Time to head south.
It was now well into September 2022 and we could see the weather was changing. There was no time to be lost, we had to leave Scotland and head south to get across the Bay of Biscay before the winter storms began.
We left Oban early September 12th and sailed south through now familiar waters, down the Sound of Jura and past the Gulf of Corryvreckan. The currents were strong and with us so we made good time and did a quick overnight stop at Gigha where we transferred the dinghy from the davits to the front deck, much more secure for a big ocean passage.. The next day we took down our UK courtesy flag and set sail for Spain.
The forecast was showing the remains of a low passing across the Bay of Biscay, so we decided to pause for a day in Ireland to let it pass before we embarked on the four day passage to Å Coruna, Spain. The closest marina was Kilmore Quay on the south west coast of Ireland. We could not get in touch with the harbormaster to make sure there was space, but we thought as it was past the busy season and it was not a weekend, there was bound to be space. As we approached a German boat who had been ahead of us radioed back to say it was very full, but we could raft up to them on the quay. For that we were very grateful as when we finally got in the tricky entrance, we could see this was a working port, it was packed full of fishing boats of all sizes. We tied up and slept. The next morning they left and we claimed the one free spot next to the lifeboat.
Helacious in Kilmore Quay.
The following day we left in the early morning, bound for Spain! The forecast had calmed down, to the point we were having to be careful to stay in the wind and not get overtaken by the high coming off the southern Irish coast. The passage gave us some lovely sunsets, with an eerie glow in place of the “green flash”. We passed close to the Queen Mary, heading for New York, and toward Spain the traffic got quite heavy at times, there was no napping at the helm.
The Bay of Biscay was kind to us and we approached Å Coruna as the sun was rising on the fifth day. We sailed past a flotilla of five sailboats leaving to head west on down the coast. There have recently, in the last few years, been pods of orca attacking sailing vessels. The attacks getting more severe and more common and frequently disabling the boats by damaging the rudders. The flotilla was a group hoping to avoid orca attacks, or if it happened to have a friendly vessel nearby to assist. We heard later four of these boats were indeed attacked, one came close to sinking. We were very lucky to arrive unscathed.
We checked in at the police station and the Shengen clock started to tick, we had 90 days to enjoy Europe, then we must leave. We spent three days in Å Coruna; it is a lively city, a perfect blend of ancient and modern. Busy, but not too busy. We enjoyed the narrow streets lined with bars, restaurants and shops. Most were closed as we wandered around in the morning, they open for lunch (after 1pm) and really come alive in the evening (after 8 or 9pm) when we are often back on Helacious. The Spanish eat so late we have not been able to adapt, so we stick with lunch out. The buildings along the waterfront all have the characteristic glassed-in balconies or galeria, an architectural feature introduced in the late 19th century, presumably to give ventillation but protect from the weather.
Waterfront in Å Coruna. Once again the marina is right in the center of town, perfect.
We explored the Torre de Hérules, the oldest lighthouse in the world, built originally by the Romans, modifed and substantially renovated by an enlightened architect in the late eighteenth century. It is still in use, we saw it as we passed in the final approach to Å Coruna.
Torre de Hércules
We spend a lot of time in the grocery store, the wonderful meats and cheeses, olives and wines were a delight. Soon however it was time to leave. We were gifted some industrial strength firecrackers, to be used as an orca deterant, which we hoped never to have to deploy. We arranged our own flotilla and early one morning five boats left Å Coruna as the sun was rising.
