Barra!
Moonbeam
David and Lynn Wilkie
Tue 27 Jul 2010 18:42
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42.15.443N 008.50.592W
Departed Pobra at 08.30 in a NE wind and headed
down the Ria and we soon had to reef in the 25 knots of wind. A fast sail
down past Islas Ons where it would have been nice to explore but in the current
wind it was not practical. On to Ria Pontevedra where the wind died to nothing (
forecast was NE4-6) and we looked at some bays on the north side but they were
very built up;Combarro at the head of the Ria would have been a good visit but
the Almanac indicated that security of yachts was an issue there so we left it
be.
  The Ria Aldan on the south side of the entrance
looked beautiful but in the forecasted wind was not ideal ( in retrospect it
would have been fine!) so we sailed on to Ria Vigo leaving Isles des Cies to
starboard. A good sail with a max speed of 8.8 knots!
   By this title you may have thought we were
homesick and rushed back to the Outer Hebrides but no! We anchored early
Sunday afternoon off Ensanda de Barra which also has beautiful sand but
there were perhaps 100 yachts and motor boats anchored off the busy beach.
Further inspection revealed that there was obviously no imposed limit to the
number of "nudos" here! in fact half the beach was for nudists! Despite
the th(r)ong there was a good atmosphere and
always something to watch (!) Swam from the boat and scrubbed the waterline as
we are a little low on the marks! Rigged the sun awning which may become a
permanent feature now and tested the deck shower! By 9.00pm there were only 10
boats left and the beach was almost empty and the bay took on a different
atmosphere. There is a National park to the left and a nice looking holiday
village to the east, A very attractive anchorage in North winds but totally
exposed to the South. Despite the forecast we had no wind and at 9.00pm it was
32 degreesC in the cabin- cooler than on deck!!
      Monday
A beautiful morning with no wind in the anchorage
and all the boats were back to Vigo and work leaving only 6 cruising yachts at
anchor. The toe rail was in need of a coat of varnish as the final coat had been
rained on at Ardfern so after breakfast I rubbed it all down, vacuumed and
washed the toerail. I had once read that to get the ultimate varnish finish you
should varnish naked to reduce the dust and these seemed ideal conditions to
test the theory. However the deck was so hot it was too hot for bare feet never
mind bare anything else!! In fact it was difficult to keep a wet brush never
mind a wet edge but it got a coat of 'instant dry' varnish and Spain was spared
a white flash.
  One of the problems of cruising in Moonbeam is that
in marinas people come and look ( and usually make favourable comments or ask
questions) and at anchor boats will even come over and do complete
circuits while everybody looks and points and usually shout something. This
morning a girl alone in a glossy power boat went slowly by and gave the ok sign-
Lynn is sure it was Moonbeam she was admiring.
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