Thailand

Wat Arun, Bangkok

MONDAY 8 - SATURDAY 13 DECEMBER 2008

On the way to Australia to visit our son and his wife, we stopped in Thailand for a week staying in Pattaya for three nights in order to go diving with the excellent diving centre, Mermaid Dive School.

We then spent three nights in Bangkok, visiting some of the beautiful temples there, travelling by water taxi and sky train. The Grand Palace was amazing, with several temples and the Emerald Buddha. We also visited the immense Gold Reclining Buddha, which is 46 metres long and 15 metres high. The Calypso Caberet with the Ladyboys was interesting! On the last night we had dinner at the impressive Breeze restaurant on the 52nd floor of the State Tower. The entrance to the restaurant is over a lit glass walkway with stunning views of Bangkok.

Wat Phra Kaew Temple - Temple of the Emerald Buddha

Selling brushes

The Dor-Shada Resort, Pattaya

Visit from Junko

Junko on Susannah

WEDNESDAY 19 - FRIDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2008

We met Junko, who is Japanese, in Seville last year in our Spanish classes and we became good friends. She has returned to Spain to continue improving her Spanish and came to stay with us for a couple of nights on her way to Malaga. It was quite a test for our Spanish as she doesn't speak much English, but we managed.

Visit from Diane and Graham

Parque de la Mata

SATURDAY 25 - THURSDAY 30 OCTOBER 2008

Our friends, Diane and Graham, came out to stay with us for a week. Unfortunately, the weather was not at its best with very strong winds and some rain - even a tornado! We had hoped to go down to the Mar Menor for a couple of days, but only managed a sail one morning. However, as Diane and Graham had hired a car, it gave us the opportunity to explore some of the hinter land.

Spanish coast to Torrevieja

Roger and I doing a wreck dive

SUNDAY 5 - SATURDAY 25 OCTOBER 2008

After leaving the Balearics we took a few days to sail down the Spanish coast to Torrevieja, where we were lucky enough to secure a berth for the winter in the beautiful yacht club

There are 3 Marinas in Torrevieja, one of which only opened in June 2007 and has loads of space. The yacht club does excellent 9 euro 3 course Menu del Dias, including a bottle of wine. There are also quite a few restaurants in the town that do cheap Menus del Dia, so we eat out nearly every day at lunch time.

We spent a few days in the Mar Menor, where we completed our Advanced Open Water Diving course with Mervyn.

Formentera, Ballearics to mainland Spain

SUNDAY 5 OCTOBER 2008

An ominous sky but superb sunrise

We set off just before dawn for the long sail back to the Spanish mainland.  It looked like a storm war brewing and we considered turning back.  However, we had a fairly uneventful sail - thank goodness!

San Antonio, Ibiza to Islas de Espalmador and Formentera - 25 Miles

Our anchorage at Isla Espalmador

MONDAY 29 SEPTEMBER 2008- SATURDAY 4 OCTOBER

We finally managed to leave San Antonio and sailed the 25 miles to the anchorage at Isla Espalmador, just off Isla de Formentera, and picked up one of the free mooring buoys. It is a stunning setting with beautiful turquoise waters and sandy beaches. The next day we walked about 3 miles into the nearest town of La Savina, and decided to do a dive with the local dive school. After lunch, we went in their rib to a dive site called ‘Los Arcos’, as the dive involves swimming through two arches. Once again, the water was crystal clear. However, by the time we finished the 50 minute dive about 6 p.m., we were all feeling quite cold! Roger and I then had to walk back to the dinghy and it was dark by the time we were negotiating ourselves through rocky reefs to our boat.



We decided to take it easy on Wednesday and went for a walk on Isla Espalmador where we saw the unique Ibizan Wall lizards. We dinghied over to Formentera and walked about 15 minutes to a very expensive restaurant for lunch – no cheap beach cafes here! We spent the afternoon on the beach, and joined another British couple of their motor boat in the evening. The wind had picked up and the boats were starting to roll.

We had planned to go in to the Marina at La Savina on Thursday in order to do another dive using our own equipment, but it was so windy we decided not to do the dive and caught the bus to the capital St. Francesc. We stayed in the Marina for three nights because of the strong winds.

Marina at La Savina: 81 euros (3 nights), 1.50 euros for showers, no WiFi

Formentera

 

Es Vedra was 'Bali Hai' in the film 'South Pacific'

Santa Ponsa, Mallorca - Portinatx, Ibiza - San Antonio, Ibiza

Welsh Pub in San Antonio

SUNDAY 21 - SUNDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 2008

We managed to sail nearly the whole 52 miles to Portinatx in Ibiza but three miles off someone switched the wind off! We went from 5 knots to 0.5 knots. Portinatx is in a lovely bay but has been ruined by very tacky hotels, apartments and bucket and spade shops.

The next day we sailed to San Antonio and as the forecast is not good decided to wait for an improvement before heading off to Formentera. This is the most rain we have seen since April! San Antonio is one of the main tourist developments in Ibiza and a centre for clubbing in Europe. We found a Welsh Pub, and the Barman comes from the Rhondda but doesn’t speak Welsh. Despite being in the heart of Clubland we have not been disturbed at night by loud music.


San Antonio Port Authority: 94.63 (7 nights) The Port Authority Marina seem to be able to operate the computer so it is possible to only pay for water and electricity if they are used!

Isla de Cabrera to Santa Ponsa, Mallorca - 30 Miles

Puerto de Cabrera

FRIDAY 19 - SATURDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2008

We planned to visit the Island of Cabrera, which is a National Maritime and Terrestrial Park, for a couple of nights, and practice diving. There are 10 islands in all in this archipelago and have several species of fauna and flora that are unique, in particular the Balearic lizard. There are 10 different sub species on the 10 islands. 

Yachts are not allowed to anchor and have to use one of the 50 buoys. Permits have to be applied for between 3 and 20 days in advance through the office in Palma, giving detailed information on the boat, skipper and crew. Some Marinas will fax the details through and we asked the Marina at Cala Rajada to do this requesting a 3 night stay. The Marina official handed us a piece of paper with the dates we wanted to stay and OK alongside it, and he assured us our visit had been approved.

We sailed most of the way under a cloudy sky and picked up one of the buoys in the beautiful harbour, but in the evening when the warden came to check on the permits, we were told we were not on his list and did not have a permit! We showed him our piece of paper, but all this meant was that the fax had been received! As there were some free buoys, we were allowed to stay the night. 

The next day we went to the Island Office and were told we would not be able to dive without a permit and if all the buoys were occupied we would be asked to leave in the evening! We decided not to risk being asked to leave the island at 7. p.m. so after a quick walk to the castle where we saw several lizards, and a coffee at the Cantina, we left about 1.30 p.m. to sail the 30 miles to Santa Ponsa in Mallorca.

Puerto de Pollensa - Portocolom, Mallorca

MONDAY 15 - THURSDAY 18 SEPTEMBER 2008

Sometimes, it is very difficult finding out how systems work in the Balearics. We have been here now for about 10 weeks and are still being told different things by officials.

We sailed to Cala Rajada on the East coast of Mallorca and rafted on the Port Authority wall. We had hoped this would be cheap as we had been told that low season is from 15 September. However, apparently it starts from midnight. The costs are escalated by fairly high prices for water and electricity (4.99 euros each). We explained we didn’t need either (in fact, being in a raft, it wasn’t possible) but were told we still had to pay for them as the computer could not deduct them! Cala Rajada is much more like a German resort than a Spanish one. All the menus were in German and we heard far more German being spoken than any other language. What was more surprising, was that nearly all the boats, many of them chartered, were also full of Germans.

The next day we left about 8.30 a.m. as two boats on the inside of the raft were leaving early, and headed for Portocolom. We booked in for two nights and said we didn’t need water. Again, we were told it was not possible to deduct the water, but we were only charged the water and electricity price for one night. We needed to stay another night, but were then charged for water and electricity again. If we’d paid for the three nights at the beginning, we were told we would still only be charged for one night’s consumption!

We caught the bus to Palma where I bought a camera to replace the one that had been drowned, and we had lunch at the excellent restaurant by the Marina – our third visit!

Cala Rajada Port Authority: 31.79 euros – rafted, not possible to access water and electricity

Portocolom Port Authority: 22.90 (2 nights), 15.63 (1 night), cold showers

Puerto de Pollensa, Mallorca

FRIDAY 13 - SUNDAY 14 SEPTEMBER

The bad weather started about 6 a.m. with thunder, lightening, wind and heavy rain and continued most of the day so we stayed on the buoy. On Saturday we went to get diesel and the Marinero said we could leave the boat for half an hour to change our gas bottle. We chatted to the owner of a 34 ft ketch rigged Colvic Countess called Mandurah and he told us the Port Authority berths are quite cheap, so we decided to stay for a couple of nights as the forecast was for a Force 7 by the evening. The Port Authority berths are much cheaper than the Marinas but still reasonably expensive in high season. However winter prices start from Monday 15th September which will be about 12 euros for our boat.

Port Authority Berth: 66.76 euros (2 nights) including water & electricity. Free showers but cold.

Fornells, Menorca to Puerto Pollensa

Fornells

TUESDAY 2 - THURSDAY 11 SEPTEMBER

Fornells is one of the best places in Menorca to leave the boat safely on a buoy as it is a very sheltered inlet with a good bus service. We decided to spend a few days here in order to visit places on the island, but ended up staying longer than we intended. We repeated the Peak Performance Buoyancy Control Adventure Dive with the local dive school, and this time the tuition was excellent. We dived in a very sheltered bay near Cabo Fornells where there is some wonderful under water rock formation and our instructor took us through a narrow tunnel and cave. He showed us the hiding place of a very large octopus and a moray eel. Roger also saw a Stingray.

We visited Mahon by bus one day and another day went to Es Mercadal, where we managed to buy a generator to boost our electricity supplies. We walked the 3 kilometers to the top of Monte del Toro, the highest point on Menorca.

Our intention was to leave on the Sunday, but when we woke in the morning the wind was too strong and the forecast was not good until the following Wednesday. There are some excellent very reasonably priced restaurants in Fornells, and after one evening meal Roger had the throttle on the dinghy too high when trying to turn the dinghy around, and we hit a small motor boat, which sent my bag flying, managing to drown my camera and two mobile phones, one of which was fairly new and expensive!

On Wednesday we got up early to sail the 50 miles to Mallorca but as we let go of the buoy, the engine died when Roger put the engine into gear. We managed to get back on the buoy which was not easy as there was quite a strong wind. We managed to lasso the buoy but could not get the rope through the eye from the boat, so I went into the water so Roger could pass me the rope. When Roger was putting the dinghy in the water, he let go of the painter and the dinghy was being blown away, so Roger had to jump in and swim for the dinghy. By now we had both had involuntary swims and it was feeling like a very bad day at the office! We went ashore to call an engineer, who came quite quickly. He altered the linkage on the gear lever, and everything seemed OK, but it was now too late to set off on such a long journey.

The next day we got up early again, let go of the buoy and the same thing happened! We were beginning to feel like we were in the film ‘Groundhog Day’. We called the engineer again, and he eventually discovered that as we increased the revs with the throttle, the cable was being pulled tight which was putting pressure on the cable from the pull lever stop switch and stopping the engine. Both cables are next to each other in my ‘linen’ cupboard and after we had done the laundry I had squeeze the sheets back into the cupboard and put pressure on the cables! We checked the weather and realized if we didn’t go straight away we would be stuck for a few more days, so we left about 2 p.m. We motor-sailed the 50 miles to Mallorca, at one time accompanied by a yellow wagtail who landed on our boat several times mid ocean for a rest. We arrived in Puerto de Pollensa about 11.30 p.m. where we picked up a buoy in the dark.

Fornells: Free buoys, shower 3 euros at Hostel La Palma, no WiFi, 2 Internet Cafes.

Isla de Aires to Es Grao - 8 Miles and 6 Miles to Cala Adaya, Menorca

Sunset on Isla de Aires

Albufera

FRIDAY 29 - SUNDAY 31 AUGUST 2008

The anchorage at Isla de Aires was very calm and we commented that the boat didn’t seem to move at all. However, when we tried to pull the anchor up we realised we were slightly aground!

We sailed to Es Grao, where there was plenty of room to anchor and good holding in sand. Es Grao is a lovely white village with a couple of bars and restaurants huddled around a beautiful wide bay with several small beaches and clear turquoise water.

Just behind the beach is the Albufera Natural Park, where we saw moorhens, a great crested grebe, egrets and mallard.

The wind generator has been getting noisy so Roger took it apart. It will need some new parts, and because we are not stationery long enough to have them sent to us at the moment, we’ll probably have to wait until the autumn. This will cause problems as the two solar panels will not be able to keep up with the fridge and our other electrical needs.

On Sunday, we motored the 6 miles to Cala de Addaya, which is a in a narrow estuary and although the bottom was weed, the anchor managed to hold first time. All the other boats were on buoys and although a man on another boat said we could use one of the buoys as the owners were away, we decided to stay on anchor.

Cala Trebeluja to Isla de Aires, Menorca - 16 Miles

Roger to the rescue!

THURSDAY 28 AUGUST 2008

RESCUING ANOTHER BOAT

We set off for Cala Binibeca but when we arrived there wasn’t enough space to anchor as there were so many mooring bouys. The oil pressure gauge was off the scale on high. After about 4 miles it seemed to come down to a more normal level. The rev counter is still playing up occasionally. 

We carried on to anchor off Isla de Aires, on the south eastern tip of Menorca. After lunch we swam to check the anchor, as the holding is not very good, being mostly rock. The anchor was not dug in and the boat was lying over rocks covered in thick weed and as the boat moved, the depth under the keel ranged from 2 cm to 1 meter. We felt it was safe enough for now, but would re-anchor later when it was less crowded. We went ashore on the island and saw rabbits and lots of the unique black lizard (Lacerta lilfordi) which we fed with tomato. 

A motor boat next to us could not get their anchor up, even though there were people in the water with snorkels trying to direct them. In the end Roger went in using our scuba equipment and managed to free them. Their chain had got wrapped around rocks in two places, and it would have been impossible to free without a diver. As the weather was very settled, we decided not to reset our anchor in case we had the same problem!

Ciutadella to Cala Trebuluja, Menorca - 16 Miles

MONDAY 25 - WEDNESDAY 27 AUGUST 2008

After untangling our rudder from the lazy lines of a couple of French boats we sailed to Cala Trebeluja, which is a lovely bay, and although crowded, we managed to anchor without any problems. In the evening, there were only two other boats in the anchorage.


The next day we took the dinghy over the sandbar and paddled up a lovely stream to find a shady place to spend the day.

River at Cala Trebeluja

Puerto de Pollensa, Mallorca to Ciutadella, Menorca - 35 Miles

Ciutadella, Menorca

FRIDAY 22 - SUNDAY 24 AUGUST 2008

We set off for Ciutadella on the west coast of Menorca, motoring in a flat sea and after a few miles the rev counter started fluctuating wildly, then settled on 0! About 14 miles from Menorca, there was an ‘All Ships’ security message to say that an 0.8 metre Resaca, which causes a rise and fall in the sea level, was heading for Ciutadella and the port would be closed from 10.00 p.m. We decided to press on until we heard another ‘All Ships’ that there was a 2 meter wave between Barcelona and the Balearics, which can cause a large wave in the narrow port of Ciutadella. At that point we decided to turn around and head back to Puerto de Pollensa – 45 miles of motoring and ended back where we started!

As the weather was not good on the Saturday we set off on Sunday once again for Ciutadella and went into the Marina, as there are not any anchorages convenient to visit the beautiful old town. Ciutadella was the capital of Menorca for a couple of thousand years until the British took over and moved the capital to Mahon in 1722. It has faced many raids during its long history, including one by the Turks in 1558 where they took 3,000 captives to the slave markets of Istanbul. The Pope organized money to be raised and a doctor from Menorca went to Istanbul and bought the slaves back.

CIUTADELLA MARINA: 40 euros including water, no electric, showers 2 euros, internet, but not free, washing machine 13 euros, wash and dry 20 euros,

Soller to Puerto de Pollensa, Mallorca - 35 Miles

Alison and I

THURSDAY 14 - THURSDAY 21 AUGUST 2008

We decided to head for Puerto de Pollensa although the sea was going to be rather lumpy after yesterday’s winds, as strong winds are forecast again from midnight tonight. We made slow progress against the wind and waves but arrived in Puerto de Pollensa about 5 p.m. and were delighted to see there were vacant buoys we could pick up instead of anchoring.

During the night there was fork lightning, thunder and then heavy rain and wind about 6 a.m. The wind was very strong the next day, gusting up to 40 knots, so we stayed on board until about 5 p.m. when we took the dinghy ashore to the Hotel Illa d'Or and met up with Alison, a friend from Swansea, and her family and friends, all from Swansea. We went back to her sister and brother-in-law’s beautiful villa which overlooks the bay.

We stayed in Puerto de Pollensa for a few days and signed up for two Adventure Dives, buoyancy control and multi-level with Scuba Mallorca. On the first dive, the instructor had problems clearing her ears and indicated we should follow another group. The dive was then aborted after 16 minutes because one of the people was choking. On the second dive, the instructor had five people to look after and did not give any real instruction. We certainly didn’t feel we could qualify for the Adventure Dives, so the school only charged us for one normal dive.

Soller in a Force 6

WEDNESDAY 13 AUGUST 2008

The wind was gusting quite strong from about 2.30 a.m. and the boat was rolling quite badly. The wind increased and waves were starting to roll in through the entrance. About 11.30 a.m. a Marinero suggested we moved further into the anchorage as the wind was due to increase to 25 – 30 knots. We managed to find a space and for once the anchor set straight away. 

Despite the strong winds a small local boat carried on regardless fishing between boats trying to reset their anchors and the ferry still took people out on ‘pleasure’ trips. A yacht called Arctic Fox had caught the chain of another yacht with its anchor and was dragging it along with it! The Marineros were excellent and helped them sort the problem out and checked everyone was safe.

Arctic Fox dragging another boat with it!

Soller

Soller

TUESDAY 12 AUGUST 2008

Jessica, Gill and Jenny left in a taxi at 7.30 a.m. and after tidying the boat we had breakfast ashore. Strong winds are forecast, so we enquired about marina prices at the other marina, and because it is run by the government it is cheaper – about 34 euros, but they were full. They told us the government marinas all charge the same price but you have to book at least three days in advance on the internet. I tried booking on line for Port de Polensa but although there is an English option, it was only in Catalan. After an hour of trying, I asked the woman in the office to ring and was told it was booked as next weekend is a bank holiday.




We went to anchor about 2.30 p.m. and it took nearly two hours because the anchorage was so crowded and the anchor didn’t set to start with. In the end we had to anchor half way between the entrance and the other boats in 12 meters, which was not very protected. The anchoring technique of some of the others seems to be to drop the anchor and chain as fast as possible, sometimes still going forward, and then go for a swim. They don’t seem to check that the anchor is dug in or take bearings.

Cala de la Calobra to Soller, Mallorca

Cala de la Calobra

SUNDAY 10  - MONDAY 11 AUGUST 2008

We motored to Cala de la Calobra (Torrente de Pareis) which was packed with day trippers. We swam ashore and walked along the river bed, where there is a lagoon and we spotted an eel. In the evening, when most people had left, we swam ashore and walked through the tunnels to the next bay, where we had very large gin and tonics. We had a BBQ with some of the bream we had caught in my prawn pot and played Swansea Monopoly.

The next day I realized I had left my new mask at the café, so we left the girls cleaning the outside of the boat and went back to the café, but they said it wasn’t there. We sailed at about 2 knots with the cruising chute back to the Marina at Soller. This is the first marina we have been in since leaving mainland Spain. Roger made use of the water supplies and did the washing and the girls and I cleaned the decks and tidied the boat before going out for a farewell meal.

Marina: 72 euros, WiFi, good showers

Cala Basset to Soller, Mallorca

THURSDAY 7 - SATURDAY 9 AUGUST 2008

We motor-sailed into the wind to Soller and had quite a rolly night at anchor, so we put the flopper stopper out the next day. We caught the tram (4 euros) to Soller and then the wooden train (10 euros) to Palma. After some retail therapy for Jessica and a long lunch by the Marina we caught the bus back to Soller – slightly cheaper at 2.85 euros!

Saturday was spent being holiday makers on the beach and swimming trying to avoid the jelly fish. I swam back to the boat later and got stung twice.

Punta Negra to Santa Ponsa to Cala Basset, Mallorca

Visit from Jess, Jenny & Gill - Punta Negra

Jessica and the Jelly Fish

MONDAY 4 - WEDNESDAY 6 AUGUST 2008

We collected Gill, Jessica and her friend Jenny in the dinghy at Punta Negra, which is an excellent spot to collect people, as there is a small pontoon close by. The next day we did a three hour motor-sail to Santa Ponsa.

On Wednesday we filled up with diesel (1.29 euros per litre - 93 euros) and enquired about marina prices. It would cost about 76 euros a night for our boat. We motored to San Telmo, but the anchorage was too crowded and once again we had trouble setting the anchor. We continued to a small bay, Cala Basset which has a rocky and sand bottom, but managed to anchor. 

It is a beautiful bay with high cliffs but was full of small jelly fish. We think they were Pelagia nocticula which can inflict painful stings. We decided to take the dinghy ashore rather than swim, filled it with water and used it as a paddling pool to keep us cool on the beach. I still managed to get stung in the shallow water. It was painful and then like a nettle rash, which disappeared after a couple of hours.


In the evening the wind started to blow from the land and by 1.00 a.m. there were some strong gusts of about 30 knots. We had moved off the mark on the chart plotter and were worried our anchor may have dragged - some rocks were very close, and there were two other boats nearby. We decided to stay on anchor watch and then the girls joined us. They seemed quite calm about it all and said later they weren’t worried once they knew Roger and I were up there and in control! What touching faith! It calmed down about 4.00 a.m. and Jessica and I saw some wonderful shooting stars.

Enjoying a cool drink

Punta Negra, Mallorca

WEDNESDAY 30 JULY - MONDAY 4 AUGUST

Punta Negra

Wednesday morning was spent sorting out the sink drainage and fixing yet another toilet leak on the pump handle! We then motored to a small anchorage about a mile away at Punta Negra, which is a lovely small anchorage. There aren’t too many jet skies and motor boats and there is a small pontoon and beach for the dinghy. After a drink with Ian on Caprice we went to the town and went to the hairdressers and Roger went to the Doctors as his ear is painful. He had wax in it and an infection. There is a very handy Mercadona and Lidle within easy walking distance and some excellent ferretarias in the area. We had to make use of these when we discovered one of the toilet pipes now had a split in it – another afternoon spent finding a replacement pipe and fixing it! Palma is half an hour away on a good bus service.


Punta Negra, although very quite and peaceful, is just below the extremely expensive hotel of St. Regis. Ian saw the King of Spain, Juan Carlos, having a swim early on Wednesday morning (after the area had been checked out by a warship and his minders!), we saw a wedding take place on the pontoon one evening, and there was a model fashion shoot on the cliffs. We decided to stay here until Tuesday as my daughter, Jessica, sister in law Gill and her friend Jenny are coming to stay with us on Monday, and this is quite a good pick up spot.

It has been very hot and a Grade 1 heat warning was given. As we are spending a lot of time anchoring in one place, the batteries are struggling to keep up with the fridge. The solar panels and wind generator (if there is any wind) keep the batteries topped up during the day but at night they run down and we have to turn the fridge off in the morning for a couple of hours until the batteries are topped up again. We may have to buy a small generator.

Santa Ponsa to Las Illetas, Mallorca - 14 Miles

Santa Ponsa

SUNDAY 27 - TUESDAY 29 JULY 2008

Santa Ponsa is a lovely anchorage with enough space for everyone and good holding. On Sunday Roger did some boat maintenance – serviced a very sticky winch and sorted out the bilge pump which had just decided to stop working. We then found time for snorkling and canoeing ashore to the Marina where we had a drink. We met Ian whose boat Caprice is the deck version of the Colvic Countess. Monday we sailed (very slowly) the 14 miles to Las Illetas and anchored.

Our troubles began on Tuesday morning with a very blocked heads! Roger started work on it before breakfast and worked (and swore) all day. Some of the the pipes were almost impossible to reach. The job was made worse because the motor boaters and jet skiers caused a lot of swell and the wind got up so the boat was rolling quite badly. He managed to clear some of the pipes which were extremely furred up and the main problem was one of the valves. Having put it all back together again about 7 p.m., we discovered the sink drainage had been dislodged! I persuaded him to leave that job until the next day.

Puerto de San Miguel, Ibiza to Santa Ponsa, Mallorca - 55 Miles

We had to change course for this one!

SATURDAY 26 JULY 2008

The down side of a long trip is you have to get up early. The up side is you get to see Ibiza at dawn! We had an excellent crossing to Mallorca, the only incident was that we had to alter course for a ferry as he obviously wasn’t going to change course, although we were sailing! 

Roger caught another tuna which we marinated, and large dolphins came and met us as we approached Mallorca. It was the hottest day yet – our thermometer was recording 40 degrees – and we were at sea! The teak decks were too hot to walk on.

We anchored in Santa Ponsa about 5 p.m. and cooked the tuna on the BBQ.

Cala Basa to Puerto de San Miguel, Ibiza

Some of Ibiza's beautiful coastline

FRIDAY 25 JULY 2008

After canoeing into a small sea cave, we pulled up the anchor and warp – not a quick job! As we sailed across the bay a sea plane flew over head many times practicing picking up and dropping water, presumably to practice for fire fighting. 

This coastline of Ibiza is beautiful and we passed stunning cliffs and small islands. We managed to anchor in Puerto de San Miguel, although it was quite busy. After lunch and Roger’s siesta, we swam ashore to a small beach bar for an ice cream. The water is lovely and clear and we could check that the anchor was dug in well. After a shower using our garden spray on the back of the boat, we canoed to the beach to the supermarket.


This is an excellent anchorage with good holding, a few bars and restaurants a supermarket, only a few motor boats AND NO JET SKIS!

Moraira, Spain to San Antonio Bay, Ibiza - 60 Miles (Just over 3000 Miles in total)

Susannah at anchor in Ibiza

THURSDAY 24 JULY 2008

We left Moraira just as the sun was rising at 6.45 a.m. and motorsailed in a flat sea for 3 hours, and then managed to sail on a beam reach most of the way arriving about 5 p.m. Then the difficult bit – trying to find somewhere to anchor. We tried San Antonio Bay, but the part that was vacant was full of weed and the anchor didn’t hold. We tried another couple of bays but they were quite small and boats were already there. In the end we managed to anchor about 8.15 p.m. near Cala Basa in 16 meters and had to put out our 50 meters of chain and about 20 meters of warp.



We have now sailed just over 3,000 miles and have just crossed the meridian line, and our position will be East from now on.

Torrevieja to Moraira

Benidorm

TUESDAY 22 - WEDNESDAY 23 JULY 2008

On Tuesday we sailed the 28 miles to Puerto de San Juan, just passed Alicante, where we anchored for the night.

The next day we motor-sailed in a flat sea, passing the wonderful architecture of Benidorm. We sailed the last couple of hours in a Force 4, passing the beautiful headland of Calpe. We had intended anchoring in Moraira, but it was rather choppy, so when we got diesel we enquired about a berth in the Marina. We were quoted 40 euros, but actually paid 27 euros as we were berthed by the diesel pontoon.

As we were manouevering the boat in a Force 4 in the Marina using forward and reverse revs, the engine died again! We had to quickly turn everything off and back on before we hit something expensive! We hope it’s not the remains of engine trouble, but it could be dirty fuel.

We rafted next to a British boat, Nikash, and the owners, Corinne and Nick, came on board for a drink to calm our nerves after getting caught up with their dinghy, and we later went out for a meal with them. An Irishman who owned a 15 meter power boat said it was very expensive using marinas in the Balearics and he had been charged 175 euros in one Marina and 250 in another! We will definitely be anchoring!

Diesel – 1.34 euros per litre – 84 euros
Marina – 27 euros

Mar Menor to Torrevieja - 14 Miles

Another submarine - Torrevieja

MONDAY 21 JULY 2008

We left for the opening of the 10.00 a.m. lock but were about 10 minutes early, so Roger used forward and reverse to keep us in the narrow canal. This was quite difficult with the windage on our boat as there was a Force 4 blowing, just as Roger decided to do a complete circle, he lost steerage and the engine stopped! We turned everything off, but luckily it restarted again. We decided to sail to Torrevieja, which was not very far away, in order to get a replacement water filler cap which had fallen to pieces. We anchored in the very sheltered harbour where we saw a ship being loaded with salt. We got a taxi to a car spares shop and bought a radiator cap – hope it fits! It made Roger’s day to see another sub in Torrevieja.

The Mar Menor

Our new diving tanks

SUNDAY 21 JULY 2008

After a very leisurely breakfast, Elaine gave us a lift back to Santiago de la Ribera and where we had lunch at a café on the beach and then canoed back to the boat.

When Roger did his engine check, the water filler cap came apart in his hands. He managed to put it back together, but we will have to try and get one as soon as possible.


We sailed back to Puerto de Tomas Maestre where we anchored and cleaned the decks with seawater, and Roger cleaned the hull from the canoe. Mervyn and Janice from LaManga Dive School delivered our new diving gear, including two tanks, in their rib. As the tanks need to be securely stored upright, we decided the best place for them was the bottom of my wardrobe, secured with cord and a webbing strap. During this process Roger had to re-position some wires in the wardrobe and when cutting one of the cable ties managed to cut through the wire to our brand new 2000 euro autopilot! When he looked at the wires they seemed more complicated than normal. I wanted to get an autopilot engineer to sort it as I was convinced Roger would blow the whole unit but after a long time he eventually managed to reconnect the wires and it worked! By the time we had replaced all our clothes in the lockers it was gone midnight.

The Mar Menor

Elaine and John's Villa

SATURDAY 20 JULY 2008

Roger and I still had our last two sea dives to do to gain our Open Water PADI qualification, so we canoed to the Dive School at Puerto de Tomas Maestre and then went in a rib with Mervyn and Eddy to the dive site between two islands. We dived to 18 metres and saw some beautiful fish and a moray eel who watched us from his crack in the rock and snapped his jaws!

We canoed back to the Susannah and sailed to Santiago de la Ribera on the other side of the Mar Menor. We canoed ashore and John came to collect us and take us to their lovely villa near Torremendo, which is in a remote area inland from Torrevieja.  We had met John and Elaine in Getaria last year.  About 60 people came to John and Elaine’s party where there was great dancing music and the food was superb. We went to bed about 1.15 a.m. leaving the party to wind down about 2.00 a.m. – early by Spanish standards where parties usually start about midnight and go on until 6.00 a.m.!

Cartagena to The Mar Menor - 37 MILES

Entering the Mar Menor

FRIDAY 19 JULY 2008

We finally left Cartagena and motor-sailed to the Mar Menor. The wind was on the nose and we were only doing about 3 – 4 knots until we rounded Cabo de Palos, when we were able to sail at 6 knots. We entered the Mar Menor through the narrow canal - a road bridge lifts every two hours to allow boats through. The Mar Menor is an inland sea about 12 miles long and 6 miles wide, and because it only reaches depths of about 5 – 6 metres, it is about 4 degrees warmer than the Mediterranean. The Med is about 25 - 26 degrees at the moment which makes the Mar Menor almost bath temperature – even warm enough for Roger.



We had previously enquired about marina prices at Puerto de Tomas Maestre but as it was 60 euros a night we anchored just outside the marina.

Cartagena

Submarine leaving Cartagena

6 - 17 JULY 2008

We have been in Cartagena for nearly two weeks sorting out the engine problems. We have had a new oil pressure guage, reconditioned injectors and a new injection pump. We also had our faulty autopilot replaced while we were waiting. The staff in Equi Naut, the Chandlery which arranged for the engine repairs and autopilot were extremely helpful and got things moving as quick as possible during their busiest time.

Although we had not intended coming into Cartagena, we have been very impressed with the place. There are some beautiful buildings, several forts and roman ruins. During our stay the Roman Theatre and Museum was opened to the public for the first time. It was only discovered about 20 years ago!

Cartagena is a large naval port where Spanish navy boats are repaired and Roger was very excited to see a submarine leave and half submerge as it made its way out of the port.

We made use of the time by doing a PADI Diving course. Although we both did the BSAC course about 4 years ago, we haven’t dived for three years and felt we needed to start from scratch. The diving school is run very professionally by a British couple in La Manga, about an hour’s bus ride away. We had to have medicals before we could dive, and Roger had to have a piece of wax removed that was larger than the pea that came out of the old man’s ear in Captain Correlli’s Mandolin! He reminded me that the old man went back to the doctor a week later and asked for the pea to be put back in because now he could hear his wife nagging!

The Marina is excellent with very friendly staff, the best showers we have had in Spain, free WiFi, a lovely yacht club with swimming pool – all at a reasonable price. We think Cartagena will make an excellent winter berth for us.

La Subida to Cartagena - 13 Miles

Cabo Tinoso, Murcia

SATURDAY 5 JULY 2008

We left about 7.15 a.m. as we wanted to get to the Mar Menor before 5 p.m. in order to get through the swing bridge. It was a lovely flat sea with no wind so we motored. After about 6 miles, the engine lost power and there was black smoke in the engine compartment and coming out of the exhaust. We turned everything off and drifted for a while - we couldn’t sail because there was no wind. When we turned the engine on again everything seemed to work properly at 1500 revs, so we decided to continue to the Mar Menor. However, when we put the revs up to 2000 smoke started appearing again. We decided to head to Cartagena, about 5 miles away, where there is a marina and mechanics.

We arrived about 10.30 a.m. but because it was Saturday, the Engineer won’t be in work until Monday.

On Monday we went to the Chandlers to enquire about the Engineer, but he can’t fit us in for over a week! The helpful woman then arranged for another engineer to come and look at the boat on Wednesday. As we are stuck here for a while we ordered a new autopilot which will be fitted on Wednesday. We had been about to book Jessica’s flights so she could visit us early August in Majorca but now we can’t make any plans until we know how long it will take to fix the engine. Roger is worried it is as a result of the oil pressure and it may be serious!

Marina: 21 euros per night; WiFi; Excellent showers; Very friendly staff

Cala de San Pedro - Garucha - Cama de los Novios - La Subida, Murcia

La Subida, Murcia

WEDNESDAY 2 - FRIDAY 4 JULY 2008

On Wednesday we sailed to Garucha where we stayed in the Marina. Garucha is a seaside town which has everything you need, including a Mercadona within easy walking distance and excellent Feretarias.

Garucha Marina: 30euros, no WiFi; Fuel: 109 euros - 1.36 euros per litre.

The next day we tacked for about 20 miles to a small bay called Cama de los Novios which seemed quite sheltered, although the wind was blowing about a Force 4. However, after a magical evening with a BBQ, wine, music and star watching, we were woken about 4 a.m. because the boat had began to roll very badly.

We left about 8 a.m. and sailed the 26 miles to La Subida in Murcia. The wind was blowing a strong Force 5 by the time we arrived and we had to pick our way through the tunny fish traps, fishing buoys and mooring buoys, but once anchored in Ensenada de Mazarron we were very sheltered. After lunch and a siesta we swam ashore and went to the café where we were served by an Irishman from Dublin who lives in the village with his wife. Another lovely evening with a BBQ and watching the sun set over the hills.

Saidia, Morocco to Cala de San Pedro, Spain - 124 Miles

Roger cutting the fishing net

MONDAY - 30 JUNE - TUESDAY 1 JULY 2008

After Mohamed had taken our passports to Saidia to be stamped, and we’d completed formalities with customs, Mohamed waved us off and the Marineros released our lines. We have now got ten entry and exit stamps in our passports! We were sad to be leaving Morocco, where we have been for five weeks now, but are looking forward to the next stage and getting to the Balearics.

The autohelm was not very stable and the hydrovane did not always hold the course when there wasn’t enough wind. About 30 miles from Morocco and 70 from Spain a light aircraft flew buzzed us, did a circle and flew back to Morocco.

The wind got up to a Force 4 – 5 and we managed to sail for a couple of hours but the course was taking us to Mottril, about 90 miles west of where we wanted to go, so we had to motor-sail. I went for a sleep about 8.30 p.m. as I was doing the 10 – 2 watch, and heard Roger yelling for help. We had hooked up a fishing net which was about 3 miles long with very few buoys on it and no flags on the buoys. We were about 33 miles from the Moroccan coast and 67 from Spain. We could see the fishing boat still laying out the net. We tried radioing him several times but there was no response and the sea was too bouncy to go in and have a look. In the end, there was no alternative but to cut the net, which luckily was not wound around the prop as Roger had just cut the engine in order to sail.

We had to put the clocks forward again now we were back in Spain. I’ve lost count how many times we’ve changed our clocks over the last five weeks!

I was on watch from 10 p.m. and the wind got up so I sailed for a while, but holding a course was difficult. I was feeling a little seasick from when we were trying to sort the net out and the boat was wallowing in the sea. The wind changed direction and was coming from behind the boat, which meant the boat was liable to jibe and was rolling. This always has a bad effect on me and I was very sick. I carried on for a while but needed to put the engine on to get the headsail in to make the boat more comfortable and steer our course, so I called Roger up about 12.30 a.m. As we were sorting out the sails we both saw a shooting star, and when Roger was on watch he said he saw the most spectacular comet he’s ever seen.

We hear some appalling radio use in Spain but tonight seemed to be particularly bad. There was very loud music being played down the microphone, whistling, people putting on silly voices and some swearing. Some of it just for the sake of swearing down the microphone, but there was one conversation between two merchant vessels discussing whether to pass port to port which one misunderstood and the language of the other one is not repeatable!

Roger woke me up about 8.00 a.m. to come and see the dolphins who were welcoming us to Spain. These were larger than the dolphins we had seen before. We passed the beautiful Cabo de Gato and went to Puerto de San Jose, a small marina. We asked how much for the night and were told 50 euros, so we said, ‘No gracias, adios!” The wind was coming from the East, which doesn’t give much protection along the Spanish coast, but it wasn’t very strong so we decided to try an anchorage.

We headed for Cala de San Pedro, about 8 miles further on, a beautiful bay with high hills behind it. The only way to get there is by boat or a long cliff hugging walk. The wind got up to about a Force 4 making the sea a little too rough to swim ashore, although the boat was quite comfortable. On the beach a little nudist community had grown up with a small café and people camping or living in ruined buildings. Boats came and went from the Las Negras, the village around the corner, including a water taxi. The water was lovely and warm and very clear so I swam round the boat to check the anchor was dug in while Roger had a siesta.

Saidia

Saidia beach looking towards Algeria

SUNDAY 29 JUNE 2008

At present there is only one shower and toilet which is in the Marina Office building - presumably the shower block hasn’t been built yet. The drainage for the shower doesn’t work properly and floods the floor of the store room outside!

Mohamed took us to Saidia in his car and when we asked when all the buildings in the Marina would be completed and the restaurants operational, he told us most of them were opening on 15 July! It seems incredible that so much work can be completed in just over two weeks. The development also includes a new Medina, holiday flats and apartments, and about four five star hotels with golf courses. The season in Morocco only lasts for July and August, but the new young King is keen for Morocco to develop.

The town of Saidia is about 5 kilometers from the Marina, close to the Algerian border. Mohamed said it wasn’t possible to cross into Algeria by foot or car – only to fly from Casablanca. We didn’t tell him that we had sailed over the border yesterday! He also told us that there is a healthy black market trade between Algeria and Morocco.

We went to the souk which sold household items and second hand and new clothes and shoes, but there didn’t seem to be any handicrafts. We had an excellent lunch in the Hotel Atlal, which Mohamed had told us was the best one for foreigners. Although we are quite happy to eat in Moroccan restaurants, he had also said this was the only one that served alcohol, although they were challenged when we chose a white wine from their list and had to settle for a rose as they didn’t have any white wine. When I tried to pay with my card, it was declined because the minimum the hotel’s machine would accept was 600 Dirhams (about £40) and the meal was 554 Dirhams. I didn’t want an excess of Dirhams as we are going back to Spain tomorrow and Dirhams can only be changed in Morocco, so the waiter took me to a cash machine to take out what I needed.

It was very hot again – 37 degrees in the sun, 30 degrees in the shade, but a Force 4 wind got up in the afternoon. We walked along the sea front where the beach was very crowded, with hundreds of people in the water. As the Marina is nearly empty, the water quality should be quite good and I went for a swim from the boat.

Melilla to Saidia - 45 Miles (Accidentally via Algeria!)

Border with Morocco and Algeria

SATURDAY 28 JUNE 2008

We had intended going to the small fishing port of Ras el Ma 25 miles away, but David’s wife told us that because it wasn’t a port of entry, last year people had to go back to Nador in a taxi to do the clearance. Some of the ports we have visited in Morocco were not ports of entry and there was no problem, but we didn’t feel like having to get in a taxi at the end of a sail, so decided to head straight for Saidia, 35 miles away near the Algerian border.

It was very hot again, although hazy, but once we were out at sea there was a lovely temperature. We motor-sailed for a couple of hours and filled our water tanks and put the fridge back on – cold drinks again! We tentatively tried the autohelm but it was having a problem holding the position because there was bit of a breeze so we used the wind vane. We were able to sail most of the way, listening to Bob Marley, Bridge Over Trouble Water, Leonard Cohen and Tina Turner. We had to tack past Islas Chafarinas, another group of three islands that are owned by the Spanish – we could see the Spanish flag on top. The Spanish seem to own rocks and enclaves all along the Moroccan Mediterranean coast, which makes their arguments about Gibraltar rather weak. Once past the rocks we dropped the Spanish courtesy flag and hoisted the “Q” flag.

The chart plotter and the pilot showed Saidia Marina at position 35o07’N 02o11 W. Looking at the charts, this seemed to be over the border in Algeria and it is not possible to go to Algeria without Visas. The 2005 pilot also includes a warning note about the civil war in Algeria. We passed a port at 35o06,N 02o17’W that was not marked on the chart or the chart plotter, about 5 miles from west from one on the chart plotter, but decided to continue on to see if the chart plotter was correct. As we neared the position, we could see people on the beach and a couple of jet skiers came out to say hello but we eventually realized it was definitely wrong when we saw a river running into the sea and the Moroccan flag on one side and a lot of Algerian flags on the other! We could see something that looked like a port wall with cranes inside it but as we continued on to have a look a friendly jet skier came out and told us we were now in Algeria! We turned around and motored back the 5 miles we had just come. 

By now the sun was starting to go down and we didn’t want to arrive at an uncharted port in the dark. When we arrived, a dinghy came out to us and told us to follow him. I’m glad he did as the depths here are very low in places – down to 2 meters and we drawn 1.7. The route is buoyed with small green and red buoys, rather like mooring buoys, but it would still be quite difficult without guidance.

Saidia is a massive development with space for hundreds of boats, but apart from a few small boats, there were only two other yachts, a large catamaran and about three motor boats. There are buildings all the way round for shops, cafes, supermarkets – all empty. We were almost treated like royalty when we arrived – the young Port Captain, Mohamed, welcomed us and made sure his two Marineros helped us with our lines and ensured we had electricity – not all the electric points were working. 

We then went to the office to do the inevitable paperwork and the gendarmerie welcomed us before proceeding. This time he wanted to know how many children we had and what our parents’ names were – he wanted the family history! I told him I could let him have information back to 16th century if he wanted. The Port Captain said the passports had to go to the police in Saidia but he would take them for us. He would give us a lift if we wanted to go, but it was late and we were hungry so went back to the boat to cook a tinned Confit de Canard and sautéed potatoes. We were in the middle of preparing this, when one of the Marineros said the Customs wanted to see us. This one was extremely slow and wanted the same information as the others but seemed incapable of just copying the information. The passports had been photocopied but were so bad they were illegible. My sense of humour was diminishing as my hunger was increasing! It was 9.45 p.m. (10.45 p.m. Spanish time) by the time I got back to the boat, over an hour since we had arrived. My sense of humour returned as Roger had set the table in the cockpit, the wine was open and the dinner was ready.

Marina: 15 euros, including water, electricity and showers. Compared to Melilla (8 euros) and Marina Smir (18 euros but fully operational) this seemed expensive for a Marina that wasn’t even finished, is silting up fast and is a long way from town.

Melilla - Spanish Enclave

Fort at Melilla

WEDNESDAY 25 - FRIDAY 27 JUNE 2008

The morning after we arrived a brass band started up when a very large Spanish naval vessel arrived - Melilla is Spain’s largest naval base and the town has been in the hands of the Spanish since 1497.

David on the boat next door, who suffers from diabetes, had had a stroke and the ambulance and fire brigade had quite a problem getting him out as he was stuck at the chart table. As they lifted him out he clung to his boat, not wanting to let go. It’s frightening how quickly these things can happen. He was talking to us in the morning and by lunch time he was critically ill in hospital.

It was very hot – about 40 degrees and 31 degrees in the boat! It seems we have found the Mediterranean heat at last, although Roger is saying it’s too hot! We rigged the wind scoops over the hatches which worked for the forward hatch but because of the bimini over the cockpit there isn’t a flow of air to the aft hatch. It was my turn to suffer from Moroccan tummy, but it only lasted a couple of days.

Melilla has quite a good shopping centre near the old fort and a lovely long beach. The mix of people is interesting, as about 40% of the population is Moroccan.

The Marina is excellent with several tapas bars and cafes and very helpful staff – the only down side is that the bars seem to turn into night clubs and go on until 6 a.m.! However, at 8 euros a night, Melilla has got to be one of the cheapest moorings in the Western Med, so we are seriously considering putting the boat here for the winter. One of the disadvantages would be the extra journey by plane or ferry from Malaga.