Getaria

We were ready to leave Hendaye, but the weather had turned a bit temperamental on us.  We had stayed for nine nights and we finally decided that if we didn't go on the Sunday we could be there for another three or four nights because the forecast was for rain and stronger winds.  As it was, this would be our first ‘wind on the nose’ trip for some time.

We undertook a swift passage planning session, provisioned the boat for another three days, filled up with water (I'm starting to worry that we'll have to buy it in Spain and so made Chris fill our spare five gallon jerry cans as well!) and, having paid our dues for the last two nights to the now very friendly harbour master, we were ready to go.

We enthusiastically hoisted the Spanish courtesy flag before getting up the sails.  Spain at last!  We were heading for Getaria, only a short hop of twenty two miles we thought, but because of the wind direction we would have to tack while under sail and that, of course, adds distance to the voyage.  It seemed quite windy as we set out and so we put up the main with one reef.  It wasn't long however until we were shaking it out because at only 2.5 knots the trip was going to take us twice as long as it should.  I was helming and I am quite enjoying my developing skill.  As it turned out, we only needed to do three tacks the whole way.

We passed a number of ports, including Pasajes and San Sebastian.  We were intrigued when the former finally came into view as it was nestled in the valley of some mountains and the narrow entrance became clear only as we were well past and nearly abeam San Sebastian.  A big clue as to the port’s presence were the large ships lying at anchor in the bay outside.

The sky was mostly blue and the wind had picked up sufficiently that we were soon doing up to 6.2 knots on starboard tack along the Cantabrian coast.  The fine weather didn't last long though and we were heading towards a hazy round hill which was in fact San Anton, the "island" which is now attached to the mainland at Getaria, our destination.  There were a few small yachts sailing in the bay and five and a half hours after leaving Hendaye we were on a finger berth in the marina.  We couldn't find any obvious place for visitors and so I scurried up to find the harbour master, but it was all shut and the town seemed to be bustling with activity.  We couldn't stay in someone else’s berth so we decided it would be better to go out into the bay and pick up a mooring buoy.  Still, I had at least, though briefly, stepped on Spanish soil.  Mooring turned out to be rather more difficult than usual because of the way the buoys were spaced out.  Chris persuaded me that we should anchor outside the moorings, although I was rather anxious about how secure we would be.  This would be our first night swinging from our anchor, ever.  Up until this moment we had anchored for lunch once in Osborne bay off the Isle of Wight and a few weeks ago off Houat one afternoon!  Lying here in a small bay off the big Bay of Biscay seemed a little exposed.  With our lack of experience in mind Chris had emailed his Uncle Pete recently to pick his brains about anchoring, and, full of the encouragement that we had received he set the anchor watch on the GPS and went below to cook dinner.  As it turned out, even with a wind gusting to Force 6, heavy rain and nauseating swell for the following 36 hours we were perfectly secure!

For the whole of the first night, second day and night, we rocked and rolled in the bay.  It wasn't quite as bad as our storm in Alderney, but I wasn't too impressed.  Along with the wind came the swell and squally downpours of rain.  I lay around, reading a bit while Chris got on with the domestic duties.  He even occupied himself with a bit more baking, not bread this time, but fruit crumble, served with custard!  The small island of San Anton, off Getaria, was floodlit at night and I was keen that we try going into the marina again, but Chris was enjoying his first proper "anchorage" of the trip and so I tried not to complain.  The next day, however, after our second fitful night's sleep, the weather showed signs of improvement long enough to get the dinghy pumped up and we went into the port to explore.

It was a relief to be on firm ground again and Chris had finally set foot in Spain.  We soon realised that we were missing out on an interesting little place and, having had a brief taste (and after finding the reception pontoon half empty!) we decided to go back and get the yacht.  Once on the reception pontoon, Felipe the security guard soon visited us and arranged a place for us to berth, only to be moved again later that evening when a bigger yacht arrived!  The wind was still quite strong and would be blowing us onto the harbour wall as we tried to leave the berth.  To avoid this embarrassment, while I steered the boat backwards from the berth, Chris took a line out in the inflatable and the outboard engine towed us sideways against the wind and away from the stone wall.  The irony of the whole berthing fiasco was that we ended up on the finger berth we had borrowed on that first night when we arrived!

Getaria is a fantastic little town.  We have never seen such an interesting church, all higgledy-piggledy in its structure yet quite beautiful.  It is built with what we assume to be a local stone with pink and ochre colourings.  Its octagonal bell tower dominates the pretty narrow shopping streets, which are filled with the aroma of grilled sardines from the numerous restaurants and bars.  We walked to the top of the island, which allows no cars, and is devoted to those on foot, with pathways and viewing areas all around.  We spent quite some time just watching the comings and goings of the fishing port.  The huge fleet of fishing boats was out, but there was still plenty going on.  I was quite fascinated by the little fishing vessels, usually occupied by one elderly man in a hat with a bucket.  They never seem to catch anything but sit for hours (some even in the rain) throwing out and pulling in fine lines.  I think they must be avoiding the chores at home!

The weather, which has become a real preoccupation, improved significantly on the Wednesday, and with a good forecast for the following day we planned a bigger hop this time, to Castro Urdiales, nearly fifty miles away.