After a fantastic downwind sail we tacked in to the harbour at Porto de Corme, let out the anchor and drank the traditional tinkers coffee (coffee with a shot of Baileys, tradition since we anchored in Tinkers Hole some four months ago). Shortly after Jake came over and invited us all over for a beer with Lucy and him on their boat “Ragtime”. Jake’s grandfather had lent them his boat so they left Alderney, sailed south and are now enjoying themselves here in Galicia. The next evening we invited them over for Heidi made brownies.
The second day Heidi and Neill made use of the “Max Dinghy Taxi” service to take their bikes to the shore and then take a ride through the surrounding countryside. We left the fishing village of Porte de Corme via the steepest road out. Straight up a concrete track to the hills above and a huge windpark. 64 wind generators spread across the countryside. Apparently they generate about 18GwH of electricity a year. We commented on the comparison to our 100 watt wind generator on board. After an enjoyable ride along forest tracks, roads and trails, we reached a 16 meter high column on a summit. We walked up the 160 steps to the top and, when Heidi found the trapdoor at the top open, she was out next to the statue taking photos. She doesn’t know what seasickness or fear of heights is. Our track is at https://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=vsofbnptcapsemro
Back in town, we found Max at a cafe where he was using their Internet and electricity in return for buying two cappuccinos a day. We also found the local supermarket and restocked the boat – especially the wine cellar. At €1.59 a bottle you have to lay up reserves.
High waves were forecast for the next day so we decided on a “lazy, doing nothing day”. We visited the market and managed to spend €25 buying vegetables and cheese and bread from the locals. We asked for potatoes from one lady and she just tipped the whole box in a bag and said “three Euros”. We bought some onions we didn’t need because Neill liked the way they were platted together. But for one Euro they are a nice decoration. We also filled the water tanks from the tap on the beach, showered using the showers on the beach, mended a broken rucsac, repaired a puncture, replaced a broken tap cleaned the boat and worked out how much power the fridge used. A great and successful day. Max once again drank two cappucinos.
And then in the evening Max noticed that the dinghy was upside down which meant the outboard motor was upside down in saltwater. Damn! At least the motor was still attached to the dinghy. Everything washed with fresh water. Spark plug out. Lots of washing petrol through the system but no success. Neill went to bed very unhappy.
The next morning and Heidi said “shall we look at the engine?” Oil change, petrol change and (Heidi’s great idea) WD40 in the air intake and combustion chamber. And it ran! Took Max for his capuccinos, invited the german neighbours over for coffee and Heidi started making scones. Life was great again.
Neill decided to try and locate the “strange smell” and discovered that the sewage tank under the front beds had leaked. The leak had run under the tank, under the floor, over the spare anchor, under the water tank and in to the bilge. Another good excuse to dismantle the boat and clean everything. This was not the day we had planned,
Tomorrow we plan on sailing for a change. We’ll let you know what happens.
And you phoned us up. Love it