Yacht Susannah

PORTO AZURRO, ELBA TO MARINA SALIVOLI, ITALY

2009-08-11T14:48:00.001Z

Graham's shower
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

SATURDAY 8 - SUNDAY 9 AUGUST 2009

We had a gentle morning sail to Cavo, and after a swim in the clear water had lunch followed by a siesta. We then dinghied ashore to the pleasant holiday village of Cavo, where we sampled the local beer and ice creams.

The next day we had an excellent sail to Piombino on mainland of Italy, about 5 miles away, and managed to secure a berth in Marina Salivoli for the night. We walked the two kilometers to the train station to see where it was and after a rest on the boat, went out for a meal in the nearby Pizaria.

Diane and Graham left at 6 a.m. on Sunday to catch their flight home from Pisa. We had all had a fantastic week and Diane and Graham had got some more sea miles to add to their log books. Roger and I then sailed about 40 miles to the Island of Giglio. The bay seemed quite large but the water was very deep, and where it was shallow enough to anchor it was either a restricted swimming area or other boats were anchored. In the end we anchored in a small cala in the north of the bay with one other yacht..

Marina Salivoli: 50 euros per night

Diesel: 1.17 euros per litre, 53 euros

GRAHAM’S BLOG - A SCOOT AROUND ELBA

2009-08-11T14:46:00.001Z

My bike after the accident
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

FRIDAY 7 AUGUST 2009

We could go diving today … “Is my ear infection better? Do I want to get wet? How much would a scooter cost? So many questions, so early in the day. We eventually decided that a scoot around the island would be good, so we left Roger opting to catch up on his reading. The 125cc Hondo forDiana and me cost 52 euros and Sheila’s 100cc was 40 euros. With the miserable rental employee’s words “you covered for car hitting you but any damage to my bike and you pay” ringing in my ears, we planned a route on the useless recommended map (6.50 euros) – there are better ones – and set off along the south coast.

When we reached Porto Ferraio in the north – yes, we got lost frequently and only reached planned destinations by default. All was well, fantastic scenery and quiet roads, and when we stopped to check the map again, “where’s Sheila?” “Oh my god, she’s down!” Sheila’s bike was lying in the road, having been shunted up the rear by an Italian motorist. Miraculously, Sheila’s injuries were mainly limited to bits of her which she wouldn’t show us and the Italian was helpfully rebuilding and restarting her bike. He then ‘phoned the rental office and promised to sort things out at the end of the day, admitting liability.

Anxious to go on, Sheila, plucky to the last, dusted herself down and we set off on a series of further missed turnings and serendipidous bays and roadside café/bars. Lunch was on a hillside overlooking a brillian blue bay at the Hotel Paradiso, Veticcio, and ice cream on the south coast, beach side.

Back at the rental shop, misery’s mood was even darker as he check the bikes for damage and full fuel tanks. He then called up the Italian motorist who said that he’d be there in 30 minutes to sort things out. The girls went in the sea and I went to a bar. When I got back to the rental shop, Sheila had been charged with three days loss of rental income for repairs to be made to the bike. Beware – lack of blame does not cover you for this charge. The Italian motorist split the charge 50/50 but the cost to Sheila was still 72 euros. As we were leaving, misery finally enquired as to Sheila’s well being and almost smiled – or was it the Italian’s equivalent of wind? The girls, not wanting to miss out, then insisted that we went back to the bar for a beer.

After getting some provisions, it was time to get back to Roger, who had been stranded at anchor on Susannah - it was now past 8 o’clock and we had left at 10 a.m.

We found our dinghy completely rammed in at the quay, and got out with much pushing and shoving. As we cleared the harbour, the fuel ran out and the girls paddled back to Susannah – well, I would have unbalanced the boat if I had moved to a comfortable rowing position!

Di & Graham trying to sort out our fishing problems

2009-08-11T14:42:00.001Z

Di & Graham trying to sort out our fishing problems
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

MONDAY 3 AUGUST TO THURSDAY 6 AUGUST 2009

BASTIA, CORSICA TO PORTO AZURRO, ELBA

Monday was spent cleaning the boat and getting things in and out of cupboards to make room in the forward cabin for Diane and Graham, who had been holidaying in Nice and arrived on the ferry about 9 p.m. They brought some wind with them, giving us a Force 6 – 7 – so glad we were in a Marina for this one!

There is a Dive School in the Marina, so after some sightseeing in Bastia, the four of us took the opportunity to go diving on Tuesday, although the wind was still quite strong in the morning. We all piled into the Dive Boat to be taken just outside the Marina by the beach – we could have walked there! The dive was called The Aquarium, but it was one of the least interesting dives we have done – only about 12 meters with not much flora and fauna.

There was a lovely atmosphere in the Marina and we met some very friendly people. Marcelle, a Swiss, was on the boat next to ours and he gave us some tomatoes and cucumbers from a friend’s garden. Andrew is a Doctor and he gave us all diving medical certificates over a drink on their boat, which they keep in Bastia. We had a lovely meal in the picturesque old port in the evening

We set off for Elba on Wednesday, exchanging French waters and wine for Italian once again and anchored in the bay of Lacona. The next day we sailed to Porto Azurro in a gentle breeze, except for the last hour or so when the wind piped up to a strong Force 6. As the boat heeled over, and no one seemed to be attending to the sails, I did ask if the boat was under control!

ROBBERY!

2009-08-03T14:09:00.003Z

The two men who robbed our boat
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

SAINT FLORENT TO BASTIA, CORSICA

FRIDAY 31 JULY TO SUNDAY 2 AUGUST 2009

We have had to motor-sail most of the way up the west coast, because of the lack of wind, and the last two days were no exception. However, I would rather have no wind than a strong westerly, which would leave us with no shelter. The anchorages on the west side of Corsica seem to have more of a roll than we experienced in Sardinia but the scenery is spectacular with the high mountains rolling down to a few beautiful towns and villages. On Friday we anchored just around Cap Corse, the northern tip of Corsica, and then went on to Bastia, where we anchored south of the citadel. Another British boat joined us later. It’s a very exposed anchorage with a slight roll to it, so we decided to investigate marina prices and were pleasantly surprised that both marinas charge about 40 euros a night – not bad in August!

After exploring the town and a meal, we dinghied back to our boat, and the men on the British boat told us we had been boarded first by two young men, and then one of the men had come back with a woman and child! The men had taken photos of the boarders when they got back to the beach. When we got on our boat, we realized they had got in through the aft hatch, which we always keep open for ventilation, and had broken the locks on three lockers in our aft cabin, pulling all my clothes out. They had also pulled stuff off the shelf above the sink in our cabin, and stolen some of my jewelry. The next day they were back on the beach again!

We went into Port Toga marina, which is very convenient for the laundry, shopping and dive centre. This was the first time fore five weeks that we had had access to water, so we gave the boat a good wash. It is also the first time we’ve had electricity and I can use a hairdryer!

Marina Port Toga: 123 euros for three nights, free WiFi

ROBBERY!

2009-08-03T14:09:00.001Z

The two men who robbed our boat
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

PORTO TO SAINT FLORENT

2009-08-02T14:18:00.001Z

Saint Florent, Corsica
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

WEDNESDAY 29 - THURSDAY 30 JULY 2009

We had an excellent French breakfast ashore and did some shopping before motor-sailing the 35 miles to Calvi, which is set in stunning scenery. The 15th century citadel looked spectacular against the backdrop of the 2706 meter high Monte Cinto, - we could even see a couple of patches of snow! During the 1794 battle at Calvi against the Genoese, Captain Horatio Nelson was wounded by splinters of rock and lost the use of his right eye.

Most of the large bay is taken up with buoys, and although there were a lot free, we didn’t know if there was a charge for them, so we anchored nearly a mile away, which meant a long dinghy ride. The town was bustling with all the amenities – I even found a much-needed hairdresser! The mountains seemed to turn pink as the sun went down, and after a supper of crepes, we managed to find our boat in the twilight.

The next day we passed Corsica’s 5000 hectare desert on the way to Saint Florent, a lovely French town at the base of the 20 mile long northern peninsular of Corsica.

Diesel at Saint Florent: 1.19 euros per litre - 70 euros.

AJACCIO TO PORTO, CORSICA

2009-08-02T14:13:00.001Z

Porto Valley
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

MONDAY 27 - TUESDAY 28 JULY 2009

After getting diesel in the Marina, we motor-sailed the 35 miles to Porto, The pilot warns that Porto can be very dangerous with strong westerly winds, which are strengthened due to the deep valley, but luckily light easterly winds were forecast. The setting is magnificent with the beach set under spectacular cliffs and the village of Porto spreading up the deep gorge by the river, lined with eucalyptus trees and oleander.

Because of the clear water and the local marine park, Porto is a major diving centre, so we booked in with one of the centres and had a lovely dive in clear, warm water where we saw nudibranch, fan coral and had an excellent view of a moray eel. We found a launderette, an internet café and had excellent meals in a couple of the many restaurants. The anchorage was very calm the first night, but the second night it was a bit of a roll.

Diesel in Ajaccio: 1.21 euros per litre; 96 euros

BAIA REPARATA, SARDINIA TO AJACCIO, CORSICA

2009-07-28T09:22:00.001Z

Napoleon's house, Ajaccio, Corsica
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

FRIDAY 24 - SUNDAY 26 JULY 2009

After breakfast and a swim, we set sail for Porto Pollo in the Golfe de Valinco, on the west coast of Corsica, and arrived about 6 p.m., managing to sail about half of the 40 mile trip. We are quite nervous about sailing on the west coast, as the prevailing winds are from the west and the winds coming down from the Golfe de Lyons, including the mistrale, can be vicious.

The forecast for Saturday was a Force 7, but we decided to set off for Ajaccio, about 20 miles up the coast. The winds did not reach the predicted Force 7, but it was about a Force 5 with a very nasty sea, which made me feel very seasick. Much looking at the horizon was called for! The anchorages at Ajaccio were quite crowded and the holding was not very good in weed, so it took us over an hour to anchor.

On Sunday we went ashore in the dinghy, but the prop wouldn’t go round, so we had to row. Ajaccio is the capital of Corsica and the birthplace of Napoleon. Even though it was a Sunday and the main shops were closed, there was a lively atmosphere in the town, including the open air market. We visited the Musee National de la Maison Bonaparte where Napoleon was born and spent the first nine years of his life. The Corsican nationalists in 1793 and the English in 1796 ransacked the house, but it was later restored by Napoleon’s mother.

The wind was stronger by the time we got back to the dinghy and it was a long way to row, so we decided to pull the dinghy on its wheel along to a beach nearer the boat. We had to manhandle it over rocks to get it on the beach, but were helped by a couple of very helpful teenagers who also pushed us out through the surf. As we were struggling to row against the wind, a family came and gave us a tow to our boat. Roger managed to free the prop shaft, which had completely seized.

CANNIGIONE, GOLFO DI ARZACHEN TO BAIA REPARATA, SANTA TERESA DI GALLURA

2009-07-28T09:20:00.001Z

Leaving Cannigione, Sardinia
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

THURSDAY 23 JULY 2009

We managed to get some provisions in the lovely town of Cannigione and to post an important letter which I have been carrying around for nearly two weeks. Whenever we get to small bays with Marinas, we are told it is about 6 miles to a post box. It was also the first time we had found an ATM since leaving Olbia and funds were running low, even with several days of not being able to go ashore due to high winds.

Just as we were about to leave, another yacht nearly hit us as it dragged its anchor and was making its way over to the very expensive yachts moored in the Marina. I tried calling the Marina on Channel 16 and Channel 9, but as there was no response I did a ‘Pan Pan’ which the Corsican Coastguard answered. Just as I finished giving him the details, the Marina staff came out in a dinghy and dealt with the yacht. I’m not sure if they had heard my original message or the ‘Pan Pan’.

We sailed and motor-sailed to Santa Teresa di Gallura on the northern tip of Sardinia, very close to Corsica. The anchorage there did not look inviting with rocks all around and no real protection, so we headed for Baia Reparata around the corner. The holding is weed and rock – which we discovered when first of all the anchor wouldn’t dig in, and then caught on a rock with a jolt which broke the warp connected to the hook which we put on the anchor chain. This is our last anchorage in Sardinia before crossing to Corsica and we will be very sorry to leave Sardinia, which has proved a magnificent cruising ground.

PORTO PALMA - PORTO GARIBALDI - GOLFO DI ARZACHENA

2009-07-23T06:50:00.001Z

Garibaldi's House, Isola Caprera
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

TUESDAY 21 - WEDNESDAY 22 JULY 2009

We sailed around Isola Caprera to Porto Garibaldi, where there is a beach and a Club Med, although it seems deserted. Isola Caprera is the second largest island in the Maddalena Archipelago and was bought by Giuseppe Garibaldi in 1856. He and his family lived there on and off for many years and he died there in 1882, where he is buried with his family. The island was occupied by the military until 1981 and the following year was declared a nature reserve. Roger & I took the dinghy along the coast to the causeway for a guided tour of Garibaldi’s house, which is in a beautiful setting. The wind was about a Force 3-4 on the way back, and I was thinking ‘I’m glad Roger got the outboard motor working, because I wouldn’t be able to row against this wind’. Just then, the engine ran out of petrol! Roger had to row over half a mile back to the boat, making very slow progress.

The wind blew up to about a Force 5, and we had a fast sail to Golfo di Arzachena on the mainland where we anchored near the Marina and village of Cannigione. A fire had just started in the nearby hills and we watched 3 helicopters and a plane swooping down for water in the Cala to put it out.

CUGNANA TO PORTO PALMA, ISOLA CAPRERA

2009-07-23T06:18:00.001Z

John & Nicky on 'Out of the Blue'
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

SUNDAY 19 - MONDAY 20 JULY 2009

Although calm first thing, the wind soon got up to a Force 5- 6, preventing us from going ashore again. Roger spent the morning repairing the dinghy, and it’s as good as new now. It finally calmed down enough for us to go ashore by about 6 p.m. After using the Marina Portisco showers, we had drinks with John & Denise on ‘Out of the Blue’ and went for a well-earned meal together. The Tender from ‘A’ had been moored next to John & Denise during the Storm because it was too rough to get it back on board.

The next morning we bought some provisions from the Marina, including the most expensive gas we have ever bought – 35 euros! Gas was 20 euros in Cagliari, and we thought that was expensive. We motored into a head wind to the Island of Caprera, where we anchored in the lovely bay of Porto Palma. Park authorities in a dinghy asked us for 17 euros, which is the cost of the permit to cruise in the Maddalenas. Apparently, it is 17 euros a day which includes the cruising and mooring permit, but is 30% cheaper if you book in advance on the internet or in a local port. I pointed out that four weeks ago we had searched the Park’s website, where there is no clear information, we had e-mailed them and had no reply, and we had asked the port authorities in Porto Cervo who didn’t know. His response was ‘Welcome to Italy!’

Denise had gone home, and their daughter Nicky had flown out to help John sail ‘Out of the Blue’ to Spain. They arrived in Porto Palma and had a meal on the boat with us. It was a beautiful calm, star light evening.

ANCHORING IN THE MADDALENAS: 17 euros a night. 30% cheaper if booked in advance on the internet or in a Port.

GAS: 35 euros - Marina di Portisco

GOLFO DI MARINELLA TO PORTO DI CUGNANA - 10 MILES

2009-07-18T14:46:00.001Z

Our semi-submerged dinghy
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

THURSDAY 16 JULY - SATURDAY 18 JULY 2009

We motor-sailed the short hope to Porto di Cugnana on Thursday and anchored in the bay. We’re starting to see the really big yachts now, as this is the playground of the rich and famous who come over from the French Rivierra. Calpe de Volpe looked like Gin Palace city. We took all our washing in the dinghy to the Marina, where there was a launderette and we could use the machines for 8 euros a load. Washing was becoming a bit of a problem as we don’t want to use our precious water supply for washing clothes and because we’re no longer using Marinas, we don’t have access to water. John & Denise were also anchored in the bay, and they come to our boat for a meal in the evening. They have booked into the Marina for three nights because a fridge engineer is coming to see them and Denise is flying home – the cost is 115 euros a night – increasing to 138 euros from 28 July!

Gale Force winds were forecast for late Friday and they weren’t kidding! It started about 6 p.m. and got up to a strong Force 9. Roger had shackled an extra anchor onto our existing one and luckily we didn’t drag at all but our anchor ball blew down. Other boats, including a very large sailing vessel, had to re-anchor.

On Saturday the wind was even stronger, and we recorded 53 knots on the wind indicator, which is the top end of a Force 10. After that, it was under-reading by about 20 knots, so we think one of the balls on top of the mast has come off as the wind did not lessen. The wind generator sounded like it was going to take off at any moment. The dinghy was in the water and the rear bracket with the outboard motor came off and was floating in the water – luckily still tied to a rope. We got that on board and Roger had to do some emergency work on it – wash it down in fresh water, and take out spark plugs etc. It wouldn’t start when he tried it, so we will have to try to find an engineer. We then re-tied a second line to the dinghy, but within 10 minutes the original painter had pulled the fitting out of the dinghy, and we had to put another temporary line on it. One of the buoyancy bags and the bailer came loose, but we retrieved these with the boat hook. The dinghy was so full of water it was in danger of sinking. The boat nearest to us realized they were dragging, and as they tried to re-anchor, their dinghy blew sideways on to the boat, acting more like a sail. It took them over an hour motoring around before they finally anchored again. One of the large mega yachts anchored in the bay is the one we saw last year in the Balearics called ‘A’. It was launched last year at a cost over £250,000,000 and is owned by a Russian.

PORTO BRANDINGHI TO OLBIA - 10 MILES

2009-07-18T14:41:00.010Z

Susannah moored at Olbia in front of the 30 meter yacht we helped berth
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

SATURDAY 11 - WEDNESDAY 15 JULY 2009

John & Denise from ‘Out of the Blue’ came over on Saturday evening when the wind had calmed down, and we finally managed to leave Porto Brandinghi on Sunday.

We piloted our way between the beautiful islands, including Isola Tavolara, to Olbia, where we tied up to the quay wall. Olbia is a lovely town with plenty of cafes and restaurants and a launderette, but they were so busy they couldn’t do any washing for over a week! There is also a well stocked supermarket close by. John & Denise arrived on Monday and we went out for a couple of meals with them. A 30 meter motor yacht came in stern-to but the Harbour Master insisted he come alongside. This involved shuffling several yachts, including us, to make a space large enough. The harbour master just stood there, so Roger and I helped the skipper tie up and he managed to get a 30 meter boat into a 34 meter space. He was very friendly and gave us a bottle of wine later on.

A strong wind was forecast for Tuesday so we stayed in Olbia and went to Golfo di Marinella on Wednesday, where we anchored. After putting up the wind scoops & hammock we went swimming and gave the hull a scrub. The water is a wonderful temperature.

OLBIA - 5 euros a night, we paid 10 euros for three nights

LA CALETTA TO PORTO BRANDINGHI, SARDINIA

2009-07-10T13:27:00.001Z

This boat eventually moved!
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

MONDAY 6 – FRIDAY 10 JULY 2009

La Caletta is a holiday town where we managed to resupply, and left on Tuesday for a short (very slow) sail up to Porto Brandinghi, near Isola Tavolara. It is a very sheltered anchorage, which was just as well as we have been stuck here for four nights with winds of over 30 knots at times. It was too dangerous to get into the dinghy so we were stuck on the boat. An English couple we had met in La Caletta was anchored behind us but we could only wave at them. The only excitement was when the hill behind the beach caught fire and the fire planes were swooping down into the anchorage to collect water. In the end there were four fire planes and a helicopter.

CAPO FERRATO TO LA CALETTA

2009-07-06T12:57:00.004Z

Cala di Luna
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

FRIDAY 3 JULY - SUNDAY 5 JULY 2009

We motored the 37 miles to Capo Frailis, just south of Arbatax and anchored in the bay, which is now a holiday resort.

This part of the Sardinian coastline is spectacular, and the Golfo di Orosei especially so and forms part of the Parco Nazionale del Gennargenti. According to the chart all small craft are supposed to keep 2 kilometers off shore, but as we were the only ones obeying the rules, we decided to creep in nearer to see the wonderful cliffs. We saw either porpoise, dolphins or a whale but they did not come near enough for us to see clearly enough to identify them.

We anchored near the Grotto del Bue Marino and took the dinghy into the cave, joining a tour inside. The caves extend for 17 kilometers, but only 1 kilometer is accessible to tourists. They were magnificent with some amazing pillars and underground lakes. One of the caves was the last place in Sardinia used by the almost extinct Monk Seal, last seen here in the early 1980s.

As the weather was so settled, we anchored off the magnificent Cala di Luna, which is backed by a lagoon and the beautiful pink oleander.

On Sunday we motored the 25 miles to La Caletta, where we had been told we could moor on the outer pontoon for free for a couple of nights. Two young marineros told us we could only stay 12 hours – as it was 4.30 p.m. that would mean leaving at 4.30 a.m., or we had to go inside and it would cost us 60 euros! It had been about 15 euros three weeks ago! We said we would stay on the outer pontoon, and another couple told us they had been told it was free and they had been here two nights. We saw the Harbour Master in the morning and he said the regulations say boats can only stay 12 hours. He then said we could stay for another night, but would have to leave by 8 a.m., as the night time hours don’t count!

We had run the water maker for 4 hours on Friday, but it still hadn’t come out the overflow pipe, indicating a full tank. The next day we ran it again but it still wasn’t filling. We then discovered water in the bilges and realized the water was coming out the top of the water tank where Roger had drilled holes for the water guage. This was easily fixed with some mastic.

Diesel: 1.22 euros a litre; 86 euros

CAGLIARI TO CAPO FERRATO

2009-07-06T12:25:00.003Z

Cala Pira
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

MONDAY 29 JUNE - THURSDAY 2 JULY 2009

Having finally managed to tear ourselves away from Cagliari, we set off for a very slow cruise up the eastern coast of Sardinia. The weather was very settled and we had very comfortable anchorages. We stayed for two nights in Villasimius, where there is a well stocked shop. Apparently the marina is very expensive, but the anchorage is very sheltered. We swam ashore to the bar at Cala Pira was like a tropical island with white sand and palm trees.

On Thursday, we anchored just south of Capo Ferrato. There are rocks and stones nearer the shore but we anchored in 4 meters in sand. After snorkeling over the rocks we swam ashore where a fisherman had set up a summer camp in his caravan, and he invited us to share his lunch of freshly grilled fish, bread, cheese and a red wine with peaches soaking in it. We then ate the peaches were divine! It was a test for our Italian as he spoke no English!

CAGLIARI, SARDINA

2009-06-28T10:52:00.000Z

Julia, Gert & me
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

FRIDAY 26 JUNE - SATURDAY 27 JUNE 2009

We intended leaving Cagliaria on Saturday but it was the Mistrale was still blowing and the forecast was for a Force 4 for the next 2 days, with gusts of 37 miles an hour, and as we were going to be at anchor, we decided to wait until Monday. The wind had eased by lunch time, but as a friend of ours once said “I’d rather be in here wishing I was out there, than out there wishing I was in here”. By late afternoon there was a strong Force 5-6 so we were definitely pleased we had stayed. It also meant we could go out with everyone for a farewell pizza (which was the best we had ever tasted) and join in with the marina Bar-B-Que on the Saturday.

NOURO TO CAGLIARI

2009-06-26T12:41:00.001Z

Fonni street scene
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

WEDNESDAY 24 JUNE 2009

After checking out from the hotel we headed for Fonni, which is another village with murals. At 1000 meters it is the highest village in Sardinia. The village seemed to be preparing for a fiesta as one of the main roads out of the village was blocked and green covering was being laid. We’d seen a lot of horses around the town, and we think they were preparing for some kind of horse race. A lot of the men (more than usual) were gathered in various groups in smart clothes and there were a lot of children who’d obviously got the day off school. When we couldn’t find the right road out of the town (again) one of the locals told us to follow him in his car and he showed us to the edge of the town. We cannot get over how friendly and helpful everyone is.

We headed on to the main fast road to Oristano and went to visit the murals in San Sperate before going back to Cagliari.

EASTERN COAST OF SARDINIA

2009-06-26T12:38:00.001Z

Golfo di Marinella, Costa Smeralda
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

TUESDAY 23 JUNE 2009

As we will be sailing up the Eastern Coast of Sardinia, we thought we’d visit Cervo, but managed to get lost in Nuoro, ending up some extremely narrow streets, and then took a wrong turn and found ourselves about 6 miles up a mountain and the only route was back to Nuoro. The lack of signs is even worst in Sardinia than they are in Spain!

Once again, the scenery was fantastic, whether it was in the mountains or by the coast. Cervo is the playground of the rich and famous, but we were slightly disappointed by it. It seemed very artificial with no real heart to it – we’ve certainly seen better and livelier marinas.

Needless to say, we got lost in Olbia on the way back and nearly ended up on a ferry!

We called into Oliena on the way to our hotel, where the women were out doing their shopping. Most of the older women in these mountain villages where black, with a black shawl.

MOUNTAINS OF SARDINIA

2009-06-26T12:30:00.001Z

Monte Albo
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

MONDAY 22 JUNE 2009

Sardinia touches all the senses. The aromatic smells from the wild flowers, the sounds of the bells on the sheep cows and the superb views. Beautiful pink, red and white Oleander are everywhere. The mountains are so breathtaking it makes driving dangerous as it was difficult to keep my eyes on the road and not on the view. Some of the hairpin bends were hair-raising! After a visit to Dorgali, we drove to Monte Albo north of Nuoro, passing through the mountain towns of Lula, Sant’Anna, Lode and Bitti. Apparently, Bitti’s local dialect is said to be the closest thing to Latin! At one point we caught a glimpse of Isola Tavolara and the Mediterranean.

As all roads seem to point to Nuoro, we visited the town, but got stuck in a café for over an hour as it was pouring with rain.

OLIENA & ORGOSOLO, CENTRAL SARDINIA

2009-06-26T10:05:00.001Z

Orgosolo Wall Painting 1
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

SUNDAY 21 JUNE 2009

Oliena is a mountain village where many of the houses seem to be falling into ruin, but others are well cared for. The older women wear black or dark clothes, with a black shawl. Some of the walls are decordated with murals, but the main centre for wall paintings is Orgosolo.

Murals first began to appear on the walls of Orgosolo in the 1960s and the practice has since spread to other towns and villages in Sardinia. The themes are usually political, but often deal with issues such as emigration and the tough pastoral way of life. The surrounding countryside was bandit country, in particular Orgosolo, and during the 1960s Orgosolo was the subject of a film by Vittorio De Seta ‘Bandits at Orgosolo’. Knowing this, it was rather disconcerting to notice that most of the signs on entering villages had bullet holes in them!

CENTRAL SARDINIA

2009-06-23T18:09:00.001Z

Main tower of 'Su Nuraxi' , c. 1500 BC
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

SATURDAY 20 JUNE 2009

We hired a car (quite expensive at over 200 euros for 5 days for a Fiat 600!) and drove through the middle of Sardinia, stopping to look at some of the wall paintings in Villamar. We also visited the impressive ‘Su Nuraxi’ near Barumini, where there are the remains of the largest nuraghic fortress in Sardinia, parts of which date from 1500 BC. It was amazing to actually walk inside the central keep and the four main towers. The whole complex had been buried until a flood in 1949 exposed part of it and it was then excavated. There are over 7,000 of these nuraghi dotted all over Sardinia.

The rest of the drive was magical through mountain passes, passing through quite large mountain towns such as Aritzo and Fonni. It took a lot longer than we expected because of the mountain roads, and we didn’t arrive at our hotel until about 9 p.m. The hotel we stayed at is about 5 kilometers from Oliena up Monte Maccione, with superb views of the valley, Oliena and the mountain opposite with the town of Nuoro.

CALGIARI, SARDINIA

2009-06-23T17:46:00.001Z

Cape arriving back from their trip around Sardinia
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

FRIDAY 12 JUNE - FRIDAY 19 JUNE 2009

Over the weekend we met up with Sarah, David & their two children Bryn & Bethany who are sailing on ‘Cape’. We first met them in the Rio Guadiana in Portugal last year, and later met up briefly in Barbati in Spain and then Morocco. They had overwintered in Calgiari and had just arrived back after a month’s cruise to Corsica. They’re planning to get to Turkey by the autumn in order to join the rally to India.

Roger and I enrolled on a week’s Italian course to give us a kick start as we will be in Italian waters for quite a while now. We also have a couple of excellent Italian courses on board which we have started.

PULA TO CAGLIARI, SOUTHERN SARDINIA - 18 MILES

2009-06-12T14:56:00.001Z

Approaching Cagliari
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

THURSDAY 11 JUNE 2009

We are now sailing in the Tyrrhenian Sea and motor sailed to Cagliari, arriving about lunch time, where we were met by Gary who has lived in his boat in the Marina del Sole for about 6 years. We met Gary about 6 years ago when we first sailed ‘Susannah’ to Northern Spain for a summer holiday, and that was the year Gary had set off to see where the wind took him. We had a couple of drinks with him and his girlfriend, Julia, and then went off in search for a new Italian ‘dongle’ to give us internet access. In the evening we went out with Gary and Julia for a Chinese and met up with some others later on in a restaurant for drinks. Late to bed!

MALFANTO TO PULA , SARDINIA - 17 MILES

2009-06-12T14:54:00.001Z

Another boat at anchor at Pula
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

WEDNESDAY 10 JUNE 2009

We sailed to Pula which is on the southern coast of Sardinia and anchored in the bay about lunch time. We tried anchoring in the corner but the weed was too thick – we also had to avoid getting the anchor tangled up with underwater rocks and underwater remains of the Roman city of Nora. The impressive remains of Nora are on the Cape of Pula and include a forum, a marketplace, houses, some with mosaic flooring, a temple, roman baths and loos!

A yacht called Gipsy Rose anchored near us and we recognized them from Ibiza last year, so we ended up having drinks with Norman and Pam on their boat.

CALASETTA TO MALFATANO, S. SARDINIA - 49 MILES

2009-06-12T14:29:00.001Z

Malfatano Anchorage
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

MONDAY 8 JUNE - TUESDAY 9 JUNE 2009

It was a lovely calm day, with a smooth sea, although there was a slight swell. We motor-sailed down the coast of Isola di San Antioco and were approached by the Italian coastguard telling us there were military operations in the area and we had to go 5 miles out to sea around Capo Teulada – this added about 8 miles on to our journey! Not only that, as they passed behind us they managed to cut Roger’s fishing line with his hooks and ‘chinaman’ on! I’m sure replacing lost fishing tackle has been far more expensive than eating in the most expensive seafood restaurants! We arrived at Malfatano about 6.30 p.m. It is a beautiful unspoilt bay with a few campervans parked on the shore, and we spent the next day there at anchor.

CARLOFORTE, ISOLO DI SAN PIETRO TO CALASETTA, ISOLA DI SANT’ ANTIOCO

2009-06-12T14:25:00.001Z

Susannah in Carloforte, Sardinia
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

THURSDAY 4 JUNE - SATURDAY 6 2009

Thursday morning we went to see the friendly Marina Manager, Andrea, and negotiated a price to stay an extra night. It should have been 30 euros a night, but he offered a price of 50 euros for the two nights as it is not the height of the season and he had plenty of space. He also said he would get our gas bottle filled for us.

Carloforte is a lovely town with pastel painted houses and winding back streets. Although ferries run to and from the Island of San Pietro, tourism is very low key. Eating out is more expensive now, so we will have to start cooking more on board. However, it is very enjoyable shopping in the local stores and trying out our Italian.

On Friday, after getting our filled gas bottle back from Andrea and filling up with diesel in the fishing port, we sailed the 4 miles to Isola di Sant’ Antioco and anchored in a lovely wide bay by Calasetta. Although there was about a 20 knot wind, we were quite sheltered. Also anchored there was another British boat, and French, Dutch and Swedish boats.

The forecast was not very settled for the Saturday, so we decided to stay at Calasetta and took the dinghy ashore. Calasette is even more low key than Carloforte, with almost every corner being a surprise, culminating in the lovely ‘main’ street and piazzo a few streets back from the sea front. We stopped to talk to the people on the British boat, Gin Rummy, Simon and Katie, and they came over for a drink in the evening.

We stayed at Calasetta for three nights altogether, as I had a migraine on the Sunday.

The heat has definitely been turned on and most days are about 30 degrees.

Diesel - Carloforte: 1.12 euros a litre – 137 euros.

Marina Marinatur, Carloforte: 50 euros for 2 nights.

FORNELLS, MENORCA TO PORTO TORRE GRANDE, SARDINIA

2009-06-04T11:43:00.001Z

The lazy line we cut in Torre Grande, Sardinia
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

SUNDAY 31 MAY - WEDNESDAY 3 JUNE

We left Fornells when it was still dark at 5.15 a.m. It seemed strange to be leaving Spanish waters behind us, as we have been in Spain on and off for the past 18 months. We’re heading for a new culture, new cuisine and a new language.

As I was sick on the last night passage, I decided to put on an anti-seasickness patch – they last about 72 hours, so are great for longer journeys. We motored the first 100 miles and had to transfer diesel from our containers, but we were then able to sail most of the way.

During the night there was thunder, lightning and rain. It was quite enjoyable tracking the rain squalls on the radar and watching the sheet lightning light the sky but when the fork lightning started, I got worried. The only tall thing for miles around was us and if it was looking for something to hit, ‘Susannah’ could be the target! During the whole journey, we only picked up one ship on our AIS – and that was 35 miles away! I turned the radar off and contemplated turning the chart plotter off and putting both of them in the oven for protection, but in the end I didn’t want to be without the chart plotter. I’ve found the best way to pass a night watch is with my i-pod listening to Faithless and Metallica – it’s even better when you have your own light show to watch!

As we were nearing Sardinia, a securite message gave a strong wind warning of 7 – 8 for the area, which decided us that we would have to go into the Marina tonight. The pilot says the charge band for Torre Grande is 3, which is quite high, but the charge was only 22 euros a night. We arrived in a strong Force 5 and booked in for 2 nights because the wind is forecast to remain strong until tomorrow lunch time.

We spent the next day doing the washing and trying to get to grips with the Italian language, now we’re in Italian waters.

Our exit from the Marina on Wednesday was slightly embarrassing as we managed to catch our own lazy line – although we were right in the middle of the marina when it got caught in the prop. Roger had watched it sink, but it must have sunk very slowly! We called the Marineros to help us rebirth and Roger managed to untangle it – not easy with the Marineros watching as they didn’t want any more of their line cut! We finally left about 10.30 a.m. and motor sailed about 50 miles to Carlaforte, arriving about 7.30 p.m.

MARINA TORRE GRANDE: 44 euros for 2 nights, including water, electricity and showers. No internet.

BARCELONA TO FORNELLS, MENORCA - 120 MILES, 22 HOURS

2009-06-04T11:32:00.001Z

Fornells, Menorca
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

THURSDAY 28 - FRIDAY 29 MAY

We left mainland Spain for the last time to go to Menorca, ready for our crossing to Sardinia. We managed to sail over half the way there and only used about 40 litres of diesel. Small sail jelly fish accompanied us the whole way to Menorca. We had only seen these once before when we sailed to Tenby a few years ago. The only other wildlife we saw on the trip was a dolphin which jumped right next to the boat as I was looking into the water and scared the life out of me! I was feeling a little seasick late afternoon and couldn’t eat any tea. I took the 10 p.m. – 2 a.m. night watch, during which I was sick. It was a very clear night and the stars were magnificent, although I was feeling too ill to enjoy them.

We picked up one of the free buoys in Fornells about 8.30 a.m. and after a bacon and egg breakfast (I was feeling better by then!) had a siesta. There didn’t seem to be so many buoys as last year, but it may still be a little early in the season. Luckily, the wonderful cheap restaurants were open, still serving excellent menu del dias during the day and evening for about 8 euros.

Diesel: 1.05c, 40 euros.

Wildlife: Dolphins, Sail Jellyfish

BARCELONA - 24 - 27 MAY 2009

2009-05-27T16:22:00.001Z

Chimneys of Casa Mila
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

More sightseeing in Barcelona, including the Plaza de Espanya with its famous Magic Fountain, Montjuic, the Poble Espanyol, which was built for the 1929 International Exhibition and the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya which has an impressive collection of art dating from 12th Century. During the next couple of days we concentrated on Gaudi, visiting the Parc Guell and various Gaudi buildings, including the Sagrada Familia. We also managed a visit to The Ice Bar, where the temperature is kept at about -5 degrees and everything is made of ice, including the glasses you drink out of!

There is certainly plenty to keep you occupied in Barcelona, and would be an excellent choice for overwintering, as the prices at Port Olympic are very reasonable for long term stays.

We booked an extra couple of nights at the Marina as the weather looks better to make the 120 mile crossing to Menorca on Thursday.

MARINA: Port Olympic, Barcelona - 51 euros for 2 nights, including electricity and 30% discount.

BARCELONA

2009-05-27T16:18:00.001Z

Barcelona Maritime Museum
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

6 MAY 2009

My flight to the UK was late afternoon, so Roger and I managed some more sight seeing including the fantastic Maritime Museum and the Museuo de Erotica. We had visited the Museuo de Arte Erotica about 10 years ago, which had included pictures by Picasso, amongst others, but were disappointed in it now as it was about a third of the size and they had definitely taken the ‘art’ out of it.

MONTSERRAT

2009-05-27T16:16:00.001Z

Montserrat 4
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

5 MAY 2009

We took the train and cable car to visit the monastery at Montserrat – how come the monks always get the best real estate? The views were outstanding, as the monastery is situated 725 meters up the 1236m high mountain of Mont Serrat, which is made up of weird shaped conglomerate rocks. The excellent Museum houses world famous paintings by Picasso, Dali, Ramon Casas and Caravaggio. There are some superb walks up the mountain, with hermits’ caves and small chapels on the way. It was especially beautiful with the spring flowers.

VILANOVA TO BARCELONA - 31 MILES

2009-05-27T15:34:00.001Z

La Rambla
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

4 MAY 2009

We arrived at the friendly Port Olympic Marina just after lunch and managed a stroll up the Ramblas, a visit to FNAC with our faulty Television, and a meal at The Hard Rock Café.

PORT OLYMPIC MARINA: euros for 3 weeks, plus about 5 euros a night for electricity (we made do without the electricity). Cheaper than Port Vell.
Diesel – 0.95 c. per litre, 70 euros

CASTELLO DE LA PLANA - BAHIA DES ALFACS - 64 MILES

2009-05-27T15:29:00.002Z

A strong Force 6 blowing but fairly comfortable anchorage
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

29 APRIL - 1 MAY 2009

Getting diesel was quite a palaver, as we had to say how much diesel we wanted and couldn’t just fill the tanks up, so we had to guess. The machine would not accept my cards, so the marinero used his card and we had to give him cash. We finally left about 10.00 a.m. in sunshine. We managed to sail for a while and then Roger put the cruising shute up for the first time this year – it only involved two swearing sessions putting it up, but a few more getting it down. The boat is sailing very well and managed about 6.5 knots in a gentle breeze with the spinnaker. Bahia des Alfaces is a very large bay sheltered by a sand spit and salt lake. We motored about 6 miles to the further end of the bay to get the most shelter from any swell and anchored. The holding is excellent in sand or mud and should be protected in any weather.

The next day we relaxed at anchor and Roger gave the Seahopper another outing, trying to perfect the lug sail rig. He only seems to be able to go down wind at the moment. Luckily it’s got oars!

The wind blew up to a strong Force 6, so we decided to spend another day at anchor in the sheltered lagoon.

Diesel: 95 euros; 95c litre

2 MAY

BAHIA DE ALFACS- AMETLLA DE MAR - 47 MILES

The wind was still quite strong in the morning but had eased by lunch time, so we set off about 12.30 p.m. Roger wanted to sail off the anchor, which we managed, but almost immediately we ran aground in the shallow waters – a bit worrying when there is little tide to help lift you off! We managed to get off using full engine and using the sails to heel the boat slightly.

We managed to sail most of the way using the Spinnaker and later with the head sail poled out, and only had to motor the last 5 miles – our carbon footprint has just improved! Dolphins welcomed us to the port about 8.30 p.m.

3 MAY 2009

AMETLLA DE MAR - VILANOVA - 57 MILES

Set off in a Force 5 – 6 and had two reefs in the main, but within half an hour the wind dropped to a Force 3 and then a Force 2
MARINA VILANOVA - 31 euros

CASTELLO DE LA PLANA

2009-04-27T14:15:00.002Z

18th Century Town Hall, Castellon de la Plana
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

27 APRIL 2009

OK, Chris, you were right! This did turn out to be one of those places where we had an unexpected stay because of the weather that has surprised us. Castello de la Plana is quite a large city, being the capital of Castellon, with a lovely 18th century Plaza Mayor.

PUERTO SAPLAYA - CASTELLON DE LA PLANA

2009-04-26T15:40:00.001Z

Planaterium, Castellon de la Plana
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

SATURDAY 25 APRIL 2009

This coast of Spain is called the Costa del Azahar, the coast of Orange Blossom, and we have been smelling orange blossom quite strongly for the past few days, which reminds us of Seville. We set off in a fairly calm sea with the wind on the nose, but the seas gradually built up and were quite uncomfortable. We arrived in Castellon de la Plana in a strong force 5, which made Mediterranean mooring even more tricky, despite the help from the helpful Marineros. Although our forecast had not shown winds stronger than a 4, the Marinero said the next couple of days there were going to be some very strong winds, so we decided to stay put for a few days. We were therefore delighted to find out that the cost at this marina is only about 15 euros a night and has free WiFi!

SUNDAY 26 APRIL 2009

There wasn’t too much sign of the forecast strong winds at first, but during the day the wind got up to about a Force 5.
In the morning we visited the nearby Planetarium, which was excellent value for 2 euros – slightly cheaper than Madam Tussaud’s I think! The wind became stronger later on with rain and thunder, and the Marineros came round to check we were OK and said to call on Channel 9 if we needed anything.

MARINA: 15 euros a night; free WiFi, electricity, showers (although cold when I used them). For some reason, they have changed the men’s and women’s shower rooms around, which means the women get the urinals!

VALENCIA

2009-04-26T15:01:00.001Z

Mercado Central, Valencia
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

FRIDAY 24 APRIL 2009

What a fantastic city Valencia is! No wonder El Cid fought the Moors for it. There is a contrast between the ultra modern of the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias and the medieval old city, where any of the buildings date from the 14th Century. The magnificent art nouveau Mercado Central was opened in 1928 and is one of the largest markets in Europe. Opposite the market is the colonnaded hall of the 15th century Lonja de los Mercadores. We made our way through the narrow streets via the city gates of Torres de Quart and Torres de Serranos to the Plaza de la Virgen, passing the Palau de la Generalitat which was built in the 15th century and still looks like new! This is where the Valencian regional government is based. Next to the Cathedral is the 16th century Basilica which has a beautiful painted ceiling and an ornately dressed state of the Virgin. The Plaza de la Virgen is on the site of the original Roman forum, and we had a guided tour of the archaeological site La Almoina. The magnificent art nouveau station was completed in 1917 and looks like an enormous palace, and the nearby Post Office has a wonderful glass ceiling.

To do Valencia justice, more time was needed than the two days we had allowed. Definitely a city to return to in the future!

VALENCIA - CIUDAD DE LAS ARTES Y LAS CIENCIAS

2009-04-26T14:23:00.001Z

Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

THURSDAY 23 APRIL 2009

The Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias is an amazing futuristic design incorporating various buildings to house the Palau de les Artes, Hemisferic with an IMAX Cinema, Museo de las Ciencias and Oceanografic. It is quite expensive at 63 euros for the two of us. The Science Museum was not that impressive, but the Oceanografic was impressive. We had lunch in the Submarino restaurant, which has an aquarium going around the whole of the restaurant. There are several massive aquariums with different habitats from tropical to polar zones. The highlights for me were seeing the sea dragons, sea horses, walruses and the Mola Mola (sunfish). We have seen sunfish when we’re sailing, in the Med and UK, but usually only see their top fin, so it was interesting to see what the whole fish looks like!

As it had taken about 1.5 hours to get to the Centre by bus, we got a taxi back which took 10 minutes and only cost 10 euros.

BENIDORM - PUERTO SAPLAYA, VALENCIA

2009-04-26T13:48:00.001Z

1st Fish of the Season
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

TUESDAY 21 APRIL 2009

BENIDORM - DENIA - 47 MILES

We were woken about 7.30 a.m. by a knock on the hull – always disconcerting when you’re at anchor – and the police were there because we’d moored slightly inside a swimming buoy. It was a beautiful sunny day and flat sea. The wind got up to about 20 knots as we were nearing Calpe, so Roger decided to sail, which quickly heeled the boat, and one of his expensive sailing boats fell into the sea. We tacked about 5 miles offshore but by the time we turned for the homeward stretch, the wind had reduced to about 5 knots, so we ended up motoring the rest of the way – typical!

We arrived in Denia at about 4.30 and were shown to a berth in the Marina where a very pleasant girl in the office dealt with our paperwork. She said she had been working there for two years and we were the first English couple to speak to her in Spanish. After we changed our gas bottle in the chandlery we had a cocktail in one of the bars. There’s good a choice of restaurants and bars in the Marina so we went out for a meal later on. Although we didn’t have time to explore Denia, it looked a very attractive place.

MARINA: 20 euros, electricity & water metered, lovely individual bathrooms.

WEDNESDAY 22 APRIL 2009

DENIA - PUERTO SAPLAYA, VALENCIA - 53 MILES

Visibility was not so good, so we put the radar up – more toys to play with, but it turned into a lovely warm day. The countryside in this part of Spain is very pretty with houses and villas dotted up the slopes of the mountains. The highlights of the trip were spotting a sunfish and Roger catching the first fish of the season – a Bonito (like a small tuna). We motored the whole way, arriving in Puerta Saplaya 3 miles north of Valencia about 5 p.m. The port has only about 2 meters charted depth which silts up and we ran aground a couple of times trying to manouver. We were about to give up and go somewhere else when the Marinero called over to us and directed us to a berth. There is no water, electricity or showers, but there is a massive El Campo supermarket and shopping centre nearby.

MARINA: 25 euros per night, no water, electricity or showers. 3 miles to Valencia. The Americas Cup Marina would be better, but we didn’t know where it was and had no charts for it.

WILDLIFE: Sunfish

TORREVIEJA TO BENIDORM - 45 MILES

2009-04-26T13:28:00.001Z

The Seahopper, our new dinghy
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

MONDAY 20 APRIL 2009

After three weeks of strong afternoon winds, I was feeling a little nervous at leaving our safe harbour of the past six months in Torrevieja. The yacht club had everything we needed and had become like home and we’d made some good friends there. However, our mooring was paid until 20 April so as long as the forecast was good, we would be leaving.

We couldn’t have left any earlier, not only because of the weather but various things we’d ordered didn’t arrive until the last week. We ordered a Seahopper wooden collapsible dinghy from the Boat Show in London at the beginning of December, and it only arrived the Thursday before we left. A very expensive book Roger had ordered on the internet three weeks previously only arrived on the Friday. Tony from the Dive School kindly took our regulators to be serviced about three weeks ago but when he chased them, they still hadn’t been done, so after making sure they were safe but not serviced, Tony brought them to us on a very wet Sunday the day before we left.

We woke to blue sky and sun – quite a relief after the constant rain the day before – and after getting diesel we said goodbye to our home for the past six months. The first thing we noticed was that the auto helm wasn’t working! This meant we had to hand steer the whole way. The log was also not working, even though the boat had been lifted out of the water and any barnacles etc. stuck there had been removed. I spent the morning trying to learn how to operate our new Horizon chart plotter which is linked to our AIS system – great fun as when I put the cursor on the symbol showing another boat it gives me their name, call sign and speed. Roger had read that it was best to run our engine at about 2500 revs which meant we can now average about 6 – 6.5 knots instead of the previous 5 knots. It may also be going faster since we have had its bottom cleaned.

The gas ran out when Roger was making our toasted sandwiches for lunch, which meant emptying the cockpit locker to change it. The weather changed later on and we could see heavy showers and lightening on the coast. There were some heavy showers later on, but luckily I was having my siesta at the time. We arrived at Villajoyosa about 4.30 p.m. and asked for a berth on the radio but were told there weren’t any (although we could see empty spaces), so we anchored just around the corner off Benidorm. Roger spent about two hours trying to sort out the auto helm – a wire had come loose, probably when the men were wiring our new LED masthead lights. We had an uncomfortable night as, although there was only a slight swell, the boat lay sideways on to it.

OVERWINTERING IN TORREVIEJA

2009-04-25T16:04:00.000Z

Torrevieja proved to be a good choice for overwintering on the Costa Blanca, the town has everything one needs, except charm! The Club Nautico offers friendly staff, immaculately clean facilities and a good, relatively cheap, restaurant. Sheila and I quickly settled into the routine of eating out every day as there are many cheap and interesting cafes and restaurants – it seemed to work out cheaper and easier than shopping and cooking on board. In addition, there are several well stocked and helpful chandleries which made the many maintenance jobs easier.

People who ask us how do you fill your time have, obviously, never lived on a boat. During the sailing season many things malfunction (the salt-water, high ultra-violet, environment is not kind!), most are bodged pending a winter refit (see, for example, our earlier account of the blocked bog!). We arrived in Torrevieja in October and I only finished my job list in the following April! Among the tasks undertaken were the following:

(1) Drain outboard motor of petrol (it goes off if left over winter and coats the spark plug, preventing ignition) and change outboard oil;
(2) Drain and replace inboard engine oil. Fit new oil filter, diesel, and air filter;
(3) Engage mechanic to fix/replace malfunctioning fuel, oil pressure and water temperature gauges;
(4) Remove sails and engage sail maker to replace zip in stack pack and fit new sacrificial strip to headsail;
(5) Fit new compass, chart plotter and AIS system;
(6) Make new access panel for heads, replace and refit all head pipes and valves; including fitting new shower head and basin drain;
(7) Teak oil hand rails and cockpit grating;
(8) Varnish companionway and wash boards;
(9) Paint headlining in heads and aft cabin;
(10) Organize lift out, pressure wash, the fitting of new anodes and the polishing of topsides;
(11) Fit new bilge pump;
(12) Drain suitcase generator oil and petrol and replace oil;
(13) Clean and pickle water-maker;
(14) Grease rudder stock and stern gland;
(15) Remove and wash all halyards;
(16) Remove cockpit canopy;
(17) Fit new LED anchor and tricolor lights at masthead
(18) Grease all sea cocks
(19) Dose diesel tank with biocide (I use the Marine 16 product)
(20) Make and fit new plugs for sealing anchor and chain locker;
(21) Fit additional buoyancy bags to new “Seahopper” dinghy;
(22) Service winches and fit new spring (the old one was lost during a previous service!).

In addition to all this work, we enjoyed the company of two lots of visitors. The first were Dianna and Graham, friends who we seduced into sailing some years ago (and who are still talking to us!), who visited us in October. Unusually, the weather was very bad and we only managed to go sailing for a few hours one morning, only to return to the Club Nautico in time to see a large waterspout head for the coast! Our other visitors were daughter Jessica and her friend Ruth who came out to complete their PADI open water diving qualification in warmer conditions than the UK could offer.

We enjoyed a good social life in Torrevieja; eating out and drinking with other overwintering sailors. I regret not having more time to practice sun sights from the South facing harbor wall and not sailing the new “Seahopper” in the sheltered waters of the harbor, but there will be other opportunities. As always, we set sail with both excited anticipation of new adventures in new places and the ever-present fear of the unknown.

JESS & RUTH’S VISIT TO TORREVIEJA

2009-03-23T11:09:00.001Z

What's so funny?
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

17 - 22 MARCH

Roger and I are now back in Torrevieja, and Roger is doing all the boat jobs needed before we set off sailing again.

Our daughter, Jessica, and her friend Ruth came out to visit us for a few days so they could finish off their PADI Open Water Diving course. They wanted to do it in warmer waters than the UK (who can blame them?), but it seemed pretty cold to us at 15 degrees! Max Scuba Diving is run by Tony and Lin, a very friendly and accommodating couple, which enabled Jessica and Ruth to enjoy their diving and feel confident. On the first day Roger and I used our semi-dry wetsuits and went diving as well, but wimped out on the second day, preferring to wait for warmer water when we can use shorty wetsuits and a lot less weight!

We managed to pack a lot into four days, including a lot of eating. The first two days were spent diving, and then a meal with the people from the Salinas Marina in our regular Chinese Restaurant.

The next day we spent a couple of hours on the beach, had lunch, visited our friends in the Salinas Marina, had enormous ice creams at a Heladeria and then cycled to the salt lakes. In the evening we visited the local stalls and funfair before going to the German restaurant.

On the last day we visited the Torrevieja submarine, went to a Pasteleria (cake shop), had lunch on Alistair’s boat (Koala) and then watched the Wales v. Ireland rugby match in a local bar. We finished off with tapas in another bar, after which the girls left us about 11 p.m. to see what night life they could find without the oldies.

POSTSCRIPT TO OUR TRIP - THE BUSHFIRES

2009-02-10T00:22:00.000Z

No doubt by now many of you will have read or seen news resports of the horrific fires that have swept through Victoria. This is Australia’s worst disaster. The confirmed death toll this morning was 173, but that will rise a lot more. Over 750 homes have been destroyed, 5000 people have been evacuated and vast swathes of land have been destroyed. It has been heartbreaking to watch the news and hear of parents who have lost their children, and children who have lost their parents. The ones who count themselves lucky are those who escaped with their family and just the clothes on their backs.

Many of the areas that Roger and I visited have been badly affected. The Rochford Winery, where we saw Leonard Cohen, is on the Maroondah Highway near Healsville, which has been under serious threat since yesterday. The Tidal River campsite we stayed on in Wilson’s Promontory was evacuated yesterday as a rapidly building fire was affecting the Promontory. We had passed very close to the town of Marysville which was all but wiped out.

The Australians are an amazingly resilient people and offers of help poured in immediately. Funds have been set up to help those so badly affected. Lisa’s firm, Amcor, have offered to match any money raised by the staff. A newspaper group has offered $1,000,000.

On Australia Day I listened to the radio where people were asked what made them proud to be Australian. I think the reactions of people to this unprecedented disaster would make any one proud to be Australian – apart from those murderers (the Prime Minister’s words) who started the fires.

PHILLIP ISLAND TO MENTONE - 170 Km

2009-02-09T22:47:00.001Z

It reached 45 degrees the next day!
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

SATURDAY 31 JANUARY 2009

We drove back to Tony’s house in order to clean the very dusty vehicle as before returning it to Britz. It had been a great trip with varied countryside and a fantastic way to visit Victoria.

The temperature reached 45 degrees in Melbourne yesterday, breaking all records. Some serious bush fires broke out in Gipsland on Thursday, not far from where we had been travelling. It took about three days to get them under control and about 29 houses, several cars and a wide area of farmland and bush were destroyed. Problems continued in Melbourne with about 750 trains cancelled and power cuts across the city and suburbs to limit the use of electricity, resulting in people being stuck in lifts, air conditioners failing, and the cancellation of the Roberta Flack concert on Friday. About 30 people died due to heat related causes, and many of the vineyards in the Murray River and Yarra Valley areas have lost a most of their crop.

LOCK SPORT TO TIDAL RIVER, WILSONS PROMONTORY

2009-01-30T03:22:00.001Z

Wombat
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

THURSDAY 29 JANUARY 2009

We went to collect the tyre, but the inner tube was shredded and he didn’t have a replacement, so we had to go to Sale to get it changed. We didn’t leave until 12.30 p.m. and drove to Yarram for lunch and then on to the small village of Port Albert to look at the interesting Maritime Museum. We had a look at Port Newport where there was a small marina and then drove to Wilsons Promontory which is the most southern point of Australia.

The weather was just as hot today - 43 degrees Celsius is about 107 degrees Fahrenheit! The radio was constantly giving advice on how to stay cool, look after animals, and reporting fires. By the end of the day over 200 trains had been cancelled due to lines buckling and the air-conditioning not working. There was also a report that the road next to Tony’s street was closed because a power line was down and on fire. We had no phone signal, so we couldn’t contact him.

We camped at the campsite at Tidal River and went for a walk in the evening when it had cooled a little. We saw a wombat drinking from a puddle formed by a dripping tap – the first live wombat I have seen that wasn’t in a zoo! Norman Beach is beautiful and the boardwalk walk along the river led through the wetlands where there were black cockatoos, herons, teal and ducks.

WILDLIFE: Live Wombat, Crimson Rosellas, Black Cockatoos

SALE TO LOCK SPORT, GIPSLAND - 84 Km

2009-01-30T02:55:00.001Z

Changing the tyre in 43 degrees!
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

WEDNESDAY 28 JANUARY 2009

I have been in e-mail contact with Deirdre Lebbon for the past couple of years, as we are both descendents of Lawrence Rostron. When she heard we were going to be in Melbourne, she kindly invited us to visit, so Roger and I spent a lovely morning with them. After lunch we set off on an easy 4WD track through the Sale Common Wetlands towards the lakes and the 90 mile beach. On the way we managed to blow the rear tyre. This was one of the hottest days of record – 43 degrees - and Roger had to lay in the dirty grey boiling hot sand to get the jack underneath. Luckily, we managed to change the tyre without too much problem, but it was so heavy it took two of us to do it.

We got to Lock Sport which is on the banks of Lake Victoria and the 90 Mile Beach, which is the world’s third longest uninterrupted beach. We drove to the Marina Hotel for a much needed cold beer and decided to stay at the local caravan park as I was too nervous to continue driving off road with no spare tyre. We found a local garage and left our tyre there, and had a meal at the Hotel. There was a wonderful sunset when we left.

WILDLIFE: Emu, Black Swans,

NOOJEE TO SALE - 254 Km

2009-01-30T02:53:00.001Z

The 270 year old Ada Tree
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

TUESDAY 27 JANUARY 2009

We walked to the spectacular Toorongo Falls near where we had camped overnight, and then drove through Noojee to walk to the Ada Tree. This is a Mountain Ash thought to be over 300 years old, is 76 meters high and has a circumference of 15 meters. Having done our two walks through the rainforest, we then drove to Warburton for lunch and then on to Sale.

WILDLIFE: Lizard, Crimson Rosetta, Sulpher Crested Cockatoo, Rabbits

HEALSVILLE TO NOOJEE - 190 Km

2009-01-30T02:52:00.001Z

Valley near Noojee
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

MONDAY 26 JANUARY 2009 - AUSTRALIA DAY!

It is 221 years since Captain Philip and the convict ships first landed at Sidney Cove. We drove over 100 kilometers to Woods Point through the Yarra Ranges National Park, one of Victoria’s largest temperate rainforests, but when we got there the one small shop had sold out of the map we would need to do the 4WD tracks and the pub had stopped serving food! We drove about 60 Km through the park on an unsurfaced road and went for a cream tea in Noojee, a lovely quiet village on the edge of the Yarra State Forest. We had intended driving further, but the friendly owner of the café came and chatted to us and suggested we camp by the Tooronga River. He talked about how the village had been wiped out twice by bush fires. The last one in 1939 killed 73 people in Victoria. The route to the campsite was through one of the most beautiful valleys I have seen.

WILDLIFE: Crimson Rosella, Kookaburra, Sulpher Crested Cockatoo

THORNTON TO HEALESVILLE - 150 Km

2009-01-27T09:25:00.001Z

Leonard Cohen concert, Rochford Winery
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

FRIDAY 23 - SUNDAY 25 JANUARY 2009

On Friday we drove to Healesville in the Yarra Valley - a fantastic Winery area. Our son joined us from Melbourne on Saturday in order to go to the Leonard Cohen concert in the Rochford Winery. We arranged for a bus to pick us up so we could enjoy the wonderful (and expensive) Rochford wine without having to worry about driving back. The concert was amazing with a superb atmosphere in the grounds of the winery! It was hard to believe that Leonard Cohen is now 75. His backing group and vocals were all fantastic musicians in their own right. Roger is a massive Leonard Cohen fan and when he heard he was doing a world tour and performing in Spain, we intended going to the concert in Valencia in August, but we were in the Balearics. We were back in the UK at the end of November and Roger was kicking himself when he found out Leonard Cohen had been in London the week before! So when Tony mentioned he was in Australia we just had to go.

On the Sunday, Tony’s wife Lisa joined us and we visited Healsville Sanctuary, which is a small wildlife park with only Australia animals and I finally got to see a Duckbill Platypus! The sanctuary tries to restore sick animals and release them back into the wild whenever possible.

WILDLIFE: Ibis (in campsite), Duckbilled Platypus and live Wombat plus lots more at Healsville Sanctuary

MOUNT STIRLING TO THORNTON, GOULBURN RIVER - 280 Km THURSDAY 22 JANUARY 2009

2009-01-27T09:10:00.007Z

Tree at Stringybark Creek where Ned Kelly's gang shot 3 policemen
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

It was quite windy and threatening rain, so we set off before breakfast as we did not want to be trapped on 4WD tracks on the mountain. Because of the drought and forest fires, trees are less stable and more likely to come down. There was a weather warning because the temperature was set to rise to about 35 degrees and strong winds were expected to reach 90 kilometers an hour. An extreme fire warning was given for the whole of Victoria. The area is so dry there is a very real risk of fire and the radio gave up to date information all day. We crossed a few fords and then up to Mount Buller ski resort, where it was very windy and cold - about 16 degrees. We managed to find a café that was open and had a good breakfast.

We visited Stringybark Creek near Mansfield, where three local policemen had been shot by the Ned Kelly gang, and then drove through some heavy rain and lightning to the dam at Lake Eildon. The dam was built in 1950 by the American company which built the Hoover Dam and has a capacity to hold 6 times as much water as Sydney Harbour, and provides hydroelectric power and irrigation for the area. We found a lovely caravan site at Thornton on the banks of the Goulburn River.

WILDLIFE: Dead Wombat, Kangaroos, Rabbits, Kookuburra, Sulpher Crested Cockatoos, Galahs, Crimson Rosella, Green Parrots, Black Swans

TOCOMWAL TO MOUNT STIRLING

2009-01-27T07:50:00.001Z

Copperhead Snake
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

TUESDAY 20 JANUARY 2009

TOCOMWAL TO HOWQUA, LAKE EILDON - 213 Km

We drove to Mansfield, stopping at Benalla for lunch, and saw a wombat on the side of the road that must have been killed by a car. It was extremely hot again with a complete fire ban. We found a caravan site at Howqua on the banks of Lake Eildon but couldn’t see any water in it. The water level is down to about 28% and the last time it reached capacity was about 1996.

WILDLIFE: Dead Wombat, Sulpher Crested Cockatoo, Green Parrots, Galahs

WEDNESDAY 21 JANUARY 2009

HOWQUA TO MOUNT STIRLING - 104 Km

We drove to the mountain ranges near Mansfield and then took the 4WD tracks through the woods and up hair pin bends, passing mountain huts used for walkers or cross country skiers in winter – hard to imagine snow in this area as everything looks so dry. A Copperhead Snake slithered across the track in front of us. Apparently Copperheads are venomous but not aggressive!

We found a lovely place to camp down a steep track by a stream in the middle of the woods. By now the campervan is covered in a fine dust, inside and out.

WILDLIFE: Copperhead Snake, Green Parrots, Sulpher Crested Cockatoo, Crimson Rosella, Galahs

ECHUCA-MOAMA TO TOCOMWAL - 150 Km

2009-01-25T08:16:00.003Z

Does my bum look big
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

MONDAY 19 JANUARY 2009

We drove on 4WD tracks through Barmah State Forest which is home to the world’s largest red gum forest. We stopped to look at Lake Barmah and saw a beautiful Fairy Wren, which is bright blue and has a long tail.

We found a lovely place to camp by the Murray River, and then noticed that there was a Koala bear snoozing in the tree above the campervan. He woke when we arrived but didn’t seem bothered and went back to sleep. A baby Koala was asleep further up the tree. They stayed there all afternoon dozing in the heat, occasionally looking at us, until the evening when they made their way up the tree to eat the eucalyptus leaves. Later on a kangaroo came down to the river quite close to us.

WILDLIFE: Koalas, Kangaroos, Fairy Wren, Sulpher Crested Cockatoos, Galahs, Green Parrots

GUNBOWER ISLAND TO ECHUCA-MOAMA - 127 Km

2009-01-23T21:24:00.003Z

Gunbower Island
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

SUNDAY 18 JANUARY 2009

Five minutes after leaving our woodland campsite we found some stunning places by the Murray River where we could have camped. Gunbower Island is a massive area of marshes and waterways, and we drove through the forest on rough 4WD tracks, often following the Murray River. It was more like a mystery tour as we didn’t have a detailed map of the area, and ended up about 20 Km north of where we thought we were!

We drove to Echuca and visited the historical port area. Echuca and Moama were founded by two ex-convicts in 1845 and 1851, and by the 1890s Echuca was Australia’s largest inland port. A few shark attacks have been reported recently and in a camping shop we overheard a conversation between the owner and a couple of customers discussing the merits of being attacked by a shark or a crocodile. The script could have come straight out of a Crocodile Dundee movie.

WILDLIFE: Kangaroos, rabbits, green parrot, cormorant, heron, crested pigeon, sulpher crested cockatoo

GUNBOWER ISLAND TO ECHUCA-MOAMA - 127 Km

2009-01-23T21:24:00.001Z

Gunbower Island
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

LAKE MOURNPALL TO GUNBOWER ISLAND - 298 Km

2009-01-23T21:13:00.001Z

Pioneer Village, Swan Hill
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

SATURDAY 17 JANUARY 2009

One of the friendly Park Rangers visited in the morning and we had a chat to her and then drove to Swan Hill, which was named by Major Mitchell because he was kept awake all night by the noise of the black swans. We visited the excellent Pioneer Settlement village. Old buildings have been transported there to show the different ways people lived in the region. One cottage was made from dropped logs, avoiding the use of too many nails, and a mud brick kitchen. A ‘pre-fab’ iron house made out of corrugated iron had been shipped over from the UK. There was also a real estate agency, print shop, a draper, a chemist and dentists – you wouldn’t want to have toothache in those days! We went on a one hour cruise on a paddle steamer on the Murray.

At 2756 kilometers long the Murray is the third largest river in the world after Nile and the Amazon, and continuously navigatable for 1986 kilometers. With its tributaries, it is part of the third largest water catchment area on earth. It also has the largest Red Gum forest and the largest Ibis rookery in the world. It also hosts the longest annual canoe race at 404 kilometers. Some river!

We drove to Gunbower Island and after driving around the woodland tracks, camped in the woods for the night.

WILDLIFE: Blue-faced honeyeater, Noisy miner bird, kangaroos, rabbits, green parrots

MILDURA TO LAKE MOURNPALL (Hattah-Kulkyne National Park) - 184 Km

2009-01-23T07:25:00.001Z

Sulpher-crested Cockatoos
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

FRIDAY 16 JANUARY 2009

After getting supplies in Mildura, we set off, passing many vineyards on the way, including Lindemans. This area is referred to the food bowl of Australia because it grows 95% of its dried fruit, 69% of table grapes and 21% of citrus fruits. It also grows a significant portion of the country’s almonds, pistachios, olives, carrots and asparagus.

We drove to the Hattah-Kulkyne National Park and almost immediately kangaroos were running in front of the vehicle and a group of emus trotted past, quickly followed by a fox - but he may have been after the rabbits we had seen.

After visiting the Visitor Centre and chatting to the Ranger, we went along 4WD tracks crossing dried up riverbeds and creeks. The Hattah-Kulkyne park is an area of lakes, creeks and billabongs which flood occasionally when the Murray floods its banks. At the moment they are all dried up and there is concern that flooding is far les frequent, partly because of the long drought but also due to diverting water from the Murray for agricultural and domestic purposes. We saw some of the huge River Red Gum trees that grow by the river and creek beds, and walked across a completely dried up creek.

We got to the basic campsite about 6 p.m. and immediately noisy miner birds and beautiful blue-faced honeyeaters came to visit. On Saturday and Sunday there is a cull of the wild goats and pigs in the park, so certain areas will be cordoned off. The parks in Victoria are very tightly managed to ensure that any damage to vegetation, woodland and animals is minimized by either humans or animals. This area has been cordoned off by a kangaroo fence to limit the numbers of kangaroos inside the park.

WILDLIFE: Crested pigeon, Kangaroos, emus, fox, rabbits, green parrot, noisy miner bird, blue-faced honeyeater.

PHENYS TRACK TO MILDURA (Murray River)

2009-01-14T06:34:00.001Z

A Family of Kangaroos
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

WEDNESDAY 14 JANUARY 2009

The advised temperature today for this area is between 41 and 44 degrees! We left early to avoid most of the heat and arrived in Mildura about lunch time and found a camp site by the River. It was too hot to do anything, so we spent the afternoon in an internet café – books and coffee for Roger, Internet and orange juice for me.

WILDLIFE: Grey Kangaroos, Emus, Shingleback Lizard, Gallahs, Green Parrots

BROKEN BUCKET BOREHOLE TO PHENYS TRAK (Murray-Sunset National Park)

2009-01-14T06:23:00.003Z

The Pink Lakes
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

TUESDAY 13 JANUARY 2009

Kangaroos visited our campsite in the morning. It was the hottest day of the year so far. The forecast was 39 degrees but our thermometer was registering 44 in the shade! We drove through the Big Desert and stopped at Murrayville, and found out that there is a total fire ban today and tomorrow because of the heat. This means we can’t use our gas stove at all. We drove over easy 4WD tracks to the Pink Lakes, which are dried up salt lakes at this time of year and then through the Murray-Sunset National Park. Two emus ran in front of us along the track and we stopped to look at a Shingleback Lizard lazing in the sun.

We got to our campsite about 2.30 and once again we were the only people there. The campsites in the bush are very basic - the most luxurious have benches, BBQ area and pit toilets. Others just have cleared ground. This one had a pit toilet, but was covered in cobwebs, so it was not advisable to visit in the dark as Australia has some very nasty spiders. I checked each time that the spiders were in their webs. We sat in the shade but it was still very hot and the flies would not leave us alone. They got in our eyes, up our noses and other orifices! I'm in the middle of reading 'The Thorn Birds' and I didn't have to imagine the heat, dust and flies that are talked about. About mid afternoon there was a loud rumbling noise and a willy willy (a small whirlwind) came hurtling through our campsite. At dusk birds of prey swooped down to investigate us and then we were buzzed by the bats - at which time we retreated to the baking campervan.

WILDLIFE: Grey Kangaroos, Emus, Rabbits, Goats, Shingleback Lizzards

DIMBOOLA TO BROKEN BUCKET BOREHOLE (BIG DESERT) - 218 Km

2009-01-14T06:20:00.001Z

Trying to dig ourselves out
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

MONDAY 12 JANUARY 2009

We were ready to leave about 10.00 a.m. and discovered we’d got a flat battery! The Manager of the campsite helped jumpstart the vehicle and made sure the battery was well charged before we left. It was lucky we were on a serviced campsite as the past four campsites were very basic and no Manager. We picked up supplies in Dimboola and then drove to the Big Desert.

We went along one track for about 17 Km and came to a very steep part with deep sand. Despite trying to dig, we couldn’t get the vehicle up the track, so had to turn around and go a much longer way round. A lot of the tracks were up and down and it was rather like being in a roller coaster. We got to a basic camp site by a waterhole about 5.30 p.m. very tired.

WILDLIFE: Fox, Rabbits, Galahs, Green Parrots, Birds of Prey.

LITTLE DESERT 114 Km

2009-01-14T06:09:00.001Z

Friendly possum
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

SUNDAY 11 JANUARY

It was a cool night and only about 10 degrees by morning, but very hot during the day. We went over some rough sandy 4WD tracks through the Little Desert and arrived at a campsite at Dimboola. On the way we saw red kangaroos and quite a few emu. The campsite was full of galahs, cockatoos and green budgerigars. Just as we were going to bed, about three possums came down to see us and seemed quite tame – one tugged at my shoe!

WILDLIFE: Red Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Emu, Common Bushy Tail Possum, Galahs, Sulpher Crested Cockatoo, Green Budgerigars

LITTLE DESERT - 137 Km

2009-01-14T06:06:00.001Z

Broughton Waterhole
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

SATURDAY 10 JANUARY

Roger went for a run in the morning and came face to face with a very large red kangaroo who looked like he was ready to box! We set off about 11.00 a.m. and drove through Nhill and then west to east through the Little Desert on deep sandy 4WD tracks.

We got to our campsite at Broughton Waterhole about 2 p.m. and had lunch. It was a lovely spot in the bush with a cleared area and waterhole, but plenty of shade. We put the awning up on the campervan for the first time and sat under its shade. We needed it as it was 32 degrees in the shade and the thermometer was showing over 50 in the sun! When it got cooler we went for a 6 km walk to Mount Turner. It’s an exaggeration to call it a mountain, as it’s only about 6 meters high, but it gave good views in all directions of the scrub land of the Little Desert. The waterhole looked lovely at sunset and some birds came to drink, we didn’t see any other wildlife there.

WILDLIFE: Kangaroos, Rose Robin, Emus, Galahs, Sulpher Crested Cockatoos, Buzzard

THE GRAMPIANS TO THE LITTLE DESERT - 216 Km

2009-01-14T05:55:00.001Z

Aboriginal Hand Paintings, Manja Shelter
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

FRIDAY 9 JANUARY 2009

Kangaroos came to watch us in the campsite in the morning. We visited the Manja shelter to see the aboriginal hand paintings. We drove through the Grampians on 4WD tracks - one was too steep and rocky, so we turned around. We walked to the magnificent McKenzie falls which Mitchell discovered on his 1836 trek.

We bought some supplies in Horsham before driving through the Little Desert, arriving at the Kiata basic campsite about 5.30 p.m. A possum came to visit just before we went to bed.

WILDLIFE: Eastern Grey Kangaroos, 3 Emus, Possum, Sulpher Crested, Cockatoos, Galahs, Possum, Crimson Rosella, Green Parrot.

THE GRAMPIANS - 125 Km

2009-01-14T05:51:00.001Z

Eastern Grey Kangaroo
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

THURSDAY 8 JANUARY 2009

We set off on a 4WD track, but it was closed so we went back to the Brambuk Centre to get an up to date list of passes that are open. We drove from Hall’s Gap to the Buandik Campsite on 4WD tracks, passing through some of the areas that had been devastated in the fire of January 2006 and are still recovering. A couple of Emus ran in front of us. We walked from the campsite to the Billimina Shelter, a massive overhanging rock, which was a very important aboriginal site and contains aboriginal art. We saw a few kangaroos on the way and a couple where we were camped. There were a lot of Kookaburras near the campsite and one sat on our kettle!

WILDLIFE: Grey Kangaroos, Emu, Kookaburras, Crimson Rosettas,

TOTTINGTON - THE GRAMPIANS - 145 Km

2009-01-14T05:48:00.001Z

Sheering in Lawrence Rostron's woolshed
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

WEDNESDAY 7 JANUARY 2009

My great great grandfather, Lawrence Rostron, took out a license for Tottington in 1844 and built a small cottage there about 1847. Bryan Small’s parents bought Tottington in 1955 and Bryan still lives there with his wife. Bryan has about 4,500 acres now. Roger and I arrived about 10.00 and had coffee with them in the lovely courtyard. We had a look around the house, which is quite large and includes the ballroom and two wings that Lawrence Rostron built. We then visited the Woolshed Lawrence Rostron built, which is the oldest surviving woolshed in Victoria and is a Grade A listed building. We were very lucky as Bryan was having some sheep sheared. It was wonderful to see the woolshed built so long ago still being used for its original purpose.

We drove to the town of Stowell for lunch and then to Hall’s Gap in The Grampians, where we visited the Brambuk Cultural Centre which gave very informative displays on the history and culture of the area and the indigenous population.

We drove along an unsealed road to our campsite in the middle of the forest, where we saw Grey Kangaroo and a Mistletoe bird.

WILDLIFE: Grey Kangaroo; Misteltoe bird

BALLARAT TO ST. ARNAUD - 100 Km

2009-01-14T05:44:00.003Z

Farmers' Arms, built by my gt gt grandfather's son, John Rostron
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

TUESDAY 6 JANUARY 2009

It was warmer today at about 35 degrees. We visited the Eureka Museum near Ballarat which has displays telling the story of the Eureka Stockade, where miners fought against soldiers for the right to mine without paying the high licence fee and for the right to vote. 28 miners and 6 soldiers were killed and led to a more democratic government in Australia. We then visited Sovereign Hill, which is a reconstructed gold mining town of the area, and includes miners tents, miners cottages, schools, churches, wheelwrights, gold smelting and various shops and cafes. After visiting the nearby Gold Museum, we left arrived in St. Arnaud about 4 p.m. The town seemed half asleep, with not many people around, but there are some lovely old buildings in the main street.

We had a meal in The Farmer’s Arms. My great great grandfather’s son, John Reid Rostron, built the hotel in 1859. It was first called The Tottington Hotel, and burnt down, but was rebuilt and later called the Farmers’Arms.

MELBOURNE TO BALLARAT - 120 Km

2009-01-14T05:42:00.001Z

Ballarat
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

MONDAY 5 JANUARY 2009

After picking up our Toyota Landcruiser Campervan, we drove back to Tony’s house to pack everything in the van. It was a lovely day and a comfortable 30 degrees. We left about 1.30 p.m. and arrived in Ballarat about 3.30 p.m. Ballarat was founded during the gold rush of 1851 and has lovely boulevards and bluestone buildings.

Jess's last night

2009-01-02T23:15:00.001Z

Jess's last night
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

New Year's Eve

2009-01-02T23:13:00.001Z

New Year's Eve
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

Christmas Morning on the Beach

2009-01-02T22:34:00.001Z

Christmas Morning on the Beach
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

8 - 13 December 2008

2008-12-19T07:13:00.002Z

Wat Arun, Bangkok
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

On our way to Australia, 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.

19 - 21 November 2008

2008-12-19T05:57:00.001Z

Junko on Susannah
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

We met Junko, who is Japanese, in Seville last year in our Spanish classes and we became good friends. Junko 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.

25 Oct - 30 Oct 2008

2008-12-19T05:52:00.002Z

Parque de la Mata
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

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.

4 - 25 Oct 2008

2008-12-19T05:42:00.002Z

Roger & I on our wreck dive
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

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 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 in the Mar Menor.

ISLAS DE ESPALMADOR AND FORMENTERA

2008-10-04T13:58:00.001Z

Our anchorage on Espalmador, off Formentera
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

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

SANTA PONSA (MALLORCA) - SAN ANTONIO (IBIZA)

2008-10-04T13:40:00.001Z

Welsh Pub in San Antonio
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

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

2008-10-04T13:37:00.001Z

Puerto de Cabrera
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

FRIDAY - SATURDAY 19 - 20 SEPTEMBER 2008

We planned to visit the Island of Cabrera, which is a National Maritime and Terrestial Park for a couple of nights, and practice diving. There are 10 islands in all 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 wardens come 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

2008-10-04T13:35:00.001Z

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 for 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 Palm 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

2008-10-04T13:33:00.000Z

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

2008-09-14T12:30:00.002Z

Fornells
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

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 lasoo 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 being 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.

ES GRAU & ADDAYA

2008-09-06T16:43:00.001Z

Albufera
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

FRIDAY 29 - SUNDAY 31 AUGUST 2008

ISLA DE AIRES - ES GRAO - 8 MILES

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.

RESCUE AT ISLA DE AIRES

2008-09-06T16:41:00.001Z

Roger to the rescue!
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

THURSDAY 28 AUGUST 2008

CALA TREBELUJA - ISLA DE AIRES - 16 MILES

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 problems!

CALA TREBELUJA

2008-09-06T16:40:00.001Z

River at Cala Trebeluja
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

MONDAY 25 - WEDNESDAY 27 AUGUST 2008

CIUDADELLA - CALA TREBELUJA - 16 MILES

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.

CIUDADELLA

2008-09-06T16:39:00.001Z

Ciudadela
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

FRIDAY 22 - SUNDAY 24 AUGUST 2008

PUERTO DE POLLENCA - CIUDADELLA 35 MILES

We set off for Ciudadella 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 Ciudadella 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. At that point we decided to turn around and head back to Puerto de Pollenca – 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 Ciudadella and went into the Marina, as there are not any anchorages convenient to visit the beautiful old town. Ciudadella was the capital of Menorca for a couple of thousand years until the British took over and moved the capital to Mehon in 1722. Ciudadella 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.

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

SOLLER - PUERTO DE POLLENCA - 35 MILES

2008-09-06T16:38:00.001Z

Alison & I
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

THURSDAY 14 - THURSDAY 21 AUGUST 2008

We decided to head for Puerto de Pollenca 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 Pollenca 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 Dor 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 5-6

2008-09-06T16:37:00.001Z

Arctic Fox dragging another boat with it!
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

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.

SOLLER

2008-09-06T16:36:00.001Z

Bay of Soller
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

TUESDAY 12 AUGUST 2008

Jessica 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.

SUNDAY 10 - MONDAY 11 AUGUST 2008

2008-09-01T17:25:00.001Z

Jenny at Cala de la Calobra
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

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 shute 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

THURSDAY 7 - SATURDAY 9 AUGUST 2008

2008-09-01T17:09:00.001Z

Out to dinner in Soller
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

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.

MONDAY 4 - WEDNESDAY 6 AUGUST 2008

2008-09-01T17:04:00.001Z

Jessica and the jelly fish
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

We collected 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.

PUNTA NEGRA

2008-08-04T06:39:00.001Z

Susannah in Punta Negra
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

WEDNESDAY 30 JULY - MONDY 4 AUGUST

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 Lidels within easy walking distance and some excellent ferraterias 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, 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 - LAS ILLETAS

2008-08-04T06:27:00.001Z

Santa Ponsa
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

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 - - SANTA PONSA, MALLORCA - 55 MILES

2008-08-02T06:58:00.001Z

We had to change course for this one!
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

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 - PUERTO DE SAN MIGUEL, IBIZA

2008-08-02T06:51:00.001Z

Some of Ibiza's beautiful coastline
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

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 in 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 - SAN ANTONIO BAY, IBIZA - 60 MILES

2008-08-02T06:42:00.001Z

Susannah at anchor in Ibiza
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

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 in 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 meridium line, and our position will be East from now on.

TORREVIEJA - MORAIRA

2008-08-02T06:33:00.001Z

Benidorm
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

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 manouvering 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 he had been charged 175 euros in one Marina and 250 in another in the Balearics! We will definitely be anchoring!

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

MAR MENOR - TORREVIEJA - 14 MILES

2008-08-01T05:56:00.001Z

Another sub - Torrevieja
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

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

2008-07-21T07:15:00.001Z

Our new Diving Tanks
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

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

2008-07-21T06:08:00.001Z

Elaine & John's Villa
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

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 Torevieja. 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 party usually start about midnight and go on until 6.00 a.m.!

CARTAGENA - THE MAR MENOR - 37 MILES

2008-07-21T05:55:00.001Z

Entering the Mar Menor
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

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

2008-07-17T18:52:00.001Z

Submarine leaving Cartagena
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

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 backbecause 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.