Tag Archives: cape Finisterre

The infamous Cape Finisterre and on to Bayona

Posted on by

Cape Finisterre in October

Camarinas was a just a ‘sleep stop’ but it was here that we said our tentative goodbyes to the crew of ‘Yayou’ as they pushed on towards Porto at an unsavory hour. I state “tentative goodbyes”, because we may yet catch up with Andre further south.

Another Bonito for supper

The rest of us rugged up for a 9am departure and set off in a chilly Force 5. As luck would have it, upon reaching the infamous Cape Finisterre, Aeolus let up on his puffing. The sea rapidly calmed, and we were able to motor to within a cable of the headland. What followed was a once in a life-time ‘hey mum, look at me’ photo-shoot, sailing between the mainland and Finisterre’s little island. The local fishermen must have thought we’d gone completely loco.

Fish feast (German family centre)

On route I managed to catch another whopper of a bonito, so after anchoring off a lovely beach in Muros, I set about preparing the catch of the day. Much too much fish for one person, so the usual crowd gathered on ‘Avel Vat’ and we invited everyone else at the anchorage (just one German registered vessel) to join us for a fish feast.

Force 6 with gusts of Force 7 the following morning had me scrambling to put in one reef after another. It took quite a while to find a sail combination Eileen appreciated, but when we’d reached three reefs for the mainsail and set a whisker pole on the stay-sail she settled down. Eileen of Avoca managed to glide effortlessly at 6 knots under this sail arrangement! Not too shabby for a little 23ft boat.

Life vest inflates!

Unfortunately the wind did not last, and now that we have reached Bayona the forecast is for more dead calms. Looks like I will be using the motor generously over the next few days.

Despite the novel easy-going conditions I’ve still managed to get into all sorts of trouble. The latest incident involved getting the inflation cord of my life vest stuck while lowering the mainsail.

Now that it has been unexpectedly inflated, the vest is almost useless until I can find a replacement CO2 cartridge and have the zippers reset. Naturally the type of cartridge I need is about as common as 23ft boats crossing the Atlantic!

I’ve reached La Coruna!

Posted on by

Fog off Cape Finisterre

Upon rounding Cape Finisterre or Promunturium Nerium as the Romans called it (for the Latin buffs), I found myself motoring on a tranquil sea with light variable winds, thoroughly surrounded by FOG!!!

With my radar detector buzzing a stream of constant warnings, I desperately rummaged through mounds of safety gear to find my ‘never before used’ aerosol fog horn.

Seizing the can of noise just as a fishing vessel materialized from the mist, I gave the big red button a serious push, only to have the blasted contraption squeak once (and rather feebly at that) before turning mute.

Despite liberal application of several unimaginative expletives, my efforts to ‘blow my own horn’ came to naught, though I probably needn’t have worried, anyone within a mile of Eileen would surely have heard my ravings. 😉

The fog was so much fun, I took a photo of it as a keepsake. Voila!

By midday the mist lifted and eight happy uneventful hours later, I was within sight of the “Tower of Hercules”, the only ancient Roman lighthouse still in use today. Not long afterward I was safely tied to the visitors berth at La Coruna rolling with the other boats in the wash from the constant comings and goings of the pilot boat.

An anchorage off the beach at Finisterre

Posted on by

Beach anchorage at Finisterre

I was not going to round Finisterre with north to northwest winds (from Force 4 to 6), so I only motored as far as the headland for a peek at the conditions (in a word… ugly), before turning to plan A and making for the beach anchorage northeast of the town.

Provided there isn’t too much roll, and the wind doesn’t shift so that you end up in surf, I’ve come to enjoy staying at beach anchorages. They can be so easy! You just approach the shoreline until you arrive at your desired anchoring depth (5 to 6m for me), and drop your hook in the clean white sand. No fenders to tie, no rocks to rub up against your hull, and no weed to reek havoc with your anchors holding ability. Bliss! As an added bonus you get to ‘people watch’ landlubbers for your afternoons entertainment.

Dawn at Finisterre anchorage

The port of Finisterre has virtually no room for a visiting yacht, but the anchorage served quite satisfactorily for my overnight stay as the winds died down to Force 1 and the seas settled. Just as predicted in the weather forecasts… What a novelty!

Rising at dawn, I photographed the French yacht that had come to share “my” beach retreat before joining the rush of fishing vessels heading for the cape.