The Bay of Biscay
At sea in the Bay of Biscay. Just before going to bed last night the skies opened up and we had a torrential downpour. This morning the sun was up early and by 7am it was brilliantly bright outside. The sea was as flat and calm as a lake and the contrast with yesterday could not have been more striking – a painted ship on a blue sea.
The Bay of Biscay is a notoriously fickle body of water and weather conditions can change quickly. It was from La Coruna and across this very bay that the invincible Spanish Armada sailed in 1588 on their way to destroy England’s maritime empire. The Spanish called this vast navy they put together the felicissima and invencible, the most fortunate and invincible. It was assembled by one of the greatest of the Renaissance monarchs of Europe, King Philip II of Spain. 130 ships of various sizes under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia sailed from La Coruna after having made some necessary repairs enroute to rendezvous with the Prince of Parma and then to attack England. The Armada arrived off the Cornish coast on the 19th of July and the first shots of the battle were fired on the 21st. The fighting continued sporadically for the next four days, the English keeping their distance from the larger Spanish ships.
The Armada anchored off Calais on the 27th of July, awaiting the arrival of the Duke of Parma’s troops. The English followed them and anchored about a half mile to the windward. The English loosed some fire ships amongst the tightly packed Spanish and caused some confusion but the really calamitous blow was yet to come. Not being able to land Parma’s troops and seeing his way across the channel blocked, Sidonia decided to sail back to Spain. His only uncontested route was to the north of Scotland and then along the west coast of Ireland. The British under Admiral Howard pursued the Spanish as far as the Firth of Forth but then the weather began to worsen and the Spanish suffered enormous losses from the violent seas along the Irish coast. One often hears an Irish person described as ‘black Irish’ – it is a reference to the Spanish sailors who washed up on the shore and were protected from the British by Irish sympathizers and settled amongst the Irish. The Captain called all hands to sail stations and the sails went up again this afternoon. The Sea Cloud II sparkled like a white swan in flight on an azure sea. Tonight we had a wonderful farewell dinner.
At sea in the Bay of Biscay. Just before going to bed last night the skies opened up and we had a torrential downpour. This morning the sun was up early and by 7am it was brilliantly bright outside. The sea was as flat and calm as a lake and the contrast with yesterday could not have been more striking – a painted ship on a blue sea.
The Bay of Biscay is a notoriously fickle body of water and weather conditions can change quickly. It was from La Coruna and across this very bay that the invincible Spanish Armada sailed in 1588 on their way to destroy England’s maritime empire. The Spanish called this vast navy they put together the felicissima and invencible, the most fortunate and invincible. It was assembled by one of the greatest of the Renaissance monarchs of Europe, King Philip II of Spain. 130 ships of various sizes under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia sailed from La Coruna after having made some necessary repairs enroute to rendezvous with the Prince of Parma and then to attack England. The Armada arrived off the Cornish coast on the 19th of July and the first shots of the battle were fired on the 21st. The fighting continued sporadically for the next four days, the English keeping their distance from the larger Spanish ships.
The Armada anchored off Calais on the 27th of July, awaiting the arrival of the Duke of Parma’s troops. The English followed them and anchored about a half mile to the windward. The English loosed some fire ships amongst the tightly packed Spanish and caused some confusion but the really calamitous blow was yet to come. Not being able to land Parma’s troops and seeing his way across the channel blocked, Sidonia decided to sail back to Spain. His only uncontested route was to the north of Scotland and then along the west coast of Ireland. The British under Admiral Howard pursued the Spanish as far as the Firth of Forth but then the weather began to worsen and the Spanish suffered enormous losses from the violent seas along the Irish coast. One often hears an Irish person described as ‘black Irish’ – it is a reference to the Spanish sailors who washed up on the shore and were protected from the British by Irish sympathizers and settled amongst the Irish. The Captain called all hands to sail stations and the sails went up again this afternoon. The Sea Cloud II sparkled like a white swan in flight on an azure sea. Tonight we had a wonderful farewell dinner.
