We enjoyed a fabulous rest day in Moraira, starting off with a bike ride out into town to find an English breakfast which we tucked into very enthusiastically, you can´t beat a full plate of bacon, sausage, eggs, beans, mushrooms and toast !! We enjoyed our time as neighbours to the Russians aboard Gin Tonic, which started very early in the morning with one of the men inviting me to do “gymnasium” with him as he ran up and down the pontoon and then proceeded to show me how to do squats, right next to our boat (quite the wake up call!!), needless to say, I politely declined. We then watched another one of the party take his easel up onto the breakwater to start painting and he spent all day backwards and forwards working on his art, it was lovely to watch – unfortunately we didn´t get to see the finished work.
Once again after a great rest day it was time to move on. We needed to fuel up so we went straight over to the fuelling dock before we left the marina, classic error, we arrived at “almuerzo” which is the morning snack time so we ended up waiting for 15 minutes til the shop re-opened and we could re-fuel our cannisters before departure!!
Happy days, we were sailing ! Great wind and for once in the right direction.
Seemingly very quickly we arrived at Calpe and had to round the beautiful Peñan de Ifach – it was stunning.
All too soon the conditions picked up a little too much and we decided to make our way in to Marina Greenwich, a new marina for us which we entered in 20 knot winds – almost fun but really a lot of concentration was needed. As usual skipper Nigel got us nicely onto berth (in spite of a less than helpful marinero) and we took in our surroundings. Marina Greenwich is so called because it lies on the meridian line and it is a relatively modern purpose built complex surrounded by apartments, many of which appear to be for sale, it struck us as perhaps a little soul-less. We decided to skip the expensive restaurant near the boat and headed to a pizzeria a little walk away along the dock side. Nigel ordered tropical and basically got a chicken and fruit salad pizza!! It was odd but he enjoyed it. The dessert was amazing, tiramisu, a very good choice made on my behalf by the skipper 😉
The next morning was bright and sunny again and we had a slightly awkward departure because we were actually in quite a tight space, a bit of pushing and pulling and we got ourselves out of the marina and headed towards the headland off Benidorm.
Once again we had good wind and we managed to get ourselves sailing once more 🙂 although quite slowly once again. Eventually we put the motor on to give us a little push round the headland before we sailed again past Benidorm and Villajoyosa and on to El Campello.
The visitor berths in this marina are almost in a corner and can be tricky but Skipper Nigel got us alongside with no issues and we had a relaxing evening aboard watching the sunset and smaller boats coming back into the marina.
We watched a boat be lifted out of the water before our departure the following day, amazing what a fork-lift truck can do as the sun rises!!
Watch this space for the final installment of our trip, coming soon……
All too soon we were on our way back – the sky was amazing as we departed Valencia harbour past another huge cruise ship.
We were heading back to Gandia as it is the most reasonable distance for a day sail from Valencia, I would like to say it was a full day sail but as you know by now that is rarely the case, that day we managed a couple of hours sailing before we had to motor our way to the marina. The weather was stunning and we had trouble keeping ourselves out of the sun all day.
We were on a completely different berth this time at Gandia and it was a much better experience. We were right in the middle of the marina and we could watch the world go by on the promenade. We were both still pretty exhausted after the exertions of the weekend so we decided to make the following day another rest day and explore a bit of Gandia. I had heard that it is a very popular holiday destination for the Spanish and I can see why. The beach is amazing and the sea front part of the town is really very pleasant as well. We didn´t actually venture to the inland old town but I was assured that it is a simply bus journey away so will aim to do that next time we´re here.
In the evening we went to a restaurant which overlooked the beach, it was absolutely fabulous and the perfect end to a lovely day.
All too soon we were on our way again, this time heading from Gandia towards Cabo de la Nou, however, once again we were in wonderful calm beautiful conditions – just not for sailing. After a valiant hour under sail we gave in and headed into Denia for the first time. This is a fairly large harbour with 3 marinas inside it, plus a ferry port and a fishing port. It is the place where most ferries depart for the Balearic islands and we had to study the pilot guide to make sure we knew exactly what we were doing going into the harbour.
Unfortunately we also had to navigate round a partially submerged wreck of a ferry that had run aground on the breakwater a few weeks ago, we had heard navigational warnings on the radio about it but nevertheless it was still quite shocking to see. The ferry was full of people and cars when the incident happened and they all had to be got off safely, which was a successful operation thank goodness. We just saw the hull which would be the last part to be dismantled I guess.
Denia marina is lovely and extremely calm once you´re inside it (which takes a good twenty minutes at least). There was a regatta going on over the weekend too and we had great fun watching the fully crewed regatta boats come onto their berths later that day. Most of them made a few mistakes (no damage done) including one running aground by going the wrong way so we felt much better about our abilities to come into marinas with just the two of us aboard 😉
The next morning was also very calm as we motored out of the harbour.
The great (and quite surprising) thing as we headed towards Cabo de la nou again was that we managed to sail!!! Not very fast but nevertheless we were finally engine free and we had a fabulous few hours sailing towards Moraira. We only ended up putting the engine back on when we had just too many more tacks to make to go round the headland and we were so close we could almost smell the beer!
Amazingly no sooner had we moored up than a familar yacht came alongside ….
We had actually seen this very same charter boat about a year ago when we were sailing round Majorca, obviously with a different crew. This time it was crewed by a group of Russians most of whom seemed to live in Germany who were very friendly. We were obviously laughing with them about the name of the boat given that Skipper Nigel had just poured himself a drink 😉
We watched a wonderful sunset and resolved to stay another day in the lovely port of Moraira.
Where to start with Oktoberfest it’s difficult to find the words to describe it (expect overuse of amazing, wonderful and fabulous in this blog) Our friend Al decided to celebrate his 50th birthday at the iconic Oktoberfest, having always talked about going there, he finally made it and made it in style. The celebration involved friends from all over the world congregating in Munich to enjoy a few days of German hospitality, beer, food and friends (and some outstanding Austrian and Argentinian wines too).
I can’t tell the story without thanking Al and my best friend Jo for their generosity and also friendship over many years. It really struck me during the weekend how many friends and friends of friends we have. There were so many familiar faces and it really was above all a weekend celebrating friendships as much as the birthday of a very special person.
I started the weekend on a lufthansa flight, no service trolly here, no cooked meals or long menu to select (and pay) from, just a delicious cheese sandwich and a beer, very civilised. I thought I would browse the shopping magazine, hermes scarves and rolex watches, not a plastic plane or pack of playing cards to be found….definitely not what I’m used to 😉 Munich airport is quite an experience, when you land it is slightly confusing as it is not segregated between arrivals and departures so you are wandering amongst the shops and bars before you pick up your bag or head for the exit. There was no visible police presence and no passport control on the way out. I headed down to the train station and managed to work out how to buy a ticket and get myself onto the train into central Munich. It was really, really crowded and as it got closer to the centre more and more people got on, some of whom were clearly ready for Oktoberfest fully kitted out in their traditional dress. Once I arrived it was a easy wander through a drizzly Friday afternoon to the hotel and a couple of hours rest before the first time I put on my Dirndl (the traditional Bavarian costume worn at Oktoberfest) …..
I met Jo and Al and some of the gang in the lobby before we headed out to a traditional beer hall. It was quite an experience, lots and lots of people in the street were all dressed up, everyone was in high spirits and everything was extremely good natured. We enjoyed a fabulous evening of beer and food and catching up with old friends.
The following morning we were treated to a wonderful tour of Munich, which is a fascinating place and one which I can highly recommend for a visit (it has a lot more to offer than simply beer!!) We saw the old and the new, and heard the chimes of the fabulous glockenspiel clock (which I think is in the town hall).
We also visited one of the oldest breweries in the town centre and enjoyed a stein of beer before continuing on out of the centre.
This time to BMW world (again, well worth a visit if you’re in the neighbourhood) and the old Olympic park. We enjoyed an amazing lunch at an outdoor beer garden called Hirschgarten (who knew we’d be able to sit outside and enjoy our lunch in the sunshine, I certainly wasn’t expecting that given the weather forecast, what a bonus!!)
All too soon it was time to jump back on the coach and head to the hotel ready to “dirndl-up” as the phrase became, and head out to Oktoberfest. We were guided along by the wonderful Veronika and very soon we reached the Oktoberfest park – I was taken aback. I have not seen such a masssive event or so many people in the same place for a very long time and possibly never, and everyone having a great time.
I borrowed this photo to give you an idea of the scale of things
The site itself is more than just beer, there are traditional fairground rides and games, lots of food stalls selling everything from sweet roasted nuts to candy floss to the traditional gingerbread hearts in many sizes. We worked our way through the crowd, following Veronika’s trusty yellow umbrella to the Schutzenfestzelt beer tent. Once inside our senses were overcome with the experience.
I can’t claim credit for the photo but it’s a cracker and gives you a sense of the occasion
The beer tent was massive (I think holding around 5 thousand people) it had two floors, we were on the ground floor, seated on wooden benches at wooden tables.
The band were playing a fantastic mix of german and international music and once our waiters had introduced themselves we were off – the waiter bringing back about 10 steins of beer at a time. Given that at the start of the weekend I could barely pick up one that is quite something !! They are really heavy and there’s even a technique for “cheers” to be learnt (it’s important given the number of times we raised our glasses to “Prost”)
It was a truly amazing experience, we enjoyed fantastic food, delicious beer and of course soon got into the swing of the need to jump up on the benches in order to dance, sing and make merry. I don’t think Al could have anticipated quite what an experience it would be, everyone dressed up, singing and dancing the evening away, clinking glasses and hugging it was fabulous. I have many blurred photos of the evening, but here are just a few of the clearer ones to try to give you an idea of what it was like.
When I got back to the hotel room that night in place of a pillow chocolate I found a gingerbread – so thoughtful and a lovely end to the evening.
Saturday was Al’s birthday and we went to a modern, classic restaurant called Broeding where Al and Jo had put together a wonderful lunch with the chef and paired it with some very special wines. This really was a special time together for all of us and something that I am sure meant a lot to Al, it was a fabulous way to spend his birthday.
Erik took this great photo
After lunch we went back to spend the evening at Oktoberfest, this time in the Ochsenbraterei tent, the overall size and design being similar to the previous evening but this time were were seated upstairs which gave a really different experience.
The music was as great as the previous evening with the live band playing some absolute classics and once again the beer and food were fantastic. We enjoyed another fabulous evening singing and dancing the night away amongst friends and all too soon it was time to head back to the hotel.
Sunday morning was a very early start for me and I crept out of the room to find the lufthansa coach (which I had somehow not realised the existence of on the way into Munich) – I was at the airport by 7am and on my way back to Valencia tired and extremely happy after a wonderful weekend. I even had brilliant views of the mountains and Spanish coastline on my way back, what an end to the weekend.
The beautiful Mediterranean, ready for us to set sail once more
After arriving to that fantastic sunset in Valencia we had a couple of days to clean the boat and prepare for the next part of our holiday. This involved me travelling to Munich to celebrate Al’s birthday (more on that in a later blog) and Nigel’s friends Paul and Dave arriving for some “serious sailing”. We took the opportunity for a bit of rest too watching all the comings and goings of Valencia marina, and there are indeed many of them!
I also shopped online and had our first (probably not our last) delivery to the boat, once we had helped the driver negotiate the gate system we loaded everything on board.
This was actually a great idea and something that we’ll no doubt do again, it saves carrying the heavy items (bottles of wine, beer, water etc.) and in the case of Valencia marina we were quite a way from the nearest supermarket. We also went out on the bikes for a couple of bike rides, the cycle lane goes all the way round the marina and it is superb. We felt really safe cycling and even beyond the marina complex when I did explore it was all via cycle path, absolutely brilliant.
All too soon our rest and prep days were over, I was heading to the airport for my weekend in Munich and Nigel was left with a day of relaxation (or maybe more cleaning and preparing!)
For the next part of the blog we need to split in two – I think I’ll make a separate account of the celebrations at Oktoberfest, as for now I’ll continue with the adventures of Gemini J.
Obviously I was not there so I don’t really know exactly what went on when Nigel, Paul and Dave were aboard, and there is certainly a small element of “what goes on aboard in Valencia stays in Valencia” I think. However, I do know that the boys had a fabulous time. They found a brilliant steak restaurant with terrible service, they got to know the cook at the little bar on the edge of our pontoon (so much so she rushed up to hug them on day 3 when I was back). They also went sailing, and enjoyed great winds off Valencia, having decided to stay in the marina thanks to the amazing mooring where we had the boat. Paul and Dave went off exploring the city one day too – and seemed to love it as much as we do. Dave took to sailing like a duck to water, and the three amigos (also known as the SOGS sad old gits) hope to repeat their adventures soon.
Now, I was a little vague about my arrival time on Sunday afternoon, and actually the trip from the airport to the marina on the metro took way less time than I had anticipated, so I arrived back early. I tried to phone Skipper Nigel but as most of you know, he hates phones and needless to say his phone wasn’t on. This meant I made my way to marina office, took a shower, left my bags with them and went off for a wander along the breakwater. I quickly saw Gemini J out at sea, full sails, so I watched them come in……
They were very, very suprised to see me on the breakwater, and it was fun watching them come into the marina, I then headed across the water on the water taxi and joined them.
The afternoon was brilliant fun, full of sarcasm and laughter and the odd beer or two. We booked into an Argentinian steakhouse, strangely named Gordon 10 (by this time I had come to realise how much those boys love steak). It turned out to warrant the google rating of 4.6 and we enjoyed amazing argentinian steaks and red wine before walking round the corner for Paul’s first mojito !!
The next day we decided to do something a bit different, Paul, Dave and I went over to the other side of the marina by water taxi then had a fabulous walk around the marina complex and breakwater and looked out over the beach.
We found a good looking restaurant for the evening and eventually headed back to Gemini J. During the afternoon, we enjoyed a few trips out on the dinghy before getting ready to go out for a birthday celebration meal for the boys.
It couldn’t have been more amazing, we enjoyed Dave’s first paella, whilst Paul plumped for steak (and again, another wonderful steak).
The desserts were amazing too, with gold on mine! We were treated to a wonderful bottle of wine too and it was a brilliant evening, many thanks go to Paul and Dave for taking us out.
For the last day of the trip we decided to do something completely different and for the first time in my life I went on a jetski!! It was stunning and something I hadn’t anticipated being such fun.
The videos from my camera will have to follow but for now here are the ones which were taken by our guide, who turned out to be none other than Kike Soriano, the Spanish flyboard champion !! He was certainly pretty speedy on a jetski!
No sooner than we had finished jetskiing, we were off for a final lunch, we chose the beach club and enjoyed a really good menu del dia before we had to say goodbye to “the boys” hoping that they will be back very soon. Tune in next time for Oktoberfest 2019.
This post takes us back to Tuesday 17th September when we set sail (or rather started the motor) on Gemini J for our September / October 2019 trip. This time our destination was to be Valencia and we were fairly late starting out after the dreadful Gota Fria storms that hit our coastline in the run up to our departure. Indeed we had been hoping to set off a few days earlier but were held back by the weather, even at our house the storms raged for a 48 hour period.
The day of our departure was a twin cruise ship day so we had the fun of watching them arrive and then motoring out past them, always an impressive sight!
Day 1 we headed back to our old marina in San Pedro del Pinatar and had a calm night in Marina de las Salinas, we hadn’t really seen much evidence of the storm during the day but as we approached the port the water was a very vibrant green, a colour I have never seen before.
Isla Grosa in the background
Day 2
We watched a lovely sunrise as we prepared to head along a familiar stretch of coastline once again towards Santa Pola although the sea was extremely calm (most definitely the calm after the storm) and unfortunately we had to navigate our way through storm debris. Very sadly we came across many of the tuna fish which had suffered when their fish farm broke during the storm. It was honestly the most awful thing we’ve seen since sailing, luckily it was only in a very small area of the sea and we know the beaches were closed. We also hope that many more of the thousands of fish affected survived and are now swimming free somewhere in the mediterranean. Reading the press afterwards we read that some 9.000 tuna had suffered when their fish farm was tumbled around like a washing machine before it broke and realeased them all, a stress that a tuna fish would struggle to survive. After that unpleasant start we continued our way on, managing about half an hour sailing without the motor during the early afternoon which was nice. We moored up in the very familiar Santa Pola and prepared our evening meal whilst watching the sunset.
The calm after the storm
Day 3 was again familiar to us, this time we headed for Villajoyiosa although it was the first time we had approached from this direction, going past all the beautiful, colourful houses of the older part of the town. We really should come back and visit by car sometime and see a bit more of the place. The marina here is really nice and quiet, very calm and safe and we had a very relaxing evening.
On Day 4 we weren’t sure of our destination this day, we started out in amazing conditions, sailing away from Villajoyiosa with great winds and sea.
Benidorm came into view very quickly and just as quickly the conditions changed, calm seas became choppy and the wind jumped up from a nice 10 knots to 24 plus, which would have been fabulous if it had been with us. Regular readers of this blog will realise that this is rarely the case and of course it was against us. We weren’t particularly worried at that stage, we knew we just had to get round the headland past Benidorm and we should be able to sail again. We ploughed on the next three miles, got round the headland, as the wind changed direction again and our hopes were not to be met, no sailing for us that day! We continued on in challenging conditions with a couple of meters swell and decided to stop at Calpe. The rock is stunning, the marina less so, it has V shaped mooring lines which are a bit of a nightmare to put onto our boat, and we were in a space designed for larger boats too. It was a bit of a stressful end to a rather stressful day, we ate aboard and determined to head off early in the morning.
Day 5 came and the conditions were calmer, we refuelled at the fuelling dock in Calpe just by the fishing boats then headed round the famous rock.
This was also the day that we took Gemini J further north than we had ever been on her. That was when we rounded Cabo de la Nao, we also got to try a new marina for us when we went to Javea. The final part of the journey was across the bay in front of the town of Javea and then we had to navigate a windsurfing competition before we could enter the marina. Those guys really do get up some speed when they are competing! It was a fairly short day and we managed to moor up before we had a lovely lunch at the club nautico restaurant in Javea. We had a really relaxing afternoon and definitely recharged our batteries before the next leg of our journey up to Valencia.
Day 6 was another calm day and we set off for Gandia, only one more stop away from Valencia.
The headland which shelters the town of Javea is quite simply stunning and photos don’t do it justice. After the beauty of the rocky outcrops between Javea and Denia we then came to a really quite flat area of coastline, much more so than we are used to on the costa blanca.
Now we found ourselves on the Costa de Azahar, famous for it’s orange groves, some of which we could see from the boat. Visibility was excellent and Valencia came into view early afternoon however it seemed like a very long time before we managed to round the massive breakwater and moor up on the visitors quay in order to do our paperwork before being shown our mooring. Valencia marina is amazing and we were rewarded with a truly wonderful sunset on our first night on pontoon F (which would become our home for the next 8 days but more on that to follow…..)
The conditions were even calmer than the day before for our “sail” back into Cartagena. We enjoyed the sunrise over breakfast and then cast off for hopefully the last time this trip.
We motored out past the stunning Aguilas coastline, picking our way through the fishing boats of all shapes and sizes, including a chap who seemed to have rowed out in an old rowing boat for his daily catch.
We headed out into the gulf of Mazarron and picked up enough wind to put out the mainsail which made it a much more pleasant motor sail towards cabo Tiñoso.
As we approached the familiar coastline just off Cartagena we came upon lots of tankers and big ships on anchor. This is where they seem to wait for loading/unloading in the port but this was the first time we´d seen so many. It made the end of the journey quite interesting and we found ourself picking our way through them to head for home.
Skipper Nigel even did some crew work as we approached the harbour since all our fenders needed adjusting for our pontoon berth.
We arrived back in Cartagena mid-afternoon and enjoyed a cold beer (or two) to celebrate the end of our journey, we even ordered a pizza to be delivered for our last night aboard.
The next morning, during the stunning sunrise, Skipper Nigel cleaned the boat down and we packed everything up before driving home to find two very vocal cats – who were very happy to see us home!
We had an amazing trip and are already making plans for another adventure in September all being well. For now we´re packing our bags again ready for a quick trip back to the UK which we´re really looking forward too (although possibly not the cloudy, rainy weather ;-))
It was time to say “hasta luego” to San José. We were up early and Tines and I took an early morning walk back past the restaurant from the day before and along the beautiful beach.
We slipped out quietly, not wanting to disturb our neighbors aboard their Moody. Sarah, Wessel and Luca the dog who had sailed all the way from Cartagena the day before and were pretty tired when they docked. We shared a couple of beers the evening before along with fishing tales. Wessel had fantastic photos to go with his story of catching tuna and golden dorada off Madeira – it made our fishing story seem quite tame 😉
The conditions as we departed were very calm with stunning scenery.
We found ourselves motoring headland to headland as it was a hop along the coast for us heading to either Garrucha or Águilas depending on the conditions.
We reached Carboneras and once again we’re admiring the beach which looks almost deserted and absolutely stunning….but right next to the industrial port.
We then headed back past the Hotel Ilegal and towards Mojácar.
We decided that although there wasn’t enough wind for sailing that we would continue to motor sail onwards to Águilas, another 27 nautical miles away and an evening arrival. We were overtaken by a speedy Danish yacht not under sail like ourselves.
Everything went well, we even took turns at the helm and had siestas.
Only in the last 2 nautical miles did we get a bit of excitement. Someone dropped their lovely stainless steel “sippy cup” overboard !!
“Oh dear” (or something similar) “quick, grab the boathook” COB – cup overboard!
It was brilliant practice for MOB (man overboard) so we gamely went back to retrieve the cup. We did it on the third attempt (it was a bit like hook a duck, I had it both times before but it just dropped off the hook!!) Not bad for an object that has a very small handle and a very smooth shiny surface.
Now clearly we might not have done this in rougher seas, but is was an extremely good drill that we should do every now and again anyway. So from an accidental slip/drop came a positive MOB practise – plus we still have 2 cups to use !!
We entered the port and were to told to wait at the waiting quay – which we moored up to unaided only to be immediately told to move again onto our berth. It was a bit of a pain after quite a long day to be honest and the marinero was not the most helpful to say the least. Puerto de Juan Montiel in Aguilas really is like a ghost marina, once again we were alone in our mooring with no boats next to us or even anywhere else on the pontoon. It seemed like we were the only people aboard a boat that evening and certainly the only visiting yacht! A strange feeling, but since there was almost zero swell we slept very soundly that night!
We were up early, waving off Costa Blanca Sailing at first light. With a full compliment of crew and a larger yacht than ours, they were well placed to be heading off directly to Cartagena.
We had a plan to go to Garrucha, the weather forecast had us heading into wind but we thought we’d give it a go. We set out from the marina in calm conditions but quickly found the swell a bit stronger than we wanted. It very quickly became clear that whilst we could go to Garrucha – it would be a complete slog against the conditions and not particularly enjoyable.
Skipper Nigel made the call and for the first time this trip we headed back into the marina. It took a fair bit of concentration to do all the prep for mooring up so quickly after we’d left.
We were back on berth before 9am and making arrangements for friends (who we should have been meeting in Garrucha) to come for lunch.
After an hour or so of relaxing aboard the wind really started to pick up and we were extremely relieved that we had decided to stay in port for the day. It was definitely the right decision.
Naomi, Ron plus their beautiful dogs Omar and Shamal arrived to visit us at lunchtime. It was lovely to see them all and we took the short walk around the marina for a fabulous fish and seafood lunch.
The food was amazing and the company was fabulous. We really enjoyed ourselves and I felt it was very fortuitous that we hadn’t been able to sail !! The main course was a delicious mix of prawns (various varieties), mussels, clams, squid and different fish. Skipper Nigel and I even managed to eat some fish, which we thought we might not be able to do after our fish-gate incident a couple of weeks ago 😉
The desserts were also stunning.
After which we of course had to take the three dogs for a walk which was lovely and they got on really well.
All too soon we were saying goodbye after a wonderful day which it hopefully won’t be too long before we repeat.
We had another enforced rest day with more weather warnings meaning we couldn’t leave Almerimar as planned.
Since it had kindly rained (the first time this trip) overnight the boat was fairly clean so Skipper Nigel spent the morning doing some more detailed cleaning on the instrument panel.
We went out for both breakfast and lunch at a lovely place called Muelle Trece and we generally relaxed aboard before what we hope will be a final re-supply before we’re back in Cartagena in a few days time.
The next day started early, Tines and I went out walking as usual only this being Saturday we came across the unusual phenomenon which I called “nighthawks v early birds”. In this case it was over 100 nighthawks just leaving “Macarena” disco on the beachfront. By nighthawks I mean young people, all dressed to the nines after a night out. I assume it was probably their school prom. They were well behaved and not that noisy but it is such an odd phenomenon seeing them wandering about the place outnumbering the joggers and dog walkers we usually see at 6:45am. We saw it in San Antonio in Ibiza too and it is just odd to see them finishing their night as we are starting our day.
We departed early having no problems getting out of our berth other than once again freeing our very tight lines after the gales of the previous day.
We headed out of the marina and into very swelly seas. We had anticipated a bit of this and Tines was quickly dispatched down below. We pressed on, knowing that once we got out into the gulf of Almería the conditions would be more in our favour with the swell behind us rather than across. Before too long the swell was pushing us along greatly helping our progress.
The weather was quite hazy but as Cabo de Gata rose out through the mist we knew the hard part of the day (crossing the gulf) was done – or was it ?? No sooner had we taken a couple of photos than the current really picked up along with gusty winds.
We were literally blown into the port of San José (luckily we knew the way 😉
Skipper Nigel jumped off to start re-setting the boat – only for us to discover in the process that involved moving the boat backwards in order to pick up the “lazy line” (AKA slime line or dirty line) which secures the stern. It was only after a few minutes of me running backwards and forwards on the boat re-setting the lines I realised how crafty the Skipper had been, I was sweaty and exhausted whilst he “supervised” making sure the boat was properly set!! Good skippering methinks 😉
No sooner were we set than we saw the mast if another yacht arriving behind the breakwater. As it came into view I started laughing, here was Costa Blanca Sailing and Walter who we had seen in Ceuta !! They were berthed right next door and we managed to have a nice chat before they headed off to dinner. What a coincidence again !!
Another lovely couple of days and now we have rounded cabo de gata we know we’re homeward bound.
We had our first enforced rest days of the trip thanks to a weather warning for high winds and waves.
After arriving in Motril in increasing conditions we flaked out. We had a relaxing afternoon after our delicious lunch.
We thought we’d catch up on some sleep after late nights at the weekend and see what the weather brought the next day.
The weather had other ideas – at 1am Skipper Nigel and I were up on deck (one of us was starkers and it wasn’t me 😉 ) We were resetting our lines and fenders and fighting with gale force winds. The boat was really getting thrown around because the wind had changed direction and we weren’t so protected by the harbour breakwater. Roll on a sleepless night – quite literally !
Luckily/unluckily for us (depending on your viewpoint) we could not set sail the next day. There was a coastal weather warning from midday and wow! the wind really picked up.
We spent the day cleaning and cat napping, and watching the activity in port.
This really is a nice little place to spend a day, we had another delicious lunch at the club náutico.
We were constantly reviewing the weather and it became obvious that we would need to spend Wednesday in Motril too. Cue a day of re-supplying and an oil change for the boat.
This “half an hour or so” job took more like 2 hours with lots of lively language and half a used kitchen roll before the job was done. We also refuelled so we were ready to go the next day.
We awoke with trepidation about the conditions but it was calm. Over breakfast we watched the marineros at work using a crane to put yachts back in the water after having work done, then getting them back to berth.
We carefully took off all our lines ready to depart – not an easy job since we found the wild weather had tightened them around the cleats significantly. We departed the port, happy to be in our way. We went past the Clara Campoamor which is a rescue ship usually moored in Cartagena. It followed us out of port and quickly overtook us.
Perhaps it was on its way to look for more inflatable boats that were crossing from Morocco, once again we spent the day listening to alerts for “migrant boats underway or adrift”.
We found calm seas and we headed for Almerimar – motor sailing all the way.
We were happy to arrive after quite a long day and we celebrated Skipper Nigel’s (non)birthday with a steak aboard in the evening.
The Adventures of Gemini J 