Celebrating our arrival
We finally
made it to La Coruna on 11th July. The crossing was better than we
expected, but it did have its moments…
Monday 9th July. We
left Audierne, as planned, at 7.15am.
The sky was overcast and we had a 14-20 knot south westerly wind but
were able to sail close to our course. At first the waves were between 0.5 and
1 metre, but by the evening the swell had increased to around 2 metres and the
motion had become more uncomfortable. Jean was sick twice and carried on with
his watch regardless. I took the helm at 10pm feeling queasy, although watching dolphins swim
alongside the boat provided a pleasant distraction. By midnight my supper was
in the bucket and I was ready to collapse on my bunk as Cliff took over the
helm. The wind then dropped, so we had a rolly motor sail throughout the night.
Sun, sea and Bach
Tuesday 10th July. My
attempt at an early morning watch lasted minutes before the bucket came out againand
I went below to sleep. By midday the engine was off and we were sailing again.
The wind had increased but waves had eased and I began to feel much
better. Early evening saw me on the helm
again, the boat sailing beautifully at 6.5 knots in a gentle, 10 knot westerly wind,
the sun glinting low on the sea and Jean’s CD of Bach’s Goldberg Variations
playing in the background – perfect.
Jean discovers Marmite
Dolphins playing on the bow
Wednesday 11th July. I took the early morning watch and as the sun
rose I could see the outline of the Spanish mainland – almost there! A school of dolphins appeared to help me
celebrate and I let the autohelm do the work while I watched them play in the
bow wave. The morning bought calm seas with a gentle swell and no wind, so we continued
to motorsail. Both Jean and I felt well enough to eat breakfast and Cliff
introduced Jean to Marmite, which he loved! We finally reached Coruna Marina at
3.15pm and were soon joined by Richard and Rowena, who helped us celebrate our
arrival with a nicely chilled bottle of champagne.
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