reams of white sand beaches fringed
with granite boulders warmed by the
Galician sun fi nally took fl ight. We
departed from Crookhaven in Ireland at
the break of dawn with a westerly wind
of 12-15 knots. This provided us with the ideal
conditions for a swift passage southward and across
the Bay of Biscay.
It certainly was fun surfi ng along at nearly 10 knots.
It was the fi rst time we had covered 200 miles in a day
in Aleria, our vintage Bowman 57 ketch. Since the
weather was so cooperative we decided to bypass La
Coruna and Finisterre, heading directly to the rias
where we would begin our cruise southward with a
fl eet of 60 boats taking part in the Irish Cruising Club
Rias Baixas (pronounced Bishash) Rally. We reached
the Real Club Nautico Portosin (RCNP) in the Ria de
Muros e Noia, a total of 504 miles, in exactly three
days, arriving at 0600 in mystical morning fog, along
with the entire fi shing fl eet of the region. We then
spent two months cruising the rias of Galicia.
Switching over from foul weather gear to shorts,D
November 2017 53›
The Islas Cies, at the
mouth of the Ria de
Vigo, is testament to
the beauty of Galicia