Speedwell of Rhu Ship's Log

28 th to 29 th of April 2018 - Baiona

Although it went against the grain to go back on ourselves, we decided to visit Baiona since we had missed it last year and it is a significant seafaring town being the place where Columbus returned after his first journey to the new world. We made a reservation as advised, due to the regatta that was going on for the weekend. We woke to sunshine and an empty anchorage. We decided to go ashore to make the most of the island before the ferry arrived and the weather deteriorated. We had the island to ourselves as we headed north through the eucalyptus and pine trees. We found another lighthouse and then headed up the hill to another bird hide to watch the yellow legged gulls. Like the shags, they were starting to pair up and canoodle.

We returned for a quick lunch on the boat before sailing south around a rocky peninsular and into Baiona harbour. We dodged the racing fleets heading toward us as the wind picked up. After calling up on the VHF the marineros were waiting for us and directed us to a pontoon. Unfortunately we were blown off the pontoon and my rope throwing failed so we tied up nicely to the one on the opposite side and were told we could stay put. We spent some time exploring Baiona in the rain, visiting a replica of Columbus' ship La Pinta. We then circumnavigated the castle twice and visited a very good laundrette in the town. We had a couple of sleepless nights due to the swell in the marina which made the pontoons creak and Speedwell buck against her lines. There is nothing like rain to make us feel less like doing boat chores. Fortunately the heavy rain managed to clean some of the salt water off Speedwell's decks.

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