Nicholas Whyborn

The weather was mostly clear with westerly wind initially 10 knots but decreasing quickly to 5-8 knots. We only had. Sails set for 20 mins after leaving the river mouth before the wind dropped. The sea was calm for most of the passage. The Pico de Europa mountains were pretty being capped in snow. There are impressive geological formations along the coast near C de Ajo. The outer sea wall of Bilbao port is impressive but looks battered.

Wind NW up to 25kts and seas up to 2.5m. We weighed anchor and left Candas harbour shortly after a rain shower had passed over. The morning was cloudy but it cleared in the afternoon. We had little wind initially but picked up and we set sail at 08:45. The wind strengthened and we put in 2 reefs at 11:00. We did not see many other boats. The 9m monohull Geisha passed us doing 1-2kt more than us as we approached San Vincent. The entrance into Ria San Vicente was quite tense as we had some swell, a 20kt crosswind and 2-3kt current against us but once inside it became tranquil. Finding a spot with more than 1.5 m at lw proved hard with the tidal flow and crosswind and in the end I became fast in 0.7m. We will have to wait until 01:40 to refloat and finish anchoring.

Largely unfavourable conditions to sail so spent 90% using motors. We had strong headwinds and a choppy sea after Cabo de Bares and later approaching Ribadeo so were forced to use both motors. Tacking was not an option because we wanted to arrive at Ribadeo at around high slack water. We also had 2m swell from the NW during the night but that did not cause problems as it had a very long period.

We left Cadiz at 01:00 about 6 hours after a storm had passed. The wind was initially W 10kt in the harbour, slightly more outside. The swell was 1.5-2m and we had a couple of rain showers. By dawn the wind was only 7kt and sky partially cloudy and we motored. It picked up from SW towards evening and we sailed again. 6/4: Headed N with wind SE 15kt. As we passed Sines mid afternoon the wind veered and rose so we went to 2 reefs. 7/4: Wind dropped at sunset with clear skies: we motored through the night setting sail at dawn, wind E 10kt then veered to W. Good sailing! 8/4: Quiet night, little wind so motored. By noon the sea was calm and we had <5kt from E. By 17:00 we had a long 2m swell from SW with NNE 10kt as we passed a Portuguese wind farm and crossed back into Spanish waters. We made our way up the Vigo estuary in moonlight and anchored off Moaña at 00:40 9/4. The following morning we moved to a berth at Moaña marina. Distance logged 510.3nm in 95.7hrs. We used motors 40.3hrs & 41.2hrs.

Wind was variable during the passage but was SW 30 knots near Giraglia with clear skies, good visibility and a 2 m sea. No issues with boat and crew. We took in reefs and dropped the main for the worst period. We could have used a 3rd reef if there was one. We prepared to switch to a storm jib but the J4 handled it and gave 7-8 knots on a reach ok.

Weather: Wind NE 15-18 knots, easing in afternoon. Cloudy. Visibility good decreasing to moderate in the afternoon. Swell from S 0.6 m, waves 1.1 m. Notes: The beat out to the outer mark was tough - one broken mast. We decided to retire rather than continue with the second lap. At the time we were second last in group 1 and would have arrived back very late.

Wind 8-15 knots; clear sky; visibility good, slight seas. Could have done with more wind at times.