Lovely Laredo

The Laredo climb

Laredo marina

Laredo

Just between Santander and Bilbao nestles the town of Laredo which has served us so well over the last few days as our introduction to Spain. Primarily a seaside resort with a huge swathe of golden beach, it has a new and as yet half empty marina. The town is bustling, friendly and steeped too in medieval splendour if you can summon up the energy to climb the cobbled streets which lead up and up to the magnificent church and fortress from which the views are breath- taking ( or was that just the end result when two unfit pensioner tackle such close contour lines).  We will be very sorry to leave tomorrow…..

The Bay of Biscay difficult…….I think not!

Close hauled for La Coruna

Who’d have thought it?  We have done the Bay of Biscay!  Just over 500 miles over 4 days (and nights) in 4 hour watches and we have arrived in Northern Spain…initially quite surreal but now a few days into our recovery programme we are getting used to the idea. We changed our final destination half way across after finding that the southerly winds were going to continue (very unusual in these parts apparently) which would mean for La Coruna the wind was constantly on the nose…not a comfortable or efficient point of sail..so we turned to have the wind on the beam and immediately started speeding up and whizzing towards Santander at 7 or 8 knots.  Definitely a good decision.  As if to boost our morale, half way through our passage the dolphins came out to play with us and they swam along in our bow wave for a good ten minutes, cheekily snorting, tweeting, leaping and diving.  The attached photo does not do them justice….but to quote our eldest Grandson Tommy it was definitely an “ohhh woww” moment….and such a privilege to behold.

ON OUR WAY!

Resolute is now “exceptionally well equipped for Ocean going sailing”…..it’s official!  The Surveyor was pleased with her so she has been re-launched after 3 weeks work ashore.

Following her re-launch there have been gruelling goodbyes juxtaposed with glorious blue sails to familiar south coast haunts which evoke memories of family sailing holidays with excited little boys in summers long past.

Stretching ahead now is the unfamiliar..(to me at least as there are few places in the UK unexplored by Colin in his military days)..Exciting? Yes.  Challenging? Yes. And a tinge of unhelpful apprehension too of course.