Moraira and Mary Poppins

Monday arrived and with it the happy knowledge that we are staying here til at least Wednesday having decided to have some rest days. We are moored alongside in stunning Moraira – lots of nautical activity here to keep Skipper Nigel occupied and fabulous paddle boarding.

We really did relax on Monday – we didn’t go far from Gemini J and lots of snoozing took place. The aborted crossing plus the actual crossing had certainly taken it out of us. We inflated the paddle board and dinghy ready for action the following day. We had enjoyed the sunsets in Ibiza and were happy to find the stunning skies continued here.

The next morning I hopped on the paddle board and had a lovely calm paddle around the beautiful bay. I still haven’t quite got confident enough to be taking photos yet mind you. I gave Nigel a surprise when I stealthily pulled alongside and popped my head through the window.

The water in the marina here is really clear and there are so many fish. At night they jump about and we even found one in our dinghy that we had to tip back into the water. Nigel fed them a little bit of bread and it was like having our own personal aquarium.

By Wednesday we were sufficiently relaxed to start stocking up ready for our onward voyage so after paddle boarding, shopping was the order of the day. The afternoon paddle board was replaced with a walk since it was quite windy and slightly choppy.

The sea in the bay where I go boarding is so clear it’s amazing.

Thursday arrived and we were off ! We had to get the marineros to give us a helping hand in their zodiac boat since we were pretty tightly packed along the pontoon and manouvreing out of our space would have been tricky to say the least.

Unsure of our destination since scattered rain was forecast we wanted to see the conditions out at sea. As it turned out they were fine, light winds and little swell. We headed back towards Calpe and round past Benidorm.

We had made good progress and we continued past Villajoiosa where we had stopped on the way over and on to El Campello, 30 nautical miles. We had been to Club Náutico Campello before and found ourselves once again in a very friendly and calm marina. I wandered over to the office with our paperwork and back via the castle that overlooks the marina.

The next morning we were away by nine and off out around the headland to Alicante bay. We got the mainsail out and motored making good speed – soon enough we were almost at Isla Tabarca and the Santa Pola headland.

The water turned to mirror glass and we had to work to keep the limited wind in the sails – taking down the Genoa for a while. We took turns on the helm and I felt just like Mary Poppins when I got the umbrella out for shade – it was another hot day despite being the 1st October.

As we passed Torrevieja the conditions changed completely and unexpectedly, the wind picked up to a breezy 17 knots and the water became really quite choppy. We were once again close reached but hacking along at nearly 6 knots. We made much better progress during the afternoon and got to San Pedro del Pinatar by 5pm which was great. Another 41 nautical miles in our log.

We spent the evening relaxing and were happy to see S/Y Alandar arrive back on an opposite berth. Pablo was an acquaintance when we had Gemini J here 3 or 4 years ago and we managed to have a quick catch up. It was great to see a familiar face, a shame that we were departing the next day or we could have caught up a bit better. Once again we were weather driven but with a windy front coming through all weekend we had decided to head back to Cartagena and home before conditions turned.

The next morning we were anticipating some swell / choppiness after the previous afternoon but we found the sea like a mirror once again. We were treated to multiple sunrises thanks to cloudy skies and it was well worth the early start for the stunning views out to the horizon.

We went out on our familiar route past Isla Grosa and on to Cabo de Palos then just a hop along the coastline and back just in time for (late) lunch.

And so we are at the end of our trip – Gemini J has looked after us amazingly well and is back on her berth awaiting a good clean and polish and we are off home for a bit of the same 😉

Fun on the high seas

Saturday came and with it our early alarm call. Of course it was still dark as we aimed to leave at sunrise – as soon as there was enough light. Since the crossing should take around 11 hours the early start suits us best – hoping to arrive in daylight. We departed as soon as it was light enough, the sunrise was, as always, beautiful.

You can see from these photos there were clouds in the sky, as we set off the sea conditions were with us and we were flying along at 5 and a half knots. Around us there was mixed weather in the sky but the forecast was for decreasing seas and winds. Unfortunately we found the opposite, as we headed out past Isla conejera the wind started to pick up along with the waves. We did not fancy bashing into 1-2m waves for 11hours. The swell direction also turned to become against us – Skipper Nigel quickly made the call to turn back. The wind picked up to 25 knots and almost immediately we were flying along back to port.

We called Ports IB on the radio and they told us to go back on the same berth we left from 2 hours and 13 nautical miles earlier – the marinero who came was particularly unhelpful and unfriendly which made the arrival trickier than it needed to be in high winds !! He didn’t really understand how quickly a boat like Gemini J can get blown about when trying to berth. Skipper Nigel on the helm and boathook and me trying to act quickly despite the slow and grumpy marinero and we got secured. Half an hour later however, all was well, we were relaxing aboard with our Australian Coffee ☕.

That afternoon the sun did come out and I went for a walk ….. up a hill ! I had had my eye on the tiny “ermita” (small church) all week and finally decided to attempt to walk to it. It was well worth the effort. The views were stunning from the top.

We had a relaxing evening aboard and spent some time studying and re-studying the weather forecasts. They all looked reasonable for the next morning so we decided to set the alarms and give it another go.

When we woke up once again the sky was cloudy and it really seemed that Ibiza was still hanging under a storm – but looking out to sea it seemed clearer. We had a debate over breakfast but decided to go for it with a plan B of returning and going into the Club Nautic for a change of scene if necessary. The weather forecast was favourable with 8-10 knot winds and half a meter swells all decreasing during the day.

We left cloudy Sant Antoni and once again hit rougher waters almost as soon as we got to Isla Conejera ….. we started to doubt that forecast as the winds picked up to 20 knots. They were in our favour albeit close reached. We decided to push on past Islas Bledas where we were still in very choppy waters ….. Skipper Nigel was seriously thinking we should turn back but we pulled out a reef on our Genoa sail and could make reasonable progress. It was already 10am and we decided we could handle the choppy waters and we would continue on. Very quickly we could see land which really gave us something to aim for.

We had to concentrate all day on keeping on course, keeping the wind in the sails and keeping alert for the ferries and container ships in the shipping channel. We were still rocking and rolling and it was fairly hard going, we needed the spray hood up and the decks were soaked from bashing into the swell. Around 4pm the conditions did start to die down and we could relax a little and enjoy the rest of the journey. We even managed a few rounds of “Gemini J Okey Dokey tons of time for Karaoke” singing away at the top of our voices 😉

By the time we reached Moraira the sun was setting which made the last hour lovely. We had enough light to dock alongside between two motor boats which Skipper Nigel did expertly and finally we could relax ……

Stormy Sant Antoni

The trip to Sant Antoni started under sail which was lovely – there are a lot less boats on the water too. We enjoyed a good couple of hours with mainsail and genoa flying along towards Isla Vedra – a Jurassic looking rock Island.

As we went between the island and the shore we put the engine on for security in case we lost the wind – and that was it – we needed it for the rest of the trip ! The wind dropped, then gusted up to 27 knots – very odd weather and we were glad we had made the decision to move back to the marina. As we arrived back in Sant Antoni I took a couple of photos of the shoreline where I would be attempting a 10km run the following day.

Sunday morning came and I was happy to be back on solid ground for my attempt with Jo to run 10km as part of a world record attempt to get the most runners running a 10km within 24 hours – virtually – from all over the world. I was pleased with the cooler weather and went out fairly early – I managed to see the sun rise and run without stopping too much ! Overall a great start to our time here in Sant Antoni.

After I got back we had the enjoyment of watching the sailing school activities since they launch from the quayside opposite our mooring space. Great to see the children heading out in boats of various sizes – and even really little children too, very impressive. They have great confidence and throw themselves around the boats to keep the wind in the sails – even in the marina.

The next morning, we enjoyed our Australian coffee aboard and I went for a wander. We are always watching the weather on these trips and we could see very changeable conditions coming our way. It was looking like we should make the most of dry weather so I went off to the launderette whilst Skipper Nigel made sure the boat was prepped in case of storms – and strung up a washing line ready for my return.

Sure enough that afternoon and evening we watched the storm clouds forming. In actual fact although we did get heavy rain overnight it wasn’t as bad as we were expecting. Instead the storm warnings were extended and we knew we were likely to be here for the week.

The next day we had a rest day aboard kind of thinking it would rain at any moment …. I did manage a short afternoon wander and we spent the evening watching the amazing sky.

It is definitely a stormy time here and whilst we are weather watching we’re also more than happy to spend some holiday time here. The following morning after overnight rain I went for a stunning coastal walk whilst Skipper Nigel did a few more boat jobs. It feels a lot like the season is coming to an end here, lots less people and places with signs in the window saying “back in 2022”. The crane was even taking away the lifeguard station as I passed the beach on my walk. We went ashore for coffee but were disappointed when it didn’t match up to the Australian coffee that Jason makes us to take away.

The afternoon brought torrential rain – nothing for it but to relax aboard and watch tenable and tipping point.

By the evening the rain had passed over and we were enjoying stunning skies once again, we are really relaxing here and the weather forecast looks like we’ll have a few more days yet to enjoy stormy skies.

The next day offered a bit of morning excitement – best way to describe it is a copy of the message I sent Karen on Hoopla who are over the other side of the island.

Well, well, well, good morning from our new berth !!!! Amazingly they told us we couldn’t stay tomorrow ….. because there’s a regatta that’s booked all the berths 😮😮😮 I said we couldn’t leave in these conditions since we are trying to make the crossing to the mainland ( forecast tomorrow 20 knots and 1,9m swell !!) They got the boss – he said we would have to go to Santa Eulalia !!!! I said it wasn’t like we didn’t want to leave but we’re a small boat and we can’t risk the conditions ….. sure enough after a bit of to and fro they decided we could come onto the other side of the pontoon – as long as we moved immediately ! On that he made a good call because it’s super windy now …. so we’re here til Saturday 😁😁!!

So Gemini J has a new berth and apart from half an hour of slight stress all is good – time for an Australian coffee after that !!

The next day I decided to go on a mini adventure – on the bus !! Since we were not leaving until Saturday at the earliest I popped over to see Karen ahead of her birthday on Sunday. The bus (which was a luxury coach) journey was really straightforward and only took half an hour direct (I thought it would be much longer). When I got to the Santa Eulalia on the other side of the island it was really rough – I saw regatta boats sailing in the distance and thought they must be crazy – it was a couple of metres swell!!

I went to see Hoopla on her lovely berth – Santa Eulalia seems like a really nice marina. It was good to catch up with Karen once again and she was able to leave Jack with some schoolwork whilst we went for a wander.

Karen and I went out for a delicious early birthday lunch followed by a lovely coastal walk. Santa Eulalia really is a nice place and one we’d actively try to come back to next time we’re in the islands. You can see from the photos the very red sand/shore/rocks – this colour is all over the island and makes for stunning scenery.

I just made the bus back to Sant Antoni – and again it only took half an hour. When I arrived back the regatta boats were arriving on their berths too – sure enough they were the same ones I had seen that morning in Santa Eulalia. Their route was from Ibiza town to Sant Antoni on the Friday. Saturday Sant Antoni to Formentera then round the island of Formentera and back to Ibiza town on Sunday – it sounds fabulous but very hard going in these conditions. The evening was hazy as we watched them packing away their sails and preparing for the next day. We were preparing too as the next day was our day to cross back to the mainland.

Hanging out with Hoopla

We had a great time exploring the town of Ibiza and we were all ready to move on when the weather had a different idea. Clouds and storms came our way and we found ourselves port bound for a few days ….. bring on the hire car.

The first afternoon we stayed local exploring Talamanca bay and enjoying a delicious waterfront lunch at Shu restaurant. (no photos with us in since we seem to have our mouths full on all the ones we took 😉 )

We went off exploring the island – starting in a place called San Rafael which is in the middle of the island for coffee and heading to San Miqel. This is a beautiful little port and anchorage and looks like a lovely place to spend a few days relaxing.

We headed northwards towards Portinatx where our friends had enjoyed anchoring. We quickly realised that it is a place for boats rather than cars since there was precious little parking. A stunning place nevertheless and the drive was pretty spectacular too.

We headed back to the marina for lunch via the greenery of the island accompanied by very red soil it makes for a stunning landscape. After lunch we took Karen and Robert and headed out to explore Santa Eulalia – the third largest town on the island and one that none of us had visited before by land or sea. We found a lovely modern marina and a beautiful little town with a beach, and little elf figurines called “els fameliares” who help with jobs under certain circumstances too.

When we arrived back at the marina we found it flooded again – someone had even made a little boat.

It felt like it was time for us to move on and luckily there was a break in the weather – perfect for us to take Hoopla to Espalmador.

The morning was quite stressful with lots of jobs to do including a quick visit to the British supermarket we found the previous day. Angel delight, shortbread biscuits, decent coleslaw and Heinz beans all somehow found their way into my basket ! We then filled up with fuel – which took way longer than anticipated. First there was a queue for the pumps, next I found you need to pre-pay, then I was able to fill up. Then I had to go back and pre-pay for the boat diesel can, then I had to fill it up. We were finally ready to go …. only the pre-pay amount hadn’t filled up enough of the hire car so off again to do more pre-pay !!!! Frustrating to say the least …..

By the time we got back to the marina Skippers Nigel and Robert had prepared Gemini J and Hoopla and we were finally ready to depart ……it was busy in the marina since it was midday – the time the charter boats seem to depart. We followed Hoopla out into the busy shipping channel from Ibiza to Formentera and once again needed full concentration to avoid the high speed ferries that flit between the islands (and create a massive wake as they do it – choppy is an understatement).

Before long we were rounding the headland of Espalmador and grabbing our mooring buoys next to each other. We were very happy to be back.

We went to the shore for some exploring and enjoyed the most fabulous sunset – thanks to Karen for the fab photos as for once I was without my phone/camera.

The next morning there was another gorgeous sunrise and skipper Nigel decided it was time for another boat shower and shave – he’s getting used to this life aboard 😉

Robert and Karen popped across to join us for morning coffee/tea and much chit chat as per normal. We realized that our time together was coming to an end as more storms were forecast. Hoopla was heading for Santa Eulalia and Gemini J for Sant Antoni. This was after much deliberation on our part but we decided not to risk heading round the northern coast with such changeable weather.

We were sad to say goodbye to Hoopla but look forward to seeing them back in Cartagena once we have all finished our summer adventures. Onwards for us and back to the lovely Sant Antoni.

Culture shock in Ibiza

We had a relaxing morning before heading across from Espalmador to Ibiza town. The crossing was short but definitely not boring as it’s a very busy little channel – full of ferries, day boats and various other craft. The channel also has natural hazards and is relatively shallow so we had to keep on top of the navigation.

The castle on the hill is a great sign that you’re arriving in Ibiza although our journey had only been 7,9 nautical miles it had certainly been interesting. We had to concentrate a lot on the entrance to the harbour to watch out for the big ferries that go between the islands and across to the mainland. Our marina is right next to the ferry port. It was a real culture shock, coming to the capital of the island from the deserted island !

Botafoc Ibiza (our marina) is most definitely a destination spot with bars, restaurants and no end of nautical services companies. We had a bit of a tricky entry since the marinero had to berth another yacht before ours and skipper Nigel had to hold us in a waiting position for what felt like forever (but was probably only 10 minutes). He then showed us down a channel right to the end and a spot between two motor boats. It was a very tight space but we squeezed ourselves in. We were waiting for our friends aboard yacht Hoopla and we hoped that they would have an easier arrival than ours. Luckily that was the case around 4pm.

It was great to see them again and we had a lovely catch up over beer that afternoon.

Back to more sunsets and sunrises which were lovely on day 1 and 2 here – but as I write this we’re in stormy weather with the sky full of dark clouds.

The next day Karen, Rob, Pete and I headed over the water to the old town of Ibiza and walked up to the castle. It is a beautiful and very historical place with lots of alleys and little streets to wander around. We were glad of it being cloudy – we couldn’t imagine walking up the hill in bright sunshine on a boiling hot day. The effort was well worth it, the views from the top are amazing.

On the way back down we enjoyed some delicious light refreshment in the way of milkshakes. We also found the old drawbridge which is stunning.

It looks like we’ll be here at least a couple more stormy days so more time to explore the island and watch the motor boats manouvreing round with their over excited guests – asking if there might just be a chink of sunshine on these cloudy days. In the afternoons there is a strange surge of water which comes right over the pontoon wall and floods the walkway. Everyone seems quite bemused by it – some people just take off their flip flops and stride confidently through (it’s over ankle high) and others choose to walk the long way round. It’s fun to watch and try to decide who will go for it !

From coffee in San Antoni to barefoot in Espalmador

The big day arrived and with it an early start and a stunning sunrise. Extremely calm conditions awaited us for the crossing to Ibiza.

We were full of excitement as we watched that stunning sunrise having departed at just before 8. It was a long crossing and thankfully a fairly boring one – we managed to put the mainsail out and it gave us an extra half knot of speed making it easier for us to maintain our 5 knot target. Skipper Nigel and I took turns on the helm although really our autohelm did all the work. We were out of sight of land for about an hour and a half before Ibiza came into view and we saw a couple of ferries. It was a gorgeous sight as we rounded the outlying islands on the approach to San Antonio.

We were very tired (despite napping along the way) as we pulled into our berth at 7pm after the 11 hour passage – as we had been here before it was familiar and we were really happy to be back. Our mooring space was near the fishing and tourist boats and we had plenty to watch the next day.

We spent the next 3 days relaxing in San Antonio – watching the comings and goings in the marina and on shore. We found Jason the Australian coffee barista who makes the best coffee we have found in Spain thanks to our friend G’s comment that Spanish coffee is not a patch on Australian. His wife is from Yorkshire (Beverley, near Hull) so Yorkshire tea is also on offer. If you ever visit San Antonio go and find Melbourne Street Coffee.

We went for our English Breakfast of course – and it happened to coincide with the San Antonio 4k race, never a dull moment here. The run was organised into groups so some were really, really fast and others (like the veteran women – my age group!) a bit more slow and steady. We had a prime spot and enjoyed watching the event before sauntering back to Gemini J.

After our rest days we decided to head out onto a mooring buoy at the south of the island. The journey was really good fun – not much sailing (although of course Skipper Nigel tried) but plenty of traffic to keep us on our toes along with stunning coastline.

We found our buoy at Ses Salines and there was a guy on a rib boat to help us tying off – that makes the whole thing much easier so we were pretty slick getting ourselves set. The location was stunning but my oh my there was quite a swell. Overnight it got worse and although we weren’t worried in the slightest about our lines we were awake most of the night. We were rocking about so much and it was really noisy too. The next day we were pretty exhausted but untangled our lines and untied at 11 and headed to our next spot.

Espalmador is only 4,5 nautical miles away so we decided to sail since we weren’t worried about speed. The winds were very light but we managed to make it all the way under mainsail and Genoa. We found an absolutely idyllic spot just as we had been told by the three amigos (as we called them) on the neighbouring boat back in San Antonio. Once again there was a rib guy to pass the lines to and in a couple of moments we were secured. This mooring space is much more sheltered and is perfect.

Espalmador is literally a desert island – well, a deserted island anyway. Covered in protected sand dunes and with crystal clear waters and beautiful sandy beaches. There is not a spot of litter and nothing at all on the island barring an old lookout tower and 3 secluded houses. The mooring buoys are busy and day boats come and go but early morning and late evening we have the place to ourselves – us and the other boats that are staying.

We inflated the paddle board and dinghy and have stayed here 3 days just hanging out watching the comings and goings, swimming, boating and walking round the island – first thing in the morning – I was probably the only person there.

It is also an amazing place for sunrises and sunsets ….. we will be sorry to leave here (we will have to wear shoes again!) and will definitely try to come back sometime but tomorrow we set sail once again – Ibiza town here we come.

Onwards, onwards

With heavy hearts we departed Cartagena and headed towards Cabo de Palos – we had nice conditions and although we didn’t get sailing we did motor sail and made fantastic time. We usually stop at San Pedro del Pinatar but we decided on a new option this time and headed to Torrevieja…another couple of hours along the way.

What had been a fairly quiet journey became very hectic at the entrance to the harbour – my goodness what a lot of traffic. Jet skis, yachts, motor boats, day sail boats it was almost scary trying to plot a course through them all ….. and then a massive motor boat decided to cut through the middle of us and another small yacht – I cannot repeat the expletives that were shouted !! Ridiculous …… and then we had to enter the marina for the first time – unsure where to go. Luckily the marineros were there waving us onto our berth – right between two tiny motor boats – we had to lean over the sides to fend off !!!! It was quite funny looking back on it but stressful at the time and we were exhausted by sunset time.

The next day we woke up relatively early and headed out of a thankfully less busy harbour entrance – only to be buzzed by para-gliders which was quite a sight.

The conditions were quite against us and we decided on a short hop to one of our favourite marinas at Santa Pola – thanks to storm activity and a warning we stayed 2 days – we had a berth on the jet ski channel. Skipper Nigel started out trying to get them all to slow down, shouting as they went by but as the afternoon went on (and they slowed down) he slowly befriended them and started to enjoy the spectacle. By the next afternoon he was waving and greeting all the jetskiers as they went by and having fun doing it 😉

There were storm clouds all around on rest day but we avoided any rain. The following day we saw that conditions were forecast to be slightly against us but we headed out of the harbour to see how it was. We were both hoping we could make it to Moraira but as we got round Tabarca Island we realized that we were in for a choppy day. In fact we got soaked when the waves came over the bow (good job saltwater is great for the teak deck). We decided to head for Villajoiosa and ended up with another 2 night stay thanks to more stormy weather moving over us.

On the second day I headed out for my usual morning exercise and came across very varied architecture including a brand new container house which looked truly amazing.

The sky was cloudy as we rounded Benidorm the next day but conditions were calmer (only the odd bow wave). We headed to Moraira via the amazing Peñan de Ifach rock at Calpe from where we could make the crossing to Ibiza …. when the weather conditions were right.

Once again we had a 2 day stay in the lovely Moraira – another one of our favourite marinas. I went paddle boarding the next morning at sunrise which was amazing. In the afternoon we took the dinghy across the marina to a mooring point where we could load up with some shopping. On the way back we saw a huge heron – clearly looking for a fish dinner !!

So we were once again waiting this time, waiting for calm conditions ready for our crossing to Ibiza…..

Sail away my friend….

It is with a very heavy heart that I write this blog as we lost one our most avid readers and Gemini J’s 3rd Skipper last week when our great friend Paul Mountford passed away after a long illness. Some of you readers will have met Paul as Skipper Nigel’s best man at our wedding, others will have heard him mentioned in various sailing stories that are often fondly told aboard Gemini J.

Little did Skipper Nigel know 20 years ago when he fell asleep on a lilo in a swimming pool in Egypt what a friendship it would lead to. We met Paul and Chel later that evening when Paul recognised Nigel as the chap who had been drifting about the pool asleep all afternoon. The next day a firm bond was made when we all went out sailing on Hobie Cats. Similar ages and with similar interests we all got on really well and soon met up when we returned to England since we lived less than half an hour away from each other.

Paul soon invited Nigel to join him on many sailing trips aboard his yacht Big Mac. Nigel had sailed before but it was Skipper Paul who really developed his love of life aboard. Over the next few years they enjoyed various adventures sailing from Poole harbour – often sneaking off night sailing never telling us girls too much about their adventures in case we worried about them.

There was the time they lost Big Mac’s engine and Skipper Paul had to frantically problem solve as they headed towards the notorious Needles off the Isle of Wight – only to find Nigel had thrown his shoes down below and knocked the emergency engine cut off switch. Or perhaps the time Nigel followed a cross channel ferry light rather than a star whilst Skipper Paul took a nap.

Chel and I did sometimes join them and it was aboard Big Mac that Nigel proposed to me ….. although even that didn’t quite happen as planned when the wind picked up as we were on anchor enjoying a quiet moment and rather than proposing Nigel exchanged a nod with Paul and we were soon hacking along under sail at 6 knots back towards Poole. The proposal eventually took place on a candlelit deck at 9pm that night !!

It was only natural that Nigel’s stag night took place aboard Big Mac and whilst I obviously don’t know too much about it I do know that a fair proportion of the night was spent on the beach playing guitar and possibly enjoying the odd drink and a cigarette or two.

Paul steered a very nervous Nigel through our wedding weekend, making sure he got a quick whisky before the wedding ceremony and thankfully remembering my birthday when the registrar asked Nigel (who was too nervous to remember) otherwise the whole thing might have been off !

Times moved on and later that year Paul and Chel welcomed beautiful baby Joshua into the Mountford household with much joy and the odd sleepless night. Nigel and I moved to Spain and for a few years Nigel and Paul were long distance amigos, Big Mac was sold and the sailing days appeared to be fond memories.

Fast forward to six and a half years ago and it was Nigel’s turn as Skipper when we bought Gemini J. Before Nigel was even fully qualified to sail her, Paul was out here lending a hand to get everything set up and being crew on Nigel’s final Skipper test.

Our first major trip on Gemini J was into the Mar Menor with Paul …. we had a fabulous weekend getting to know the boat and mooring up in difficult conditions. There were a couple of cases of what became known as “two skipperitis” with Nigel and Paul issuing slightly different instructions to me as inexperienced crew – we always had a good laugh about it once we were ashore enjoying our post sail drinks.

Of course Paul was also aboard for our first major adventure to Ibiza and Formentera and we had some truly amazing times on that trip. We proudly launched our lobster pot and got up in the morning to find it missing !! It was a team task to retrieve it (me snorkeling with boat hook – Paul getting it aboard) we found a beautiful fish in place of any lobster – operation fish rescue began and Paul tried his level best to release the fish …… Nigel ended up with scissors cutting it open and I released it back into the water. All that before morning coffee too….

Paul and Nigel had great fun that trip heading off in the dinghy boat spotting round the anchorages. There was also the time we departed San Antonio in gusty conditions – Paul was keeping the boat straight using the boat hook onto a neighboring boat til Skipper Nigel was ready to leave – only then the hook was stuck ….. Paul ended up with half a boathook in his hand as we departed and we left half an extending boathook hanging from a boat in the marina, who knows what their skipper thought when he or she returned !

Our crossing back to the mainland after that trip remains our most challenging experience to date and I don’t know what we would have done without Paul. He crawled down the deck and fought with the lines to fix a problem with our Genoa sail in 4m swell……it was a very hairy manouvre but one that saved our sail and made us safe for the rest of the crossing. Paul and Nigel took 30 minute turns on the helm for over 10 hours as we battled the conditions, we all deserved our beers aboard in Calpe that night.

The next longer trip for Paul and Nigel was moving the boat from San Pedro del Pinatar to Cartagena – of course they did the journey faster than we had ever done it before on our previous trips! Paul was such a good friend he declined the offer of a video someone took of the now famous time Skipper Nigel cycled into the marina (having not set up the handlebars properly) – so that day lives on only as a legend.

Our last trip was the last great blast before coronavirus really, when we sailed up to Valencia and Paul and his friend Dave joined us. I headed to Munich to celebrate our friend Al’s birthday and I left the boys sailing away and messing about in the dinghy. The conditions were fabulous for them and we had a great mooring, right in the heart of the marina action. Once again, I don’t know all the tales of the boys time aboard and their various sailing trips from Valencia but I was on the jetty waiting for them as they came back on the Sunday – all 3 of them with huge smiles after a great time. We enjoyed a couple of fabulous meals (steaks and red wine, Paul’s favourite of course). There were very tired but happy goodbyes after the weekend with great intentions to repeat the adventure soon.

There are so many more stories of adventures that were and thoughts of adventures that might have been. coronavirus and illness put paid to other trips that might have happened more recently but Skipper Nigel and Paul were always in each others thoughts and once they both met Alexa she kept them in touch.

We are now on another trip to Ibiza and it was with very heavy hearts we departed – in fact it was the hardest departure in easy conditions we will probably ever have just the day after we lost our beloved friend. Gemini J will always have her 3rd Skipper in spirit and we will often think back to our times together. Our thoughts are now with Chel and Josh and all our love is going to them as we sail onwards and revisit some of the places we enjoyed visiting with Skipper Paul – forever in our hearts.

Sunrises and Sunsets in Eagles

This week we had the great pleasure and fun of sailing once again with Dasiy Mae as she continued her onwward voyage back to Benalmadena. We invited Rosana to join the crew of Gemini J and had a lovely evening catching up on Tuesday before a relatively early start on Wednesday morning when the weather conditions were forecast to be in our favour (and for once it was correct). I enjoyed another morning walk with Judith and Rosie whilst Skippers Nigel and Poppy prepared the boats for their trip. Daisy Mae departed first and we followed very shortly afterwards, we enjoyed motoring towards Cabo Tinoso together before our headings took us our separate ways.

We got to Cabo Tinoso around 9am and we could still see Daisy Mae at midday – motoring towards their destination of Garrucha and disappearing into the hazy horizon. We had chosen the shorter route to Aguilas (which translates to Eagles – so no wonder I love it there!) where we wanted to revisit Puerto Deportivo Juan Montiel (last time we had stopped for a lovely couple of days with Daisy Mae on our way to Cartagena). The conditions meant that it was another day of motoring, the sea was slightly choppy but the waves were behind us pushing us along a little, this really suited our friends on Daisy Mae who had a much longer journey than us. We were happy enough to put some more miles on our new engine and continue to gain confidence with it – and we had Rosana for company – all in all a lovely day on the water.

We did manage to get the mainsail up on our approach to Aguilas, when we arrived it was hot, hot, hot so time to quickly open up Gemini J, put up the bimini cover for shade and head to the cafe bar for a cooling drink.

The next morning I was up early, eager to walk the stunning coastline that Judith, Rosie and I had enjoyed on our walks at the end of July. It was just as lovely as I remembered and so good to be back here. After walking we had a restful morning, including coffee at the hotel overlooking the beach with just a quick dip in the sea and time on the beach before going back to the cafe bar on the marina for what turned out to be a delicous lunch – after a bit of negotiation with the lifeguard who was adamant only berth holders could sit at the tables by the pool we managed to persuade him that we weren’t going to jump in the jacuzzi without paying and got a lovely shady table under a banana tree.

That evening Rosana and I walked (the two minutes) to the beach to watch the sunset which was stunningly beautiful.

The next morning I went off paddle boarding, out of the marina and along the beach (still not quite good enough to take photos while I’m underway) it was lovely and calm and there wasn’t too much boat traffic at that time, I was super proud of myself, mind you, when I had to stop to let a dive boat depart the marina, luckily they were going slowly enough to offer me a quick “gracias” as they went past – and I don’t think I was even wobbling !! That’s good progress 😉

We went beaching and swimming again before another amazing lunch at a beach bar/restaurant overlooking the sea. Lovely views and luckily food to match, great company and a completely brilliant menu del dia for 10€ a head. The afternoon was rest time before Rosana and I took a longer evening walk to explore the Aguilas promenade. It is a place with lots of different bays and after walking along to the fishing port we decided that we were definitely in the newer, lovelier part of town – although perhaps a daytime wander might be better when the fairground isn’t in full swing. Aguilas is a really lovely place and one we’d like to come back to in winter time too. The castle on top of the hill protecting the town looks well worth a visit. Our moonlit walk ended back at the marina of course and we had an early night ready for an early start the next day.

On Saturday morning we were awoken by the alarm – and wow, it was still dark! That was the plan though – a sunrise sail back towards Cartagena. We were all surprised by just how dark it still was at 6am and we had to be careful not to shine too many lights as we would need our “night vision” for the marina departure. We switched on the navigation lights and were on our way by 6:45 …… it was stunningly beautiful being out on the water at that time, although I must say I did have the advantage over my crewmates of being used to getting up early (they were both a little bleary eyed). We were heading straight into the sunrise and before long our early start was rewarded with a beautiful orange sky and sights of the sun coming up above the water. The photos cannot do justice to such a wonderful sight.

After the excitement of the dawn we got down to the business of sailing back to Cartagena (once again head to wind) – we knew conditions would be slightly against us and we were surprised to be able to get the sails out and get extra speed from them – we had a relaxing trip back to our home port on motor and made our way through a fair few tankers and container ships as we entered Cartagena. We also got another close pass by from the tourist catamaran Ole! We had had another amazing few days with friends and we are sad to have said goodbye to Poppy, Judith, Rosie and Rosana for probably the last time this summer. Now time to give Gemini J some love and attention before we head off for a longer trip next time.

Motoring away once again

We spent a few days at home before our next little August adventure, enjoying time with the cats and morning walks – one particularly spectacular sunrise.

Before long we were itching to get back to Cartagena and we invited Rosana to join us on a short trip over to Mazarron for a couple of days to get some paddle boarding and relaxing. Having cleaned Gemini J last time after our trip Skipper Nigel was very disappointed (putting it politely) when we arrived to find a full dump of fresh sahara sand had landed on deck. The sky was thick with it too – so, time for another cleaning effort before we could sail onwards.

As we set out we realised the sea state was not quite as calm as expected, however, the swell was in our favour so we were happily being pushed along for the short journey to Mazarron. We got the sails out but needed to motor sail to make good progress. It was great having Rosana on board for sailing this time and we had a lovely journey over. We had phoned ahead to check that there would be a berth for us and were told that whilst they didn’t make reservations there would be no problems – simply radio through to the marinero when we arrived. We duly radioed and indeed phoned as well – only to find they were completely full !! What a nightmare, we had to turn back from the entrance to the marina and were considering our plan B when we heard a boat leaving over the radio…… quick thinking meant I got back on the phone and asked for their berth – the marinero could hardly say no given the fact that we’d heard there was now a place available. Despite being really busy and stressed he agreed to help us and we were mooring up 10 minutes later between two massive motor yachts. Our place was right by the beach and restaurants so we set the boat, got everything secured and headed for a delicious lunch.

It was busy in Mazarron – the beach in particular but the great thing about being aboard is that we have our own space so no need to contend with the crowds. It was still very hazy and the sky seemed full of dust – the temperatures were in the 30’s pretty much the whole time, only cooling down a little late at night through to the early morning. We relaxed after lunch and in the evening Rosana and I went for a walk along the promenade. The next morning I went out on my paddle board (no photos since I haven’t quite mastered it yet and taking a camera would be one step or possibly fall too far). I felt I earned the English Breakfast that we found in a local cafe just a few steps from the boat. We had to move to a different berth (due to the marina being full and a boat coming back into our space that evening) so we circled around the outer harbour for a while just to get a cooling breeze on us before the marinero helped us onto a pontoon berth – much quieter than the first and below the Christ statue I had walked to last time. Rosana and Nigel enjoyed a “pontoon shower” to cool down since the temperatures were rising by this point. In the afternoon Rosana and I took Ben the Kayak out for an adventure – it was brilliant. The first time we have tried it with two paddlers and it worked really well, the speed is certainly much faster with two. Skipper Nigel joined us on the dinghy as our “support crew” for the first little bit before he headed back to Gemini J. We continued on round the headland and found a wonderful pebble beach only accessible from the sea – it was brilliant. We managed to get ashore and had a little swim from the beach before heading back to the marina. That evening we walked around and got ourselves a Mama Mia’s pizza which we enjoyed aboard.

The forecast was for 10-12 knot winds and slight seas the next day when we were due to head back to Cartagena, I went off for a paddle board across the beautifully calm bay first thing. Later, as it turned out once again we found ourselves with stronger conditions than expected with 20 knot winds. We did manage some sailing but as the wind was strong and we needed to be sailing “head to wind” for our course to Cartagena it didn’t last long. We were crashing into the waves which were a little higher than expected but the sea spray was very refreshing so no-one minded too much. We arrived back in port very weather beaten but with big smiles on our faces ready to face the next adventure that August brings us.