SAILING KWANZA: CROSSING THE BAY OF BISCAY, 14TH TO 16TH JUNE 2015

We left Camaret bay just before 6.00 in the morning and set a course of South West so as to clear the famous (or infamous) 'Raz De Sein' to avoid the massive tidal overfalls.
The weather forecasts on Passage planner, Met Office and XC Weather, all promised calm seas and gentle North West winds. Sure enough the first six hours of the trip was in calm conditions and barely enough wind to sail, so we kept the engine going with the hope that we could shut it down as we got further out into the bay.
Unfortunately as the sun set the seas became even calmer and the wind dropped completely. We watched our AIS system for any other ships and turned the radar on as the darkness loomed.
With an average speed of 7 knots we covered over 100 NM by midnight.
The skipper kept the night watch while the second in command went below to sleep in the aft starboard cabin which we had set up for the trip.
As we approached the steep underwater ravine where the depth changes from 200 meters to over 4000 meters in a ten miles or so, we anticipated a change in the sea state. Its reputed that the upwelling of the underwater currents and the Atlantic swell generates dramatically turbulent conditions. However we hardly noticed any changes and were quite enthralled to watch our two echo-sounders eventually run out of range at about 1,400 meters depth.
During the next days (the trip took three days and two nights) we were visited by hundreds of Dolphin, often in big pods of over twenty in each. They flirted with the boat and vied for positions just under the bow.
During the nights the dolphin could be clearly seen as they left spooky phosphorescent trails in the water and sparks as they broke the surface.
At one point we were surprised by a Minke Whale which surged out from under our boat. At first we thought it was just another dolphin playing around the boat but then the whole body of the whale appeared. The dorsal fin of the Minke Whale is ridiculously small and set very far aft on the huge mammal so it can be confused with a dolphin until they rise for air.
On the second night at sea, about 150 NM off the Spanish coast, the birds arrived. First a swallow who wanted to build a nest under our bimini cover, then a homing pigeon who stayed with us for about 12 hours until he caught sight of land and took off.

As we approached the coast of Galicia Spain the fishing boats started to appear (during the second night at sea). Luckily we had AIS which gave plenty of warning of their presence. On two occasions at night we saw other yachts ghosting along with only a mast head light on (no AIS.!).
As dawn broke on the third day the Spanish shore was well in sight. By midday we were entering the area of Coruna (our destination). By 14.00 with strong winds and high swell we sailed into the outer part of Corunia Ria, to anchor at 16.00 in the bay of Enseada de Mera. We were happy that there were no other boats anchored there and that we had eventually arrived.
THE BAY HAD BEEN CROSSED.!!