Those of you following the blog will know – it’s been all about the engine. In the background, however, other plans have been being made and changed, made and changed. What seems like a world away now – way back in April we were planning to sail to the Balearics with our friends Poppy, Judith (and Rosie the sailing dog) with their yacht Daisy Mae. That plan was amended, put back and eventually put off mainly due to the vaccine schedule (all our vaccinations would have been due while we were away).
We talked about various other plans and decided Daisy Mae and Gemini J would at least sail off round the coastline towards Valencia in late June / early July. Then came engine gate !! Daisy Mae set sail from the marina in Benalmádena as we were getting the engine delivered. The plan at that point was for them to come to Cartagena and all being well to sail onwards together with our new engine.
Now – along with our own problems Daisy Mae also hit a couple of issues that needed fixing after sail 2 of their trip so they pulled in to Almerimar. They quickly resolved their issues but found the weather completely against them – they were port bound good and proper for more than a few days! There was much discussion about plans and options and a lot of weather watching. That’s how we found ourselves heading south not north – to meet Daisy Mae and finally get to sail together.
After Mazarrón we went south 35 nautical miles to Garrucha. We set off expecting a day sailing and ended up spending a day on engine (for once we weren’t too frustrated by this as it was another good engine check). It was hot, sunny and not very breezy although there was a bit of a gentle swell.
We were surprisingly tired when we arrived and happy to have a rest day on Sunday while we await the arrival of Daisy Mae. Since we were last here Garrucha has had a bit of a clean up and it’s a nice – if fairly deserted marina. We are happy to stay for a few days and relax.
Sunday came and with it news that Daisy Mae was finally underway. They had a very long day ahead of them whilst we relaxed aboard but soon enough we got a message that they were half an hour away – binoculars out – and sure enough we could see them sailing towards us.
They arrived surprisingly fresh after an 11 hour passage from Almerimar to Garrucha. Judith and I quickly took Rosie the sailing dog for a walk and run – she was happy to be on dry land. We had a frustrating evening trying to get a meal – (note to self never try to eat out at 9pm on a Sunday in July) everywhere was really busy – we were all a little overwhelmed. Finally we found a table distanced from others where the large family on the next table were leaving – we grabbed it quick and got a decent plate of food each around 10pm !
The company was great and it is lovely to catch up with good friends. Tomorrow will be a rest day watching the activities in the marina and port. Now we are two boats in the fleet and our adventures can continue……
The Adventures of Gemini J 