Leaving Santander in rough weather. Santander is located in a bay that runs roughly from west to east, and its mouth is difficult to negotiate because the ship before approaching north to leave the bay and out to the open sea, sails Eastward witmout lee from the North and Northwest seas and swell which are common in this area. Add the shallow sand bottom of the surroundings of the buoyed channel, and you get this spectacular rolling and pitching.