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 …..
The Adventures of Gemini J 