The Bay Of Biscay: Day 2

11 October 2019

I woke to a whirring noise at 5am and for the life of me I could not work out why anyone would be using the blender given the circumstances. And then it clicked... it was the electric winch! The sails were going up before first light. The wind must have changed and the seas were calming down. After 15 hours we were able to give one of the engines a rest.

As the sky grew brighter and the sun rose in the sky, we eased ourselves into the day, still sickly on the rocky seas. But by mid-morning we had entered Spanish waters, which lifted the spirits! The sun was shining bright and the seas were increasingly calmer. Now we might actually be able to take it all in and enjoy the crossing!

The kids had their appetite back and were coping with it all extremely well. By the afternoon we were all able to head to the front of the boat. How lovely it was to sit on the trampolines and watch Long Summer cutting through the waves. How new it was to look out at the blue horizon that surround us. And how fun it was to taste the fresh Atlantic salt that had crusted onto the boat!

The rest of the journey was plain (motor)sailing. Bar the occasional container ship on the radar, and a dolphin or two in the distance, it was just us and the sea all the way. By 2am on Friday morning we had docked in Gijón, Spain. The town was buzzing and the boys headed onto dry land for a well-earned drink… We’ve got a good feeling about this place!