SeaWind Adventures

16/10/2025

After a gray Friday and a drizzly Saturday morning in Camariñas, Spain ,we decide to weigh anchor and move on. When we get a view of the open sea, we see large breakers crashing against the rocks. Storm Amy passed mainly to our northwest, but left behind 2-3 meter high waves. We briefly consider turning back, but we're not keen on another gray day at Camariñas and set course for the sea.

And that proves to be a good choice, because an hour later a pale sun breaks through, and by the time we reach our destination, the wind has cleared completely. There's a strong wind, but once we've dropped anchor, it calms down, and we find ourselves in a beautiful spot. We launch the dinghy and go exploring.

We're moored a few hundred meters from a white beach with turquoise water and lush green shores. A little further on (or rather, earlier, as we sailed past it from the sea) lies the village of Fisterra, at the foot of Cabo Fisterra, or Finisterra: the end of the world. This is the westernmost point of Spain. In Brittany, we were also in the Finistère region, the westernmost point of France, but this is even further out. Fortunately, this remote area has several lovely restaurants (some with a Michelin star) where we can settle down for the evening.

13/10/2025

On Wednesday afternoon, we sail out of the bay at Corme, keeping our eyes peeled for the fishing buoys scattered here and there. The fishermen tie a few balls to a fishing net or crab basket and throw them overboard somewhere, usually in the middle of the channel. Especially when there are waves, you sometimes only see the buoys at the last moment. And you don't want to sail over them, because a fishing net or line caught in your propeller can have serious consequences.

There's hardly any wind, so we motor south along the coast. After an hour or two, we spot the lighthouse at Cabo Vilan, which gradually becomes more and more defined against the hazy sky. Just past the cape, we steer to port, into the ría where the village of Camariñas lies hidden. We drop anchor and take the dinghy for a spin around the bay before settling down on the aft deck with a drink.

09/10/2025

"Most attractive anchorage off a fishing village," says our pilot (book with information about harbors, anchorages, and how to get there) about the anchorage near the village of Corme. It's just around the corner as you round the cape from Coruña. A good spot, we think, to begin our journey along the west coast of Spain.

From Coruña, it's a 38-mile sail to our anchorage, about eight hours. The first leg is due west with little wind. But around 4 p.m., when we round the cape, the wind becomes more favorable. At 5-6 knots, we sail along the rocky coast, already seeing the entrance to the Ría de Corme e Laxe in the distance. "Don't cut the corner," says the pilot, because there are large rocks just below the water. As we get closer, we indeed see the waves breaking on the rocks. We furl the sails and slowly sail into the sheltered bay. At half past six, 40 meters of anchor chain rattle out and we find ourselves in a beautiful spot with a view of an idyllic beach.

04/10/2025

Last week we crossed the Bay of Biscay with our ship, the Baltic, from Brest to A Coruña. A beautiful journey of almost three days, with plenty of sunshine and dolphins. At the end, we even encountered a force 8 wind, which the ship easily withstood.
Ten years ago, we were also in A Coruña, in the same port and at the exact same berth. Back then, we arrived from the Azores, and this was our stopover for crew changes and shopping before crossing Biscay to Brest. Now we've come from the other side and are heading further south. But not before enjoying a few days of A Coruña's vibrancy.

19/05/2025

Tijd om de vers voorraden aan boord te brengen en alles een plek te geven in de store.

16/05/2025

Even het schip langs de kade leggen om al die kratjes met etenswaar aan boord te tillen. 😲
Gelukkig hadden we een paar helpende handjes om het allemaal weg te stoppen in de banken.

10/05/2025

And it's time to bring the sails back on board. The furling genoa has been hoisted and gets a new reefing line. It runs a lot smoother now.

07/05/2025

Sailing preparations for our arctic Norway trip.

07/05/2025

01/05/2025

Yeah, a great day to work on deck and prepare the ship for departure... Counting down, ticking the boxes, having fun!

23/04/2025

Each cabin on the Baltic is named after a heroic sailor. Cabin 3: Willem Barentsz. In 1596, the Terschellinger skipper Willem Barentsz set off north, looking for an ice-free route to China. During this journey, Barentsz first discovered Bear Island (Bjørnøya) and then the Spitsbergen archipelago (Svalbard). After wintering on Nova Zembla, the crew returned to the mainland in sloops. Unlike Shackleton, Barentsz himself did not survive the return journey.
Read the whole story in the book "Icebound", which is in our ship's library and was written by our friend Andrea Pitzer, with whom we sailed to Spitsbergen a few years ago.
You can visit the replica of Barentsz's ship in the harbour of Harlingen.

22/04/2025

Another of our sailing heroes. Joshua Slocum, more than 125 years ago singlehandedly circumnavigated the world as the first person to do so.