DISASTER HAS STRUCK !

Not like the first one with Eds  but bad.

Tuesday  having moved to a wind protected Quay the wind picked up to around 60 mph gusts. The swell came round the wall and my five mooring lines snapped. I wasn't on board and came to the scene about an hour after it started to check on the boat. On arrival the police,passers by and a very tattooed waiter were struggling and loosing to hold katrilli from being washed on to the rock sea defences.  The police were instructing people to let ago. Tattoo man jumped aboard and secured a line but we turned up just at this point so I was able to jump on start the engine and move away. Sue came aboard to help secure some lines and we motored in to the marina where previously I had been told I could not go in for various reasons. Fortunately there was a space where there wasn't one before and that's where I am now amoung the fishing boats. I'm taking her round to Cartagena tomorrow or next day and we'll find out what this will cost to repair. It could have been a lot worse, and I think if it weren't for tattoo man's efforts, and others it would have been. All my underpants would have been strewn around the harbour for one.

Into the Med proper!

So as an interesting point . I left Marbella Bajadillo marina on the 10th and on the 11th a massive fire took out 100 boats. It probably wouldn’t have got mine but I would have been evacuated and the smoke must have been visible for miles!

I got my sail stitched and the auto helm checked. Nothing wrong there just low batteries. That’s great news. From there I went past the bay of Almeria and did my first solo night time anchoring. It should be daunting but if you trust the gadget's software it’s pretty ok. In the morning you wake up in a lovely bay over looked by a deserted fortress!

The next day having been bitten I decided to anchor the next night as well . That’s another 130 miles east and in a bay which has a small town and road but I’m slightly unclear as to legality of anchoring , any how did and no problem. The next days target is La manga area to meet up with a bevy of birds. Past Cartagena and on to Cabo de Palos a small fishing port. I had not been able to get in touch or responses from or speak to any of the marinas in the area so employed brilliant Tony in Sussex who hables Espagnola . and he established this port as doable not only that it’s FREE! Hopefully safe! The funny thing is that by pure chance the bevy were drinking in the port side when my boat came round the corner! I jumped off was tying up then screams of ecstasy and delight as they mobbed my cruiser. Pleasant surprise.

Now staying with Ali, Sussane and B in the exclusive la Manga golf resort. No golfers on the course and only 10 mins from the boat. So now there's a bit of shore time for a few days , but did sail up to The next marina for fuel yesterday as this port doesn't sell to non fishermen?!

Lunch by the boat after refuelling as we had to wait for even hours for the bridge to open and let us out. A lovely motor sail back with Ali learning the ropes then tied up on what hopefully is a less swelly mooring, very shallow here though.

Next stop Alicante to pick up next passenger, Stephanie,  Eds vet from France looking forward to discussing the finer points of dolphin autopsies . That's a few days of sleeping on a proper mattress before then though.

This is the coast line of southern Spain and the next is a view of the snow capped mountains from Almerimar marina, out of sequence but love it.

Return to Europe

Well I was only in Morocco for three weeks but it seemed longer. That's not a criticism, but it did get a bit samey and much as I love tagine and chicken you can have too much of a good thing . Interestingly being a salt fiend I note that their cuisine could benefit a lot from adding some!

After Marrakech David came back to Rabat and took in the sites, then we overnighted back to Tangier where we did the same. Great little sail and no issues.  Did buy some swordfish in the best fish market in Tangier. Made that in to steaks  pappiotte  (?) Then supreme fish cakes, and a last fish cake after david left not bad for 10€. We then sailed back to Gibraltar to drop off David and give me a chance to meet up with people I met there.

The sail back was uneventful apart from sighting a pod of short Fin pilot whales mixed in with dolphins.  I did get the feeling of here we go when I first saw their fins because I thought they might be the infamous Gibraltar orca pod but they weren't. 

After that I departed for Marbella to get gas bottled filled then on to Almerimar . Marbs was scenic but considering its reputation seemed to be more incontinence pads than party people. This was my first Stern to mooring using the slime lines which are as the name implys. What a bloody stupid system unfortunately it prevails in the med. Trip from there to Almerimar was great but big seas and winds over night got a bit daunting, plus more issues with the auto helm . Very bad time to go but it sort of came back. Arrived knackered at 05.45 then the problems started . Plenty of space but wind was blowing me off the visitors pontoon. Considering there were two marinaris and they know their port ,performance was poor so I scraped my boat, some one else's and generally spent 45 minutes going round in circles.Safe in the end. Need to get a few issues sorted but seems like a nice place .

I hope everyone's year has started well. David and I shook hands over a cup of tea at the year change. Radical!

Gibraltar harbour and one of the siege tunnels inside the rock.

Marbs at dusk. 

Damaged sail from other night.!