Before leaving, we often asked ourselves when the best time was to cross Biscay. All factors should be right: wind, weather, waves and tides in Brest. No storm and no calm all over the route. Somehow we didn’t find three consecutive days where everything fit. It was only in four days that there seemed to be a possibility. But as so often in life we decided spontaneously differently and it should start the next morning, although nord-east wind over 30 knots was announced for La Coruna for the next few days. We wanted to observe the situation during the trip (thanks to the satellite phone) and optionally head for a port more east. So we filled in diesel and water and made the boat ready. In the evening we could watch the fireworks of the 14 Juillet and in this way celebrate our “one month on the way” anniversary.
day 1
On the first day, our Bajka made 4-5 knots. Nael was suffering from sea sickness, Ilian rather the opposite. In the afternoon the wind stopped, but dolphins visited us and everyone was happy again.
In the evening a light breeze installed and we could easily sail all night. We simply changed when one was tired or the other could not sleep.
day 2
In the morning the wind dropped and we were in the middle of the calm. So we chugged under engine almost 10 hours.
It was so dark that we could see the stars well. At midnight the moon was rising and showed us the way. In the middle of the night in the middle of the Bay of Biscay, simply wonderful. Only the kids woke up a couple of times, but they also did that back home.
Day 3
The kids had slept until 2 pm. Was there a party yesterday? :-). The wind increased a bit during the day and we got on well. The waves also increased, which made life on board not easier. The wind was still predicted at 25 knots in La Coruna, so we decided to continue south and not turn west until the next day. For the night we reduced the sail area and watched the wind. We didn’t want to be too close to the coast because of the fishermen without navigation light, but also not too much west because of the wind. The night went well and the wind usually stayed below 20 knots, but the next morning we were a bit tired.
Day 4
Dolphins visited us again but this time they let themselves film.
The wind dropped earlier than expected and we decided to head to Viveiro. But the waves still remained, and we were shaken (similar to the decreasing “Ober” on the lake of Thun :=)). For the last few miles we had to start the engine, then we had solid ground under our feet again.
The crossing was nice, but also exhausting. During the night we had to sail and sleep alternately and during the day we had to sail and play with the kids alternately. There was a lack of relaxation …
Actually everything went according our plan, but there are still a few optimisations to be done, especially with the daily rhythm, with the kid’s entertainment and with the food. We have tried different sails combinations in different conditions. We also got more confidence our boat and in our handling.
