Coast of Death

Gale force winds, violent storms, strong currents, crashing waves, shallow patches, hidden rocks and a wild rugged landscape are all features of the section of coastline we motored along on Monday - known as Costa da Morte (Coast of Death). 

Our 3 hour passage was relatively calm and unremarkable. The following day, Tuesday, was an altogether different experience with winds steadily blowing over 50 knots all day long, gusting higher at times, and rain falling heavily. 

Having seen this coming on the weather forecast a few days ago we’d planned to be securely tied up in Muxia Marina, a safe, sheltered harbour, to sit out the storm. Even when the gale force southerly winds have subsided there will be a couple of days of large Atlantic swell so we’ll probably be ‘storm bound’ here until at least Friday. It was a ‘No-brainer’ to stay a while - funnily that’s the name of the large catamaran now moored up in front of us that arrived in the dark last night looking for a safe haven.  

The coastline gained its gruesome name and notoriety after a number of tragic shipwrecks in the 19th century. The poorly designed HMS Captain capsized in heavy seas off Cape Finisterre in September 1870, only five months after being commissioned, with the loss of 472 lives. Weather conditions in the area at the time were reported to be Force 9 to 11 (60 knots) with 15 meter waves. The subsequent sinking of HMS Serpent, a British Royal Navy Torpedo Warship, off Cape Vilán in November 1890 with the loss of 172 lives, mainly young cadets aged between 15-19, changed the course of Maritime Safety. Only 3 crew members survived the disaster purely because only they were wearing lifejackets, not standard personal safety equipment at the time. The ship only had 25 lifejackets in total on board. 

Six years after the accident, the Cape Vilán lighthouse was upgraded so that it could be seen from a distance of 60 miles and it became the first lighthouse in Spain to be powered by electricity. Following the investigation into the Serpent's sinking, the use of cork life jackets became standard safety equipment on all British naval vessels. International regulations requiring ships to provide sufficient lifejackets for all crew and passengers didn’t come into effect until after the Titanic disaster. Modern lifejackets are less cumbersome to wear, automatically inflate on contact with water and are an essential piece of our safety equipment on board.

Cape Finisterre, which translates to ‘End of the Earth’ has uninterrupted vistas with the sun setting into the vast open Atlantic ocean. Ancient Romans viewed this jagged coastline as the westernmost end of the known world. Celts engaged in sun worship and assorted rituals here believing it was the gateway to the afterlife.

Modern day Muxia is a magnet for poncho clad walkers on a spiritual/oceanic extension to the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. The Sanctuary of Santa Maria de la Barca (Our Lady of the Boat) sits on granite rocks overlooking the treacherous sea. Another lighthouse nearby, Faro de Muxia, guides ships away from this dangerous point. Inside the church, rebuilt after a massive fire in 2013 started by a lightning strike, hang models of boats and ships of all shapes and sizes. From the cross atop the hillside you can look down on the small fishing town or, in the other direction, look out to sea with the Atlantic swell crashing onto the rocks below. 

A timely reminder that the sea deserves all our respect, so we’ll patiently wait for this storm and Atlantic swell to pass and then continue our journey south. 

"So great is the sea and so tiny are we." 

 (Andrus Kivirahk - Estonian author)