We ticked-off the lighthouses of the north coast of Spain as we worked our way to La Coruna with its big harbour and sheltered marinas tucked away in one of the northern Rias. Securely tied-up in the Marina Real, it was only a short walk into the centre of town. The grand Town Hall dominates the square, from which narrow side-streets, each with a different character, spread like a spiders web, around the harbour and into the town.
Our favourite was full of tapas bars. Dry-cured hams hung from the ceilings. Vivarium’s full of lobsters, crabc, and octopus filled the windows. The buzz of people enjoying a coffee, or cerveza, filled the air.
It started raining 50 miles out from La Coruna. It rained every day. Not heavy, just constantly!!!
We scanned the forecasts. There was no wind to clear the clouds away. There was no wind to sail. Worse, no wind in the Atlantic either. There were three Ocean Cruising Club boats all waiting for the weather to change, for winds to blow us across to the Azores a thousand miles away. We waited.
Time was running out.
We needed to get to Horta by the 18th June for the start of the Centenary Celebrations of Peter’s Café Sport, and the 70th Anniversary of the OCC. Each day we studied the synoptics and grib files. There was some wind forecast, but it was light, and full of holes, and I didn’t carry sufficient fuel to motor the distances across the windless holes. To make the Azores before the parties ended was looking more, and more, unlikely. Reluctantly, we too pulled out, only Esprit sailed – we wished them fair winds, and headed north-east.
We left the rain in La Coruna, the Ria Ares, just ten miles away was bathed in sunshine - for a short while! It’s regatta in full swing, the competition fierce and friendly.
There has been so much rain that waterfalls cascaded down the massive coastal cliffs into the sea. The great headlands of Cabo Prior, Cabo Ortegal, and Cabo Estaca de Bares, slipped by, as we motored (again) in the light headwinds.
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