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The Spring tides as well as giving cars drivers large repair bills were also giving us some mild concerns. Over breakfast one morning I was listening to a sandy scraping noise coming through the hull which on inspection turned out to be our rudder hitting the bottom. There was very little swell luckily and Dark Tarn is very strongly built however on looking over the side I could clearly see the bottom and even some brave flatfish swimming under the keel.
It was clearly time to move. As the tide was rising we still had some time especially as the night tides tend to be smaller, we could afford to stay another day. The rest of the day we spent swimming and chatting with our neighbours. We had to rescue Jim and Megan's dinghy as we went into the beach we noticed them swimming strongly after it as it drifted out to sea! We went to pick it up and as Jim walked back into the beach he stood on the grapnel anchor it had been moored to, so he arrived back on the beach with all his bits intact.
Magnet had already moved out to deeper water due to touching the bottom.
The same quay that had seen the unfortunate incident with the car now had some suspiciously pyrotechnical stuff being loaded onto two rafts that were later floated out into the bay
That night the tide was slightly higher at low water so we didn't touch and at midnight as the fiesta officially came to an end the fireworks began.
It was a spectacular display and we had the beat seats in the house. We went to bed and talked about going down the coast about 30 miles to Vigo to check out some of the marinas for a winter berth.
Tuesday morning at high water saw us leaving the bay at Pobra in a misty pale sun.
It was a bit chilly in the sea fret and later on as we left the Ria it started to rain a little. As we passed the Isle de Ons opposite the Ria of Pontevedra the wind went north and we were sailing " goose winged " that is to say with the main on one side and Genoa on the other.
It's a twitchy point of sailing demanding a great deal of concentration from the helmsperson, in this case Lynne who did a great job of avoiding a gybe.
One of the reasons for staying in the Rias was to explore these offshore islands which are part of a national park and the navigation to and anchoring at them, is very strictly controlled, requiring a special licence to navigate. Which takes a while to arrange.
We past the lighthouse at Cabo de Home the northernmost headland of the Ria and the sun came out lighting the approaches to Vigo and the fantastic beaches at the Ensenada de Barra.
We sailed into the very busy Ria heading for the first marina we had chosen at Cangas. We only had time for a glimpse as we sailed in and out of the harbour as we were headed initially further up the Ria past Vigo to a marina at Punta Lagoa.
It is visible in the above photo, it's below the small wooded hill on our port bow.
The sun was now surprisingly hot and as we dropped sails and got unfamiliar fenders and lines ready. Unfamiliar as we had been at anchor for nearly a month. Lynne radioed ahead and we were met at the entrance by a marinero who directed us to a huge berth, well 15 metres.
This marina was the cheapest we had found for a winter stay and initial impressions were good. It certainly was sheltered and the berths were large and easy to manoeuvre in.
It had been built for a major sailing event for maxi yachts, hence the large scale of the berthing however at the end of the event the fascilities were demolished by the local council. A very shortsighted move that is the basis of an ongoing dispute to replace them between the new owners and the council. A dispute that unfortunately has still not been resolved. The portacabins on the sea wall were not particularly impressive especially as they are shared with a sailing school and a diving school. Also the showers were tiny even Lynne could barely turn around without knocking the taps off.
Also the marina is a bit isolated shops being in a pretty unsympathetic concrete satellite town up a steep hill. A 20 minute walk through some drab and cheerless architecture. Lacking the Galician charm we had come to expect.
We two days to explore and while the situation and small walks around the headland were attractive we decided it wasn't suitable for a winter base. The transport links were not great and we decided to look elsewhere.
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