The Monte Real welcomes the crew of the Pequod in Baiona on its Camino Azul

 

· The sailboat is about to become the first to complete the Camino Azul linking Antarctica with Santiago de Compostela

· On board the boat is the Argentine descendant of Galician Manuel Pardi who was received in Baiona by the president of Monte Real

The Monte Real Club de Yates de Baiona received this weekend a very special visit, that of the Pequod, a historic sailboat (the first with an Argentine flag that arrived in Antarctica in 1987) that is about to become the first to complete the Blue Way (of the ocean sea), a unique pilgrimage that connects Antarctica with Santiago de Compostela.

The captain of the Pequod, Manuel Pardi

On board the ship, whose name pays homage to the one immortalized by Herman Melville in Moby Dick, is Manuel Pardi Rial, an Argentine of Galician descent who left the Yacht Club Argentino in Buenos Aires on April 23 for the Antarctic continent.

The vice president of the club, Alejandro Retolaza, and the patron of the Pequod, exchanging necklaces

Wearing the Argentine, Brazilian, Portuguese and Spanish flags, and numerous pendants of the clubs through which it has passed, including now also that of the Monte Real Club de Yates, the Pequod also bears a message of “peace, faith, love, brotherhood among peoples and respect for the environment”, says Pardi, who encourages everyone to “pursue your dreams and connect with nature”.

After passing through Baiona, where they were received by the president of Monte Real, José Luis Álvarez, the crew of the Pequod, which also includes Silvia Alicia Rodríguez, Pardi Rial’s wife, is about to complete an adventure that they began to plan in 2018, when a stone cross brought from Galicia to the Bonaire parish of San Ignacio de Loyola, inspired the couple to make the pilgrimage.

Once he completes his historic Camino Azul, Manuel Pardi’s intention is to stay in Spain for a while before returning to Argentina, whose arrival is scheduled for February of next year. Much of that time will be spent in Galicia, visiting relatives, since Pardi’s origins are here.

>>>> DISCOVER THE WHOLE STORY OF THE PEQUOD HERE

The I Rally Rías Baixas de Galicia departs from Baiona towards Compostela

 

· 25 boats left Baiona this Wednesday for Portosín on a journey that, after going through several ports and marinas, will end on Sunday with a section on foot to Santiago de Compostela to win the jubilee

· The navigation organized by the Monte Real Club de Yates and the Real Club Náutico de Portosín aims to offer sailing lovers the possibility of doing the Camino de Santiago knowing the Rías Baixas

· The towns of Baiona, Combarro, A Pobra do Caramiñal, Muros, Portosín; the estuaries of Vigo, Pontevedra, Arousa and Muros e Noia; the archipelagos of the Cíes, Ons and Sálvora; and Santiago de Compostela will be the crossing points of the rally

The Monte Real Club de Yates has been the starting port of the I Rías Baixas de Galicia Rally – Photo Francisco Pino

25 boats, mostly sailing but some also motorized, left Baiona this Wednesday for Porto do Son in the I Rally Rías Baixas de Galicia , a nautical journey organized by the Monte Real Club de Yates and the Real Club Náutico de Portosín to offer nautical lovers the possibility of completing the Camino de Santiago by sea.

The navigation, which will continue until next Sunday, aims to make known the charms of towns such as Baiona, Combarro, A Pobra do Caramiñal, Muros and Portosín; estuaries such as Vigo, Pontevedra, Arousa and Muros e Noia; or the archipelagos of Cíes, Ons and Sálvora. It is, in short, a group tour through the sea through some of the most outstanding tourist spots of the Galician Rías Baixas.

The Rías Baixas are the setting chosen for this maritime pilgrimage to Compostela – Baiona Tourism Photo

The four sailing stages, from this Wednesday to Saturday, will be about 25 miles long and will travel at an average of 4 knots, a relatively slow speed so that the participants can enjoy the route and the views without rushing.

After leaving Baiona, the sailboats will make a route this Wednesday through the interior of the Cíes Islands, they will eat in a sheltered area of the Pontevedra estuary, and will arrive at the Combarro marina late in the afternoon. They will spend the night there and on Thursday they will head to the Pobra do Caramiñal marina, after sailing through the Ons area and the Arousa estuary.

The next stop will be the Muros marina, which they will arrive at after having crossed the waters of the Sagres pass and the vicinity of the Corrubedo lighthouse. On Saturday the 10th, the last day of navigation, the planned route goes from Muros to the Real Club Náutico de Portosín, where the stages by sea will end.

But the rally does not end there. On Sunday the 11th, sailors who want to complete the Maritime Path of the Muros and Noia estuary and win the jubilee, will be able to go by bus to the final stretch of the route and walk the last 10 kilometers to the Galician capital. A distance that, added to the 100 nautical mile journey by sea, will allow them to obtain the Compostela.

The Commodore of the Monte Real Yacht Club, Ignacio Sánchez Otaegui, spoke at the skippers meeting – Photo Leticia Acero

The I Rally Rías Baixas de Galicia is organized by the Monte Real Club de Yates and the Real Club Náutico de Portosín in collaboration with the marinas of Combarro, Muros and A Pobra do Caramiñal. It has the support of the Xunta de Galicia through Xacobeo 21-22.

 

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