After our day full of rain in Santa Pola we awoke to cloudy skies and calmer conditions. We checked the forecast and we’re happy that the winds had dropped so we prepared the boat and set sail towards Calpe.
As we headed out we were pretty happy with the conditions, a little but not too much swell and we got the mainsail out for a bit of a boost. As we headed towards Tabarca island however, we found the swell increase and our heading became straight into wind – it made for a fairly uncomfortable set of conditions. We still had smiles on our faces (just about), happy to be underway again. As we came past Alicante we both decided Calpe would be a step (or rather a headland) too far and we changed course to head for Villajoyosa.
The afternoon wind picked up and Skipper Nigel did a great job bringing us onto berth in high winds. The following morning we found ourselves pretty tired and decided to take a rest day (and let the sea calm down more) – Villajoyosa is a lovely little marina and it was great spending the day there, starting of course with coffee.
We were considering sailing over to Formentera from Villajoyosa but found that there was a regatta so the marina was full ….. we really wanted to be in a marina after the crossing so we decided to head up the coast to Moraira and head to Ibiza on Sunday. The bonus to this decision was that I was able to take part in Darkness into Light 2022 – a 5k walk in support of people affected by suicide or self harm. Through the wonder of the internet I could upload my walk along with hundreds of others across the world and in particular my friends back in San Javier on the Mar Menor.
We were actually both more than happy with the decision to delay our departure and the following day we arrived in one of our favourite places nice and early after a great motor along the coast. Calpe rock is looking much greener than last time we passed it, probably thanks to the wet weather we’ve been having. We had relaxation time in the afternoon before our early start the next day.
One of the great things about Moraira is that nearly everyone is doing or has just done the crossing to Ibiza/Formentera so there’s always a story to share. There’s also a mass exodus around sunrise and Sunday morning was no different. We were debating our strategy for getting out of a tight spot alongside in between two other sailing boats when the boat behind us left. The boat in front of us then passed our lines as we departed since it made their exit easier too. The three of us headed into the sunrise together, slapping on the suntan cream as we went.
We had a fabulous, and thankfully uneventful crossing. Starting out with both sails and a little wind, then most of the morning we were on mainsail and motor then in the afternoon we had motor, mainsail and Genoa and found ourselves flying along at 6 knots and over. It was fantastic, we went through lots and lots of creatures that we’ve never seen before that are called various things including Sea Rafts (velella velella in Spanish). They were literally in swarms of thousands and looked a bit like blossom on the calm sea.
They also look like tiny, tiny jellyfish on the surface of the water and that’s how I found them on the internet. Almost impossible to photograph and very interesting to see. We arrived on our berth in record time for us which was brilliant and we were able to spend the evening watching the comings and goings of San Antonio where we’ll rest tomorrow – happy days ……
The Adventures of Gemini J 