The next day we awoke with optimism at sunrise ready for the next leg of our journey, which is now our journey home.
The sea was calm, the sky was blue, there was a slight swell against us and we were head to wind again but the winds were light so we set about trying to make the most of the conditions doing our fair share of tinkering with the sails and tacking. We made our way towards the Cabo de Benidorm slowly but surely, passing Calpe and seeing some other passing yacht traffic too.
As we rounded the cape the conditions picked up, and then picked up again – we went from calm seas and 8 knots of wind to white tops and 21 knots almost instantly. It was a case of all 4 hands on deg (and all 4 doggy paws down below), swiftly bringing in the genoa sail and reefing the main sail.
Our trip along the spectacular Benidorm coastline passed by in a blur and the conditions whilst being sailable were really not fun. We decided to make for the nearest port which was Villajoiosa, a new marina for us and not the ideal conditions for entering. Once again skipper Nigel did a stunning job of getting us alongside very professionally and swiftly – not helped by a very poor throw of the line by the crew (me !!) to the marinero. Once we were secured we breathed a sigh of relief and realised it was still blowing 24 knots.
Just a note (in case you were wondering) we had looked at the forecast and we knew the conditions were going to pick up, but seriously not to the extent that the did and at the time that they did. It is the story of the mediterranean – very quick weather changes, and we are learning about them all the time. If we had been heading in the opposite direction we would have had an absolute blast sailing along back towards Moraira.
Villajoiosa turned out to be a joy – a very nice place, Tines and I enjoyed a lovely walk along the shoreline, once the wind calmed down and we had a peaceful evening aboard.
The Adventures of Gemini J 