We are cruising sailors who take it carefully, if the weather looks dodgy we stay in harbour. This is meant to be fun and we managed to avoid any nasty experiences this year (though we know the sea will catch us out sometime). In mostly day hops and a few longer passages we covered over 1000 miles and had a great time. Its surprising how far you get just plugging on every few days.

The Channel and Biscay were fine, we prepared carefully and had good weather info for at least 24 hours longer than we expected to sail. We alternated watches about every three hours so we each got some sleep and whilst arriving tired, we coped well.
By cutting across Biscay we saved the complexity of extra crew and a longer trip. Whilst slogging along the north coast did become a bit wearing we enjoyed most of the harbours and the approach worked for us as a short handed crew.
In France no one showed any interest in our papers or passports. In most marinas and harbours in Spain we were asked to show our boat registration (SSR), passports and insurance document. They were copied and we were told they would be passed to the local police. Apart from the Customs visit in Gijon where ownership documents were checked, there was no other bureaucracy.
The summer weather was mostly warm and pleasant, we had two periods of strong winds and around three days of rain in the period early July to early September. The main issue on the Atlantic coast is the swell. Make sure you have a means of getting information on this as well as wind etc. We used zyGrib and Ugrib (both free programmes) as well as Navtex.
We set off with broadly planned stops mapped out but no specific timetable. In most places we stayed one or two nights, occasionally three. If anything we pushed on faster than was needed, we will try to chill more in 2015.
We are used to France and the quality of food there. In Northern Spain our highlights were:
The quality and portion size of the tapas, though you have to like pork, squid and octopus in this area.
The coffee, quality, price and additional snacks provided
The local beer, Estrella, was good and reasonable wine was well priced, watch for Albarino (white) and (obviously) Rioja (red)
The fresh fish from the market was not expensive and getting the locally caught sardines before they all went was worth the effort. Other fish like Bonito were also delicious
The fried green peppers called Pimientos de Padrón in tapas bars
Our food lowlights were:
- the bread was poor quality though-out the trip in Spain
- Whilst Chris enjoyed the manchego cheese, Carolyn found most cheese to be a bit rubbery/tasteless

If you want to pay with a bank card it is best to carry your passport in Spain. We were only asked for this once or twice but it will save hassle. Getting cash out was mostly easy, there were cashpoints in most towns.
We found few anchoring options as you progress down the French coast and on the coast of northern Spain. Once you get into the Rias you could anchor most of the time if you wish. Marinas in both countries were as expensive or worse than the UK. If you are a Cat expect to be charged 1.5 or 1.25 times the rate. The marina rates given above mostly include this additional charge.
One of our gas bottles ran out in Spain just as we were leaving the boat. As far as we can establish it is not possible to re-fill the UK bottle so we will have to buy a Spanish bottle and are looking at adapters to enable connection to our system.
In Spain all marinas employ marineros - pontoon hands who help moor boats up. We were puzzled as to why a number of boats would be circling outside the pontoon when they were clearly local and berths were clear. When they then approached the pontoon with no lines rigged, having waited for the marinero to be there and hand them their lines it all became clear! Most of the marineros were very helpful, some spoke some form of English. You will often call a marina one the radio and get no response, when you then approach the pontoons someone will be there to wave you to a berth, we assumed they couldn't speak English, or didn't like to on the radio.
We had no problem getting fuel or water on the trip. There were plenty of opportunities to fill up in the places we visited.
UK sailors we met recommended we join the Cruising Association which we have subsequently done. The information available, including an App for sharing info on ports etc, looks likely to be valuable for future cruising. We have also been to a few meetings at the London HQ and found others there to be really helpful and willing to share experience of the places we plan to visit.

If you are planning a similar trip and we can help with any questions please email us at:
splice435(the normal 'at' sign)gmail.com