I have been reminded that I left the blog hanging and perhaps you all thought we had sailed into the sunset. In reality – I was shoddy on the publication front so here we are ….. better late than never as the saying goes …..

We rose before dawn with a yawn – first job of the day, check the weather forecast…..it was a go for the crossing back to Spain! and more than that, it was reasonable to go all the way back to Cartagena. When looking at these things we always have to consider the days ahead and we knew if we took the shorter route back to the Costa Blanca we could potentially be held up for quite some time with adverse wind and swell for the final journey back to Cartagena. So, as per usual we set out with a plan, and a double contingency – once we got out of the extremely sheltered San Antonio bay we would see how the sea state was (our main worry was the swell). If it was too bad to leave the islands we would head to Formentera. If It was too bad for the direction of Cartagena we would take the shorter route and if all was good we would aim to get back to our old berth in one long sail. First light saw us dropping the key to the pontoon gate back in the letterbox, leaving a little note for our boat twin neighbour Alex and unplugging the electric supply. Then it was a case of slipping the lines (untying the ropes and pulling them back on board) whilst Skipper Nigel reversed us out of our space and onwards into the bay. We could immediately tell the conditions were much, much better than the previous day and felt cautiously optimistic for the day ahead.

As we rounded Isla conejera, the island that protects the bay we were constantly on alert assessing the conditions – and we were pleasantly surprised that they were good 😊. We had the mainsail out and made good progress motor sailing along through the smaller islands that surround Ibiza

Almost before we knew it we were leaving the Balearics behind us, making excellent progress on course for Cartagena. It was not sailing conditions as the wind was not strong enough to make the speed we would need but we did motor sailing and enjoyed a fabulous day at sea.

Unlike our voyage out to the islands, when we set off thinking we would do a day sail and changed our minds due to fantastic conditions, this time we knew we were most likely going to do an overnighter. This meant we were a bit more vigilant at taking turns on the helm and forced ourselves to rest more during the day too. We had also been better organised getting music set up and having cold pizza to snack on. It was an extremely clear day and before we had lost sight of Ibiza we could see mainland Spain – such a bonus. We also had internet connection right up to 20 nautical miles (4 hours) off the coast of Ibiza which surprised us after losing it so early when we left the coast of Spain on our way a few weeks earlier.

We were rewarded at the end of day one with a lovely sunset and fairly calm seas a great end to a brilliant day …… only not really the end since only one of us was resting at a time , the other was vigilantly looking for ships. It’s a bit like driving in the dark you can see them easily – only at sea you need to calculate their direction (from the shape and color of the lights) and then how far away they will pass you. This can get tricky when you’re tired so a couple of times we each called the other for a second opinion and we made it through the shipping lanes taking goods from the Gibraltar straights through to the Suez canal.

The morning brought a stunning dawn and a serious discussion as we had slowed down significantly during Skipper Nigel’s early morning shift. We weren’t sure if it was the sea state working against us (although that seemed very unlikely) or that we had picked something up around the propeller. We could hear no vibration so we were very puzzled – when it was properly light we slowed down and put her in reverse – sure enough a plastic bag floated out behind the boat – how frustrating. Unfortunately we didn’t pick up much speed but as there was no evidence of vibration or any strange noises we continued on our journey.

Shortly after, we were rewarded with a visit from dolphins – or were they pilot whales ?? Perhaps the engine noise change brought them to investigate – they swam alongside our bow and jumped in and out of the water – absolutely stunning.

We continued on and eventually the islas hormigas and cabo de palos came into view – we knew we were on the home stretch. As we rounded the headland we even managed to put the sails out – happy days. We were still making very slow progress until about 10 nautical miles from Cartagena when we suddenly picked up speed !! We were absolutely flying along so whatever we had round our propeller, keel or rudder had obviously freed itself and away we went. We came round the corner to the port of Escombreras, past an oil rig and into port. It was a tricky entry as it was quite choppy and we still weren’t 100% confident that everything would be good in reverse but all’s well that ends well and Skipper Nigel and Gemini J came back on berth perfectly.

So, a 33 hour trip got us back – not quite where we expected our trip to finish but very much amongst friends and with Gemini J back on what has become her home berth. We were exhausted but very happy and the welcome everyone gave us over the next few days was wonderful. Now we will head back to Malta by air and see what the next sailing season brings.

As planned we were up fairly early to see the dawn before slipping the lines from our buoy and motoring out into the gorgeous bay ready for our trip back to Ibiza.

It was much calmer than on the way to Andratx although there was still a good half meter to meter waves but they were favourable for our direction. We were so relieved and happy to be back on our way – we were even happier when the wind picked up mid-morning and we got the sails out. We were elated when we switched the engine off and we were finally sailing 🙂 Skipper Nigel had the time of his life and he took almost all the shifts at the helm, adjusting the sails to make the most of the wind and we did – speeding along at 7 knots at one point (that is speedy for our boat !!)

We headed back to Portinatx and were rewarded with time for an evening swim and a stunning view – happy times.

The next day was to be a rest day so consisted of swimming, snorkelling and hopping about in the dinghy – this place is beautiful. You might think that as it’s the first of October it would be less busy but boat wise there are still lots of sailors about enjoying the glorious weather.

It is not difficult to relax here – the sea, at the moment at least, is calm and it is still so warm it’s great for swimming. We keep a very close eye on the weather, both from the point of view of moving forwards and also making sure we are safe at anchor.

The next morning I paddle boarded to the beach and went to buy pastries and pasties ready for our trip – there’s a bit more strong windy weather coming our way so we decided to head off to San Antony where it’s a lot more sheltered. Luckily it was a short hop so there was time for a leisurely departure – once we had stowed the paddleboard and dinghy securely.

As we lifted the anchor and headed out to sea we quickly realised this was not going to be a fabulous sailing day – bit of a shame but once again the stunning coastline made up for it. It was a short hop of 16 nautical miles and we were against the sea swell and wind for most of it!! In addition we were heading into the sun which caused a bit of a problem – we were desperate for shade and in the end resorted to our old sun umbrella trick 😉

As we came into San Antonio we saw Barbie’s boat was here too, just as she was when we were in Soller – she must know all the best places to be 😉

The marineros we’re really helpful and we arrived nicely onto berth 10 – right next door to an identical Sun Odyssey – Skipper Nigel was most excited as we rarely see the same boat as ours. We invited young Alex the French owner aboard for a beer and a long and lovely conversation followed comparing boat stories – what a delightful evening. We quickly took down the paddleboard as the wind picked up and we have a saying aboard “if you think it, do it” – the water suddenly became choppy and before we knew it we were in 20 knot winds in the marina. The winds picked up overnight so we knew there wasn’t much chance of us leaving the following day since with wind comes swell and that would not be what we would want for onward sailing.

The next morning I headed out for a bit of a walk/run, to check out the sea (very choppy) and to renew our berth for one more night. We always like being back in San Antony as it has such dear memories for us of happy times with our friend Skipper Paul. He was with us on our first Balearic adventure and has been very much missed since he passed away – we always shed a little tear and have a little laugh remembering happy times whenever we are here.

We spent the day relaxing and re-preparing Gemini J for more sailing, re-filling the water tanks, re-fueling and of course getting a few provisions. I went out for an evening walk and came back with pizzas so we will have leftover cold pizza whilst we are very hopefully sailing back towards the mainland. We are very carefully watching the weather so it will be a breakfast meeting aboard 😉 to check and double check before we set sail once again.

Finally, our engine was fixed, however, the weather was not – we had to stay in port two extra days thanks to a very high swell out at sea. Under normal circumstances we probably would have stayed in port an extra day after that too, to really let the swell due down after the stormy weather ….. however….. we were pretty desperate to get moving and we knew that it might be a little uncomfortable but we should be able to move on. We waved goodbye to our Soller mooring space after 8 days and immediately had to stop the boat to wait for a super yacht to finish manoeuvring right in our path !! Once that excitement was over we were free – out on the rolling sea once again 🙂 The conditions proved to be as expected – quite rolly but totally OK to be out in and we even tried a bit of sail, however the swell did prove a bit much so we ended up motoring.

The scenery was once again stunning and we enjoyed our up and down trip back along the coast. We have decided to head back to Ibiza and enjoy some downtime there, but first stop is back to Andratx. We thought we might be able to get back onto the mooring buoy at St. Elm that we had enjoyed on the way here – unfortunately it was way too choppy so we headed for the shelter of Andtrax. As we rounded the headland we expected conditions to become more favourable – how wrong we were, what actually happened was that the sea state became really mixed up. It was like being in a washing machine, we were thrown about by rogue waves and our interior looked very much the worse for wear – luckily it was only half an hour to the port. We arrived into the harbour with the contents of the boat all over the floor !! We were exhausted and relieved and it was a little reminder that we have got a bit lax in our stowing away procedure before setting sail !!

We planned to pick up a mooring buoy in the shelter of the harbour and headed for one – picked it up first time (excellent skippering) but I couldn’t get the rope through the loop …. we tried again, same problem, third time I lost the boat hook and we went to try a different buoy. We decided that we needed to call the marinero for help and over the radio they told us to wait. This gave us time to go back and get our boat hook which was still attached to the first buoy, just as we approached it floated away but Skipper Nigel got me close enough to recover it first time !! (and that’s why we always have 2 boat hooks on board ;-))

Eventually the marinero arrived in his boat and helped us attach to the buoy (we decided they are designed to be hard to pick up so that you need help to make sure you pay for them!) he said it might be a bit rocky overnight and sure enough we hadn’t even made a drink before we decided to head to the shelter of the marina – the swell was just too much and coming right into the harbour. We radioed and got a space in the marina and a few minutes later in very gusty conditions we tied up at the “Club de Vela” for the first time – phew. Neither of us even got off the boat that night – we were exhausted but happy to report the engine fix had no issues, we were also elated to be out of Soller and back on the move. We had a very nice view from our mooring spot, where it calmed down completely as the sun set.

The next day conditions had calmed enough for us to move onto a mooring buoy so we called on the radio and were shown to buoy 81 by the marinero who helped us tie up – no boathooks needed this time – yay 🙂 we enjoyed an afternoon swim and I inflated the paddle board ready for a morning paddle.

Sunday was rest day aboard Gemini J – I went off for a morning paddle board and later we went out on the dinghy to explore the stunning shoreline.

We were treated to a truly amazing sunset to hopefully finish our time in Mallorca as Monday should be Ibiza day (as always – weather depending) onwards, onwards, how exciting:-)

Well, we are still in Soller – currently sitting with the mechanic who is installing the new impeller unit. So, perhaps, finally the issue may be resolved – he said “with this new one you’ll be good for another 5 or 6 years” !! So – that left us confused since our engine is less than 3 years old. That will be something to look into for another day – for now, with Gemini J fixed we can look at our onward plans.

It has to be said the weather is a little unusual at the moment – ask any sailor currently around these parts and they tell tales of having to change all their plans and routes due to the weather. It is very unsettled and if you look in the sky in the photos you’ll see it’s been really stormy whilst we have been here. Looking forwards the forecast is still not good with heavy seas for the next few days. Frustratingly this means that although the engine might the fixed – the weather isn’t so we probably won’t be able to depart just yet.

It does mean more time in this beautiful place so no real hardship – especially when in the bay it’s calm enough to swim and paddle board.

I also took advantage of a cloudy afternoon and walked up to the lighthouse.

I spotted Barbie’s boat in the bay – we haven’t seen her around town yet, we will keep an eye out 😉

We had a slightly stressful half an hour on Wednesday when the wind suddenly picked up.to 20-30 knots and lots of boats started trying to come onto the pontoon for the night. As you know from the previous blog there are no marineros to help with tying up here so I jumped off to try and help. Every boat was struggling with the conditions and they started to get in the way of each other. We spotted Costa Blanca Sailing with our old sailing instructor Walter at the helm. We realised how difficult it was when we saw him abort his first attempt to berth. There was another boat trying to get into the space next to us and Skipper Nigel was helping them. I jumped off and went to help Walter and his crew who were battling to get their boat into berth in ridiculously gusty winds. In the meantime there was another guy helping other boats and when we sat down later I counted that 7 boats had all come in within the space of twenty minutes – it was crazy, but also a reminder that the conditions really weren’t good for going out (as much as we wanted them to be). It was really nice to see Walter and have a catch up later on that evening before they headed off for a quick tram trip.

As for our onward plans we have also had chance to do a lot of soul searching and considering all our options. We are in no doubt we could continue our journey onwards to Malta – but looking at the forecast ahead our adventure is in danger of turning into a slog – and we definitely want to enjoy it. We have thought about getting part way and leaving Gemini J but that would mean an unknown port and lots of hopping backwards and forwards. Our original plans included a “checkpoint” in Menorca as to weather we would go ahead with 2 long crossings between Menorca and Sardinia then Sardinia to Sicily. The delay caused by our impeller problems and the weather has brought forward that decision and it’s back to Cartagena we go.

This enables us to enjoy our time and not feel stressed about the up-coming long crossings. Now, some other sailors might just wait for a weather window and hop the 600 nautical miles – 5 day crossing to Malta but that’s not us. With only us two aboard and no particular need to get there we would rather enjoy our time and make the rest of our journey a holiday. With that in mind, on this very windy day, I did a quick fuel supply trip then wandered off to take the tram only to find everyone had the same idea – it was crazy, so busy that I gave up and came back to enjoy relaxing aboard.

So, tomorrow we aim to set sail once more – at a relaxed pace and see where the conditions take us, we will be very happy to be on the move again (weather permitting of course ;-))

Friday was a “rest” day in beautiful Soller and started with a wonderful walk along the seafront.

As you know, there’s always a boat job or two to get done and this was no exception. Skipper Nigel had spotted some water in the engine compartment on one of his daily checks and was monitoring it carefully. Our stop in the marina enabled us to fully clean the area and try to see what was going on. At this point it is worth saying that we had had a full engine service by the mechanics who installed the engine before departing Cartagena. It was not great news when we ran the engine and found the drips to be coming from the impeller housing. This is not something we could fix ourselves without a workshop (well, when I say ourselves I mean Skipper Nigel – engines are not my strong point) – we called the local Yanmar dealer and amazingly fifteen minutes later Juanjo the mechanic turned up. He agreed with Skipper Nigel’s diagnosis and took the whole thing back to his workshop to look at. This rather left us twiddling our thumbs a bit – not sure if it could be fixed or not. A few hours later he returned with our fully re-furbished impeller unit (and associated bill to pay !) and yes the problem was fixed. I headed off for an afternoon swim with only the weather on our minds as it was looking stormy.

As we enjoyed a relaxing evening aboard we heard what sounded like a mariachi band – it was loud, then quieter, then louder. We thought they must be wandering between the hotels and were commenting on how the music took over the whole bay. We then realised they were on a boat – and they were coming towards us – how wonderful.

Saturday morning came and we ran the engine to double check all was good with the fix …… only it wasn’t…..there were still drips of water – so no departure day for us til at least Monday when we could get the mechanic back again – how frustrating. Still – we could think of much worse places to be held up 😉

Sunday morning was a stunner and I headed off up the hill towards the lighthouse – although storms are still forecast it was gorgeous and calm. There are so many active people here – especially cyclists and groups of hikers – there are of course runners and casual walkers too. I think it’s the most active place we have been so far – and all going on along the promenade past the many hotels where people are enjoying their breakfasts. It makes you quite hungry seeing all the delicious croissants and ensaimadas on people’s plates as you are exercising 😉

It was time for the laundry to be done too – so – off I went – Google maps told me it was a right turn at the ice cream shop 😉 I might just have to grab one while I am waiting, I thought ….. it was odd really, located in a super touristy street but it worked a treat and I put two washes on and wandered back to the boat.

On my way back to Gemini J, I luckily spotted a van from Mon Nautic (the mechanic’s company) – I spoke to the chap and asked if he knew JuanJo our mechanic – yes, it was the same company and he even knew what JuanJo had done – great, he would come immediately and check what was going on. This was quite the bonus since it was Sunday – he agreed that, yes, there was still a problem – his suggestion was that perhaps there’s an issue with the shaft within the unit. Once again it was taken from the boat and he said he would look at it first thing Monday morning. Great news from one perspective as we are now on their list for Monday morning jobs – Tommy the “new” mechanic said he’ll let us know …..

I went back and collected the washing and headed back to hang it out (why pay for the dryer when it’s bright sunshine) – then after all that we enjoyed a snack for lunch. We had no sooner eaten than the sky clouded over and great big splodges of rain came down – all over the almost dry washing !!! It was action stations to quickly grab it all before it got wet again – and no sooner had we got everything in than it stopped raining again and the sun came out.

We definitely needed a pick us up after the mornings activities so I just had to go back to the “turn right at the” ice cream shop…..

The afternoon brought more stormy looking weather although the rain did hold off for an evening wander. We were suffering a bit with the anticipation of what Monday would bring with news on the impeller housing problem …..

The next day we didn’t have to wait long, in fact I was out on my morning walk when Tommy the mechanic called to say it was a problem with the shaft as he had thought – we just had to decide – get a new kit to fix the shaft or just go all in and buy a whole new unit. Since a huge part of sailing life is having confidence in your engine it didn’t take us long to decide to just replace the whole thing with a new one. The main question we asked ourselves was if we could ever feel 100% happy with something that’s been taken apart and put back together by different engineers – the answer being no.

The walk I had had was stunning and it was a bit deflating to arrive back at Gemini J with this news – especially as the new part would not arrive until Wednesday……so we will be here a few days longer – not exactly our plan.

So – we find ourselves in a difficult situation as we are definitely running out of good weather windows for our onward trip and we certainly hadn’t planned to be a week in one place ……it is a little easier to accept because it is still stormy so we probably couldn’t be sailing anyway. In fact an hour after I arrived back at the boat another storm came and it rained torrentially.

In true Mediterranean style just a couple of hours later and the sun was shining again. It reminded us once again there could be worse places to be held up so we really can’t complain to be stuck here ….. especially not now we have found the ice cream shop 😉

It was a cloudy morning after some overnight rain as we prepared Gemini J for onward travel. That meant signing out of the marina by returning our access card for the bathrooms (and getting our deposit back) and filling up with water 💦 – not to forget popping into the bakery for take out and getting rid of the recycling. I also got to say hello to some friendly seagulls whilst on the rubbish drop off.

After stress free preparation I unplugged the electric supply, slipped the lines and we were off. It was all of an hour to our next destination – mooring buoys at the small town of St. Elm – 3,5 nautical miles from Andtrax but what a different world. It is very quiet there and we were just by the rocky shore after picking up a mooring ball first time – thanks to excellent helmsmanship from the Skipper.

We got out the paddle board and dinghy for the first time this trip – most exciting 🙂 There a buoys here because of the protected podeidonia (sea grass) this means that once you’re on the buoy and you jump in for a spot of snorkelling you are in for a treat. There are loads of different types of fish, beautiful swirling grasses, clear water and stunning rock formations. All in all a wonderful experience and then a fabulous sunset to round off the day.

It turned out to be quite a rocky and rolly night on mooring buoy number 13 ! When we woke up it was a little choppier than the previous day but still very beautiful. We sat on deck to have coffee and felt the wind on our cheeks – how exciting perhaps we would be able to sail today ?? Yes, the wind was in the right direction, yes, we were both happy to head out for the day – so off we went. Much less boat preparation since we only had untie the line from the buoy.

Almost as soon as we were out of the buoy field we brought out the genoa sail and it filled with wind 🙂

It was to be a short lived time of optimism since the wind dropped and changed direction about an hour later so it wasn’t to be that we would sail to Soller. The stunning, rugged, northern coastline of Mallorca more than made up for it. Even when the swell started to pick up to over a metre I was still smiling at the beautiful scenery whilst getting bounced around. Luckily it was a fairly short hop and we reached the port in increasing sea conditions at 3pm. As we entered the safe shelter of the harbour the sea state dropped completely, good for our berthing manoeuvres.

We radioed the Ports IB office – no reply, we radioed again numerous times, no reply, we phoned, no reply ! Luckily we knew where the visitors berths were so we went towards them – with still no reply and no-one around we had to handle the mooring ourselves. Skipper Nigel once again brought us into a space perfectly (this time stern to) whilst I clambered about changing lines and then stepped off to secure our spot. We were not entirely sure we were in the right place so I walked to the office to check in – guess what, it was closed !! So we relaxed aboard as best as we could, watching other boats suffer the same issues and helping where we could. Eventually at about 6pm a marinero arrived – yes, we could stay on our berth, no, there was no-one in the office, yes, just bring the papers later or tomorrow morning – no problemo ! And with that our stay in Soller officially began 🙂 The next day would be a rest day since the weather forecast is for storms and that swell we battled is still rolling past the entry to the port.

Time for a walk along the seafront of this wonderful resort with the Victorian train at the heart of it taking tourists back to Palma after a day at the beach.

An early night was definitely in order after all the fun for the day …… boat jobs and resting tomorrow – nighty night X

Portinatx seems like a wonderful spot for a family holiday – various small beaches with shady patches under trees, watersports and lots of restaurants with views over the bay. We were anchored under the gaze of the customers at “jardin del mar” – it was a case of they were watching us watching them kind of situation. As it was a weekend the beach was busy and there were plenty of families enjoying the pedaloes too. For the sailors amongst you we were anchored alongside a Bahia Catamaran (similar if not the same as one we know well called Katarina 😉 ) Sunday passed very pleasantly indeed with swimming, snorkeling, feeding the fish and generally lazing about. We enjoyed a home made curry for lunch (well, chicken and onions plus a sauce from a jar) and watched the world go by.

The next morning was an early start for the crossing to Mallorca – we had the anchor up by 8am and found ourselves heading into extremely calm waters and directly into the sun with no wind to speak of. Just the conditions I like for the beginning of a long day but of course Skipper Nigel was hoping for more wind. If the forecast was correct his time would come in the afternoon. I took the helm as we left Ibiza behind us and it was so clear that less than an hour later we could see Mallorca on the horizon. However the sun was actually quite a problem – so, operation towel started, with me trying to rig up some shade otherwise we would be arriving a little burnt and crispy round the edges …..

As forecast the wind did pick up in the afternoon – I left skipper Nigel on the helm and before I knew it we were flying along with the genoa sail full of wind. As the afternoon progressed so did the wind and by the time we were arriving at the stunning Mallorcan coastline we had 17 knots in our sail ! Phenomenal…..there was a fair bit of traffic as we approached the port so we brought the sail in and motored onto our berth at the PortsIB marina, once again very professionally done in an awkward end of pontoon spot by Skipper Nigel.

We were back in a port we have visited a few times before but on a different pontoon – from here I can see the amazing bakery that lives in my head as one of best ever ! We watched a stunning sunset from the boat finishing off a fabulous day on the water.

Tuseday was to be a rest day – although that’s not really a good description as whenever we have a day in port there are always jobs to be done and this was no exception. Skipper Nigel wanted to have a good look at the engine after our two lengthy crossings and I wanted to do some washing (get that bucket out Skip !) and re-stow a few things on board. Inevitably as we are sailing and on anchor things get moved about quite a bit so we had a general tidy round in addition to a bit of a rest. Of course I went to the bakery but we ate the produce before I remembered to photograph it so you’ll just have to imagine how delicious it was 😉

It was also time for another re-fuel – this time by walking up the hill to the petrol station – it’s handy having been here before since I know the tricks of where the closest shops etc are.

The evening job was extremely important……Skipper’s haircut ! It was very much a team effort – me with scissors, Nigel with clippers then me with the razor 🪒 (hairdressing is not exactly my skill area but when you’re aboard you have to turn your hand to all sorts of things)

After the shock of that job it was time to relax and we were rewarded with another stunning sunset ….. onwards again tomorrow (as ever, weather permitting)

A rest day was certainly in order – but it was also a non sailing day thanks to cloudy skies and high winds. We were very happy to have got our space in the marina.

I went off for my morning walk – along a path well trodden by me over the years past Cafe del Mar and along the promenade. The few boats that were still on anchor were bobbing about in the swell so I was grateful for our marina slot.

I was quite disappointed to find our beloved Australian coffee shop isn’t here any more – such a shame as we used to frequent it a lot the last time we were stuck here during bad weather. We will have to explore new options if we stay here a while. Indeed, alongside snoozing, part of the day was spent weather watching and trying to decide the best option for our next stop. We also chatted to our very nice boat neighbours who are also sitting out the weather – they are hoping to cross back to Denia next week.

As the day went on the weather that had been forecast kind of failed to materialise – we realised that perhaps we would be able to leave the next day. The only outstanding issue with the forecast was the swell – i.e. the waves and how much we would be thrown around if we set off …. we decided not to book another night and see what the morning brought with it.

Hoping for good omens I headed out to get a pizza – a tradition we usually have before setting sail on a long crossing– Skipper Nigel loves pizza for breakfast. It was a very nice evening indeed – if a little breezy.

The next day brought back the sunshine – I headed off to see how the sea looked (and of course get my morning walk)

It looked way calmer than the previous day so we were good to go !! We knew there was still a risk of a swell but it was time to re-fuel and depart for a hop up the Ibizan coastline. Our little fuel cans always look so small compared to what the marine fuel stations are prepared for – I am always chuckling as I walk up and ask for 15 litres when they are probably more used to 150!! 😉

We had another chat with our boat neighbours while we filled up with water using their hose (as it saved us getting ours out and connected up – super helpful). We had to depart by midday and we decided to wait until they left as it would make our departure easier – we think they might have had the same idea as neither of us started making moves to leave until ten to twelve – then we both had to wait for a local boat to depart ….. they ended up leaving before us and we waved them off – very nice neighbours. We slipped out just before midday and headed out across the bay – wondering how much swell we would encounter on our voyage north (south would definitely have been preferable given the conditions as we watched our neighbours sailing away). It was a case of motoring and whilst there was a metre or so swell it was long rolling seas and not too bad.

The stunning coastline made up for the fact that we had to motor – we did attempt sails but we were head to wind so it was not very successful. It was not a long journey (certainly not compared to the last one 😉 ) but we were a bit worried about finding an anchorage without too much roll. Our first attempt was a complete abort – it was very choppy so we continued on, hoping to find shelter in Portinatx. The irony was not lost on us that if that too was too choppy to anchor we would be on another night sail, this time to Mallorca !!! Thankfully that wasn’t the case and we did anchor in a very sheltered spot with other boats and lots of people on the beach enjoying the afternoon sunshine. We of course jumped in for an evening swim but it was cloudy water as still quite choppy thanks to the conditions so not ideal – but a stunning location nevertheless.

And so it is that the sea calmed overnight and we woke up to this view ….. perhaps a rest day might be in order today …..

It was a hectic start on Gemini J after days of preparations and an early alarm. A few last minute jobs, including changing our permanent mooring lines for lines that would slip off easily as we departed. It seemed symbolic as we have been moored on the same pontoon for a few years now and perhaps our adventures mean we may not return for a while …..
On the matter of our departure we had worked hard and earned our lovely times with marina friends who we will very much miss. Indeed if there is anything pulling us back to Cartagena and sunny Spain it will be all our friends who we are sorry to be leaving.

Onwards, onwards and on to our new adventure – the weather forecast was not ideal but not bad for our route up the coast of the Costa Blanca. The sun was shining with a few white clouds as we pulled out of the marina and onto our next adventure. As we headed past the beach we gave a wave to Karen, Gunilla and Mary our friends who had been for a swim and were looking out for us from the beach – they even got a photo 😉

Once we were out of the harbour and on course for cabo de palos (our first major navigation point) we realised we were making very speedy progress – a combination of both sails plus engine to help us along and we were doing very nicely. Now it was time for us to relax back into life aboard our wonderful Gemini J and we were very happy about that indeed.

A couple of hours later and as we approached the headland Skipper Nigel commented that we could just go straight on (almost) with the waves behind us pushing us all the way to Ibiza. This casual comment took hold aboard and after a few calculations on distance, timings and other options we headed out to sea on course for Ibiza (with a plan B to head back for the Spanish coast if necessary). Extremely quickly we lost our mobile signal which surprised us as we weren’t that far from land. That meant it was the two of us against the world until we reached landfall the following day. We grasped the challenge and headed on through the day – passing a few large ships in the shipping lane heading to and from the straights of Gibraltar.

We saw a wonderful sunset followed by a starry and stormy night – luckily the lightning show we saw was in the distance – although we did get all the waterproofs out just in case.

Night sailing is always a bit of a challenge and this time was no exception since we hadn’t set out planning to sail all day and night. We had to just get everything organised before dark because something you always forget about until you do it is night vision, so once it’s dark it stays dark on deck so that the person on the helm can watch out for ships looming out of the darkness.

As the sun rose we could see the beautiful island of Ibiza – we had had a good night sail (especially considering it was a last minute decision). The dawn breaking over the island was simply stunning and all the uncomfortableness of sailing in the dark, broken sleep and watching for ships melted away.

With the end goal in sight we turned our attention to where we might anchor or moor Gemini J. As we were waiting for phone signals we agreed that San Antony de Portmany was our best bet as there are 2 marinas and numerous anchorages within the bay. As soon as we got connected again – I started on the phone – Ports IB, our preferred spot had changed their website meaning my login didn’t work ! So I started making phone calls – how antiquated;-). After a number of conversations we ascertained that Ports IB was full and that Es Nautic (the other marina) had a waiting list so they couldn’t tell us if there was space till 11am (it was now 9:30) – how frustrating. We slowly made our way towards the marina and dropped anchor outside the harbour wall to sit and wait – we also looked at the weather, there’s a fair bit of wind forecast for overnight so we were keeping everything crossed for a space. Luckily by half 11 they had called and we were able to go into – phew !!! We had a battle with a boat that effectively jumped the queue cutting right in front of us as we were entering – this meant some swift manouvering from Skipper Nigel and the odd use of bad language !! Finally we were called to our spot and we moored up perfectly – not bad after 149 nautical miles and 26 hours 🙂

As I said to our friends – most people come to Ibiza to party – we have come to snooze 😴😴 tomorrow will be a rest day for sure xx

It would be fair to say we miss the boat, and we miss it a lot, but we have a great opportunity before our next sailing trip to enjoy island life. This means swimming, snorkelling, walking, paddle boarding and hopefully later in the month a little bit more small boating. There is so much to do here on Gozo we sometimes don’t know where to start but a morning on or in the water is usually the best way to go.

We have been really enjoying getting to know a bit more of the island and it’s waters – most mornings skipper Nigel dons his snorkelling gear and heads into the crystal clear mediterranean and sometimes he practices at home 😉

We have found some fabulous spots for our water activities and we usually enjoy a breakfast whilst we are out and about. Luckily we have also found some fabulous spots for our breakfasts too – we even went to a place that turned out to offer an Indian breakfast which we had to try. Our regular spot remains Josiana’s kiosk (food truck) – where we have also found a bonus of fabulous smoothies – great for the warmer mornings. We have to say it is warmer here than Spain, and also very humid at times. The days simply have to be split into two – morning activities and evening activities with a full on siesta (or afternoon watching the Olympics at the moment) when it is hottest. The difference here is that the nighttime temperatures don’t particularly drop – it’s never below 25 – 28 degrees even in the middle of the night. During the day we are looking mostly at 35 degrees plus but we are used to the heat from Spain and as long as it’s respected it doesn’t cause too many problems. We have air conditioning in the apartment where we live but we have found it more comfortable leaving all the windows open for fresh-air flow rather than freezing cold re-circulated air.

One day, after snorkelling, Nigel had gone up to the apartment ahead of me whilst I popped to the shop for get milk…..I came back to find him standing outside the apartment looking very sheepish and slightly upset – when he showed me what was in his hand I too took a step back in shock – half a key …… mild panic ensued before we realised that there was enough of the broken key sticking out to maybe retrieve it. Bearing in mind we were standing there in our swimming gear ! We knocked on the neighbours door hoping they might have tools (they weren’t in) – we managed – to get the key out (and to this day I don’t know how other than we were very lucky) – we had texted the landlords but thankfully were able to tell them it was no longer urgent as my key opened the door !!!! That weekend we were provided with a fresh key, a bit of the good old WD-40 and the hope that we don’t have a similar issue in the future 😉

As we keep saying Gozo is very small – 26 square kilometers but we still keep finding new places to explore – one of them was quite a hidden gem and we really enjoyed snorkelling in this spot Xatt l-Ahmar – even though it’s now August and most definitely the holiday season there were hardly any people there when we visited in the morning. It is quite a steep drive on a single lane track to get down to the rocks where you can go in the water but well worth the drive – and the worried anticipation of “how am I going to get back up!” Luckily in this case on the way back in summer months there is a kind of one way system so you can get the acceleration to get back up the hill without the nervousness of someone coming the other way. We are adjusting to the steep drives down to the coast and are very glad we decided to get a car with a 1.2 engine which has looked after us very well so far …..

I am going to share a photo that someone (an unnamed source) uploded to the internet to show you just where we live – I love the photo and it does serve as a reminder that this really is a small rock in the grand scheme of things.

There are still the odd bits of business to attend to relating to moving to a new place, applying for a bus pass for one – residents here get free bus travel all over Gozo and Malta (on the regular buses, not the fast ones). I applied and got an email telling me it would be 2 to 3 weeks to arrive so imagine my surprise when less than a week later it arrived !! I was very impressed – have yet to use it mind you, that story will be for another blog 😉 Of course Skipper Nigel refused to get a bus pass (even though it’s free) – he thinks he is way to young ! We have, however, used our resident ID cards to take the ferry to Malta – very exciting to finally get our discount which is approximately a quarter what we pay full price. We had a great afternoon out in Malta visiting our friends from Cartagena who had arrived into Valetta after sailing Corfu and the Greek Islands, Southern Italy and Sicily – it was great to hear all their tales and to wave them off on their next adventure the following day heading to Tunisia. It was lovely to be back around the boating community for an afternoon and we went out for a delicious Argentinian steak meal too – absolutely fabulous.

We are looking forward to another friend visiting this week and the village feasts of our village Xlendi too, apparently there is a traditional greasy pole competition ??!!?? We have to find out what that is all about 😉 Maybe we will finally visit Valetta and do a bit of touristing – who knows ?? Watch this space to find out 😉