlenga Island to pick up a forecast from Windy on our phones. If we stopped at Cascais, we could be stuck there for a while as strong winds were coming. If we continued, we should be round Cabo Sao Vicente before they arrived. This was confirmed by a local forecast on Navtex, our weather receiver on board, which said “N/NW 5-6. Visibility good to moderate. NW waves 1.5m to ?”We were left guessing how big the waves were going to be.

We decided to continue and spend a third night at sea. It all started well until I had to make a course change at 0200. The small genoa I was flying suddenly backed and our wind pilot, Hydrovane, could not steer us back on course. I hand steered and tried to sail the course. I needed to furl the genoa completely but I couldn’t leave the helm. I called Jeremy up from his bed. This was too much for me to handle in the middle of the night. Later, on his watch, Jeremy took down the No.2 jib and steered by reefed genoa alone.

Alice and Zofia trying new dishes

By 0800 we had 17-24 knots of wind behind and breaking waves. We broached. I furled the genoa more and took Stugeron. The barometer fell 4hps. Sal Darago continued surfing, swinging and rolling in the boisterous sea. Fishing trawlers were out in these awful conditions. The sun shone and the sky was blue, which seemed odd. As we approached Cabo Sao Vicente, the wind eased but the sea continued to be big and lively. We tied our companionway boards in place. I went down below to steer by auotopilot, Neco, as Jeremy had started the engine. Amazingly, there was a motor catamaran coming towards us steering into the wind! We steered to starboard and passed safely.

 

Alice

Cabo Sao Vicente was impressive with its high cliffs and lighthouse. We altered course for Sagres Bay. We had one more point to go round. Henry the Navigator had his “school” on top. We could see the remains. At 2100 Spanish time, we dropped the anchor in Sagres Bay. It was still windy but it was calm and we were safe. The following morning the anchor windlass with it’s new sprocket lifted the anchor. Hurrah!

 

Kathy, Alice, Zofia and Jeremy at Chipiona

After a good night’s sleep were set off for Portimao at 0800. It was a short trip of only 18 miles and we were there by lunchtime, having sailed with 2 reefs in the mainsail and a small genoa on a beam reach (said to be the fastest point of sail.) As usual, we checked in, found somewhere for lunch, shopped at a supermarket and had showers back at the marina. We couldn’t do our laundry as the facility was closed at 1830.

 

Alice and Zofia

Our next destination along the beautiful Algarve coast was Faro, 34 miles away. The winds were generally light, so we motorsailed. We anchored in a tidal lagoon behind Ilha da Culatra for the night. Faro was about 5 miles away. On checking the engine, Jeremy was shocked to find oil had sprayed all over one side. He cleaned it up but it was a mystery as to where it had come from and why it had happened. This anchorage was our last destination in Portugal.

 

Approaching Gibraltar

At 0605 on Thursday 4^th June, we prepared to leave Faro. We had a long day ahead of us. It was 67 miles to Chipiona in Spain. We had arranged to meet out great niece, Alice, who was studying at the University of Seville, and her friend, Zofia, the following day. The winds were variable in strength so we were sometimes motoring and sometimes sailing. There seemed to be ships everywhere. I passed five drifting or at anchor, another crossed our bow and another passed close to starboard. The swell increased as we approached the harbour making it challenging to take down the mainsail. It was a relief to enter the harbour and tie to the fuel dock behind the Guardia Civilia. They were not looking forward to going out in the rough seas we had just encountered.

 

Passing ships in Gibraltar Bay

The next day we moved to a berth. I had a shower and did our laundry while Jeremy walked to the nearest supermarket for provisions. Alice and Zofia arrived about noon. Alice is now a fluent Spanish speaker, which was very useful at lunchtime interpreting the menu! We had a tapas lunch and tried new dishes such as fish eggs and fried cuttle fish. Afterwards, we walked along the beach and promenade to a lighthouse and on through the town to the bus station. We were sad to say goodbye after we’d had such a lovely time chatting, eating and walking.

Our next destination was Barbate. We were now close to the orca danger area, where most attacks and sightings have been recorded on the www.orcas.pt website. The advice was to keep in water no deeper than 20 metres if it was safe to do so. We followed the advice. Sometimes we came across tuna nets stretching out from the shore for as much as 5 miles. We had no choice but to follow the net round before returning to shallower water. We did not see any orcas although Jeremy was close to having a heart attack when he saw a pod of dolphins! He also heard a Mayday call on the VHF radio. A yacht was under attack by orcas. We later learned that the boat was not damaged and the couple on board were all right. They had been further out to sea and coming from the opposite direction. We spent two nights at Barbate to allow adverse winds to ease down.

Jeremy and Kathy on the Rock

 On Monday 8^th June, we set sail for Gibratar, avoiding tuna nets and the tidal race off Tarifa. We had booked a berth at Queensway Quay Marina 24 hours before our arrival, as advised in our cruising guide. The Rock of Gibraltar is impressive and dominates the landscape. We dared not look for too long as the large bay was busier than the Solent in the UK with all kind of vessels, the scariest being fast passenger catamarans. We managed to avoid moving ships, anchored ships and a massive bunkering barge. We took down our sails in the bouncing wake of a fast ferry. Peace returned as we called Queensway Quay Marina and followed their clear directions to our pre-booked berth, where a friendly member of staff took our shore lines and made sure we were secure. Berthing was stern or bows to a pontoon. We chose to be stern to.

 

Gibraltar from the Rock

We spent 3 nights in Gibraltar, speaking English, paying in GB pounds and feeling very much at home, except for the 28-32C daytime temperature.

Audierne, France to Camarina, Northwest Spain

The damaged anchor on the bow

 Were we able to fix the anchor windlass in Audierne? The short answer is partially. The marina manager and local bike shops were very helpful, but neither had the right size of sprocket (cog) to replace our broken one. The local blacksmith was on holiday and the bike shops did not have a large enough wrench to remove a metal collar from the inner workings of the windlass. We were advised to try Stratimer, a local boatyard after the next day.

Birthday tea on Sal Darago

We were able to celebrate my birthday with lunch at Kantiner. Their specialism was Moules Frites. There were only 5 tables in the intimate restaurant and the food was cooked on arrival. It was lovely to relax for a while between supermarket shopping in the morning and doing the laundry in the afternoon.

 

Damaged tip of anchor

We walked to Stratimer the day after the public holiday. It was closed. We were quite close to the fishing quay, so went there to ask if any engineers were around. It was very quiet. A man left his car engine running and went up ladders to his boat in the yard opposite. When he came down Jeremy showed him the part and asked for advice. Good things happen sometimes! The man was an engineer. He had a workshop nearby. He could remove the metal collar. He was closed but he would help us anyway. He took us in his car to his workshop, produced a metre long wrench and removed the offending part. He refused payment! We don’t even know his name but we appreciate his kindness to us.

 

Approaching Vieux Port

Later, Jeremy made a temporary repair of the anchor windlass, using and undersized sprocket form the bike shop. The next day, Saturday 16^th May, we left Audierne and sailed overnight to La Rochelle, tying up at Vieux Port in the centre of the town. It was a passage of 168 miles, with light to moderate winds backing from SW to NNW.

 

Botanical garden, La Rochelle

We spent three nights in La Rochelle. Mostly, we did the usual things: shopping, laundry, showers, catching up on sleep. We did spend one day in the rain walking a historical route through the old town. Whilst sheltering under a tree in a botanical garden we met a couple from Newton-le-Willows, a town close to Wrightington in Lancashire, where we used to live. Small world! Our granddaughter, Ellie, became a teenager.

 

Old Town Hall. Henry IV is in the turret

We left La Rochelle in light winds that soon became 14 knots on the nose. Changing course made little difference as the swell was high and the motion uncomfortable. I took a Stugeron and asked Jeremy to cook lunch. Gradually, the wind eased, the sun came out and the motion of the boat improved as we left the continental shelf behind. We were at sea for two nights. The wind was generally light, starting with westerlies, swinging to easterlies and ending with westerlies as we approached Gijon in Northern Spain. One of these swings took place within minutes on my watch, jamming the preventer line and breaking a block. We had travelled 229 miles and crossed the Bay of Biscay.

 

Lantern Tower, La Rochelle

Checking in at the marina in Gijon was straightforward. The usual ship’s papers were required, our passports and a copy of our boat insurance. The visitors’ section of the marina was closed but a berth was available in another part of the marina. We filled up with diesel at the fuel berth. The office, showers and toilets were a 10-15 minute walk away around the harbour. We were not prepared for the heat on arrival. Soon we were wearing shorts and sandals, finding fans to cool Sal Darago and putting up insect nets. It was 36C, a big change from 14C in La Rochelle. The next day it was 10 degrees cooler.

 

The cathedral at La Rochelle

We stayed in Gijon for two nights, Friday and Saturday 22^nd and 23^rd May. Each evening, it seemed that the whole town gathered on the quayside, eating, drinking and chatting. This did not disturb us on the Friday and all was quiet by 10pm. Saturday’s gathering turned into a party, with loud communal singing. This went on until 6am! While we were in Gijon, Jeremy bought a Spanish SIM card. We had pleasant lunch at Meson Santo, bought provisions for our next passage and filled up with water.

 

Guess where?

As we prepared to leave Gijon, we sang Happy Birthday to our sister-in-law, Eileen. We expected a downwind, overnight coastal sail in easterly winds to either La Coruna or Laxe. We fixed our inner forestay in place, lashed the No2 jib to the guard rail and put downhaul lines in place ready for two spinnaker poles. We would sail with twin headsails and Hydrovane would steer. Well, the weather doesn’t always do as predicted. We left Gijon in fog with about half a mile of visibility out at sea and light NNW winds! We moved about a mile out to sea and found light easterlies. Wind speeds were variable from 0-13 knots. The genoa was let out and furled so many times we lost count. Just before midnight, Jeremy took down both poles and tied up the No2 jib. We motored.

 

Sal Darago at Gijon

We decided to continue to Laxe before southerly winds arrived. We needed northerlies for Atlantic Spain. The moderate wind turned SW as we approached Punta del Rocundo. Within minutes Atlantic fog rolled in, the sea changed colour and became choppy, making our last, few miles uncomfortable and cold. We were happy to drop the anchor off the lovely, curved beach in Laxe. A Dutch catamaran called Hermit was anchored nearby.

Passing Cabo Villano

Weighing anchor this morning, 26^th May, Jeremy found the new sprocket in the anchor windlass was not big enough to be effective. 

 

Catamaran and beach at Laxe

He pulled the anchor up by hand and we motored 20 miles to Ria Camarinas and anchored off the harbour. There are three other yachts on anchor. Two of them are British and one is German. We be expect to be here for two nights, before a northerly wind wafts us to Bayona.

Anchored off Camarinas

 

Sailing Again

 River Deben, Suffolk, UK to Audierne, France

Hello again readers of this blog. Jeremy and I are on the water again in our Westerly Solway, Sal Darago. Here’s a quick overview of the winter months of 2026.

Norwich Cathedral

In January, we had our annual meet up with Graham and Val. This time we met at Norwich Cathedral, which we explored, followed by a long, catch-up lunch in a nearby pub.

Our local river, the Deben flooded in February, making country walks impassable. Jeremy and I gave a talk to the Westerly Owners’ Association East Coast Group. We showed slides and videos about our trip back from Australia in 2022-2023. Jeremy became one year older, Valentine’s Day was celebrated and we enjoyed days out with Emily, Ben, Ellie and Sophie. Our American granddaughter, Ramona, celebrated her 5^th birthday.

March was still cold and wet. Sal Darago was visited and some winter maintenance completed in the boatyard at Melton. Sophie reached double figures on her birthday and Nina in America, became 7 years old.

Thurnham Hall, Lancaster. Our accommodation before going to the Isle of Man

Serious work started on Sal Darago in April before we went to visit family in the Isle of Man and then on to the Isle of Mull to spend Easter with our Suffolk family. Once we were back in Suffolk, we prepared Sal Darago for launching on 27th April. Our first trip was downriver to our mooring at Ramsholt, where the wind blew at 20 knots and the boat heeled on her mooring!

On holiday in Mull

On Friday 1^st May, we left our house in the care of our daughter and the neighbours. Sal Darago was to be our home again. That evening, Jeremy replaced the head of the log. There’s always something that doesn’t work! The next day, we met Em, Ben and the girls at the Ramsholt Arms for lunch and spent the afternoon relaxing on the beach in the sunshine. On Sunday 3^rd May we left the River Deben and motorsailed for two and a half hours to the River Orwell. We anchored for the night at Stone Heaps off Shotley. The next day Jeremy weighed anchor at 0500 hours for our passage to Ramsgate in Kent. The navigation lights didn’t work (they worked well when tested previously in the boatyard) and triggered the circuit breaker. Otherwise all went well. The cooking gas conveniently ran out later when we were berthed in Ramsgate Marina.

Sunset on the River Deben

Tuesday 5^th May saw us leaving Ramsgate for a short passage to Dover. There was a smell of gas outside on the deck. The regulator to the gas bottle was leaking. Jeremy changed the regulator. Then there was a smell of petrol. The tank in the dinghy’s outboard engine was leaking. This took a bit longer to fix. As we had arrived in Dover in the morning, I suggested a walk to the Western Heights described as “easy.” Well it would be if you drove to the car park and walked along the white, cliff top but not if you walked from sea level as we did!

Kathy on the Western Heights above Dover

Our next port of call was Eastbourne, where we sailed for three hours in a fresh ENE wind. The rest of the passage was a motorsail as the wind eased. We locked in during the afternoon, topped up with diesel and fresh water, provisioned at Asda and ate out at the Harvester pub.

From Eastbourne, we motorsailed in light winds to Chichester Harbour, anchoring for the night at East Head, off a spit of land called Ella Nore. It was raining when Jeremy called Chichester Harbour at 8.15 the next morning. We could tie to their waiting pontoon for 4 hours and pay for a short stay. This would enable us to go to Force 4 Marine for a new Nasa wind speed and direction indicator. We were advised to wait until 10.30am before motoring up the channel, as the it was close to low water for the tide. We decided to try our luck at 8.30 and arrived at the waiting pontoon at 9.40, only touching the soft, muddy bottom once.

Force 4 Marine kept their last wind instrument for us. We bought it and quite a few other items as sailors do when visiting a chandlery. Our rucksacks were bulging as we boarded a bus back to the marina. After lunch, we left for the Solent anchoring for the night at Newton River on the Isle of Wight. We informed UK Border Force of our intention to leave the UK the next day. Then we informed French Border Force of our intention to arrive. This was done online. We attached a copy to an email and sent it to Chantereyne Marina in Cherbourg.

We’d had a good run with mainly moderate wind in the right direction. The forecast warned us of a change to come “later”- easterly winds gusting to force 7 – i.e. a near gale. Jeremy was confident we would make it to Cherbourg in plenty of time. I wasn’t so sure. As it happened he was right, but it was very worrying hearing both Solent Coastguard and the French equivalent, broadcasting strong winds and a near gale all the way across to France. I took Stugeron to be on the safe side. At 1810 on Saturday 9^th May, we tied up to the visitors’ pontoon in Chantereyne Marina, Cherbourg Harbour. The strong winds arrived in the night and continued throughout Sunday, moderating by Monday morning.

Checking in at the marina was easy. No passports were requested, no need to see the police, every marina had their own method of checking in, we were told. We stayed for two nights.

On Monday 11^th May the wind was still blowing, but not as hard. We went to the fuel berth first and filled up with diesel. Then we left the massive harbour at Cherbourg and caught the fast moving tide around Cape Hague followed by the Alderney Race. The sea was rough at first, then calmer as we went between Guernsey and Jersey on our way to the Chenal de Four. This was our first overnight sail of this trip and the winds were largely fresh from the N or NW. Jeremy became convinced there was something on the propeller, so we hove to, slowing down dramatically, and he went over the stern wearing a snorkel mask. He pulled a large circle of seaweed and fishing twine from the prop.

Anse Ste Evette

 By sunrise the winds were calmer and the sea was more comfortable. Unfortunately, the preventer line, which prevents the mainsail and boom blowing hard across the stern when downwind sailing, caught under a solar panel on our bimini and ripped the tape loop off that holds the solar panel in place. Another sewing job for Jeremy, pushing a needle and thread through several layers of canvas. At 11am we anchored off Porsmageur to wait for the tide to take us through the Canal de Four. This was a recommended anchorage in our cruising guide. The bay was sheltered with a sandy bottom and a fair number of small boat moorings inshore. The anchor dragged straight away. Then it held but the bottom felt more like rock than sand.

Jeremy behind a wind break taking the anchor windlass apart

 We enjoyed our four hour stop. We had lunch and caught up on some sleep until it was time to go. The anchor was stuck fast. In trying to free it, the anchor windlass broke. The anchor came free and Jeremy hauled it on deck by hand. We continued our journey, passing through the Canal de Four, which is the inshore passage between the island of Ushant and the French coast, and the Raz de Seine in one strong and fast moving tide. We anchored for the night in Anse St Evette. Jeremy started working on the broken anchor windlass. After much hammering and brute force, he took it apart and brought it into the cockpit in pieces.

Audierne Marina. Can you spot Sal Darago?

 

 There was much discussion the next day, but eventually it was decided to go up the nearby river to Audienne and berth in the marina. The wind was gusty but Jeremy managed to haul the anchor up manually between gusts. We tied up in the marina and learnt it was a public holiday for Ascension Day the following day. All workshops would be closed. To find out if the anchor windlass could be fixed you’ll have to wait for the next blog.

Kathy's birthday lunch - Moules Frites