Rounding a cape can be anything from a walk in the park to a horrible experience. In our case rounding cape Finisterre was something in between. With waves over 6 meters and wind over 50 knots (about 90 km/hour) we had to wait for a weather window with less waves and wind. For this reason we stayed a bit longer in a Coruña than expected.
In the weather window we choose we still had some parts with waves over 3 meters and wind up to 30 knots against. Not dangerous, but uncomfortable for us and it creates a lot of wear and tear on the boat, but it held excellent. It is also for us a bit of a test on what we and our boat can endure and how to operate it in these conditions, as these ocean waves are new to us (The North Sea has smaller waves with a shorter wavelength).
Approaching the cape we prematurely congratulated ourselves on the achievement…. as the mainsail got stuck and we could not manage to lower it we rounded cape Finisterre with a half hoisted, flapping mainsail, not beautiful but successful anyway. In the end, reaching the harbour is what defines a successful sail.
We are now in the Rias Bajas (lower rivers) of Spain with some of the best cruising grounds of Spain. It is a known holiday area for Spanish people, but very unknown to the Dutch. There is an abundance of shellfish (which we enjoy) and prices are very modest. We anchored the first 2 days in beautiful Ria de Muros and then continued to the Ria de Arousa. This ria is the biggest of the Rias where most of Spanish mussels are grown.
We stayed a few days, visited friends of us in Boiro and took a bus which brought us in 50 minutes to Santiago de Compostela.
Arriving to Santiago, even though by bus from Boiro, does convey a feeling of concluding a pilgrimage, albeit an unorthodox one. It has taken Sunriser 2 months to arrive here by sea, a true pilgrimage in which ship and crew have encountered and surmounted obstacles and learned to deal with the limitations of a life lead by the sea and the weather.
As Galician sailors, we have experienced the “morriña” or nostalgy for family and friends and also the joy of reunion and of new friendships.
The coming days a new weather window comes up and we will go further south direction Porto.
Het ronden van Kapen is zelden het leukste van zo’n reis, maar zeker wel een van de spannendste onderdelen. Succes.
Dag Tim, maar het geeft ook een gevoel van iets bereikt te hebben. Dat is dan wel weer mooi.
wow! Helden! ik was ook benieuwd hoe het schip het op de oceaan zou doen. het schijnt dat er in de Caraïben ook veel mee gevaren wordt, klopt dat?
Ja, ze gaan de hele wereld over.
Mooie prestatie met de kaap Finisterra ronden. Hebben jullie de groeten aan Sint Jacob van mij gedaan?
Me alegro de veros con Begoña y Quique. Y de que todos estéis bien. Disfrutad!