Landfalls on the north coast of Spain
Many southward bound sailors bypass the northern rias of Galicia, but they’re missing a treat if they do, says Jim Mottram
It was a dark night as I closed the coast and I thought I had passed the Isla de Pancha but ahead, where I had expected to find the estuary, was a string of red lights. I was uncertain where I was and was feeling frightened.
This was before Decca and GPS, but I found that my trusty Seafix radio direction finder (RDF) worked surprisingly well and picked up the Morse signals far better than in the Channel where there was more clutter. Dark cliffs, defined by the crashing surf at their base, loomed up to starboard. Passing these, I soon found myself in a small bay. Here the water was smooth and of reasonable depth, so I thought it prudent to anchor and sort out my position in daylight.
It is now 30 years since I made my first Biscay crossing in my Elizabethan 23. She was not as well equipped as she is today; then she had an unreliable 4hp Stuart Turner engine with a 3½-gallon tank of petrol. My second-hand windvane never worked and the Autohelm, geared by spools and string, caused constant problems. It also consumed a lot of power, so I had to run the engine occasionally, always mindful of my limited fuel supply.
I am sure that most of us cruising folk prefer daysailing, but it is sometimes necessary to make longer passages to reach new cruising grounds or as a part of more ambitious adventures. One of these longer legs, across Biscay to north-west Spain, usually involves trying to get as far west as is comfortably possible. In the summer months Biscay rarely lives up to its evil reputation and, with a reasonable long-term forecast, the crossing can normally be made in about three days, dependent upon size and type of boat and a mixed bag of wind and sea conditions. It’s long enough, but it’s achievable and opens up some wonderful cruising in the northern rias.
These days the uncertainty of navigation has gone and, sadly, the thrill of the first sight of land is now diminished. Today, the biggest anxiety is normally what kind of safe haven you will find after what can be a tiring passage. I have crossed Biscay four times singlehanded and I hope this will give confidence to those planning a crossing. I have always hoped to get as far west as Cabo Prior, for La Coruña, but never quite made it and opted for one of the ports further east.
On that first morning 30 years ago, I awoke to find I was anchored under the old Spanish castle at Ribadeo and the scent of eucalyptus trees wafted down on the warm breeze. It was a memorable moment that gave me a great feeling of satisfaction and achievement. I later found that the red lights I had puzzled over were where they were building the foundations of the high bridge over the estuary for the coast road. This, of course, had no mention in my pilot book. I entered Ribadeo and moored alongside a slipway so I could get to the bank to get some pesetas before it closed.
I motored up to Castropol the next day, which looks like an island surmounted