Cartagena

Finally arrived in Cartagena. At one stage we planned to rush straight here from France but the weather and other things changed our plans. Fortunately because we would have missed a lot of experiences, sights sand people we met along the way taking our time across the Northern Spanish coast and Portuguese coast.

Cartagena is a very nice neat  city. A lot of yachts spend their winters here as the climate is quite nice and there is a lot to do and prices are reasonable. Cost to live aboard in the marina is around 500 euro’s/month and the city is mainly local Spanish so it has an active social scene all year round, not just in the Summer season. If we planned to stay aboard we would definitely consider Cartagena as a good option. The marina also has social activities, BBQ’s etc over winter.

When we arrived it was HOT and we spent the afternoon cleaning Sephina and doing the laundry dance in the big bucket. Moored next to Vaughan and Lynda on the outside pontoon. A little washy from the fishing boats but not a problem. The long term moorings are a bit more protected inside.

Had a wander around the town, ate delicious Yogurt and fruit cups and did a big grocery shop to last a week or 2.

We met a few of the local marina residents and had some nice meals, although our Tapas experiences weren't as nice as they could have been.

We had Vaughan and Lynda and Wally and Laurie over for dome drinks and nibbles. Next day Pagen and Tango came over and we had a nice afternoon jamming on Sephina with guitars and Piano.

Also met a fellow Aussie, Harry from Canberra on board Malua, a great bloke and  a wealth of experience as he has been cruising the Med for several years. Harry is on his way across the Atlantic and headed to Gibraltar and Portugal over the next few months.

Did a big shop on Monday, bought a juicer after we were inspired by the movie Fat Sick and nearly dead (thanks V), Went to Decathlon and bought some flippers and a few other bits n pieces.

5 nights at 35 Euros/night and its time to move on. (A good rate considering the season)

 

 

El Plomo to Cala De La Salitrona

A nice 60 mile sail to a very scenic anchorage in a large bay. Protected and a little bit of swell wrapping around into the bay but not enough to concern us. High cliffs all around and just 3 yachts anchored here. Its 10 miles to Cartagena and we are planning on heading there in the morning.

A beautiful sunrise making the cliffs red and pink. Its hot early so we headed to Portus on the way to Caragena for a quick swim to the beach. A jellyfish scared Jen a bit so I swam in front of her on the way back to Sephina to scare the jellyfish away !

Upped anchor and headed into Cartagena. We have heard a LOT about Cartagena from Roger so we are curious to see if it lives up to it’s reputation!

Genoves to El Plomo

A short but nice 15 mile sail to another beautiful anchorage. Left after lunch and arrived early enough to enjoy a swim.

Wow, beautiful water again and lots of fish…

well it looks OK !

Re anchored a few times to avoid the local daytrippers and ended up anchoring a BIT too close to the reef for comfort ( I ended up sitting up at 5am with my torch shining on the rocks and wondering if we had enough swinging room) Its definitely an art to pick the right place to drop the anchor. Too far out and the swell and wind can be uncomfortable, too close in and you end up not sleeping well worrying about a lee shore, anchor dragging etc. Or the wind changes and you wonder if you have enough depth for the 50 meter radius Sephina needs to swing around. OK so you know the forecast is for Southerlies all night, but what happens when the forecast is wrong or the wind drops and the currents take over, yep you guessed it, I end up sitting up waiting for the sunrise with my trusty torch, occasionally turning on the navigation instruments to check the depth, wind, current vessel position etc. etc.

There were a few jellyfish blowing in in the morning so we didnt’t stick around for a swim and headed off to the next Anchorage, just short of Cartagena. We are planning on staying in the marina there for a few days to explore, re-supply, wash Sephina and take a few days off sailing.

Adra to Morro Genoves

Had a nice sail today and arrived in a beautiful anchorage just off the beach (naturist end of the beach )

Caught some fish along the way and ate them for lunch. So nice ! Sailing, fishing and eating in the sunshine while Sephina sails herself (almost)  with a little Help from Jen and Balrog.

The water here is really warm ! Jen loves it (me and Bal too)

We swam to the beach and had a nice night onboard Sephina. Next day we swam to the beach and met up with Vaughan and Lynda who were trying to find the naturist end of the beach

Fuegirola to Punta De La Mona

Nice sail today and arrived early at Punta De La Mona. NICE anchorage, beautiful scenic place. We anchored but fouled the anchor. After we circled and tried a few things we decided it was a job for a diver to have a look rather than risking damage to Sephina. There were a few dive schools operating nearby and one of them had a look and unwrapped Sephinas anchor chain from the ‘only rock in the bay’ . He didn't ask for payment but we gave him 20 euros to buy a beer for his efforts.

Swam ahore with Balrog the next morning before leaving for Adra.

Well I actually paddled an inflatable lilo Jen and I found floating about 10 miles offshore the day before. It was funny because 2 seagulls had claimed it and looked perfectly at home perched on their new home (before we snaffled it)

Headed off for Adra 36 miles down the coast to drop anchor for the night. Not much of an anchorage really but protected from the wind and swell so its fine for an overnight stop on passage.

Woke up to see Vaughan and Lynda had arrived during the night as they were moved on by the harbourmaster and had to do a midnight motor to the next anchorage.

Raised the anchor early and  headed East to Moro Genoves.

Gibraltar to Fuegirola

Filled the tanks at Gibraltar on the way out at 0800. Cheap tax free Diesel there.

Headed out into a 25k Westerly. It wasn’t too comfortable heading out with the westerly swell so I tried to stay in the lee of the anchored ships as much as possible before heading East. Once out of the straights we set our course downwind to Fuengirola. Sailed and surfed all the way mostly at 8-10 knots. Fun sail and arrived 8 hrs later and anchored in the bay just outside the marina. As we arrived the wind changed from a cool breeze to a warm 30 degree breeze. We chilled on board and watched the sunset before getting a good nigths sleep.

We plan on covering this coastline fairly quick so we can get to the Balearics for some R&R from sailing.

Cadiz to Gibralter

Had a nice sail across the Gulf of Cadiz to Cadiz, Spain. Nice weather and a 10-15 knot breeze from behind most of the way. We planned on anchoring near Cadiz but the wind had kicked up a bit of windswell so we tied up at the Cadiz marina around 1930. Luckily we missed the marina staff so had a free stay as we left before dawn the next day so we could be in the Gibraltar straights for the high tide. The Easterly currents run at up to 3 knots for 3 hrs before and 3 hrs after high tide so it makes sense to go with them rather than against!!
We motored for a while and when we tried to raise the mainsail realised the main halyard had wrapped itself around the radar reflector. Damn !
We tried a few things to avoid going up the mast but in the end, up the mast in the bosuns chair I went to untangle it. Luckily the seastate was pretty calm so it was harder work for Jenijane winching me up than it was for me…
After we sorted that we had a nice sail, some dolphins came to welcome us to the Gibraltar straights and we cruised through under sail in 10-15 knot Westerlies with 2+ knots of tide at a nice speed of 9-10 knots SOG.

Arrived in Gibraltar around 1600 as the wind picked up to 25 knots, but all went well after dodging the mass of ships we are berthed in Queensway Quay marina in the heart of Gibraltar. Its a nice marina and we step off Sephina onto the quayside restaurants and a few minutes to the main street.

Gibraltar (AKA Little Britain) by me….

Gibraltar is a great place to stop for a few days, the history and sights are amazing, BUT, a few days is definitely enough !

First thing you notice is the English..Everywhere! Well Ok I guess it is owned by England but wow, its like a holiday resort for Poms and everything is very British. The food, the rules ! No dogs, don’t sit on the fence, don’t walk on the grass, etc etc. The main street unfortunately is like a huge outdoor airport terminal with every 4th shop selling cameras and between those, electronics, tobbaco and alcohol and anything else that seems like a bargain duty free (Gibraltar has no Tax, woohoo) but like most airport shops everything is overpriced to compensate. The food as well was expensive, I asked for some fish and chips and the waiter said ‘do you know how much it is?’ . I thought thats an odd question so I said ‘no??’ and he said the small plate was nine pounds. OK thats like $20 for a tiny bit of fish and chips, No thanks !

 

There were some reasonably priced restaurants we managed to find and the chandlery was really cheap as well as the marina.

We bought a few presents for Sephina (new VHF station for the helm and some sailing guides)

The marina was one of the cheapest at about 25 euros/night

The first night we arrived we ate at a nice restaurant right next to Sephina. We ordered lots and it wasn’t till the bill came Jen realised the prices were pounds not Euros ! She was shocked but it was really our first nice restaurant since Alvor and the food was yummy..

 

Did a big grocery shop while we were there at Morrisons. Bloody expensive but it was good to stock up. Made a major shopping mistake though and bought non alcoholic beer !

 

We had organised for some mail to be sent to the marina ahead of us so we were kind of waiting for that as well as it hadn’t arrived (it took me  a few days to realise I had given the Other marina address to the senders) Most of it didn’t arrive so I guess it will be returned to sender after we leave.

Its hard to get some things when you are cruising so we try to order things ahead from ebay or wherever but it doesn’t always work ..

We took the cable car up the Rock of Gibraltar and walked a mile or 2 along the top of the rock. Saw the monkeys and the caves which was the highlight of Gibraltar.

 

We wanted to get out of the marina and Gibraltar after 5 days and catch up with V, Char and Yugi, so we motored over the border to La Linea in Spain where they were anchored.

Nice to catch up with them all and Peter and the boys from Fai Tira as well, and especially nice to be in a nice anchorage out of the Marina. Balrog was stoked of course to be able to swim again. We had a BBQ onboard with them all and played some guitar and drank a bit. V told us he doesn’t get drunk and I think Peter and Jen took it as a challenge to try get him drunk. In the end V was fine but I think Jen and Peter might have been the worse for wear

 

V helped us with some technical things on Sephina (wireless network and solar stuff). It was great to catch up with them all and hard to leave but as usual we are keeping an eye on the weather and planning the next leg of our journey and eventually we decided its time to leave and officially arrive in the Med! (still without mail but,. oh well!)

 

Portimao

HOT DAY! No wind so we motored an hour or so from Alvor slowly and attempted to catch a fish to no avail. Anchored inside the breakwall just off a sandy beach with a few other yachts. Very nice protected anchorage so long as you dont care about jet skis, speeding speed boats and fishing boats darting about. We don’t so its all good !

Took the dinghy to the beach for a refreshing swim, we really needed it again today. The Algarve coast is really hot this time of year from morning to night. Fortunately the nights cool off nicely so nice evenings on board and good rest.

In the afternoon we went grocery shopping, took the dinghy near the Museum and found a pingo doce supermarkardo as well as a chinese junk shop to stock up on some junk.

Unfortunately Jenijane started feeling a bit sick with a headache and blurred vision so we cut the groceries short and headed back to Sephina. Ouch, it didnt get better so a 3am dash to the marina and Portimao Hospital was called for. Some scans and tests and heavy meds helped a lot and Jen was feeling better but exhausted.. Some night!. We finally got back to Sephina the next afternoon and found Balrog waiting on deck, such a good boy

Needless to say we siesta’d in the afternoon to catch up on some much needed ZzZzzzzZzZ’s

 

Ate a nice BBQ dinner for tea at the nearby hotel and listened to some bad karaoke, or something!

 

Next day was sunny again and feeling back to normal (almost) we headed back out to anchor. This time we anchored a bit closer in and swam to the beach with Balrog. Really nice place and Portimoa itself seems like a pretty nice town as well. We zipped into the little town opposite in the evening. Jen loved this old organ grinder and his monkey (the monkey isn’t real, honest! )

 

Headed off from Portimao to Faro on the 13th and had a nice 30 mile sail and anchored overnight in the rivermouth.

* Note*  there is an uncharted fishery zone off Faro. 4 special marks about 1M offshore and approximately 1 sq mile full of fish nets. We almost went straight through till I checked with the lens and saw the seaward marks as well. We ended up going just inside. Up at 0600 on the 14th to sail across the Gulf of Cadiz. 80 Miles to Cadiz. We are pressing on because Easterlies are forecast for Thursday in Gibralter and when they blow they generally blow for a few days so we want to get there before.

 

 

Alvor

Alvor – Rogers favourite ! A nice protected river inlet with a typical little Portuguese fishing village up river. We negotiated the sandbanks at mid flood tide to correct any mistakes we may have made. Almost! the depth read 1.2m at one stage and Jen on the bow looking for sandbanks redirected me into the channel We had hoped to swim on arrival at is was HOT, but unfortunately the murky water and strange floating black creatures..jellyfish or squid or..something, made us change plans and head for the nearby beach in the dinghy. Much nicer! Beautiful clear water and a nice cool down we really needed (Balrog as well)

On the way home we stopped at the marina cafe and our eyes were bigger than our stomachs (Almost!) as we ploughed through

Vegitarian Pizza

goat cheese, rocket and honey salad – YUM !

chicken breast w/ mushroom sauce

tomato w/ fetta and balsamic

Yum yum yum!

back to Sephina on twighlight for a much needed rest (after all the food)

 

We stayed as couple of nights then decided to move on down the coast to Portimao, only about 5 miles.

Baleeira

We had a nice sail today around Cape St Vincente, or cabo soa vicente as the Portuguese call it. Its on the South West tip of Portugal so it has a reputation for strong winds coming out of nowhere and the waves from the west Atlantic meeting the swell from the South creating confused seas. With this in mind we set off from Sines early as its a 65M sail to baleeira, the first safe harbour on the South Coast.

As it happened we motored for a few hours, Jan had a nap and I called Pete, Gary and Dad in Australia to say hello. The wind came up enough to sail a few hours later and Jen, Balrog and I had a great sail and fish. I caught a nice mackeral but he managed to escape as I was pulling him on board!We sailed around the cape in sunshine and 15k winds from 180 degrees in very calm seas. The wind picked up to 25+ just around the cape and we learned from past experiences to take the gennaker down before it gets to 20 knots, so all went well. We sailed fast into Baleeira at 8 knots with gusts of 30 knots and anchored off the beach. Nice and protected. The anchor didnt hold the first run as its pretty rocky there but second time it pulled nicely into the sand.Had a nice night on board and dinghied into the jetty to explore the town the next day. The weather has finally gotten consistantly warm and today is no exception. We walked around the town, checked the surf and ate in a nice cafe. We tasted sardines for the first time and they were pretty good! I guess we will be having more..

Sesimbra

Today we sailed 27 miles from Cascais to Sesimbra. We had a great sail again in sunny weather. The Portuguese Nortada Trade winds are blowing consistantly, from 10 knots in the mornings and picking up to 20-30 knots on the afternoons. Nice for fast downwinders, but not so nice for fishing when Sephina is doing 7+ knots!

Sesimbra is halfway from Cascais to Sines so we decided to break the 60 mile leg into 2 shorter hops. Its a nice afternoon and we are protected from the wind and swell anchored just off the beach. The beach is busy with tourists and locals as its still school holiday time here and about 25 degrees. Jen and I are relaxing on board and watching the sunset with Balrog. Im not sure if this picture is because Jenijane wobbled the camera when she took it , or if it’s the moon through Balrog’s eyes. Either way its a beutiful pic!