5 days later than originally planned we set sail once again in the direction of Fornells. It was not flat calm but way calmer than when we’d previously departed. The sun was finally shining once again and inside the shelter of the harbour it felt really hot. We had a morning motor sail round the north coast of Menorca thanks to stronger than anticipated winds which were against us. We had our mainsail out which also provided welcome shade on deck once again. We arrived in Fornells early afternoon and had a tricky manoeuvre to get into our spot since there is very little warning of where the spaces are. There was also a buoy half way across the channel and super long lazy lines (the lines that secure the boat) Skipper Nigel once again took it all in his stride and brought us in perfectly.

The following day it was a little cloudy in the morning (although it soon cleared) and I jumped on the chance of taking a longer coastal walk. Fornells is a very well defended harbour and I visited the Torre de Fornells on the way too. The views are absolutely stunning.

After the tower I continued along the amazing coastline, it was a fabulous walk and one I’d love to repeat sometime.

The weather remained quite windy and choppy and the following day’s walk took me along a pine tree lined road to a holiday resort/urbanisation called Platges de Fornells. Once again I am impressed and amazed by the lack of development here – and also by the fact that where there are developments they seem to be fairly unobtrusive. I don’t think we’ve seen a building higher than a couple of stories and just about everything residential is white with green shutters. There are vast expanses of rural, untouched land too.

Even along the shoreline here there is farmland, it strikes me that anywhere else in Spain this would have been built on. It makes Fornells seem like stepping back in time.

Google tells me that only a thousand or so people live here although I suspect that might double in the summer months. The little village is really pretty and we are having a very relaxing time here. Our mooring spot is right next to two tourist boats which we love watching going out and returning (their occupants almost always a little sunburnt and exhausted). As it’s a fishing port we also watch the fishing boats go out and return at various times of the day. Across the bay from us is a kayak rental place and we have great fun watching people head our into the choppy waters of the bay. We’ve enjoyed all this over breakfast aboard – the local bakery is brilliant.

On top of all that excitement they are building a new port office and pontoon right opposite us so we have been eagerly watching progress while we’ve been here. It’s odd to think next time we’re here it will probably all be finished and the place will have a different aspect completely.

We have had a great time here – tomorrow is moving on day and we look forward to the next step on our journey this jubilee weekend (enjoy those street parties)….I’ll leave you with a photo taken by Skipper Nigel of his new friend here.

As we knew we were weathered in here for another few days we decided it was time to hire a car and do some exploring.  It was raining heavily all morning but in a break in the rain I went out to collect the hire car.  It was a bit of a walk away but you all know how I love walking.  After I had been about 2km I reached into my bag to get my phone out so I could pull up Google maps for the final bit of the walk……it wasn’t there.  I realised in my haste to get to the office before they shut for lunch I had left the phone on charge on the boat!! I tried to find the office from memory but it was no use – I had to walk back and start all over again. Luckily the company offered to come and collect me so I met them and they drove me to the office where I picked up a Fiat Panda (good job we like these cars – they are very popular here).

We set off as soon as I got back to the port and found an interesting little spot for lunch in the next development along from Ciutadella called Cala Blanes. We ate in a restaurant called Haiti which had a grass roof (well almost) and it overlooked Dolphins jumping out of a roundabout.  It was all a little crazy but the food (and company) was good and we had a great time.  We saw a bit more of the coast and a fair few cows (lying down in the rain) before we headed back via Lidl.

Thursday came and with it more rain showers.  We decided to traverse the island and headed across to Mahon via a coffee stop in Ferrieres.  We had a nice wander along the waterfront and a coffee which we needed after our visit to the marina office!  We had decided since we were there we would enquire about spaces for June when we hope to visit.  We found out that the club marítimo (who we used last time) have lost the contract for the mooring spaces from the end of May – and no-one seems to know who has the new contract!! This must be worth many thousands of euros and from next week no-one even knows how berths can be booked – how very odd.  Watch this space as we try to find out more.

On the way back we stopped off at an antique shop, got lost down a country lane and finally had a lovely lunch in El Mercadal.

One final stop was at Naveta des Tudons where I took a short wander too see what some people say is Europe’s oldest building – it is certainly Spain’s oldest and it was really not what I expected.  The shape is different to any other building I’ve seen – fascinating to think how many footsteps have trodden the ground to it over the years. It now sits about half a kilometre off the main road in what seems like the middle of nowhere 3,5km out of town.

Friday came and we drove back out to El Mercadal to visit the craft centre that had been closed the previous day – Skipper Nigel also took the opportunity to get a haircut.  As you know by now there’s always an experience and this did not disappoint when the Barbershop dog escaped mid-way through said haircut resulting in both barbers hot footing it out of the shop to get the dog back, leaving Skipper Nigel and the other chap stuck in their barber’s chairs mid-cut. There was a delay in the haircut but the dog was carried back safe and well and securely put in the back room. 

We have had a great time getting to know our lovely pontoon neighbours, French, British, Spanish, Swedish and Finnish. All being stuck in the same situation creates a mini-community for a few days. I had another lovely drive out in the afternoon, chatting with Monica as we took the hire car to pick up her niece at the airport, we found lots of amazing coincidences including places we’ve lived and things we’ve done. We look forward to seeing them back in Yacht Port Cartagena where their boat will be over-wintering.  In the evening Monica and Marcus asked if we’d like to join them, Patricia and Frederick and Helena from S/Y Wilma – we enjoyed a fabulous evening sharing amusing stories over good food and wine and delightful company.

The next morning was my birthday – I got up to see the sunrise and we waved off Marcus, Monica and Patricia who had an early start for their crossing to Gandía.

We went out for coffee before I took the hire car back and spent a lovely couple of hours wandering round the old city of Ciutadella.  I bought culinary delights from Menorca which we enjoyed aboard before a relaxing afternoon (including reading all my lovely birthday messages).

We hope to move on tomorrow so I took an early evening walk to check out the sea state (much calmer).  We are very much looking forward to getting back out on the water although we have had a fantastic week here (even with the rain)

Gemini J looks a little lonely in the port all alone – Frederick and Helena left on S/Y Wilma whilst I was out.  It seems very quiet without our little community, hopefully we’ll cross paths with them all sometime on our adventures.

We awoke to find our zodiac dinghy awash with water ….. a suspected leak . We had been slightly suspicious when we were in Sóller but overnight in Ciutadella confirmed our thoughts. So, a job to be done – find and fix. We both knew there was a repair kit somewhere aboard but we racking our brains as to where. Luckily for us we found it in only the second place we looked (this is a rare occurrence when things go missing aboard thanks to the many ingenious storage places).

We then had to work out how to find out where the leak was coming from – we decided we had to lift the whole thing up and put water in it. Handily we are on a pontoon berth so we managed to lift it onto the front of Gemini J. I got the lovely job of laying under it while Skipper Nigel started filling it with water. This approach worked and we soon confirmed the location of the problem. We then had to wait while it dried out before we could patch it up.

After that job I headed over to the laundrette and found a hidden gem of a park whilst I waited. Back in Cartagena we often walk along the old water course / storm drain and I found one here, only this one is a lovely park. I saw a Hoopoe bird and lots of wild flowers and trees – when it rains this should be the escape route for the water but it was dry and beautifully overgrown.

That evening we went across to the fuel station in the newly fixed zodiac, followed by a little trip round the harbour. It was great fun and seemed to confirm that we’d done a good job on our fix. We were busy preparing the boat for our planned departure the following day when S/Y Wilma (yes, after the Flintstones) arrived onto the berth next to us with the lovely Helena and Frederick aboard. We now have French, British, Finnish and Swedish boat neighbours.

I managed to get out for a couple of morning outings too – walking along parts of the cami de Cavalls which is stunning.

Tuesday came and the day of our departure. We saw the French boat Clipperton get caught by a gust of wind as they departed so we decided to have a coffee and wait for the early morning breeze to calm down. When it was our turn, Skipper Nigel timed it perfectly between gusts, Frederick helped us with our lines and we got out of the berth brilliantly. We headed out of the harbour entrance and found a stiff breeze and a bit of a swell – as we started to round the island the swell picked up. We knew there was a weather front on the way but it wasn’t forecast to be anything like this choppy til the next day. We also knew that we had booked and paid for our mooring space in Fornells. It took Skipper Nigel just a couple of minutes to decide we’d be safer turning back and that’s just what we did. Skipper made an excellent turn timing it perfectly between the swell so Gemini J didn’t get too rocked about as we went sideways onto the waves (I was hunkered down on the floor just to be safe). It took us less than half the time to get back and a couple of our boat neighbours helped us onto our berth(not a marinero in sight this time).

After we had calmed down I headed to the office to see if I could change the booking (which we’d paid for) – we understood that bookings can’t be changed once they are made with the Ports IB (the Balearic Government run ports) but we were sure in the circumstances they would let us move the booking between ports. After a lot of discussion and phone calls it seems not so we have the pleasure of paying again to stay in Ciutadella. We’re not too worried about it, it’s more annoying than anything else but I will make a complaint (reclamación) to try to get our booking fee back. Watch this space and if any of our sailing friends want the full lowdown on the Ports IB booking system and restrictions just get in touch for the full story !

So, we found ourselves back in Ciutadella – our time in Fornells will have wait – we know there’s a weather warning for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday so land based we’ll be, exploring the city once again, how exciting:-)

Another early start, another beautiful morning as we crept out of Sóller round the stunning, rugged north coast of Mallorca. Once again we were sailing at sunrise this time island hopping across to Menorca. The crossing started fabulously with calm waters and less wind than forecast giving us plenty of time to enjoy the spectacular coastline.

We even saw some dolphins popping their fins slowly and gracefully out of the water around a fishing pot. We needed to be on alert to watch out for them all the time (fishing pots that is, although dolphins are always a bonus). In our experience most of the Spanish coast has to be treated with real caution when it comes to pots and nets – in the Balearic waters they do seem to be slightly better marked with flags than on the mainland where sometimes they are literally a water bottle floating with a net attached (really dangerous for us if we were to get caught up in one). As we reached the north eastern tip of the island the coastline was even more spectacular – and the wind was too as it picked up from just a few knots to 20 almost instantaneously.

We were fairly disappointed that we couldn’t quite catch the wind in our sails. We knew it was a risk but we were really hoping from the forecast that we’d get wind but it just wasn’t quite right for our heading. Normally we would have changed course and sailed but it would have added a fair bit of time and after our half six start we were keen to make the crossing. The swell was slightly against us and to be honest it was a bit of a long afternoon motoring towards Menorca. The bonus was that we could see both islands (there’s only around 30 nautical miles between them) so it was a nice journey from that point of view.

Around half past five we came to the entrance to the port of Ciutadella – just as secretive and spectacular as it was last time we were here. We found our way onto a much improved pontoon berth and immediately wondered what all the noise was. In Ciutadella the moorings are below the old city walls and above us was some sort of race with full on, full volume announcements and music. Further investigation when I went to the Ports IB office told me that it was the “Cami de Cavalls” we were so lucky to be here and witness a very small part of this event which unfolded right in front of us all evening and all up to midnight the following day.

The Cami de Cavalls is a long distance walk I have wanted to do since last time we were here – a 185km circuit of the Menorca coastline, both challenging and spectacular. It would take a couple of weeks…..only the Cami de Cavalls entrants we saw were running it as an endurance event – between 8am on the Friday morning and midnight on the Saturday night ! The ultra athletes would run, walk, eat and sleep a little all in the aim of being finishers of this amazing event. There were other distances too 27km, 44km, 85km and 100km) – all day on the Saturday we watched people running past the boat and up the hill to the finish – we were clapping them on in encouragement whilst sitting enjoying a drink aboard.

We took the zodiac out on Saturday evening and docked up by a restaurant and got even closer to the runners – it was amazing to think they’d been participating almost since we had left Mallorca.

Sunday morning arrived and I was motivated to walk/run a little along the route myself – it took me past some spectacular bays. There is a bit of a mini heatwave here at the moment so we spent the afternoon relaxing aboard. In the evening we went out for drinks then enjoyed a pizza aboard – saying hello again to Nicolas on board Clipperton, our neighbours from Andraitx who had sailed round the southern coast of Mallorca to arrive on the next berth once again. All in all a fabulous weekend here on Menorca.

It was a gorgeous morning as we prepared Gemini J for our departure, with not a drop of wind we knew we’d be motoring along the coast. We went and enjoyed a coffee and a final wander along the jetty. We said goodbye to our neighbours David and Percy the chiwawa (they operate a sail charter from Andraitx). David seemed very excited for us to be going to Sóller which made us excited too – he has an infectious enthusiasm. All too soon it was time to go.

We headed out under amazing blue skies and round the headland towards Isla Dragonera. We had to concentrate a bit on our navigation through the passage between the island and the mainland – the scenery was wonderful.

The sea was very calm and a lovely shade of blue. We passed various boats on our way along this fairly rugged north coastline of Mallorca. It didn’t seem like long before we were marvelling at the cliffs at the entrance to Sóller harbour.

We called the Ports IB marina time after time with no answer (it was Sunday lunchtime) and eventually after a bit of a stressful time circling in the entrance to the port decided to moor ourselves. Luckily a helpful Spanish yacht owner jumped off his boat and took our lines to help us get moored up. It was all very well done and we were really happy to be on berth albeit a bit miffed that there was no one to help from the office. This is something we’ll bear in mind in future and maybe be a bit bolder about mooring ourselves if there are no marineros to help us.

Sóller is a stunning natural harbour but when we arrived we were completely overwhelmed. It seemed so busy, there were boats of all makes and models, shapes and sizes buzzing around. There were crowds wandering along the beach front and the terraces of the café bars were packed. We were a bit shocked after coming from quiet Andraitx, it was such a contrast.

Thankfully Monday was much quieter and we started to appreciate the absolute charm of this place, with it’s Victorian tram running along the seafront and beautiful beach. We spent a fairly relaxing day setting up our zodiac dinghy and paddle board. At one point I jumped off to take the lines for a group of Brits aboard a massive catamaran who had the same “lack of marinero” problem we’d had the day before. They called me a “kind young lady” so I was more than happy to help ;-). In the afternoon I walked up to the lighthouse with stunning views over the bay – it was gorgeous.

Wednesday morning arrived and along with it the day of our “big outing” when we went to take tram trip to the town of Sóller. We started with coffee whilst we waited of course, this time in the café that used to be the ticket office for the trams. It has exactly the same architecture as the ones Paula and I walked past on our walk for my birthday last year. There were very few people about as we enjoyed coffee then about 10 minutes before the tram a huge group of tourists with guide carrying a flag arrived. We were a bit worried we might not get on as there were so many people! As the tram arrived we jumped on board – sat down and then got told to move ….. that carriage was for the tour group. I was annoyed enough to get off altogether but as we clamboured down the steps we saw the next carriage was actually much emptier so we climbed back aboard and enjoyed our journey to the town of Sóller.

We enjoyed the morning wandering about the town, we found a fabulous art gallery showing works by Joan Miró and Picasso. We had a lovely breakfast in the town square and decided we would take the bus back.

This was as much of an adventure as the tram for Skipper Nigel since he couldn’t remember the last time he went on a bus. In fact the bus overtook the tram on the way back and the views were just as lovely. The only drawback to this was that the bus stopped quite a way out of town because a lot of port Sóller is pedestrianised so of course we had to stop for a drink on the walk back 😉 No hardship there really.

The following day I went off for a morning paddle board, followed by coffee and a re-stock in the supermarket. Our plan is to leave on Friday so we spent the day preparing Gemini J for another trip. One job that we really wanted to do was to enhance our gangplank/pasarelle a bit more. Skipper Nigel did a fantastic job of adding grippy tape so now it’s way less slippery (especially when wet ;-))

Sóller has been a great place to visit and it really is starting to feel like summer here with all the holidaymakers around. There are cyclists, hikers and beachgoers all mingling on the promenade and of course there are lots of water sports enthusiasts (but thankfully we haven’t seen any noisy, splashy, jet skiers). The sunsets have been lovely, tomorrow we ‘ll be saying goodbye once again as we set sail…onwards, onwards.

As per usual our first day on a new island started of course with coffee. Coffee with a view just a stone’s throw from Gemini J and at a bakery too – it would be rude not to try the local ensaimada which is a croissant like pastry. In reality it is a plate full of deliciousness, so fresh and crumbly you can’t help but make a bit of a mess especially since it’s coated in icing sugar;-)

We were both pretty shattered after the previous day’s crossing so we had a full on rest day. I headed back over to the bakery for a take away lunch which also turned out to be stunningly delicious – a toasted sandwich including a fried egg. I think we’re going to enjoy the food here. Of course I couldn’t resist getting us a dessert too – very tasty.

In the afternoon I went out for a walk but it was very short, still feeling the need to rest. We did head out for a short evening walk and drink in Tim’s bar (we just had to!!) The views from the terrace were lovely and we watched the fishing boats come in.

Since we had done no jobs at all the day before we spent the morning of our second day tidying the boat, doing shopping and making a minor adjustment to our gangplank. That was after coffee of course, when we watched the palm trees being trimmed up.

Following on from my ladder post last time – there are more ladders here, equally as precarious 😉 The difference between here and San Antonio is that it’s the type of place where they cover building works with metal boards (rather than wire fence) and they even clean them – much like window cleaners ! There is obviously a lot of preparation going on to be ready for the season proper.

A French boat with the name “Clipperton” arrived next to us, we spent a while chatting to Nicolas who comes from Caen (the boat had sailed down from Perpignan) Another chance for a bit of learning as I commented that Clipperton sounded really British – well I found out it’s a French island off the coast of Mexico named after an English pirate !!

I headed out for a longer walk up to the lighthouse at a place called Sa Mola – wandering along the multi-million euro properties looking for a small gap to get a glimpse of the view they must get. It does seem a bit of a shame that there isn’t much of a natural path left, all the hillside being taken up with private property.

I found some stunning modern architecture amongst older style properties – this was an art gallery on the street amongst the residential properties.

We enjoyed our afternoon watching the comings and goings of the harbour here, all very relaxing. Tomorrow we hope to move on another port, a different view, sailing here we come.

At 5:30 our alarm rang and with bleary eyes we stumbled out of bed. It was still pretty dark as we set the boat ready for our departure at first light.

We crept out of the marina and headed round the mainland feeling the chilly morning air and willing the sun to rise. As we ventured along the coastline we had to manoeuvre to avoid another yacht departing a cove and going in the opposite direction – what are the chances at half past 6 ?!

Our early start was rewarded with a wonderful sunrise although we quickly realised that the heat of the sun wasn’t going to warm the day and we were in for a chilly trip. We made our way along the Ibizan coastline and all too soon we were out in open water crossing towards Mallorca. The wind was really favourable (for once, as forecast) and we made excellent progress. The early morning wind was gusty but as the day progressed the wind became a constant 13-15 knots and we were able to sail !!! No engine running!! We were amazed – this is one of the first times we’ve actually been able to properly sail to our destination. The wind was perfect – this happens so infrequently we almost couldn’t believe it. We were flying along at over 6 knots all afternoon towards Andraitx.

It was chilly and very tiring since we had to be aware of the sails all the time as we were close reached (meaning any little deviation needs correcting quickly). Mind you, it seems from the photos we took of each other that we both had a nap during the voyage, thanks to that early start! We were very happy when the headland of Mallorca came into view and we flew along into the beautiful harbour of Andraitx.

As we had been here before a few years ago we found out way to the town quay easily and Skipper Nigel brought us onto the berth really well. Once we were moored up we both heaved a sigh of relief after a very tiring day. We enjoyed a drink on deck enjoying our new view…..

A couple of rest days in San Antonio inevitably involved having an English breakfast 😉 doing a wash and having a bit of a re-stock. Everything here is really close to the pontoon and as we’ve been here a few times we know where everything is more or less.

This was the first opportunity to test out our new pasarelle/gangplank …….we think it works particularly well (listen to the sound too if you can)

The place is beautiful and busier then last time we were here in September with lots of holidaymakers wandering about. Of course I went off walking each day too.

We also spent time planning our onward journey – we are heading to Mallorca next and worked out we’d go marina to marina and go straight to Andraitx. For us the weather is still a little chilly for anchoring and swimming but every single day is getting warmer and warmer so watch this space.

One of the things we’ve seen here is an incredible amount of preparation work – obviously for when the season starts proper …. it all started with the following image…..

Yes, on a ladder, on a boat !!! That was our first ladder of the day, it was followed by lots more in various states of precariousness and it’s clear that this place will soon be more than ready to welcome back even more tourists.

As well as all the building works a short wander takes you to some absolutely stunning little coves – absolutely gorgeous. I really enjoyed wandering about (after all the boat jobs were finished of course, which included a walk with our trolley to get fuel).

Tomorrow is our departure from here, final weather checks permitting and we’ll be missing all the action as it appears the world aquabike championship is coming to town. Probably just as well since I imagine it’ll be very noisy. Onwards, onwards for Gemini J.

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.

https://g.co/kgs/xZsomG

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 ……

April had seen Skipper Nigel working very hard to prepare Gemini J for our new sailing season, installing a new solar panel, new speakers on deck and thoroughly checking and re-checking the engine.

Sunday the 1st of May arrived and surprisingly the weather was good for setting sail. We had enjoyed a fabulous final preparation day on the Saturday which included a final shop, some coffee and cake with my marina friends and glorious sundowners aboard our friend’s catamaran. They were all there to wave us off as we departed which was really nice. Before we could leave we had the small matter of contacting Cartagena Port Control on the radio as we had been told that another cruise ship was due to arrive – not something we wanted to share the channel with. Luckily they were still a way away so we could depart. We followed a number of other yachts out of the marina and the atmosphere as we left was great – it was nice to see so many boats out on the water

The weather was lovely although not enough wind for much sailing – we did motor sail though and the feeling of being back out on the water was wonderful. We decided that since the March and April weather has been so bad we haven’t been able to do day sailing that we would head for San Pedro del Pinatar a route we know really well so we could check Gemini J and make sure everything was good for our 2022 adventures.

We arrived in San Pedro about 3pm and the weather was lovely. Everything was great on board and we had a relaxing afternoon which of course included a walk for me out to the salt flats which were beautiful and pink.

The next morning we went for a coffee and planned our trip – reviewing and re-reviewing the forecast. There was some worse weather to come so we decided to make our way up the coastline heading for Alicante. As we departed it was clear that we’d be motoring that day as we were head to what was quite a chilly wind. After a couple of hours we talked about our options again and decided that we’d head to Santa Pola. This decision and slight change of course meant we could sail which was fantastic. We flew along with our mainsail and reefed Genoa sail – both making the 6 knot club as the wind increased to 21 knots. Skipper Nigel brought us onto berth in high winds perfectly and once again we were relaxing aboard.

The following morning we went for our coffee and our review of the forecast – there is a storm system about and rain was forecast for the afternoon. We decided to stay in Santa Pola since we know it’s sheltered here and we can happily stay a few nights if necessary. Having said that the weather that day was pretty nice – I had a lovely afternoon walk (when it was supposed to be raining). We were slightly frustrated that we hadn’t sailed but were happy that we hadn’t taken any risks with the weather at the same time. We spent the morning doing some boat jobs, including checking out our new pasarelle/gangplank.

In the afternoon I found Santa Pola’s salt works and a shipwreck – fascinating.

As I write this blog it’s Wednesday afternoon – it has been raining heavily all day – no sailing at the moment and barely a soul about in the marina, we are taking the opportunity to rest and relax and hoping that is might just pass over by tomorrow. The wind has not been as strong as forecast so we’re also hoping the sea will stay calm. We will wait and see what tomorrow brings but being back aboard and planning our onward adventures suits us