3/7/23 Gibraltar
It was a full-on rainy day. As the madam in “Pretty Baby”
once said; “there is only two things to do on a rainy day, and I don’t like
playing cards.” Clearly, she did not live on a boat! There is always lots to do
and maintain. With tomorrow being the planned departure day, it was time to
stow and secure equipment and daily use stuff.
The rain stopped around noon so we walked to the chandlery
to pick up a few items; new boat hook, tethers for our harnesses, fuses and
some screws. I was still looking for a rivet gun, but did not want to spend the
200 pounds they wanted, though it was a really nice one. The chandlery is in a very industrial area
with lots of equipment and hardware shops. We found several rivet guns, but all
light duty. With only for rivets to pop it was time to get creative with the
tools I have. Back on the boat we worked out a solution.
We still needed to settle up with Pritchard’s so we walked
to their yard carrying the stainless-steel parts that we eliminated from the
bimini so they could use or recycle them. With Pritchard’s paid we only had the
Marina to settle with tomorrow. A few more chores and it was time to clean up
for company.
We had the neighbors, Jayne and Tom on Dilemma, over for
cocktails and appetizers. They are preparing there Moody 54 for the Arc Plus,
an around the world sailboat rally. Pretty adventurous, but they have a great
boat for it. Lots of good boat talk and recommendations.
3/8/23 Gibraltar
Up early to pull the umbilical cord, take a long hot land-based
shower and settle up with the Marina. It turns out they owed me money from my
deposit! I had 14 pounds cash burning a hole in my pocket so we stopped at the
Lounge for espresso drinks. On the boat we rearrange the permanent dock lines
for a quick departure and talked through our departure plan. With a light
breeze on the starboard bow, we pulled out smoothly with just a nudge from the
bow thruster. 1145 and we are away!!
The Rock in the background GIB airport
Up with the Spanish curtesy flag
It was a mostly sunny day, 69 F, light wind to start, but it
built to 20 plus out of the west, coupled with a swell from the southwest, we
were pushed along nicely. We settled into our routines with rotating watches
and reading. I rinsed the pickled water maker and started making water to fill
the tank. The Rock faded in the distance as we made our way to Ensenada de
Marbella, Spain, about a 35-mile run. We arrived to an empty anchorage, it is
early in the season, with a 20 plus knt wind from the WSW and a SW swell of
less than a meter. We anchored in about 5 m and the anchor set quickly in the
sand bottom. At least our bow was being held into the swell, so it was not too
uncomfortable.
After about an hour I discovered that our anchor chain was
wrapped with what turned out to be a trap line. We spent the next hour
extricating the line from our chain. When I pulled up the line there was a crab
trap with a good-sized octopus in it. Suzette was tempted to add one of his tentacles
to the dinner menu, but we had bigger fish to fry. Satisfied for now we enjoyed
a beautiful sunset. Suzette had been cooking dinner and running the washing
machine down below, so it was toasty warm. Not the most restful night, but the
wind and sea did settle to a tolerable level.
3/9/23 Ensenada de Marbella, Spain
Up early hearing the noise of the fishing boats. I wanted to
be on deck if they tried to pull traps and found they had my anchor. The sky
was a beautiful shade of pink as the sun rose over the distant mountains. As I
was starting to pull the anchor, we notice the trap line now appeared to be
wrapped at our stern. No creative tugging was going to free it so I took my
first swim of the year. The water was about 15 C, not too bad by California
standards. With a cutter tethered to my wet suit I took the plunge. The line
had managed to wrap my rudder post and run forward through the prop. A few
dives and it was all clear. We quickly moved forward to bring up the anchor
only to find the trap line again hooked by the anchor. Easily removed we backed
away from the floating line and found our way out of the anchorage. Floating
line!!??
Glad I brought a wet suit
It was mostly cloudy, 60 F with a light westerly wind. We
wanted to find an anchorage with better protection from the W wind and SW swell
so we settled on a 60-mile run to Playa Berenguer, Spain. It was a quiet ride to the Playa, wind up to
20 from the west and the swell continued from the SW at 1-2 m. The shore passed
by in a continuing stream of condos and apartment buildings. We had glimpses of
the snowcapped mountains, the Sierra Nevada.
Ensenada de los Berenqueles, Spain
The Playa looked a bit tight so we moved further into the
bay past Marina Este and dropped the hook in 10 m of water about 150 m from the
beach. The sand was holding well in spite of the 20 mile an hour gusts. The
swell was minimal at .5 m. We settled in for a sun downer and dinner, but the
wind clocked and we were sideways to the swell. This made for a rolling night
on the hook.
We were surrounded by high cliffs with lavish looking homes
built precariously into the cliff. The beach looked nice enough with a couple
nude sunbathers out for an early season tan.
3/10/23 Ensenada de los Berenqueles, Spain
It was an early rise and an easy departure off the hook. The weather was clear, calm and warming nicely. We headed east to Almerimar with an east wind on our nose that built to about 24 knts and clocked north. It must have been funneling through the valley on shore because it dropped and clocked west as soon as we rounded the first point. The wind settled to about 5 knts and we motored with a swell behind us
The cruising guide suggested that there is a shoal on the starboard side of the entrance to Almerimar, give a wide birth. We did this and quickly found the bottom, we tried further away with the same result. We radioed the marina and they said stay close to the starboard side of the entrance! Plenty of water as we made our way in. They had us tie up at the reception pontoon and did our paperwork in spite of being 1400, siesta time. They did make us wait until 1500 before showing us to our birth, a med moor with a sand line for the bow line.
With the boat and crew cleaned up we walked the docks and took in the view. This is a purpose-built marina for a brand-new town. In the distance we could see the snowcapped mountains, but it was warm and sunny at the marina. The climate is like Pheonix, the only desert climate in Spain. The Dutch came here and started farming the area under huge tarps. 3 crops a year and a lot of money being made. Big homes sprung up and the area became a center for agriculture. The marina was built by one of Britain’s largest contractors, McAlpine, as an investment. The condos and apartments sprung up as a result. Unlike other towns we have stopped in there is no old city or downtown, the town is the water front and the residence spread along the coast. Inland are the farms with miles of white plastic sheeting covering them. They work under the covering to tend the crops.
Plastic covered farms
We headed to the Marcado with our wagon, a beautiful grocery
store with fabulous vegetables, a good wine selection and inexpensive.
3/11/23 Almerimar, Spain
A great night’s sleep tied to the quay in calm protected
water. A beautiful sunny day heading to 75 F, time to go explore. We wandered
through the town, lots of shops and boutiques. Looked like some great boat
services and chandleries, a good stop for boat repairs if needed. The beach was
clean, but no beach goers. Walking the docks there are a lot of live aboards
with most of the boats being 35 to 45 feet in length.
We met a great couple on a Bavaria 47, Skip and Suzanne on
Sophie II. They had bought the boat here and were refitting in preparation to
head to the Balearics. They invited us on board for a beer. He was from upstate
New York and she was from Sweden. They met 30 years ago and he moved to Sweden,
which is home for them now. We exchanged contact info and hopefully will cross
paths in the Islands.
1400, siesta time, a little lunch and reading on the boat before more exploring. We had a dinner recommendation for a restaurant that made a fabulous seafood paella for two. The restaurant was on the beach, El Espegion, so we arrived in time to watch the sun set on the sea, early by Spanish standards. Dinner was delicious with grilled octopus and seafood paella, but it is hard to beat Suzette’s paella. Walking back to the boat the town was coming alive with music coming from the clubs and people dressed to the nines for a night of clubbing. They go to 4 am here!
Grilled Octopus
3/12/23 Almerimar, Spain
Departed about 0900 heading east for San Jose. The wind was
running about 10-15 knts ESE so we put out the sails for a close reach. The sky
was clear and the sea was as flat as we have seen so far. We enjoyed the sail
for a couple hours before the wind died. San Jose was on the east side of Cabo
de Gata and the beginning of the Costa Blanca and a more northerly heading.
We anchored in the bay just south of San Jose, Ensenada de
Morron. There were three other boats anchored already. One was Bare
Necessities, a 65’ Oyster we had on our dock all winter in Gibraltar. The boat
has an incredible paint job with and iridescent mast. The boat is 18 years old
and pristine. Of course it helps that the is a permanent crew of 3 on board.
The wind clocked to the west, as predicted, and we settled in for a very calm night. It was Sunday so we enjoyed our sundowners and made our boat made pizza.
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