It had been a long time in the planning, and the cause of some anxiety and trepidation, but I’m pleased to report that we have now successfully crossed the Biscay and arrived in Portugal!
We were blessed with near perfect weather conditions: the feared Biscay swell and storms never materialised – if anything the wind was too light and a substantial part of the trip was under engine power. The conditions allowed us ample opportunity for dolphin sightings, navigation practice (including learning basic sextant navigation), and the obligatory 6pm celebratory beers.
Four of us did the passage: ourselves, able seaman John, and skilled yacht master Peter, who was on hand to keep us out of trouble. In total, the passage took 4 days and 7 1/2 hours, covering 574 nautical miles.
We only encountered a couple of minor hiccups: the first was a discovery of a small fuel leak from the tank gauge, when we noticed a worsening smell of diesel in the heads. Close inspection revealed a mis-fitting gasket, and we were able to effect an emergency repair using a piece of waxed whipping twine tied around the leaking seal.
The second hiccup came at the very end or the trip. We reached our intended port of Viano do Castelo on the morning of the fifth day, motored up river to the marina, only to find the waiting pontoon had been removed and no one answering calls on either VHF or mobile phone. The 10th of June is a national holiday, and it may be that no-one was working that day, but that didn’t help our arrival, and in the end we had to abandon Viano and return to the open sea to sail a further 20 miles south to the next port: Povoa de Varzim. Thankfully, here we were greeted by friendly marina staff who helped take our lines and tie us alongside a pontoon. We had arrived!
Big thanks to Peter and John, who made the passage both safe and enjoyable. They are staying with us for a few more days as we plan to continue our journey south along the Portuguese coast (clearly we didn’t put them off our company on the Biscay crossing!)
I have taken a video of the crossing, and will upload it once I’ve found the time for some editing (may be a few days yet…). Meanwhile, we have enjoyed a day of rest in Povoa – including a completely over-the-top lunch in the main square. Tomorrow we will sail to Leixoes (near the mouth of the Porto river), and perhaps enjoy a small glass of Port.
Glad you’ve all got there in one piece even if the celebrations may have dented it.
Regards to Peter from myself and David
Hi Cate and Jonathon, I have just seen the video of Biscay – amazing shots of the dolphins and the serenity of sunrise, and sunshots at mid-day, excellent editing skills Jono!
It’s now a week since we arrived in Portugal and I thought I would share a few of the highlights of the trip. Firstly, I really appreciated the thorough preparation of the boat and the planning for the crossing. Cate is a planner personified, every detail checked and re-checked. We actually left on time at 0800 hrs which is a rare occurrence on such trips! The smooth running of the boat, falling into watches was accepted readily by all of us. The night watches were the most special with sights of Mars setting in the red sky at dusk or on the Eastern side Saturn and Jupiter rising agaisnt the backdrop of the Milky Way. Our sunshots at midday improved from 9 miles accuracy to under 2 miles. Just think what it will be in a few week’s time. Don’t forget to do a sun shot on 21 June (longest day). Swimming in 4.7km depth in the middle of the tranquil sea. The abundance of porpoise and dolphins playing with our bow wave. Our daily get together for 6 o’clockers when we had tapas and beers/wine and relaxed in the sunshine.
On the second night watch, John and I started playing cribbage but sometimes it was me against granny Warleggan or Alan Bennett depending which persona John was adopting that night, We got pretty good at the game, enough to challenge C&J. This is were Jono’s pegging strength game into play beating us twice by one point. The tasty meals we ate in the square of Povoa and the sumptious banquet at the restaurant in Leixioes – truly memorable. Merryn is a beautiful boat, lovingly fitted out with reliable gear – especially the addition of Helen the wind self steerer. She will keep you both safe and dry. Like most trips it’s the memories of the people that you cherish and I would like to thank both Cate and Jonathan for being the perfect hosts and shipmates. Enjoy many many 6 o’clockers. Best Regards Peter
Peter,
Lovely to hear from you, and thank you so much for your kind words. We had a terrific trip, and you must take credit for much of that. I wish I could take credit for the cribbage wins, but as any player of the game will know, I can only claim to have been lucky!