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 tricks you into thinking you’ve got it all figured out.
It’s out here you really see how much we rely on solar. The old-school guys love their diesel-guzzling generators, but we’re running 300W of flexible panels feeding into a lithium battery bank. It’s quiet. It works. And it keeps us from running the engine more than we have to.
Not that it was a plug-and-play job. Salt, shifting sun angles, deck space—it’s a constant game of compromises. We might beef up the system once we hit the Costa del Sol. I’ve been chatting with an Irish electrician, Adam, who’s a solar panel installer in Marbella. Reckons he can squeeze in another panel without overloading our system. Worth a shot.
Liam’s Take:
Ryan can spend hours staring at his solar controller like it’s a sacred text. Me? I was too busy holding onto the boat.
The Atlantic doesn’t care about your plans. One minute it’s rolling under you like a big lazy animal, the next it’s slapping you around for fun. I couldn’t read, couldn’t cook, couldn’t even think straight when the swell got real.
I’d had grand ideas of whipping up seafood pasta with the fish we snagged in Bilbao. Yeah. Right. Turns out, keeping a pot on the stove when you’re getting tossed around like a washing machine is a full-time job. In the end, we made do—chorizo, cheese, hunks of crusty bread, and some olives from the market. When the sea says no, you nod and adjust.
Then—just as we were settling into the rhythm—dolphins.
A pod (yeah, I had to Google it later) showed up, weaving through the waves, riding the bow. Pure magic. That’s the kind of thing that sticks with you. No camera can do it justice.
Ryan’s Take:
Morning. Land ahead. And there it was—the Tower of Hercules, standing like it had been waiting for us. Old Roman lighthouse, apparently. Cool to see, even if history’s not my thing.
The real relief? Getting into the harbor. Solid ground.
Eoin and Ciara—old school mates from Dublin—were waiting on the dock, grinning like mad. Felt good to see familiar faces after days of nothing but sea.
Plans? Easy. Catch up. Wander. Eat our way through the seafood scene. But first—showers, proper food, and a night where the bed doesn’t move beneath us.
Liam’s Take:
Galicia. Wild, green, briny air that sticks to your skin. It’s the kind of place that makes you glad you’re doing this. Not just for the sailing, but for the stops. For the people. For the stories you wouldn’t get otherwise.
Next up? A proper dive into A Coruña. More seafood, old friendships, and prepping for whatever’s next. But for now—a beer, a sunset, and the smug satisfaction of another leg safely behind us.
Until next time,
Ryan & Liam
The Ocean Bois
