Debbie said YES !!!!!!!!!!!!!

That’s right we getting MARRIED!!!!! I had decided during the trip that I wanted to ask her…. I’d missed her so much that I’d tried to buy an engagement ring on route however my credit card had been refused twice so I’d ended buying a “token” ring in la Corunna with the intention of asking her during the final trip to Mallorca sadly she was comatose and smelt of puke so I waited until she was showered and looking human again as we lay in bed and just before I fell asleep at 12 noon she said YES!!!
Finally I want to say thank you to all who have supported me particularly Susan & Angela, Gill and Robert, Pat and Tony, Louise and Pete, Alison and Dave, my brothers Nick and Richard, Ted and Small, and finally Debbie my FIANCEE who never asked me not to go and who supported me unselfishly for 4 months……what a girl!!!

The End.

The plans of mice & men......

The plan I mentioned in my last blog went out of the window the forecast was just awful and the predicted NE wind was going to make the trip hard which is not what I wanted for Debbie who is as enthusiastic as she is supportive yet alas a fragile sailor. Looking at the forecast again saw a weather window appear on the Thursday not great but with the winds veering from NE to SE it meant that the wind would not be on the nose and that at least we might be able to sail rather than motor which dramatically improves the motion of the boat. The trip was 78NM which should take about 18 hours so having gone ashore in the rain to stock up on food we slipped the anchor and headed out about midday sailing along the beautifully wooded coast of Ibiza. The weather window failed to materialise the wind remained stubbornly on the nose and we motored into a 15 knot headwind through a bumpy confused sea; the boat pitched and heaved and Debbie grew whiter and whiter until finally she succumbed and projectile vomited over my nice clean boat……she forced two sturgeron down and went to bed for the rest of the trip…….so much for the company!!!!!
The weather never really changed so it was a long cold night thumping through the choppy sea slowly moving inexorably onwards towards Palma and the finishing line. Off to the west a tremendous thunder storm crashed and flashed lighting up the sky thankfully I skirted the rain storms sweeping the horizon…. The lights of Palma finally lit up the horizon and as I crept into the bay I was passed by no less than 5 huge cruise liners …. The sun stated to light up the easterly sky and by 7.30 a.m. I could see well enough to moor up single handed….. I slipped round the breakwater and into the familiar harbour of San Antonio de Compestela just east of Palma city…. I tied up jumped ashore and could not believe that the journey was complete…..it was a huge anticlimax… not in a bad way but it was just like every other day for the last 4 months.
As soon as I turned the engine off Debbie suddenly came to life jumped ashore started talking at 50 miles an hour and wondered why I, who had had no sleep for 20 hours, was a little quiet!!! I love her but why sometimes I know not?
The following series of events was slightly surreal to say the least……I had always thought that getting here was going to be the easy bit and that finding a place to store the boat the tough one yet Debbie and I entered the marina office at 8.30 a.m. spoke to a women on the desk, I told her I’d like to get my boat taken out of the water and put in the boatyard in the next few days for about 8 months whilst I tried to find a permanent mooring…….just an hour later the boat was out of the water…it had been jet washed and we were on the bus home to our place in Palma….to soft beds, hot showers & a cold fridge!!! There was a big “Congratulations” sign on the front door and on entering a big “Well done David!!” a huge toblerone, two bottles of champagne and a card!!! Thank you Debbie & Small it was a really lovely surprise.

AND THE WEATHER CAME TOO!

Ok, who ordered the rain then?....... its bloody raining, can you believe it? Its been cracking the flags all week and I arrive to a grey miserable sky! However David’s smiling face shone through like a big bright sunshine. Its lovely to be with him at last. Well so far it’s forecast a gale and we may not be able to leave until Tue…… if you’re reading this Gill don’t panic as much as we are, I’ll catch a plane or ferry over to Palma to meet you. And if we don’t arrive then there are some beautiful hotels and hostels in Palma!
The boats rocking a bit (also a first David said) and I’m feeling slightly nauseous as I type this, my trusty band may be finding its way to my wrist if this continues, and to top it all i had to carry out my ablutions on the boat because we are out at anchor! with David present! Well i say present but i made him sit in the dinghy tied to the back of the boat, i think he's wishing that I'd flown straight to Palma.
But hey I would rather be here than sat at home thinking about being here!
No sign of Jimmy and June yet, ill check the nightclubs later!

San Antonio, Ibiza

The trip over to San Antonio on the west coast of Ibiza was event free; there was little wind so I motored most of the way dropping anchor in the bay about 6p.m. There is something very peaceful about swaying gently at anchor, its quiet there is always something to watch, normally the French making a mess of anchoring or the attractive German lady on the next boat who does yoga in a thong every morning, the wind is always on the bow so you get a nice draft through the boat and I sleep like the dead. I use my solar panel to keep the batteries topped up, I fill my water cans up from the beach showers which I also wash in and I potter around in my dinghy…..picking up the papers or something for lunch or a couple of beers so I can sit in the cockpit and watch the sun go down. I’m surrounded by 50 or 60 other boats doing the same, it feels like proper sailing and I love it.
San Antonio is exactly what you would expect, its full of people intent on enjoying themselves to the full and if you walk along the front at about 11 a.m. you see the living dead slumped on café chairs or on the beach but as the sun goes down and the neon lights start to flash so the living dead come alive and pour into the clubs which San Antonio is famous for and they party until dawn when they return to there comatose state.
I think I found the apartment block I stayed in when I was about 4, do you agree Nick?
Debbie is due to fly in on Wednesday and its been too long since I’ve seen her last, we plan to sail to a little bay on the north of the island then over to Port Andratx on Mallorca then the final trip along the coast to Palma where hopefully I will find somewhere to leave the boat until I can sort out a permanent mooring. Our good friends Gill & Robert are coming out on the 2nd October for a few days so I have plenty of time to get things sorted. Did I mention that the water temperature here is 29.6 degs C? Well I’m going for a swim now and I’ll float around doing my now famous manatee impression

Attacked by Flying Germans.....!!!!!!!!

I arrived in Torrevieja and anchored in the outer harbour only to be told within 5 minutes that this was not allowed and that I should go to the marina, which I did, when I woke in the morning there were about 5 boats anchored in the place I was so I concluded it was just a devious marina ruse to fill the coffers. This was just meant to be a brief stop and I was off again next day to Alicante, this was to be just a short run as I wanted to spend some time in Alicante, a city founded by the Romans and long occupied by the Moors, which is I believe very similar to Barcelona; I say I believe for, as I tried to book in to the Marina the sharp eyed receptionist who spoke perfect “cockney” sussed that my “insurance” document which you have to show at every marina just in case you damage something was completely bogus. She said adios and I had to implement plan B.
My insurance expired as soon as I crossed the channel and even though I had tried 3 or 4 companies no one would provide cover so I have been waving an old policy document which no one has queried, until now!
Plan B was to carry on another 20 miles up the coast to Villajoyosa which was a pretty enough place for a one night stop then back on the boat heading up the coast to Moraira which is my departure point for Ibiza. The first photo is taken from Moraira looking south and the hotels you can just about see in the middle are in Benidorm.
On the way to Moraira and as I passed the towering hotels of Benidorm I saw a German yacht sailing towards me…..no problem I could see him and he could see me….then as we were about 100m apart a pod of 5 or 6 dolphins appeared off his bow.. two women on his boat pointed and shouted and he, forgetting what he was doing, veered into my path….his foresail hid me from his view…..I had to take emergency action or I was going to be rammed by a much bigger boat…..I did an emergency 180deg gibe and put myself on a parallel course….he then realised that I was about somewhere…panicked and then having seen I had taken avoiding action showered me in apologies…phew!!!
I arrived in Moraira behind a French boat looking for a berth, he tied up at the last free space on the waiting pontoon and I saw him set off for the office on the far side of the marina; I called the office up on my VHF and was allotted the LAST free berth, this is their regatta week so everything is packed, and, having tied up, I watched the now disconsolate Frenchman walk back to his boat and leave the harbour. …today has been a good day only slightly spoiled by the fact I bought some Jif, or Cif, to clean a mark off the deck…..it did this so successfully that the patch I cleaned is so sparkly that the rest of the boat now looks dirty!!!! The second photo is of the marina in Moraira.
If the easterlies die out over night I will be setting off for Ibiza tomorrow, probably my last single handed sail, and, for the first time I got a little “I don’t want this to end” feeling in my stomach…..thankfully this turned out to be wind.

Attacked by Flying Fish.........!!!!!!!!!!

6th-14th September

When I left Gibraltar it was raining again and yet 3 miles on it was a clear starry sky, do you think if they renounced the UK their weather would improve? Well today’s target was an anchorage off Fuengirola which I duly reached, the beach was packed and from all the music that was still playing as I raised my anchor and sailed away at 5 a.m. they sure were having a good time. My next stop was Motril where I had intended to anchor in the lee of huge commercial dock but as I passed the local marina a marinero waved me in and helped secure to a berth, I stayed here two days why I have no idea it was as bland as any seaside resort could be with nothing to offer in fact the most fun I had was dodging the largest cockroaches I have ever seen in the toilets!! Debbie would have loved that! There was no tourist information office……I think that says it all.
I left and sailed on along the Costa del Sol towards Almerimar a beautiful modern purpose built marina complex near the south east corner of Spain, it was well run and heaving with Northern Europeans, particularly Brits, who planned to winter there and I couldn’t blame them it was certainly better than a retirement home in Leeds.
All along the Costa del Sol runs a dramatic range of mountains sometimes falling straight into the sea and sometimes leaving a thin costal strip which is either covered in hotels or more likely in acres of plastic sheeting under which grows Northern Europe’s vegetables and salads. When you reach Cape de Gata, the south east tip of Spain, there standing at the boundary between Costas del Sol and Blanca is a towering white limestone pillar after which the rock is more beige than white, having said that Costa del Beige doesn’t have quite the same ring to it does it? It was just as I rounded the cape that flying fish started appearing, first one then a couple more then every minute or so a shoal would emerge from the waves and glide effortlessly across 50 m of sea using their rear fins like a rudder, well they all do apart from one which unceremoniously crashed straight in to the side of the boat with a dull thud.
My next anchorage was in Carbonares, off a pretty town which unfortunately was also downwind from a particularly smelly power station and cement factory so off again north east to Cartagena which was a city I was looking forward to seeing, I woke early around 3 a.m. and decided to set off so I motored out in no wind under a cloudless sky until about 11 am when I saw in the distance a dark line on the sea; at first I though this was a point where two currents met but as it raced towards me I knew is was something much worse……it was the Levanter……the dreaded NW wind…..it came out of nowhere and when it hit me my wind gauge went from 0 to 30 knots in the space of 20 seconds the boat heeled over then raced away at 6 knots under mainsail alone…..the wind settled back to 20-25 knots I reefed the main and put out the foresail and sat there grinning as I raced along at a terrific lick… unfortunately the wind veered round to a north easterly right on my nose and I had to start tacking up through the crashing waves and this carried on for the next 9 long hours…. I was knackered, the boat was trashed…the cooker broke its hinges ending up wedged against the toilet and I jarred every bone in my body…..it was the hardest days sailing since Lands End and I was mightily relieved as I entered Cartagena harbour about 7.30 that night.
I was expecting a lot from Cartagena, it was founded by the Carthaginians, it was the starting point for Hannibal and his elephants, it had been a great Roman centre and the US fleet had used it for many years as their main base in the region. Well it was not a patch on Cadiz but it was the most interesting place I’ve visited since…..no plastic elephants but plenty of ruins and a submarine, apparently the inventor, a Mr. Isaac Peral, was born here. The first photo is of the marina looking towards the city, the second the submarine, the third the city hall outside of which I am sitting using their wifi and the final picture is of the historic Arsenal.
Tomorrow I’m off to Torrevieja for one or two nights then Alicante, Moraira then over to San Antonio in Ibiza which I last visited as a 4 yr old …… I wonder if it’s changed?

Through the Pillars of Hercules

2nd – 5th September

I woke up to find that the boat was covered with fine Saharan sand… so much for cleaning it yesterday….. anyway I left Barbate around ten and motored until the wind picked up a couple of hours later, I had to keep a sharp lookout as all along this coast are a number huge tuna nets which are moored between unlit cardinal buoys from March till October so no napping today! The tidal stream runs at 1 to 3 knots in and out of the Med so I had to time my approach otherwise I wasn’t going to make any headway; all went well and I rounded the most southerly point on the Iberian peninsular, the Tarifa light, which is behind the big ferry, entering the busy shipping lanes of the Straits. I am now running North East all the way to Palma……hooray!......so now going in the wrong direction anymore.
Between Tarifa and Gibraltar there was another fire on the hillside being fought by two planes and several helicopters…..the fire was winning hands down………..the resultant smoke was streaming east and covered Gibraltar nearly ruining my photo.
The next photo is of the southern pillar of Hercules in Morocco and as I turned into Gibraltar bay I saw about twenty flying fish off my beam, they appeared and glided for about 3 or 4 seconds then disappeared……..fantastic!!! Gibraltar bay is full of anchored ships both by Gibraltar and across off Algerciras where there is a huge smelly petrochemical plant apparently built by Franco after he closed the border so that the fumes would smother the Gibraltarians!
I’m in Marina Bay marina which is so close to the runway that I can toss a stone onto it but fortunately there are only about 6 planes a day and they stop about 8 p.m. so it’s not a problem. I moored and a very nice lady came over with a cold beer to welcome me and then her shipmate Mark invited me to join them on board their boat for a curry and a few beers…..a great night…… they are sailing down to the Canaries then over to the Caribbean for Christmas with 225 other boats on the annual ARC rally.
I woke today to the sound of RAIN…..strange to say but its rained here every day…..just like Manchester then. The plan was to take the cable car up the mountain but low cloud and rain has scuppered that so I’m preparing for the next leg now along the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca before crossing to Ibiza where Debbie is joining me for the final leg to Palma; I will have to hurry a long to be there in time so I will probably anchor much of the way which means it may be some time before I can post another chapter but I’ll make up for it in Ibiza.

Cadiz

29th August - 2nd September

I first visited Cadiz about 15 years ago at a time when I also visited many of the beautiful cities of Spain including Toledo and Salamanca and yet Cadiz stuck in my mind as a city I was looking forward to re-visiting. Cadiz is one of the oldest cities in Spain having been founded by the Phoenicians around 1100BC but it was during Spain's gold age when boat loads of gold etc. was brought back from the New World and this paid for the extensive fortifications the keep the piratical Royal Navy at bay and the street upon street of majestic buildings. Anyway before all that let me tell you about my crossing......I set off in thick fog from Vilamoura about 2pm having been assured by an arriving boat that the fog was only a mile thick, thankfully he was right and I emerged into a beautiful albeit windless afternoon. I motored towards Faro, about 4 hours away, and as I arrived so the did the wind which stayed with me until 4.30 in the morning. I had a great sail, lieing on my back looking at the canopy of stars so bright so numerous and over the the south I could see, as the sun set, a huge dust storm over Africa ....... just magical. Am I sorry that this is my last overnight trip...well yes and no....the stars are fantastic and the feeling of gliding in the total darkness is beautiful but its bloody cold and everything gets covered in dew, the funny thing about seawater is that it never really dries and as soon as the dew arrives it reabsorbs liquid and starts dripping everywhere.

I arrived at Puerto America marina about 11a.m. and went to sleep!!! as I do so well... later I walked along the fortified walls into Cadiz and happened on a fantastic jumble sale stetching a good 1/2 mile along a street......I bought a hand drill and a present for Debbie....no that's not right..... I know I bought Debbie a hand drill; boy will she be impressed!! I carried on into the main square and went to a service at the huge gothic Catherdral and as I came out I saw this woman talking a pig for a walk.... not something you see every day....is it? The strange thing is that no one else batted an eyelid.

On monday I went to a "freiduria" were, as Richard recommended, they serve fried fish....fabulous fried fish, squid etc. Cadiz claims that frying fish was "invented" here...maybe they were maybe they weren't....who cares... the fried whitebait were beautiful.
I set off for Barbate today , which is half way to Gibralter, and as I was leaving the harbour a Spanish frigate went past me a 20+knots hurrying somewhere and later as I passed Cape Trafalgar a Guardia Civil motor lauch came tearing past returning a little later with a cargo of "Moroccans" who had obviously been trying to cross the straits into Europe, Africa is so close in fact I'm sat here now writing this and as I look out of my door I can see the mountains of Morocco quite clearly... well it beats watching the rain in Manchester doesn't it.

And finally ..... I tried to put my running shorts on today.....not to go for a run your understand but to replace the ones I'd soaked whilst washing the boat, anyway, I nearly cut the blood supply off to my legs....I can't deny it I'm putting on weight and fast...oh well I am on holiday aren't I?

A nice cuppa tea..........

26th – 28th August

Leaving Sagres I had a great sail for the first two hours then someone turned the wind off and I motored for 8 hours along the Algarve coast past Lagos, Albufeira finally arriving at Vilamoura late in the afternoon. As soon as I’d passed Cape St. Vincent the sea changed…..gone are the large rolling waves and the deep swell I feel like I’m already in the Mediterranean in fact I heard my first cicada last night what more proof do you need.
This is the first English holiday resort I’ve visited and as you would expect it’s buzzing……this morning I went for a shower and seeing a couple tucking into bacon and egg I just couldn't resist so joined them and had a nice cuppa tea with my full English….lovely! The marina is very posh, the toilet seats even have plastic covers on them!.....Debbie would be in heaven! The pontoons are full of huge two and three deck white speedboats mostly flying the red ensign……you can smell the money here.
I’m going out now to check on the weather….if it’s favourable I will be setting off on my final overnight trip to Cadiz…..if it’s not I’ll be having another lovely breakfast!!

Turning East at Last!!!

23rd – 26th August

I headed out of Cascais marina at 5 a.m. rigged my sails and glided peacefully south over a light swell and under a stunning canopy of stars; I saw about 10 shooting stars all together…..really beautiful. Lisbon is a busy port and freighters came and went as I crossed the mouth of the Tejo. The sun starts to rise about 6:15 a.m. and I never tire of watching this paparticularly as it brings a bit of warmth to the day.
Sines is halfway between Cascais and Cape St.Vincent, the south westerly tip of Portugal, and it was also the birthplace of Dom Vasco da Gama the famous explorer and navigator who discovered the sea route to India thus ending Venice’s dominance of the trade routes.
Sines is a little town almost untouched by tourism, it’s very cheap it cost me 9E a night in the Marina compared with 24.90E at Cascais and the Marina has a wonderful collection of people who for what ever reason arrived and never left. In this blog I have never really mentioned the positive effect people such as these have had on my trip……….they are of a particular type…..they are very open, non-judgemental, generous and kind and without the help and companionship they have provided my trip would have been much the poorer. They are the sort who get swallowed up in our society yet here they can live day by day, help you come and go and dispense a little wisdom on the way. When I arrived my friend Mick, from Dun Laoghaire, took me for a cold beer on the terrace of the new Marina office we sat there with 8 others, a Welshman, a Swede, two Danes, two French, a Canadian and an Italian, drinking wine at a 1E for a very very large glass laughing and chatting as the sun went down. The Swede, Magnus, lives on a 50’ boat, he pays 1,300E a year which includes electricity, showers & use of a washing machine……beat that!!!!!!!!
I set off for Cape St.Vincent at 4a.m.; it’s 62NM and I wanted to get round before the strong northerly winds which arrive late in the afternoon kicked in. I had a very peaceful passage accompanied by the biggest pod of dolphins I’d seen yet, well over 50 of them, until I rounded the cape then I was hit by 25knot gusts which sent me skidding round at 6.5knots. I anchored just around the Cape in Sagres Bay under the cliffs upon which stand the remnants of Henry the Navigator’s original school. Mick arrived in “Blue Falcon” 20 mins later and invited me over to share a steak……I said no…..he’d had that steak a week and I could smell it from here. I’m getting quite good at anchoring now which is a good thing as I had 20+ knots all night and in the morning I had a hell of a workout hauling the anchor up against the wind anyway I waved good bye to Mick and finally turned east heading towards Gibraltar!!!

Senility.......the final proof

22nd August

As Richard quite rightly said Sintra, the historic summer retreat for the Kings of Portugal, is a Unesco site and as we approached it I had a tremendous feeling of deja-vu which isn’t entirely surprising since Debbie and I had been here 7 yrs ago!!!!!!!! I wasn’t impressed then and I’m still not…..I’m sure it used to be special but it’s choked with traffic and tacky shops and it’s rundown and well just very overrated so we had lunch and headed back to Cascais for a nap as there is a band on to night in the main square…….party party party!!

Debbie flies home tomorrow and if the winds okay I’ll be off on Sunday to Sines, pronounced “Cinch”, the birthplace of Vasco de Gama.

Finally on a menu today hidden amongst the desserts was “Slobber of Camel” we weren’t brave enough to order it so are none the wiser…….any suggestions?

The Great Escape

15th August

It’s so easy to be lulled into a false sense of security and so it was at Nazare and it was only at the last minute that I discovered that Capt. Mike was feeding us yoties exaggerated weather reports and tales of huge waves beyond the breakwater and beyond our sight to keep us in port and presumably to keep the funds flowing into the coffers. When I decided to leave he repeated his dire warnings told me there would be no room at Peniche, my next port, and that if I left he couldn’t promise me he’d be able to find me a berth if I wanted to turn back! What a guy! My friend Mick decided to stay another day I did not and went and found the conditions to be brisk but fine I arrived at Peniche and left the next day and had a lovely sail down to Cascais which is on the north bank of the River Tejo 10 miles east of Lisbon and it is here that I’ll wait for Debbie to join me.

19th August

Cascais is a pretty little holiday town which at some time in its past was a fishing village but this has long since been smothered by wealthy visitors, restaurants and souvenir shops. There are 3 curry houses here, we’ve tried two so far, which shouldn’t be a surprise when you realise that Brits make up the biggest ex-pat community; every shop sells the Daily Telegraph and you can buy Bovril in the supermarket.

Debbie and I caught the train to Lisbon yesterday, a beautiful city which was built during Portugal’s golden age when diamonds and precious metals flowed from Brazil to be converted into grand buildings, squares and churches we had lunch because that’s what we always do, funny really but our trips always seem to revolve around food. Grilled sardines are like their fast food here and they are so fresh and tasty….ummmmm!

Heading South

10th August

I sail down to Figueira Da Foz then straight on the next day to Nazare where I am now. The marina is run by a real character, Capt. Mike, and his very efficient wife Sally and they have turned this into a joy to be here. I am going to get the bus tomorrow to see Batalha Abbey and the tomb of Prince Henry the Navigator, but first lunch!

Beautiful Oporto

8-9th August

I arrive in Leixoes which is about as close to Oporto as you can get these days, I understand that if you try to sail up the Duoro you are quickly sent packing by the commercial traffic so here I moor in an interesting and very active harbour with a big fishing fleet and a serious container dock, for me it’s always more interesting when you watch big shops coming and going.
I catch the EU funded spanking new Metro system into Oporto which I find has changed little since I was last here 7 years ago with Debbie, our first holiday together and some very happy memories. Oporto is a wonderful city where very rich and very poor areas rub shoulders; the city is draped over a hill on the north bank and over the river in Vila Nova de Gaia lie the port warehouses with familiar names like Sandeman, Offleys, Taylors and Crofts. I visited the gothic cathedral and then walked down to the Palacio da Bolso, which is the old stock exchange, which has ornate rooms designed to denote great wealth, very opulent especially the Arabian room inspired by the Alhambra in Granada then over to the railway station which is decorated with scenes depicted in blue and white tiles, very grand. Finally I crossed the bridge designed by Gustav Eiffel of “Eiffel”tower fame and off for a tour of the “Offley’s” warehouse which included a taste of a beautiful white port as well as a tawny and a reserve before off for a lovely lunch overlooking the harbour……..happy days!

Home of Port

6-7th August

Today I’ve arrived in Portugal, I think, I say I think as the fog is so thick I can barely see 50m, thank god for gps for without it I would be scuppered. Strangely the fog is only about 5m thick so you can see the sky perfectly. As I arrive in Vianna do Castelo I can see the Basilica on Monte de Santa Luzia high above the town, this is my destination tomorrow.
Vianna is the home of Port, “Portugese wine”, apparently it was first brought to the UK by fishermen who swapped their nets for port, which, because it has been fortified with brandy, lasts a lot longer than wine. English Merchants became wise to the possibilities so a formal trade began and this continued to flourish until the harbour could no longer take the larger ships so the trade was transferred to the next largest harbour which was Oporto. The town, which is spotless, has a lot of narrow cobbled streets with a few beautiful squares and an amazing number of old hardware stores just like “Arkwrights” I very nearly became addicted as I browse and how I came out with less them 5 new gadgets I just don’t know but reassuringly if my horse goes lame I have the perfect tool for the job!
In the early morning I walked through the gates up 630 steps through an aromatic eucalyptus forest to the top, fantastic views, I’m moored just by the bridge this side of the river. There is a new funicular up to the top and I took this back down where I found a restaurant serving the local speciality, goat stew with roast potatoes, then I sat in a café where I watched the fog roll in again.

Bumble Bees on the way to Baiona

3rd - 5th August

Firstly Happy Birthday to my Big Brother Nick........ nearly 50 hey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I left Muros next day, I'd lost 3 days in A Coruna and I want to be in Lisbon by the 19th to see Debbie. Well I had a beautiful sail all the way and even a little race with a single handed French boat, which I just lost, dolphins everywhere, diving seabirds in fact everything except a whale and a sunfish which are the two creatures I long to see. Anyway off to Baione,Bayonna, a town I wanted to see as it was the first port Columbus landed on his return from discovering the New World....they have an exact replica of his ship the "Pinta" and I spoke to his shipmate and told him you should try it in a Sadler 26....that's real sailoring!!!!

On the promontory there are some medieval fortifications and a superb parador, sort of government run 5-star hotel designed to generate funds to take care of historic buildings a bit like if the National Trust turned Lyme Park into a hotel.

I'm spending two nights here before I set off for Vianna do Castella in Portugal so today I walked around the various monuments including a walk to the top of the highest hill to see the "Virgin in the Rock" a fantastic view and confirmation if my tightening trousers had not already made it clear that sailing is not a sport to keep you trim........... I must stop nibbling all day.

Surprising fact…….if I said what was the most common insect to land on the boat when it's say 5 miles off shore you probably wouldn’t say the bumblebee and yet this insect which I’ve always thought was aerodynamically unable to fly first appeared about 8 miles south of Newlyn and the weird thing is that you can see them quite along away off and its was flying north i.e. from France so could it have flown that far?.... who knows. They have since appeared off La Rochelle, crossing Biscay and twice today and no it’s not the same bee!