27 Nov Travel Journey 2 | Plymouth – La Coruna
Travel Journey 2 | Plymouth – La Coruna
The sun rises just above the still foggy harbor when we set sail for La Coruna in Spain. In recent days we have worked hard to prepare New Nexus for our grand crossing so far. Fortunately, they are all manageable jobs. The real big jobs, which are also followed by 3 jobs, are fortunately over. Bas has come on board and to make it liveable for the three of us, we have structured all the cabinets and tried to give everything on board a permanent place. Bas and I already cooked meals for 3 days the night before departure, so that if the weather turns bad, we don’t have to cook extensively. For the time being, however, the weather is short and there is little wind. We leave the bay of Plymouth and soon a whole bunch of dolphins are swimming with us. I already have 100 just-not-dolphin photos on my phone and we are not even out of Europe. I wonder aloud if it will be nice to see dolphins, because it seems more the rule than the exception that they are sailing with us. When our pace slows down, they disappear into the deep blue water again.
Bas aan boord bij de 4Green Foundation
Niels zet de route uit naar La Coruna
Moments later we see fierce swirling water and waves turning in front of us. There are many fishing boats around it. On the map is “hand deeps” and we see that the depth meter suddenly shoots from 400 meters to 8 meters. Because of all the current in the water, this seems like a perfect place to throw a fishing rod, because the wind almost stops. Niels conducts the boat in the middle of the shallows and lets her drift away. One fish after the other comes up and our bucket is quickly full. Bas can call himself the Mackerel-Man from today,
a title that he later found wrong. We have plenty of fish to eat, but because fishing is a lot more fun when you catch something, we decide to do one last drift. Niels catches another pollack of 60 cm and a number of large stone balls. Then suddenly I have something strange on the hook, a squid! Maybe crochet by accident? Less than 5 minutes later Bas pulls an octopus out of the water. He does not dare to take the poor beast off the hook and is looking a bit lost, sissy. We decide to go further. With 6 different sea creatures on the table a very nice catch.
Bas vangt de Octopus
The wind has completely subsided. It would only be quiet in 2 days? We are almost still for 2 days and 3 nights. Our battery capacity is immediately put to the test by the combination of wind calmness and a large gray mass above us. Because of all the drifts on the electric motor above the fishing grounds, the lithium batteries were already 50 percent discharged. After baking the fish on the induction hob, we had to start living more efficiently with our energy.
My services run from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Bas and Niels divide those other hours. With Bas, it is a lot more pleasant in terms of services. Now it is very quiet around us and we can doze off every now and then during our services. Just to be sure, I set an alarm clock every 15 minutes and I look around to see if I see lights. If the AIS also does not indicate anything then I can close my eyes again and this repeats itself about 16 times in one shift. During the day we read books, we play “earthworms” or settlers of Katan. Bas and I have another bomb contest in our naakie, but the water is still very cold here! Moreover, it remains a bit scary to swim in such clear water of 4000 meters deep. What will all be swimming among us ?! Don’t think about it too long.
For us, the Bay of Biscay is not much more than a smooth mirror. Do us anyway but a few big autumn storms we call when we go into the third night calm. That morning it starts to blow during my shift. Surprised, I am relieving a slightly grumpy Niels, who did a double shift because Bas was unable to wake up. Not so good to get into service rhythm, those windless days! That wouldn’t happen to him a second time. When the weather has slowly come to light, dolphins pop up again for the boat. However, these are very large! And what a strange head they have. I once heard about griends and I think this is a typical griend. When we later looked up, we indeed found five friends around us. We have already spotted our first (mini) whales! We wonder about the fact that these animals swim there and can find their way again. We compare it to jumping overboard with just diving mask and snorkel and then having to find the way back home. Bizarre!
Tjerk bekijkt de nieuwe aankomsthaven in Spanje
We have now been at sea for 5 days. From Gerard, the owner of the shipyard where we bought the ship, we were told that we had to maintain an average of 6 knots for longer journeys. Then we should have been there for a long time now! Later it turns out that a hurricane from the Azores raged towards Ireland and deprived us of all wind. Then do us those windless days. Life at sea gets used quickly while I can endlessly look at the sea and the position of the sails. Where in my life on the side I have so much turmoil in my ass that I can’t even read 2 pages of a book, I read here for hours on end.
The Atlantic Ocean is in front of us. The same water as here but with a different name. I have never crossed an ocean and wonder if I am ready for that. Do we have enough sailing experience? Can I do nothing for so long? We are working hard on the answer to that second question. I have to say that I can get used to it.
When we see the coast of Spain on day 7 after our departure from Plymouth, it feels like our first victory. Our log indicates 500 miles and never before have I made such a large crossing. As we approach the coast the first apps come in from concerned parents. Our last AIS signal was at Brest and then we disappeared from the map. With them, trust will also have to grow, I think to myself. They may have the same questions as the ones I asked myself in the middle of the Bay of Biscay, but that is expressed in a little more anxiety. I read in our stay-at-home app that the message I sent with the satellite phone has arrived well and that Wessel has shared it with the rest. Nice piece of technology!
In La Coruna it is 23 degrees and sunny when we arrive. This is what we did it for! Due to the lack of anchorages, we put our ship in the marina. Now first looking for a cold beer.
Aangekomen in La Coruna