Spain

Ryan We left the boat tied up today. That was the plan from the start. Cádiz felt like a place worth walking properly instead of rushing through between sailing legs. The marina sits right beside the old city walls, so within about five minutes you’re already in narrow streets that look like they’ve been there […]

Ryan We woke up later than we meant to. That usually happens after a few days moving. Your body still thinks the boat should be rolling, so when it finally stops you sleep like someone switched the power off. First thing I noticed when I stuck my head out of the hatch was how quiet

The first thing we noticed wasn’t Cádiz itself, it was the boat. She stopped leaning.Not dramatically. Just enough that a mug stayed where you put it. After the Strait, everything still felt switched on. The engine noise lingered in your head. The radio crackle. The sense that something very large and very uninterested in you

Ryan’s Take:  Leaving A Coruña was easy. No drama. No grand send-off. Just a quiet morning, ropes untied, engine humming low as we slipped away from the dock, another chapter closed. The Tower of Hercules faded behind us, and ahead—Galicia’s legendary Rías Baixas. Deep inlets clawing inland, half-river, half-sea. Perfect for sailing, if you know

Ryan’s Take:  Bilbao in the rearview, A Coruña dead ahead. Longer passage, bigger seas, proper Atlantic swell—the kind that slaps you in the gut and tests both your patience and La Sirena’s guts.  First few hours? Smooth. A rare thing. Sails full, Basque coastline slipping into the haze behind us. The kind of sailing that

Liam’s Take:  Waking up to a calm marina in Bilbao and the soft hum of a city coming to life felt like a reward in itself. If you’d read our previous blog, you’d know why! We spent close to two weeks in Bilbao, planning our route and stocking up on supplies for the next leg of

Ryan’s Take:  We really liked our time in San Sebastían, and the connection we felt to Mum’s roots (even though we don’t speak a word of Spanish yet!). But we hoisted the sails and pointed La Sirena westward. Back after the wake we was making plans and decided we wouldn’t stop in San Sebastián. We’d

Ryan’s Take:  After a few days of soaking in San Sebastián—pintxos, boat fixes, the usual—it was time to check in with home.  Laptop open, Starlink humming away (seriously, worth every cent), and there they were: Da’ and Claire, grinning through the screen from Dublin.  “Look at the two of ye!” Da’ bellowed, voice filling the

Liam’s Take:  San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa.  The moment we sailed in, I exhaled. Relief, pride. That weird, gut-deep feeling when something just clicks. Like you belong, even if you’ve never set foot there before.  Our Ma’ was born here. She left when she was twelve, but it still feels like part of our story. Like we’re

Ryan’s Take: When we were kids, Liam and I sat by Dublin Bay, eyes on the horizon, swearing we’d set sail one day.  All talk. Big dreams.  But last week? We actually shoved off from Dún Laoghaire Harbour, pointed straight for San Sebastián, Spain. And let me tell you, it hit different when it was