18 August 2012 | Brava, Ria Aldan, Spain, 42’17.58N 08’50.61W - Combarro, Spain, 42’24.88N 08’42.33W
We left the last blog on a bit of a cliffhanger. Poor weather was forecast and we were sat in 25 knots of wind and knew things were going to get worse. We were preparing ourselves for a night of no sleep and having to move Ruffian if we dragged our anchor or if we felt in danger. What actually happened? We slept like babies and after wiping the sleep from our eye's in the morning found that everybody in the anchorage had dragged their anchors whilst ours held Ruffian safe and sound. We had however managed to 'sail' miles back and forth on the 40 meters of chain we'd laid out.
With Ruffian safe and sound, and the storm having been replaced with bright blue skies it was time to get down to the main event of the day. Fiona's birthday surprises. Iain had been slaving for days over a new handbag for Fiona, which surprisingly enough Fiona knew about, and had filled it full of unknown presents. Now Iain is not the most organised of people, however months ago he'd got together a heap of birthday cards for Fiona's from friends and family and had managed to secrete them onboard Ruffian without her knowing. These were the unknown presents. The personal messages were a gift that was priceless and that apparently couldn't have been even surpassed by diamonds. Thank you to all who managed to get them to Iain and then Fiona. On a side note Larry was also very pleased as he appears on the front of one.
The final, literal, topping to the cake, was a boatmade cake. Months ago when Ruffian was in Scotland, a lemon drizzle cake mix had been purchased and ferreted away. After mixing the 3 packets of miscellaneous white power with eggs, butter and milk. Out of the oven came exactly what was on the front of the packet, a fluffy, yellow cake full of flavour and e numbers. This was a revelation and as usual Fiona once again got rather overexcited by the prospect of more cake.
With rations running low we had decided to move down the Ria to Alden to seek supplies and after the ground holding us in a single spot during our storm we had no reservations about moving. More fool us. Whenever we put down the anchor all we seemed to find was weed or rock, neither of which stuck the boat to the seabed. The phrase 'putting down the hook' makes things sound very simple. Simple it is not. First you have to find a suitable spot amongst other moored and anchored boats. You then have to play out the anchor and chain and hope that it digs into mud or sand. If it doesn't then poor old Iain has to then pull up the 40 meters of chain and 17kg of anchor that are now laying on the seabed. After pulling up a total of 160 meters of chain we ended up back where we started at the top of Ria Alden.
We'd spent 4 days in Ria Alden on Ruffian, the first 3 days being boat-bound as the wind combined with the steep beach made going ashore with the dinghy a treacherously wet affair. On the last day we made a couple of fleeting trips ashore for water, haircuts, a music festival and a short walk, so for our own sanity we needed a to find somewhere else with good holding and easy landing. We therefore said goodbye to Ria Aldan. For the first time in ages we then sailed for the pure enjoyment of sailing, there was no serious passage making, no early mornings or late nights, a simple afternoon sail was all we wanted. Our reward was the sound of water gently slipping under the bow, making effortless stressless miles surrounded by picturesque towns and being able to sail in bright sunshine and 15 knots of wind was a blessing. At the end of our afternoon we ended up anchored behind an Island at the top of Ria Pontevedra which is a mere dinghy safari from a village we both really want to visit, the historic town of Combarro. This we'll be exploring tomorrow before finally using our prized visa's to make a visit to the islands.
The wind and rain arrived and we survived. All around us boats dragged but we held steady.
Hygienic wine making apparatus in amongst the vineyards.
Hmmmmm. Homemade lemon drizzle cake. Who's a lucky girl then?
Presents presents. Personal wishes, better than diamonds.
Cleaning. Iain: Armed and dangerous with cleaning fluid at the ready.
Before.
After. It's surprisingly difficult to describe the haircut you want in a foreign language but it all came good.
The local folk festival was kicking off with pipes and drums. This is becoming more and more like Scotland; bagpipes, but encased in brightly coloured cloth.
The most amazing sailing. Downwind, 15 knots of wind and wall to wall sunshine.
You'd never think that Iain was partaking in his favourite activity. (Apart from making Fiona happy).