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The Spanish port of Bayona is still yet to welcome the arrival of ARC Portugal as an intense low pressure system has disrupted the fleet’s trip across the Bay of Biscay. Rally Control had been closely monitoring the path of the front, and advised boats in the fleet to make landfall in northern Spain, or make passage west to avoid the worst of the strong winds and rain. By Wednesday night, A Coruña was hosting five boats in the fleet, and a further four in Camariñas, whilst three others had already sought refuge in France as the system approached Finisterre on Thursday.
“After 4.5 days at sea we arrived in La Coruna at 8am, exhausted but elated to have crossed the Bay of Biscay. We entered the marina literally at the same time as Fair Isle and about an hour ahead of Lyonie (who was only a couple of nautical miles behind us for most of yesterday). We welcomed Lyonie and her crew to the berth next to us, they looked just as exhausted and seemed relieved to be sheltering from the storm. We had not met them prior to departing Plymouth so it was good to meet them at last. Adventures such as these foster a great sense of camaraderie.” Wrote Sue on Girolle on their blog update on Thursday.
At sea, crews readied the boats to cope with the approaching weather, and were kept up to date with the latest forecast and routing advice from Rally Control. YB Tracking units on board the boats provided a way to regularly monitor the fleet, and also keep in touch with those boats using the YB Connect messaging system.
As the front has now passed, Friday will see the fleet at sea continue to make progress towards the Spanish coast no doubt in much need of some rest after their challenging time in the bay. Those in port in A Coruña and Muxia will make their way to Bayona over the course of Friday and Saturday, with the fleet of Biscay crossers complete by the end of Sunday.
The in-port programme has been adapted for the delayed arrival of the fleet to enable crews to stretch their land legs visiting Santiago de Compostela and explore the Molinos de Folon as well as enjoy some of the sights of Bayona. The start of the second leg from Bayona to Povoa da Vorzim has been rescheduled for Wednesday 12 June and it is anticipated those in Camaret will rejoin the fleet in Portugal later next week.