We spent three nights in A Coruna. There were lots of little projects to tackle. We began by hosing the salt off the boat, and spot cleaning some of the dirtier patches. A full clean could wait until we are somewhere a bit warmer. We looked at the main sheet connection to the boom, and were able to move it back a bit. We removed the first batten from the mainsail and determined that it was too short. We took it out and stowed it in the hull, waiting for a replacement in La Grande Motte. I installed the water filter, after several trips to local hardware stores, and one particularly helpful plumbing store.

After three nights we were ready for the move south, and woke up early on a Friday morning. We released the lines and moved over to the fuel dock where we filled up. Then we motored out into the bay, and watched the tower of Hercules recede into the morning mist. After a couple hours of motoring in low wind, we hoisted the code 0 and enjoyed several hours of excellent light wind sailing, reaching to get around the last headlands before Cap Fisterra. Heading around, into the night we entered a busy shipping lane, and tried to dodge around all the large, fast moving boats. This didn’t work so well, and we gybed back inside, taking the more inshore route.

The next day we motored. All day. Until about 4pm when the wind finally filled in a little. It was cloudy. I took a shower.

During the night we made good time under sail, and in the morning I woke up to a view of the Berlengas islands off the port side. Upon rounding the islands the wind picked up to a nice 25-27 knots, and the ocean swell was directly behind us. This meant we got long and consistent surfs. We hit a top boat speed of 21.1 knots and were pretty constantly above 15. This felt fast. The boat handled it nicely, developing a small hum around 17 knots, and tracking well. A couple hours later we approached Cabo de Roca and the wind increased to 35 knots. There was spray in the air and the swell became mixed with wind waves. The boat was frequently accelerating to over 20 knots. Spray was coming over the bows and up onto the coachroof. At times I would be holding onto the helm as a wave crested behind up, and the boat would cant forward. Suddenly I would be looking down over 50 feet into the trough of the next wave, as the boat suddenly sped down the face. Not a lot to do at this point other than hold on. Invariably the boat would surf straight down, slow at the bottom, before the bows lifted, pulling forward into the next one. The behavior of the boat in this wind and sea was amazing, and I think we both had one of the best days sailing we have ever had. Having Mateo, the professional skipper from Outremer, there helped. I think we would have been more scared if it was only us.

We rode the wind around the cape, before it died down to a more manageable 20-25 again. We took a second reef for the night and began the final run down to Cabo Sagres, the last point of land before we turn east. We made it around the cape, with a couple gybes thrown in for good measure, and started the upwind leg towards Cadiz. Things became a bit more uncomfortable.

I woke up to slamming against the hull. This was normal, as we were now sailing into the wind and waves, instead of the downwind sleigh ride we had been enjoying. We were making pretty good time, but the ride was bumpy and wet. Waves were coming up and smashing into the front windows of the salon. The boat was doing well, and we had to slow it down a bit to stay within the manufacturer’s recommendation of staying below 9 knots of boat speed going upwind. Eventually the wind and sea became smaller and we were able to switch to bigger sails and a much more enjoyable ride. Unfortunately we were still going in the wrong direction. We looked at the map and the forecast and decided to stop in Olhao, Portugal for a night or two, before continuing on to Cadiz. With the decision made, we took the sails down, and turned the motor on for the last ten miles into the protected river mouth.

We spent one night in Olhao, going to the market in the morning to stock up on some veggies, and ending up with a cake and some cheese as well. I played a bit more with the main sheet connection to the boom which I still wasn’t happy with. When running with the boom all the way out the line slipped out of the block and rubbed on the edge. This is not healthy for the rope that takes the full force of the large, powerful mainsail. We left the marina late in the afternoon, and started beating across the Bay of Cadiz towards Rota, and the marina there. We took all night to cover the 100 or so miles, and arrived just as the sun was coming up on Christmas morning.

In Rota, Mateo left us, as his allotted time was up. He packed up his things and caught a series of flights back towards Montpellier. It was great having him on board for a couple weeks, and he helped us become confident with the handling of our boat. We are on our own now, and the next leg, about 1000 nautical miles to La Grande Motte will be the first time Kate and I have ever sailed alone on a boat together. We are excited to set off on our own, and thankful for the knowledge Mateo imparted.