atolls biscay adventure!

[atoll]

i thought i would post a few pictures of the delivery i did last week of a 26 ft Westerly griffon bilge keeler from Newlyn, cornwall to Ribadeo, north spain.

the crossing which was aproximately 400 miles went well with no major dramas,unusual for the dreaded Biscay!,

apart from the auto pilot bracket on the tiller breaking and bow light needing rewiring both easily fixed it was a great trip,

a bit bumpy with f 5 ene winds across the channel and ushant,allowing us to sail nearly half way untill the winds became very light as we entered biscay proper.

the 20 hp nanni diesel performed perfectly,using about 1.2 liters an hour and a steady 4.9 knots till the spanish coast where a dawn arrival was planned to get into the Ria of ribadeo at high water,as the current runs at about 3 knots on a falling tide.

alas at 4.30 am we had thick fog,no radar,and about 3 miles off we were forced to wait till the fog cleared and arrived in about 2 hours after hw,

by this time the current was flowing full speed in the enterance channel,but we gave it a go with the engine flat out and boat speed over the ground down to 2.5 knots!

along the way we picked up a very tired "hitchhiker",a racing pidgeon,poor thing could hardly hold its head up,till we fed it some water and bread!
it stayed the night and flew off in the direction of La Coruna the following morning.

the crew were great,both missionaries who have traveled and worked all over the world,so interesting company,though not sure if they approved of all my jokes!

the owner (who was one of the crew) took me out for a great meal where we had the local speciality,octopus cooked in ham stock,with piment"padrones",and deep fried baby squid as side dishes.

getting home was a 5 hour bus ride to Santander,a night in a nice "pensione",then on the ferry over night to plymouth.

santander was great with a "fiesta" going on in the street adjacent to the pensione,lots of nice food and local specialities free as tasters!

nice to go sailing and get paid for it!

all in all the westerly performed well,though i'm not sure i would like to be in open ocean in anything above a force 6 in it as the bilge keels,small size and shallow draft made things lively in 6 ft waves!

[David_Old_Jersey]

Sounds like fun.

I am sure the Biscay will pay you back for the smooth trip another day!

[atoll]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Sounds like fun.

I am sure the Biscay will pay you back for the smooth trip another day!

after fishing the western approaches and biscay for a few seasons i reckon it owes me a few nice trips.........though there is the possability of a delivery azores to the uk in october! better shut up

[atoll]

thread bump

[salticrak]

Good work mate, these bits of info provided by real experience enriches this forum.

[boatman61]

Was wondering how you got on... glad all went well tho must confess the thought of you and 2 missionaries on a 26ftr leaves me speechless...

[atoll]

Originally Posted by salticrak

Good work mate, these bits of info provided by real experience enriches this forum.

thanks!

been meaning to post a few pics of a dhow i rebuilt in zanzibar a few years back as well!

[atoll]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Was wondering how you got on... glad all went well tho must confess the thought of you and 2 missionaries on a 26ftr leaves me speechless...

i brought, soya sauce,garlic,chilli and wasabi paste,just in case there was no pot and had to eat them raw

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by atoll

i brought, soya sauce,garlic,chilli and wasabi paste,just in case there was no pot and had to eat them raw

ROTFL....

[weavis]

Good post atoll.
That diesel engine sounds a real miser... gotta love that for long distances.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by weavis

Good post atoll.
That diesel engine sounds a real miser... gotta love that for long distances.

yes i over estimated the fuel consuption,still had 80 liters in cans left at the other end,though we never had to do any serious motor sailing to wind ward,as frequently happens when getting headed by the SWlies.