Down the coast to Bayona, Spain

 MRYC (orange roof)

After a relatively short sail of 20 hours, or 120 NM, from La Coruña we arrived in the well sheltered harbour of Bayona.  Arriving early in the morning showed a huge bay with beautiful sandy beaches with the Monte Real Yacht Club (MRYC) marina situated beneath the picturesque Monterreal Fort. The MRYC is one of the oldest yacht clubs in Spain and was the first to challenge for the America’s Cup. Going into the office to check was a huge portrait of a very young looking Russell Coutts (former NZ America’s Cup Skipper). 

 

Incoming violent squall ....

We had planned for a short stop over, however the weather has been atrocious on the coast with Force 8-9 gales and huge swells for the week.  Even in the marina it is has been uncomfortable with Sabbaticus straining on her mooring lines as the squalls and hailstorms come on a regular basis and the boat heeling (leaning over) on the marina berth when the gales hit.  While not particularly pleasant at the marina it would be miserable if we were out sailing in these conditions.

Frustrating weather!

Wind in the marina

We turned the wind instrument on during one squall and recorded 44.1 kts and this was in a sheltered marina! The UK marine forecast was constantly 'red' (this means gales Force 8/9) - hence our delayed departure.

 

Bayona is scenic town with a medieval historical center which is mainly a tourist resort in summer. We have enjoyed daily walks around the Monterreal Fort's 3kms defensive walls with it's spectacular views and strolling around the historic town. 

After a few days we had a well formed route to the bakery, fish and fruit /veg shops and then the cafe/bar for John's daily fix - must keep the skipper happy! This was also a good opportunity to practice our Spanish - much to the amusement of the locals.

La Pinta replica

Bayona has a place in history as one of the ships from Columbus’ voyage to discover the New World returned to Bayona in 1493, making the town the first to receive the news of the discovery of America. There is a replica of the ship, La Pinta, in the harbour about 150mtrs from our berth. 

We also trekked up to the Blessed Virgin Mary, which had the stations of the cross on the hill side leading to the statute. The statue was completed in 1930 and stands 50 feet tall with her holding a ship in her right hand. An imposing Mary with amazing views towards the Fort and town.

Spanish Navy Departing

During the week we had three Spanish Navy boats arrive alongside us on the pier. They must have being a trainee crew as it took them about 45 mins to berth, plus the crew looked very young (sure sign we are getting old!).  We were then awoken the next morning when the Navy tanoy system blared out some instructions to all three ships no doubt starting their daily routines.  A couple of hours later they left leaving us to our peace and quiet.


A 52ft catamaran arrived in this morning so John went out to move one of our mooring lines and said ‘hola’ in greeting to the crew. Snuggled up in bed I could hear the response ‘Bloody hell are you Australian - we can speak English’. I had a good laugh at that - it was a South African delivery skipper taking the new boat to the Caribbean.  He was a nice guy and after coffee onboard with us we got a look inside the Cat which was huge inside - ideal for charter work in the Caribbean!

We are now planning to depart tomorrow provided the forecast holds to get further down the coast to Portugal.

View from the deck when it was fine:)

The fortress walk provided the daily exercise

View from the Blessed Virgin towards the Fort