To Redes and Corunna – 8, 9 August, 29, 10 miles

Cornish Gaffer	Redes

Next day we considered heading straight for Islas Sisargas corner that starts the Costa da Morte, but thought that we’d get there late in the afternoon with a probable F6 or F7 up the tail and rough seas. So we headed for Redes, a village we love in the Ria de Ares near Corunna. A fast downwind sail brought us past Ares itself, where a procession of fishing boats was taking their virgin for a tour of the ria, with accompanying music and explosions, to anchor off Redes in 3m. The local boats out for a jolly included a cornish gaffer with a yard to set a square sail.

Next morning, our problem was that this Azores high was too high and promised rather too strong north-easterly winds as well as heat and sunshine for the next few days. So we headed for Corunna, hoping that we could still pick up an economical yacht club buoy. However, we found a brand new marina taking up all the space where the buoys used to be. One could still anchor outside it, but in about 20m with lots of rubbish to snare the anchor. So we went into the marina, to be greeted by an Irish marinero. It turned out that this marina was one of those that don’t trust the yachtsman to specify his craft correctly, so we were sent back to get our ships papers. Now, the SSR document says nothing about the boat being a catamaran or multihull, though it does mention 2 hulls. So, what with their starter offer of 3 nights for 2 and a monohull rate, we got off very lightly.

We stayed 2 days, each afternoon looking over the breakwater at the white breaking seas. A tough steel monohull came in directly from Falmouth. He’d set out at the same time as us, waited at anchor for 5 weeks in Falmouth (at £10 a day) until the gales stopped, then motored all except the first and last 50 miles in a flat calm.