Aleria's Adventures

Islas Cies on the Summer Solstice We spent just one night in the Ria de Aldan without going ashore. Three other Irish boats, all dark hulled, drop anchor near us, two with children aboard all of whom went ashore for dinner. The boats were Growler and Coirin and the third was Zig-Zag, who we heard hailed on the radio by a passing freighter, " Zig-Zag, Zig-Zag what are your intentions." Peter responded that he would pass behind the freighter. Right answer.

At the Monte Real Club de Yates in Bayona, the dolphins have learned that there are scores of mullet breeding and living in the marina waters. So the dolphins have been swimming into the marina and diving around the boats in their slips. We saw maybe five dolphins circling around. Smart little devils. BTW, that's the new passarelle Alex is building for the Med. It consists of a ladder, a sheet of plywood, and non-skid decking squares. It comes apart so we can use the ladder as a ladder. A creative way around something that can cost thousands.

Aleria heading out the Ria Vigo toward Baiona. Photo by Alberto Lagos.  Nice photo of Aleria by Alberto Lagos. After we got all the canvas in place, we took off from Vigo as the afternoon wind was filling in. We hoisted the sails and quickly realized the sheet had been incorrectly led from the staysail. First fix. We were lazy and decided to sail along slowly without the yankee as it was not very far from Vigo to Baiona. We dodged several ferries and a powerboat came straight at us. We soon realized it was Alberto coming out to take pictures of us sailing out. He took some great shots though we felt bad we hadn't raise the full complement of sails. When we arrived in Baiona, we were assigned a berth right next to the President's yacht about as close to the clubhouse as we could be. Easy to get in, too. Someone had made a welcome sign that was secured to the dock in our slip. Oscar Calero, the manager of the club, was there in a flash with a bottle of wine and gre...

Baiona as seen from the Virgin of the Rock Our last stop with the Irish Cruising Club Rally was in the most impressive destination of Baiona (Bayona in Spanish). We were booked into the Monte Real Club de Yates in Bayona (MRCYB). The last time we tried to book in there years ago we were told it was not possible and were turned away rather gruffly. They begrudgingly let us leave our dinghy tied up on their property for a few hours. This time was a very different story. We had heard that after the economic downturn, most of the yacht clubs had declining membership numbers and revenue, while having sunk significant monies into infrastructure. To survive, they had been forced to open their clubs to visitors. I must say, they did so with great welcome. The staff were genuinely nice and accommodating. There were large signs welcoming us and informing members that the Irish were coming! Many of the local members stayed away while we were there. We returned several weeks later wi...

Galician Celtic musicians Over the past month, we sailed down from Ireland along the wild west coast, then crossed to Spain via the Bay of Biscay to sail the Rias of Galicia with 60 boats from the Irish Cruising Club. To say that it has been an absolute delight would be an understatement. I will tell each of the stories individually, but this is the introductory opening.