20th / 21st July
Cedeira is the first Ria, a sort of small Fjord, I will have been to a
nd very nice it is to, I was glad of the shelter for as I came around the headland the wind picked up to 25knts which sent the boat flying along at an alarming anglehowever inside the steep sided Ria all was peace thankfully. You turn left then right and you end up in a small lake really 
surrounded by forested mountains on all sides, the smell of eucalyptus and pine wood is everywhere really beautiful. Cedeira is a pretty enough town with a nice beach but no marina so the dozen or so yachts there were anchored which I now sort of prefer, it’s quieter and you get to potter
around in the dinghy which is fun.
They have a lovely old library which provides free wifi and outside I saw this very novel wedding invitation! I saw signs everywhere for a Percebes festival at the end of July and since this is the capital of the goose barnacle eating world I thought I better try some…..well they are salty, they would be wouldn’t they, and sort of nothing really so not as good as a lamb chop!
I stayed an extra day here to ride out a storm which hit about 10 pm. I thought I would be fine but the wind started to build and by midnight I had 30 knots over the deck; I lay there praying the anchor would hold, which it did thankfully, some where not so lucky and cut loose in the night. I have since spoken
to a couple who were on passage from Brest to A Coruna said it was a Force 9 gale so it might have been bad for me but a lot better than being at sea.
As I’m sat on the boat gently swinging at anchor I saw all this and I want to tell you this story as I couldn’t stop laughing for the hour it took to unfold………….
“The Frenchman, his Wife, the Anchor & the Man in the Pink Trousers”
About 2p.m. a French couple anchored about 200 meters away in a 40 ft yacht called “Providence” decide to leave and using their electric winch they start to haul in the anchor, he is helming and she is standing on the bow looking at the anchor. There is a grating noise, which is why I stated watching, and smoke starts to come from the winch. He shouts at her but she just stands there as the winch burns and then she shrugs and he walks along to have a look. He throws water on it? And tries again, Its covered in salty water now so it really smokes then stops…..he shouts and she shouts then he goes away and gets a big handle which I think he’s going to hit her with but instead he sticks it in the winch and starts to haul in the anchor manually……it stops…..they both haul on it but the anchor is stuck. Solution…..go and ask the man in the pink trousers on an even bigger yacht to help. So he gets in the dinghy but before he starts the engine he casts off so he’s now drifting, quite quickly, away. He tries to start the engine…..no luck…..he tries again…….no luck……he’s about ½ a mile away now and suddenly the outboard coughs into life and back he comes and off to plead for help with the man in the pink trousers. He’s flattered to be asked and gets in the dinghy….he casts off before he starts the engine and yes off he drifts whilst manically tugging at the starter cord….eventually it starts and back they come to the boat. They all stand at the bow looking at the anchor…they shrug and gesticulate and shrug some more…..the man in the pink trousers has lovely trousers so he’s not going to do any work so the wife has another go and then they take the man in the pink trousers back to his boat and when he casts off the dinghy before starting it he drifts off and this time the outboard does not start and he drifts around the breakwater….she shouts after him……he returns on another boat that has just arrived and drops him off at his boat. He’s not a happy Frenchman and so he walks to the bow unties the bitter end and throws all the chain into the sea…….starts his engine and disappears leaving an anchor and a lot of chain on the sea bed….you gotta laugh!!
nd very nice it is to, I was glad of the shelter for as I came around the headland the wind picked up to 25knts which sent the boat flying along at an alarming anglehowever inside the steep sided Ria all was peace thankfully. You turn left then right and you end up in a small lake really 
surrounded by forested mountains on all sides, the smell of eucalyptus and pine wood is everywhere really beautiful. Cedeira is a pretty enough town with a nice beach but no marina so the dozen or so yachts there were anchored which I now sort of prefer, it’s quieter and you get to potter
around in the dinghy which is fun.They have a lovely old library which provides free wifi and outside I saw this very novel wedding invitation! I saw signs everywhere for a Percebes festival at the end of July and since this is the capital of the goose barnacle eating world I thought I better try some…..well they are salty, they would be wouldn’t they, and sort of nothing really so not as good as a lamb chop!
I stayed an extra day here to ride out a storm which hit about 10 pm. I thought I would be fine but the wind started to build and by midnight I had 30 knots over the deck; I lay there praying the anchor would hold, which it did thankfully, some where not so lucky and cut loose in the night. I have since spoken
to a couple who were on passage from Brest to A Coruna said it was a Force 9 gale so it might have been bad for me but a lot better than being at sea.As I’m sat on the boat gently swinging at anchor I saw all this and I want to tell you this story as I couldn’t stop laughing for the hour it took to unfold………….
“The Frenchman, his Wife, the Anchor & the Man in the Pink Trousers”
About 2p.m. a French couple anchored about 200 meters away in a 40 ft yacht called “Providence” decide to leave and using their electric winch they start to haul in the anchor, he is helming and she is standing on the bow looking at the anchor. There is a grating noise, which is why I stated watching, and smoke starts to come from the winch. He shouts at her but she just stands there as the winch burns and then she shrugs and he walks along to have a look. He throws water on it? And tries again, Its covered in salty water now so it really smokes then stops…..he shouts and she shouts then he goes away and gets a big handle which I think he’s going to hit her with but instead he sticks it in the winch and starts to haul in the anchor manually……it stops…..they both haul on it but the anchor is stuck. Solution…..go and ask the man in the pink trousers on an even bigger yacht to help. So he gets in the dinghy but before he starts the engine he casts off so he’s now drifting, quite quickly, away. He tries to start the engine…..no luck…..he tries again…….no luck……he’s about ½ a mile away now and suddenly the outboard coughs into life and back he comes and off to plead for help with the man in the pink trousers. He’s flattered to be asked and gets in the dinghy….he casts off before he starts the engine and yes off he drifts whilst manically tugging at the starter cord….eventually it starts and back they come to the boat. They all stand at the bow looking at the anchor…they shrug and gesticulate and shrug some more…..the man in the pink trousers has lovely trousers so he’s not going to do any work so the wife has another go and then they take the man in the pink trousers back to his boat and when he casts off the dinghy before starting it he drifts off and this time the outboard does not start and he drifts around the breakwater….she shouts after him……he returns on another boat that has just arrived and drops him off at his boat. He’s not a happy Frenchman and so he walks to the bow unties the bitter end and throws all the chain into the sea…….starts his engine and disappears leaving an anchor and a lot of chain on the sea bed….you gotta laugh!!
p.s Have you noticed that people who wear yellow or green trousers play golf, pink denotes sailing and check denotes cataracts!
2 comments:
now that trouser colour situation could prove very tricky with another fellow sailor of yours,identifying shades is a slight weakness of his!no names mentioned as to protect anonimity,but he'd look gorgeous in pink!
Pete quite often wears green trousers, being colour blind he thinks they're brown. As long as he's not out with me I think it's quite funny.
I would have found the Pink trouser saga hilarious and wish I could have watched it to the bitter end!
Take care.
Love Lou
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