Masso Factory

Being an avid fan of history it has become increasingly difficult to walk past a big feature on one of our favourite walks along the coast without an increase in curiosity, namely the Masso factory. I decided to try and find out a little bit more about the mysterious Masso. Sadly now derelict it still retains an atmosphere of a past age not unlike the dark satanic mills of home.......however it turns out to be surprisingly modern. The stylised Masso logo on the tower and the general Art deco feel should really have given me a clue.

It is obvious that this was once a huge part of local peoples lives, employing large numbers. It was a pioneer of the fish canning industry, the factory was built after the war and was the first Spanish owned fish cannery and was also the biggest canning factory in Europe. There was another factory a few miles way away at Bueu.
The factory at Cangas shut down in 1992 a few years after the Bueu factory presumably refrigeration had overtaken the canning industry, Morocco seems to be the source of the large amount of canned fish available locally.
Masso was owned and run by the Masso family, the family had been involved in fishing and the sea since the 1890s. Initially in partnership with the French they became a limited company in the 1930s.

These are a couple of photos of the factory floor, many of the processes and machinery in the factory were state of the art for the time but it is also apparent from the photo that the majority of the workforce were women.

Today if you hunt around at the side of the factory it is possible to discover the crèche that was presumably used to look after the women's children. A surprisingly far sighted social advance.

The crèche or nursery has a splendid but now sadly dilapidated fountain featuring a dolphin. The buildings themselves have become a canvas for graffiti artists and at least one building seems to be unofficially occupied. The picture on the staircase like most of the graffiti and slogans seems to have a political message, depicting the Mass factory tumbling off the edge of an industrial conveyor belt.

The building itself is still very imposing and actually on the evening I took these photos the strong wind was vibrating some of the metal panels covering the extensive windows and the noises seemed to suggest that the building was if not actually alive certainly occupied. A bit spooky!

A little way along the foreshore (this is a popular evening walk) is another Masso enterprise that was in operation from the 1950s and was still in operation in the 1970s. It is a whale processing plant.

Again, it is now seriously dilapidated. It was owned and operated by José María and Gaspar Massó .

In its heyday the ramp, now broken up in the foreground would have been the working area for dismembering whales. In the photo below I believe this is a sperm whale. The whales were pulled up from the water by steam engines.

The workings are extensive and its possible to guess at some of the buildings use for processing the carcass and rendering the blubber for oil.

Most of it now is a useful party venue for young people and a surprisingly good art gallery most of the internal walls being covered in graffiti of a high standard. I was particularly moved by the picture below which is probably not far off  life size!

I try not to be too judgemental about history, these things are of their time and need to be seen in the moral context of that time, but I am very glad this particular factory is no longer in operation.

A change of view

We had arranged to have the boat lifted out for a scrub and anti-foul. We normally do this slightly unpleasant job ourselves, to save money mainly. However the small yard perched in the crook of the harbour wall gave us a very good quote which included men and materials so we went ahead with that. An early start on Tuesday morning found us motoring the 300 metres across the harbour to the lifting bay. The men from the yard were waiting for us and very quickly had Dark Tarn in slings.

 We left the boat as she was raised up and got a good look at her bottom for the first time as she was held in the travelling hoist for a power wash. The long tendril of weed from the rudder showed where we had touched the sandy bottom at Pobra and removed the anti fouling paint.

 The rest of the boat was relatively clean with the exception of the prop and prop shaft, this is something we normally just polish, relying on the props copper content being bronze to resist crustaceans. Spanish shellfish are obviously made of sterner stuff than our namby pamby British variety......

This was obviously not working and I wondered if it would be best to try painting it this time. Of course it wouldn't be us painting it and I had time to ponder as we were very pleased to be free to wander off for a coffee and a look round the market. Leaving the men to continue the power washing.

Lynne seemed to enjoy this new form of boat maintainance and was soon examining bargain shoes on the many stalls. I took the opportunity of the early morning to visit the women of the fish market, their fearsome knife skills are a delight to watch.

The sheer variety of fish is also fascinating, even now I still come across species I have never seen before. The more common fish you find are cod, hake, skate, monkfish, sardine, mackerel, dogfish, pipefish, tuna albacore dorado along with a good selection of squid, octopus shellfish etc. Allegedly Spain consumes as much fish as the rest of Europe combined and I can well believe it!

Outside you can find the sole traders, usually women, who have a small selection of home grown produce for sale.

We returned to the yard to find Dark Tarn clean and on a wheeled cradle with a ladder thoughtfully provided for our use. we applied a small amount of primer to parts of the hull that needed it and removed all the marine growth from and polished the propeller. The yard manager spoke no English but did speak German so a strange new mixture " Germanish" was used as Lynne comunicated with him. Again things occurred with seemingly little organisation but always on time and very well done. The yard was very busy as they lifted another three boats that morning , one a large fishing boat, nearly as wide as Dark Tarn is long! Before long we heard masking tape being applied to the hull and it was obvious that the game was afoot.

There was a splendid view of the Ria and Vigo from our new home high on the seawall.

There was a constant flow of walkers walking to the end of the harbour wall

The weather was quite cloudy and overcast with a stiff breeze, actually very good for painting, which was accomplished after lunch and finished in the evening by one of the workmen. We decided to paint the prop shaft and leave the folding propeller polished, the risk of it sticking didn't seem worth the risk. I may however have to dive and clean it more often in future as we are in fertile waters. The painting was finished just before dark (two coats)

The result was very satisfying, Dark Tarn had been lifted scrubbed and anti-fouled in under 12 hours.

We would spend the night locked in the yard (we did have a key but as the last workman didn't leave until 11 pm we didn't use it) and would be launched in the morning. working together it normally takes us a couple of days to accomplish what the Spanish workmen had achieved in a few hours.

To coin a phrase "smart as paint", looking good for our future voyages.

Into the black hole

We had been avoiding many small jobs aboard Dark Tarn and had been enjoying swimming and lying on the beaches of Cangas instead. Indeed on one memorable afternoon a pod of the local dolphins came very close in to the beach and were leaping out of the water just where we had been swimming a little earlier. Lynne is very fond of creatures and so it took a great deal longer to walk back to the marina due to constantly stopping to watch the fins breaking the surface as a pair of dolphin escorted us back.

However several  days of excuses and avoidance, " it's too hot", is always a winner..and I was beginning to feel guilty. One morning after breakfast I decided to fix the log which hasn't been working for a while. I knew the reason, it was a small sea creature, usually a shellfish that had decided to take up residence in the transducer housing. This transducer is a combination echo sounder and log, the log bit consists of a small paddlewheel that rotates as the boat moves through the water. In the age of GPS some people might question the value of such a device, however we understand that in the fluid environment on which we navigate it is necessary to know both speed through the water and speed over ground.

It is a relatively simple procedure to withdraw the transducer however as it is underwater it's removal leaves an inch and a quarter hole in the boat. A small flap usually stems the flow until I can quickly fit a blank transducer, unless that is a small mollusc has again taken up residence........

As it turned out there was not just one but a thriving colony of slimy sea creatures. That will teach me to be lazy! We wil have to pull it every couple of months in future now we are in fertile waters.......

This incident prompted me to see Bea about having Dark Tarn hoisted out and anti fouled ready for our upcoming voyage. The lift was was quickly arranged for next Tuesday. This would be on the local fishermans yard on the harbour wall, for the first time we would pay someone else to do the job, this is normal practise in Spain. Hopefully we would be anti fouled with the local toxic commercial anti fouling.

The upcoming lift further led us to empty and organise the " black hole" or our hugely capacious cockpit locker.

This occupied us for the majority of a day, " too hot " was mentioned a couple of times but I ignored it and carried on to the point of no return, or " event horizon" , this is the point where it is quicker to carry on than give up. Sails ropes, warps, anchors, beaching legs,extendable ladders, scuba gear, more sails, diesel and water jerrycans etc. Etc.

All were got out and spread on deck, storm sails were hoisted to lubricate piston Hank's and check for mould. Our sea anchor was finally assembled with chain and shackles in case we ever encounter an actual hurricane.

Lunch briefly interrupted work and we discovered the jobs within jobs that physicists have speculated about. Things were disassembled fixed tested then returned to the black hole with a vague plan of if needed on voyage, stored with easy access and not needed on voyage items buried in the depths of the black hole. We also made a note ( written ) of where we had actually stored stuff, well Lynne did , she's good at that sort of thing.

We discovered spares and replacements, electric cable hook ups and hoses, a particularly useful hose we had been given in Newry, it's flat and rolls away on a cassette. Now it works as it should with the addition of correct fittings. We also topped off our main paraffin tank with our last few litres of parrafin from the bilges. Brimmed it off too much actually as it spilled out of the filler cap necessitating us syphoning back 3-4 litres with our " jiggle syphon", which still goes on my list of 10 most useful items on board. Now hopefully we can cook for a year or more and not leave an oil slick behind us as parrafin leaks out of the tank breather pipe the first time we heel over!

About an hour before dark the decks were clear and we had enough room in the locker for one of us to climb in. Result.

Tired and tetchy we retired below, it had been a close run thing but we were still talking to one another!

all tidied away and room for a couple of stowaways!

Back to work

Well maybe not, after the hectic and non stop Easter week celebrations, we needed a little time to relax.

We walked to the beach and Lidl (always a favourite walk) There were a lot of sizable lizards in view on the paths and even on the boardwalk by the main beach.

Isn't he lovely?

There is a  collection of little fishing shacks near the last beach before we head back to the road.

these ropes are used on the floating viveros to farm mussels.....the mussels grow on them.

Anti-nuclear rigout........

Previously we had also walked to Limens beach a different route and came across a little church and well kept graveyard we had never seen before.

There was a curious and elaborate spring/well in the grounds.

As we dropped down into the familiar small town and lovely beach at Limens there were splashes of vivid colour along the path. Like the lizards it appeared that the local flora is having a spring explosion.........

A small boat at anchor in a perfect little cove. Viveros in the distance.

Clematis, Cactus succulents and other flowers we are not sure of but they are pretty!

Along with the wildflowers we are also enjoying a bit of a bonanza for fruit and veg, Spanish strawberries are in season and are as big as a small fist and utterly delicious, They are also less than 2 euros a kilo so Lynne is even putting them in her Gin! I think she got the idea from Toby on the Archers......

It is getting increasingly difficult to persuade Lynne to leave, however as Alex is only due out in another month in order to come sailing with us, there is no rush. I am beginning to get very attached to the beautiful Rias myself with crystal clear water and sunshine, if only the water was not so cold it would be perfect!

I did actually do some work, rebuilt the pump I had replaced, built a wee shelf for the MOBI man overboard fobs, fitted the deck plate for the Walker log. basically pottered about, its lovely!

Easter week continued

The Easter weather was glorious, this is a view of the O Gafeon at low water, its a statue of a mermaid surrounded by dolphins that sits just outside the harbour.

The Processions and events continued apace with sometimes several processions a day.

The last supper celebration was particularly notable for the amount of statues and tableau, As the end of the procession approached the beginning was returning from the other end of town behind us. there must have been over a thousand people involved.
A highlight was the last supper table, which was an actual table on wheels with real food and glassware being pushed and pulled by some hefty men!

There was also a good attendance by the Roman military.

 The centurion in white was a splendid sight with the dying sunlight glinting off his armour.

Many of the different societys of Capirotis also walked again,there always seemed to be an extra group every day.

The tableau above represents the Garden of gethsemane and the sleeping apostles.

Lynne made a special effort to get up early to watch the celebrations on Good Friday morning where unbelievably the huge (and heavy ) statues were manipulated to animate the Easter story.

At one point one of the Saints, I think St Veronica wipes Jesus's face with a cloth which as if by magic unrolled to reveal the face of Christ.

The evening of Good Friday was one of the biggest and most elaborate processions where all the statues were on display, they had been building all week with a few extra ones as the story developed.

In the morning Christ had been on the cross and now he was in a glass coffin awaiting resurrection.
the cross had been on display in the church all day.

The church was also the place to see the statues and tableau close up. We enjoyed this as normally the church is closed and only opens for services. the lighting gave good views of the churches elaborate altarpieces. There was a non stop turn over of people coming into the church to pray and to just look around. Everything was done in a very relaxed and Spanish way, very little apparent organisation but everything happened as it should.

Sometimes we were unsure who some of the statues represented, some were obvious and some not so....below is St Veronica, flanked by?

The week really had been a fantastic experience, something that Lynne had always wanted to see and be a part of, the fabulous effort that had been put into the week by all involved was quite humbling, after all Cangas is not a major town by any means. it seemed that almost everyone in the town had had a part to play.

Quite astonishing and I for one at the end of the week felt as exhausted as the small children who had walked half way around the world it must have seemed by the end of the week!

Easter in Spain, quite unlike anything Lynne or I have ever experienced.............
phew, time for a rest now......