It was hot, hot, hot when we woke up in Santa Pola with warm gusty winds. It seemed our decision to head with the wind back in the direction we had come from was a good one.
Before we could depart the business of the day had to be done and I did two trips to the fuel pump which is a short walk from the pontoons. Once we were loaded with fuel we checked the weather once again (still quite choppy) and enjoyed a coffee aboard before following a group of beginner jet skiers slowly out of the harbour. By the time I had gathered all the ropes and lifted the fenders I felt as hot as if I had done a Joe Wicks workout – wow – we needed breeze !!!!!
It was a little choppy and there was a warm wind as we headed south – and amazingly we were able to roll out our Genoa sail ….. it kept us moving and cooler thanks to the flowing fresh air. We had a wonderful day, sat on deck watching the scenery and the sea. It was rocking and rolling at times but we were very happy to be moving.
We decided that as the conditions were good we would go to the Mar Menor and we were aiming for the 6pm opening of the bridge into the marina (it only opens once every 2 hours). The timing is pretty important since you can’t easily “park up” to wait, or should I say anchor 😉
We were having a great day motor sailing along and we were hitting really good speed – finally – thanks to the wind direction. When we got Isla Grosa in sight it was twenty to four …. so not enough time to make the four o’clock bridge but plenty of time for us to slow down and sail at last. We had a wonderful hour sailing before it was rudely interrupted by a fishing trawler heading straight for us (not another boat in sight and lots and lots of space around) Unfortunately we had to take evasive action and turn out of his path, losing the wind in our sails and a bit of enthusiasm at the same time !! No harm done (other than an angry Skipper Nigel since the motor boat should have given way to us as we were under sail) and we got back on track – motor sailing to get the 6pm bridge.
The skies cleared as we circled around waiting for the bridge and before we knew it (with perfect timing from Skipper Nigel) we were in the channel heading for the opening bridge.
As we made our way we saw lots of jelly fish ….. they keep the inland sea of the Mar Menor clean so I understand – so although we don’t like the look of them they do an important job and I was certainly fascinated to see them.
As we headed under the bridge we radioed the marina and were told to take the second channel on the starboard followed by second channel on the port side (it’s a big marina) – and rather brilliantly we got it right and headed onto a berth where the marinero helped secure us then said – “you might want to get rid of that wood”. I looked over the side and amazingly we had picked up a plank on the fin keel of the boat !!!! It was really long and we must have dragged it from somewhere in the marina or the channel ….. we were very lucky no damage was done and it was just a scramble to get it out of the water without it sinking. If the plank had slipped off the keel and gone on to the prop it would have stopped the engine – which would have been a big problem – thank goodness for our keel 🙂
That evening we enjoyed pizza from the restaurant right opposite the boat and I went for a wander along the shore of the Mar Menor. We debated staying in port another night but with temperatures still in the mid 30’s and forecast to increase, a day aboard was not appealing – but a day at sea, yes please.
It was a hot, humid cloudy day again when we woke up. We were aiming for the 10am opening of the bridge so just enough time for us to have a coffee aboard and get set before we departed our berth. We joined another boat already circling in the outer marina and before long there were a few of us all waiting for the bridge to open. It was a case of going round in circles while we waited – it took a lot of concentration from Skipper Nigel focusing on what the other boats were doing and keeping out of their way in a relatively small space.
We headed back out through the channel and then out into the sea – heading for Cabo de Palos and as soon as we were out of the channel we put the sails up. It was finally sailing time 🙂 We made great speed to Cabo de Palos – with a very warm breeze in our hair. As per usual with this route as we rounded the lighthouse we had to drop the Genoa sail and we lost the wind. We kept the mainsail up and motor sailed along the coast back to Cartagena. Skipper Nigel took to pouring cold(ish) water over himself to try to keep cool.
We were enjoying our final day – and chatting about how it was a good decision to head home with the temperatures rising when I had a brilliant brainwave …….The two ice creams we had left in the small freezer compartment aboard!!! If there was ever a time for ice cream this was it and we really, really enjoyed them.
This was obviously the highlight of our journey back 😉 – we arrived into Yacht Port Cartagena with no issues and moored on our new mooring space (near the car this time). When we had the boat secured and sat down for a drink we realised it was eerily quiet. I mean, like nothing we have seen before – no people…..no people walking, no people on the benches – literally no-one was out. The city was under a heat alert and clearly everyone was paying great heed to the warnings.
We came home the following morning and found it was cooler at the house – but only just and with temperatures of over 40 degrees in the following days we flaked out and kept as cool as possible. We won’t be rushing to sail in those conditions again but as soon as the heatwave passes we will be back for more adventures.
The Adventures of Gemini J 