Stuck in the Ria de Ribadeo – 5, 6 August

Next morning was a bit drizzly, but we thought we could make the next ria in the moderate northerly. However, by the time we got out of the ria, the wind was north-west F5, dead on the nose, with increasing rain and rapidly decreasing visibilty, so we turned tail and returned to our anchorage and invited Roy and Madeline to dinner.

Castropol

The following morning the weather was no better. Mithril appeared to be further away from us, and a quick check showed we were not drifting. Took the dinghy across to them to find they’d realised their predicament just as they dragged onto a sandbank. Their trip line had wrapped itself round their anchor line and broken it out, further confirming my belief that anchor trip lines are almost guaranteed to make an anchor drag. Anyway, no harm done.

Next evening, we all went to a concert in Castropol. Castropol is a tiny village, with a population I’d guess of 1000. But as well as an elegant church, it boasts a small park with a statue commemorating some naval officer connected with losing their colonies in the nineteenth century. Alongside the park is a beautiful theatre/concert hall, seating perhaps 100 people. This concert was given by the music teacher in the local school, who played the (classical) guitar to a standard suitable for an international concert platform. In the second half, he teamed up with three of his star pupils – a husky jazz singer, a sax player and a gaita (ie bagpipes) player, for a selection of lighter numbers.