We had to wait in Barcelona for a week and a half as we were awaiting deliveries from the UK and also for a local company making our bimini, well not really a bimini, a more accurate description would be a shade for the cockpit with removable sides and back. This was good value and is an essential requirement for shade when at anchor or in port. Or else one would end up like a crisp!

We had deliberated on whether to go straight across to Mallorca or to spend time exploring more of the coast and assess all options the different stops would afford as our search for “somewhere in the sun” continues . We finally decided to spend the time exploring down the coast with Denia being our last mainland stop, and also the jump off point for Ibiza – no decisions were made on other ports, with the exception of Valencia which we both fancied visiting.

Short summary of our trip as follows – winds from F2- F6+, and seldom from the forecast direction!

Villanova where, due to an arrangement with the club, we were entitled to a free night. As we had been in here before we pretty much stayed on the boat and started watching the first series on The Sopranos, which we never watched when it was broadcast on the TV.

Torredembara, one of our favourite places, where we refuelled the boat and filled the Jerry cans after first putting in some Marine 16 fuel additive as a preventative measure. One of the main fuel suppliers in Spain have recently issued an advisory that all marine users should consider using fuel additive – big statement!

Hospitalet le Infant, another marina where there is a free night option via the club. We tried contacting them on the VHF, but as there was no answer we headed in to tie up at the waiting or fuel pontoon. Just as we were going alongside a real stroppy mariniero started giving us grief, but finally told us a berth number – this turned out to be too shallow – probably intentional – so we thought, sod this, and spun around to head off to anywhere other than here!! Might just have been that one individual that was having a bad day, but I don’t think we will ever be back here.

Calafat was only a few miles further along the coast and we parked up in here with no issues at all but it took a bit of negotiation to reduce the berthing fee from extreme to reasonable.
There was a small beach next the marina where we went for a swim to cool down…..its definitely getting hotter!

Our next challenge was to round the Ebro Delta, which like the Gulfs of Lion and Genoa can experience sudden and dramatic winds called “Tramontana”. Naturally we checked the forecast as much as possible but, due to the nature of the place these cannot be fully relied upon. We set off and decided to stay well offshore, as with being a delta the coastline will be ever changing. The visbility when we set off was such that there was no horizon, and the sea was smooth and oily……it felt like being in a dreamscape…wierd. Also on the the chart it showed a couple of yellow buoys one being a racon beacon – these are no longer in position or have been moved. I was relying on these as a double/verification check given the poor visibility etc…..c’est la vie

Once round the delta we considered going into San Carles de la Rapita, but we had heard two things; one being the area has lots of mozzies due to the rice fields etc. The other being it was predominately occupied by Brits. Now being Brits ourselves this next comment you might find strange, but we have no desire to be in Little England, Little Britain or whatever; preferring instead to know we are in a country other than the UK. So we carried on down the coast to……

Burriana; where we parked up at the fuel berth and went into the very modern and new marina office. The staff here were extremely friendly and the berthing costs were very good value. Now here’s the rub; the pontoons themselves are in a very run down condition with a number cordoned off. It would appear that Club Nautico (huge facilities here) is very busy and if one didn’t wish to tie up to tired pontoons that would be another option, albeit more expensive – that is if they had a berth as it seemed packed.

Valencia; we were both looking forward to visiting this city, and as per the pilot book we tried calling America Cup Marina on the VHF – no response so off to the fuel pontoon to see how we got on. Turns out the name has changed to Juan Carlos 1 Marina, staff very friendly and helpful. This was also the cheapest place we have ever stayed in Spain at just 13 euros per night, including electricity and water. We were berthed just on the sea side of the marina bridge used in the Valencia GP, and as we walked over the painted road (circuit) I could help but think of my mate Sean who is mad keen on Formula One, and indeed we had talked about going over for a GP.
With our limited time we did the usual open top bus tours over a couple of days to get a feel for the city and its fair to say that some of the vegetation needs a bit of a trim…..

If we went back I think we would be spending a day at the Oceanarium set in a redeveloped area of the city, with lots of modern architecture and unique buildings. Our favourite piece of information was that the river which previously ran through the city had burst its banks a number of times, and the decision was made to divert the river so that it didn’t flow through the city and cause deaths and mayhem. Now the city officials wanted to sell this land for industry and commerce, but the people of the city rallied against this, and claimed the river bed a “public place” ….I’m so pleased to say they won, and the people now have a long winding parkland with all sorts of sport and recreation facilities. Great story – Power to the People

Some views around Valencia

Denia was our next stop and I have to say that the staff were extremely friendly and helpful. The facilities here were also spotless (best we have ever found) and the marina is edged with restaurants but thankfully no boom boom bars.

We had to shelter in here for 4/5 days as the winds were pumping quite hard (F8+). Above the marina office there is “Zensa” a restaurant and bar complete with swimming pool and sumptuous day beds and massive cushions. (not just normal sun loungers-check the Denia link above) All the facilities are free as long as you buy at least one drink, fantastic place to spend a few hours as it is all screened from the winds by glass panels.
Now the town next to Denia is Xavia which I was really looking forward to visiting as it had been highly recommended. As there are no buses or trains between the towns we arranged a taxi, with the bonus that the driver could speak English so he explained that the town of Xavia is inland and that the port area hotels etc had all been developed for tourists. We had him drop us off at the far end of town so that we could walk back along the full stretch of coastline. There are still a number of the saltpans apparently carved out of the rocks in Roman Times, these we found fascinating; and there are quite a number of them along the rocky part of the coast.

Next day we decided to walk out Denia marina and head south to stretch our legs and see how far the promenade went. This turned out to be a lovely treck. We walked through what must have been at one time fisherman’s cottages – a really lovely coastal walk with a number of small bar/restaurants right on the water’s edge – more the ticket for us.

Now when we arrived in Denia we were going to refuel but had to abort as the height from Sun Dog’s deck to the level of the fuel dock was too high for Sara, and would have been a stretch even for me. Therefore we arranged to go round while the mariniero was in attendance, refuel, and then return to our berth. That way we will have everything ready to go when the weather breaks, including a full fresh water tank. After having been here for so long we are getting itchy feet to head off for the islands. I do hope that Ibiza has not gone completely feral with boom boom bars and associated social issues.

The forecast was eventually right for us so we waited a day till the sea calmed down and then cast of the lines and headed over towards Ibiza, well to be more factual Espalmador, a private island south of the main island of Ibiza. This meant a longer day (increased distance) but we were rewarded by there being a spare mooring available, this is the only way to stay in this spot as anchoring is no longer allowed. This is indeed a really lovely corner of the world.

I have to admit that I almost had a coronary when going between the two small island leading into the anchorage (moorings) because as I looked over the side of the boat I thought I was in really shallow water and moving over the top of rocks….. after I pushed my heart back down my throat and checked the echo sounder (depth gauge) I realised there was enough water below our keel (approx 4m) and it was simply the clarity of the water that had given this optical illusion.

Once the boat was duly moored the crew wanted off the boat immediately for a swim.

Now there was boarding ladder when I bought the boat that slipped into two holes on the side of the boat, but we had never used this for swimming before. Out of the locker it came, but I was dubious about using this as it seemed to put excess stress on the fibreglass. In truth we were so hot and sticky that it was simply a case of over the side to cool down – really really lovely.

After our swim I tried various ways of getting this ladder to work for us –putting fenders behind – tying different ways, but we had to concede that it’s useless for this purpose and we will need to source another type of design. Probably an old traditional rope one with wooded treads would suit best, but that will need to wait for another day.

From Espalmador we decided to go clockwise around the island and headed off for Cala Moli, well here comes todays confessional time – we actually anchored in Cala Tarida believing it was Cala Moli.

– to be fair they are next to each other and it was our first time sailing the boat in Ibiza. No excuses, it was a mistake and a case of eyes and brain making things fit……..or my brain simply not working!!

We inflated the dingy and out came the outboard, and yes you’ve guessed it, the little darling wouldn’t start. In the engines defence, it hasn’t been used since 2011. Out came the tools and after a wee while she fired up fine. While doing all this in the dingy (you can imagine all the fasteners etc that we couldn’t lose – and the wash of motor boats) we had the joy of Mr Pain in the Ar** anchored next to us. He swam across (while I was working on the engine) to ask if we were staying overnight, followed my affirmation he then went rattling on that he was of the opinion the boats would swing around and bump each other during the night, a strong wind would pump into the bay, dragons and sea serpents would chew through anchor cables, etc etc. you get the type. His timing, and attitude, was lets say, less than ideal. I felt like giving him both Celtic barrels….but I just put up with him! Personally I think he was suffering from new boat syndrome, but to avoid an “international incident” occuring because of his continual bleating we simply moved and re anchored. Sara gave me “brownie points” for being so calm and mature……..that was a first!!!! 🙂

I watched him on and off all day, and he went through the same process with everyone who anchored anywhere near his boat. When I awoke in the morning I noticed he had fenders wrapped all around his boat – I don’t know where or how anyone could store this number of fenders on any normal sized yacht! It made me feel a wee bit sorry for him as he clearly couldn’t relax and enjoy himself, as he must have been so full of angst and anxiety about the possibility of his new boat getting damaged …..

In the morning we went to have a look at Cala Moli (a few hundred yards away) and then headed off for Port Torrent an anchorage in San Antonio Bay. The winds were forecast to be from the east and this would be nicely sheltered. Heading north up the coast towards the bay there are two islands, Bosque and the larger Conjera and according to the pilot book there is a narrow gap between both with a depth of 2 metres and rocks either side……why would you – and we didn’t! The wind gods had decided not to follow the forecast, and blew from the north and thus we had a F4/5 on the nose which along with our boat speed meant it was more like a F5/6, and also meant that Port Torrent would have been totally exposed. We therefore decided to head over to the north coast, and after a check in the pilot book we headed over to Cala Grassio.

The further we got into San Antonio bay the more shelter we had from the winds and seas, and by the time we reached Cala Grassio all was lovely and calm. What a difference a few miles can make.

The anchorage itself is quite small, but as we were the first boat there we managed to drop the hook on a clear/best patch of sand. Inside the cala it splits into two distinct beaches, each of them lovely. We went ashore in the dingy and had a bit of a beach day. This was simply devine and as the holiday period hadn’t started in earnest, it was not too busy.

There was a particular fish in the Cala that likes nibbling feet, and no, not a Piranha. One nibbled Sara’s feet and she was like a cartoon character leaping onto me as if Jaws was attacking her – really funny, but perhaps you had to be there!

Next stop was to be Port de San Miguel where the pilot book said there was a supermarket, and as we needed to stock up on fresh fruit and veg it seemed a good enough choice. The trip around to there was a bit windy/lumpy but this cala is very well sheltered. Indeed it also splits into two, one being the San Miguel the other being Cala Binirras which apparently is a bit of a hippy place – but the wind was reaching into that particular cala with all the boats hobby horsing about, we stuck with plan A and anchored in San Miguel.

We went ashore in the dinghy, but we didn’t really like the place that much, and the supermarket was uber expensive, so once back to the boat we decided to head on round the island to Cala Serra which had been recommended. Once out of the Cala the sea was still pretty lumpy and when we were approaching the lighthouse it was obvious we wouldn’t get shelter on the other side of the island and decided to turn back to San Miguel until things settled.

Once back in and securely anchored (sheltered and flat water) we saw a shack type bar/restaurant in a small cove which had sunbeds on the pebbly beach.

I think the best way to describe it was that it looked a bit Bohemian. We took the dinghy ashore and loved the place, all the food is cooked on a large steel plate heated by gas burners, and the squid we ordered was so fresh and delicious it would be hard to beat – highly recommended.

After this lovely meal we stretched out on the sun beds and chilled out for the rest of the day. This was definitely a highlight of our trip…….it’s funny how things work out sometimes.

Next day up with the hook and off to Cala Serra. When we arrived there was a “trip boat” at anchor and this used up all the space as the anchorage is so small. It would not be ideal for an overnight stay either as it’s so narrow at the head of the cala – why this is listed as a recommended anchorage is a mystery to me!

So off we went once more, this time to Cala St Vincente in about a F4/5 thinking this would give us shelter, but when we arrived the headland didn’t give the shelter we hoped, and the wind was piping straight into the bay. We decided to drop the anchor as close as we could to the headland which would shelter us a little until the wind moved to the east (allegedly). We found an area of sand and dropped the anchor which thankfully bit in right away and the boat settled fine. Need to get a badge made saying “I love my Rocna Anchor ” 🙂

Photo taken the morning after our arrival.

It’s always reassuring when you can trust your ground tackle, but it’s also a thought to leave the boat especially with a lee shore 100yds behind you. The rational part of ones brain knows the boat will be fine – but there’s another part of my brain that simply will not settle. Therefore we stayed on the boat for a time just to be absolutely sure. Just as we were getting ready to go ashore we saw this beautiful old ketch heading into the cala. Turns out it had the red ensign flying and once they were securely anchored we passed them on our way to the beach in the dingy to compliment them on their beautiful boat. They invited us onboard and it turns out that the chap had actually built the boat himself, and showed a photo album showing its construction. He used a 1932 design for the boat and it took him 8 years to build the boat completely in wood……amazing time to spend on a project considering we only have one lifetime.

After an hour in their company and with the wind moving round and thus sheltering the cala we went ashore for another beach day, nice place, small but peaceful with no boom boom bars – in fact there has been (thankfully) a dearth of these kind of bars etc all around the island. We assume now that they must all be condensed in certain enclaves…or any other adjective you care to use.

Relaxing on the beach we decided that if the winds were from the right direction in the morning we would use this as our departure point for Mallorca.

Next morning in smooth seas we set off motor sailing for Santa Ponsa and had a smashing crossing in pretty calm condition, but as we were approaching the island, either the wind picked up or the sea breeze was kicking in well offshore. Unfortunately Santa Ponsa was not as sheltered as we had hoped (is there a pattern emerging?) and the anchorage was pretty congested. However we eventually found a clean patch of sea bed with enough swinging room, and duly dropped the hook. We then noticed a boat called Riverdance the owners of which we had met in Denia when they, like us, were sheltering for a few days. They informed us where the supermarket etc was located and invited us to become honorary Dutchmen for the day and join them and their Dutch friends to watch the football….we declined gracefully.

The reason we had chosen Santa Ponsa was that one of my sisters, Trisha, and her family were holidaying in Palma Nova, but being a typical male I couldn’t recall the actual dates of their holiday. I sent her a text and…..wait for it…..they hadn’t even left Scotland yet ….go on snigger why don’t you?

From Santa Ponsa we decided to head for Soller on the north coast of the island, however sods law once again manifested itself and as we were approaching Dragonera island the wind was pumping hard on the nose, but we decided to keep going albeit it was a bumpy ride. After a few hours the wind eased off and the sea calmed down allowing us to enjoy our coffee! The cliffs and scenery along this coast were very reminiscent of the North West of Scotland with all the mountains etc, really really pretty. This is not the coastline to get caught out in if there was a big blow onshore, as Soller is the only refuge along this 60 mile or so coastline.

Entering Soller was rather neat with cliffs either side, and we were really looking forward to this stop as we have heard lots of good reports.

We wanted to anchor tucked into the best shelter, (from the military base to the marina offers the best shelter) but the anchorage has quite a number of local moorings, and was pretty busy with visiting boats at anchor. This meant our only available spot was open to the swell coming into Soller.

This wasn’t so bad while the wind was from the north, as it kept the boat pointing into the swell. But later in the day the wind was dying and was variable in direction and light in strength, this meant Sun Dog was at times broadside to the swell. She rolled like you would not believe. Had there been room I would have set a kedge anchor to keep her nose to the swell, but there were simply too many boats around. Come night time the swell increased and as the boat was broadside to the swell it was impossible to sleep so we both sat up in the cockpit wrapped in blankets. Sara reckoned the boat was rocking 45 degrees one way and then the same the other………it was not the best of nights.

To further our joy and enhance the overall experience – no let me explain something first – a number of years ago while doing a job on the boat that needed three hands the size of a childs in a tight space, I ended up dropping a socket down the back of the units. Now this socket has lain wherever it fell and has never moved, rolled, nor indeed rattled in all these years……yep you’ve guessed it – until now!! As the boat rolled one way we heard the socket rolling for a few seconds followed by a thump – then on the next roll off it went the other way rrrrrrrr – thump rrrrrrrrr- thump – hour after hour!! This was like Japanese water torture, and despite trying every mental trick in the book neither of us could shut this noise out – deep deep joy – I cannot recall any evening full of such bliss.

In the morning I emptied cupboards to lift the bases and find this (expletive deleted) socket but all to no avail. Aha I thought it must be under the cooker – so further stripping out but no socket could be found….boy was I happy! In fact by this time I was convinced I was going slowly insane, but then suddenly I had a brainwave. If I could find a magnet shaped like a washer and about the same diameter as the socket, I could tie a bit of string onto this and lower it into the small hole, let it roll into whatever space the socket was in, and try and “catch” the little darling. Mad I hear you say………well I was considering coming to a deal with Satan for my soul, if only he would let me remove this *$&**ng socket……….

We went ashore to try and secure a berth in the marina, and found out there were two marinas, one of which was a public port and they could give us a berth…….no messing about, back to the boat and into the berth asap. Turns out that there are public ports around the island and their prices are more than reasonable. We were expecting it to cost us anywhere from 80-100 euros a night (not that we would have cared too much after last night) but turns out the charges for berthing, water, electricity and IVA (VAT) came to 34 euros per night in the public port. Port Soller is another beautiful quiet town. We took the old Victorian tram up to the actual town of Soller a few miles inland, and found that to be just as delightful.

In the town we found an old fashioned ironmonger – in we went and they did indeed have a selection of magnets (yep I couldn’t believe it either) one style was in the shape of washers and about the same diameter as the socket (again hard to believe) so we selected the appropriate number and tried them for strength against metal objects in the shop.

Back to the boat tied the string to the magnets and lowered away – first “cast” no joy.

Second cast, bingo, the magnets latched onto the socket and I very gingerly lifted them back to the very small opening and was what can only be described as being beyond joy when the socket was finally removed. Which just goes to show there is indeed a God; and my decision not to sell my soul to the devil has been vindicated…..be warned about such dark thoughts if you are ever placed in a similar state of trial 🙂

That night we looked out and could see the anchorage had become even busier and felt sorry for those still at anchor and rolling in the swell. It was the same as last night with all the masts swirling about like an excitable conductor’s baton. I am also sure I could hear the ghostly sound of a socket rolling around on a boat (rrrrrrr thump rrrrr thump) but this might just have been my imagination.

Next morning, and this might not come as any surprise, there was a mass influx of boats from the anchorage (all skippers and crew had a strange look in their eyes 🙁 ) and in a very short period of time, every berth in the public port was taken. We enjoyed Soller so much that we ended up staying for 4 days, and were quite sad to go when we had to leave and head for Pollenca. Soller is definitely a highly recommended stop.

We had about 35 miles to get to Pollenca and were having a nice time going along until we hit Cala St Vincente bay, (between Punta de Cova Blanca and Punta de la Troneta) when we got hit by some really strong gusts and squalls. Now we knew the wind was from the south and we were going along the north coast, so we can only assume that the wind funnels down over the mountains (Katabatic winds) and creates these conditions. The wind went from around 10 knots to 35 with stronger gusts in seconds and had me wondering what the conditions would be like when we rounded the headland of Cabo de Formentor if this wind strength continued to climb.

As it turned out the squally conditions stopped, and it was really smooth at the headland. The run down to Pollenca after turning at the headland was however in a bit of confused sea. Had the conditions been right we intended anchoring in Cala de Engosaula, but as it was exposed we kept going for Pollenca Bay. The anchorage in the bay offered decent shelter, but even here the wind was still hitting 20 – 35 knots.

Being honest, our first impression of Pollenca was one of disappointment, but I think in retrospect it was because it was much larger than our recent stopovers, and as the days passed we began to like it more and more. It is really peaceful at night, and another haven without boom boom bars – plenty of those in Alcudia.

By this time Trisha, Gordon and Liam had actually left Scotland and arrived at their hotel in Palma Nova, and we decided we would get the bus over to spend the day with them. I was thoughtful about leaving the boat at anchor in these conditions, (the other side of my brain will not give me peace) so after much humming and hawing we went into the marina and found that the main one was a Club Nautico, but there was also a public port. Firstly we refuelled the boat and the chap at the fuel pontoon called the public port guys on the radio, and we were pleased that they could give us a berth for a couple of nights. They had all the boats details in their computer system so booking in was easy and the price was the same as in Soller….result.

Sara checked the bus timetable and next morning off we went from Pollenca to the main bus station in Palma (about 1 hour) and from there another bus to Palma Nova (about 20 mins) and met up with them at their hotel. We had a lovely day at the poolside and on the beach, and have to say that Tricia and Gordon’s son Liam is such a lovely teenager and fun to spend time with…..quite a special day. There is a frozen yogurt stall/cafe at the beach and it was simply divine and lived up to Tricia’s description…….yummy.

Once back in Pollenca that night we were pleased we had booked into the marina because the winds had piped up again and it would have been nigh impossible to get back to the boat in our dinghy if we had still been at anchor in the bay.

We were really getting rather fond of Pollenca by this time, and decided to stay another three nights in the marina, with Saturday looking like a good weather window to get back to Barcelona. In the meantime we relaxed on the beach and enjoyed the town, while stocking up with food at the supermarket and enjoying the Pine Walk part of the waterfront, and the café’s in the square.

There is a sea plane base in the bay – the type used to fight forest fires etc, and we watched one take off…quite impressive. We have nicknamed them Tonka’s ……..see photos, big red and yellow, no further explanation required!

When it comes to the weather in the Med, I have to put my hands up and say that I cannot read it at all. The barometer is no help and gives no indication as it would back home. Navtex messages re the islands haven’t been exactly frequent. Clouds are also no indication,(unless cigar shaped) and clear skies do not mean no wind. As someone we met once said when discussing this subject …..”no wonder people were sacrificed to the Gods in historic times in the hope of pleasing them and getting better weather” …………………..

Only info that has proven reasonably accurate is the weather forecast on the internet site Ugrib, but this only any good if there is internet access available. It appears to us that getting a Wi Fi hot spot for on the boat is the best option, and we have tried to buy one in various towns but they have never had a pre pay version in stock therefore we will wait till back in Barcelona to do this as this will give us an internet connection anywhere a mobile phone signal can be received.

We left Pollenca around 1400 on the Saturday with southerly winds forecast and as we were heading out along the southern end of the headland we had easterly winds on the nose creating a reasonable swell. However when we turned at Cabo Formentor to get on to our course of circa 330 degrees the wind was from the north…..how this happens I simply cannot explain as it flies in the face of logic. However we decided to press on into the wind and waves, and for a few hours the northeries persisted and then the wind started to back to a westerly direction for a few hours, and then finally the southerlies kicked in.

Sun Dog started to make up for lost time and she was surging along at times with the swell/waves – only someone who is used to being on boats knows what a good feeling this is – i love it.

Over halfway I saw on AIS that a fishing boat was working a particular part of the sea going around and around the same area so I decided to give them a clearing of around ½ mile to the west of them as they had only been working north, east and south of our rumb line (direct line from point A to point B) and I thought this was prudent and courteous and would leave them to get on with their work. We had another yacht about ½ mile behind us, but they kept their course which I thought would be “interesting” when they came upon the big trawler, and it was big!

When I was approaching the latitude of the fishing boat, they suddenly changed course to the west and accelerated to 6 knots directly at us!! From the AIS they had been at around 1 knot or less for over an hour, but here they were bearing straight for our midships at speed! Now call me a cynic but I swear blind this was intentional because after I had accelerated away from them – thank you Mr Perkins – they turned back and went across the path of the other yacht and it must have been a pretty close and scary encounter for them.

I have a lot of respect for fishermen doing their work, but it’s hard to maintain this respect when these kind of events happen. I continued to look at the fishing boat on AIS and after we both had passed them they went back to working the same bit of sea, at the same speed, and in the same pattern as before…………..I will leave you to draw your own conclusions.

While I am kind of on my soap box, my other gripe, apart from the one about the fishing boat is yachts with navigation lights that are so dim they only appear out of the darkness a short distance away – some should just use candles – they would be equally ineffective. For everyone’s safety and well being it really should be a case of see and be seen, …..end of rant.

The whole night was busy with commercial shipping and yachts, and required my constant attention but this does make the night more interesting and keeps one fully awake and focussed.

Approaching Barcelona I was going to nip in between the breakwater and the anchored ships as we normally do, but there was so much traffic moving into the harbour and also lots of ship movement in the anchorage. Therefore I decided to go round to the other side of harbour and around the back of the anchored ships and in passed the breakwater where we got the sails down, and then got moored up at our berth in the the club after a 17 hour crossing.

Once tied up we realised just how tired we were, so it was breakfast, then shower, followed by a deep contented sleep after having had such a wonderful whistle stop tour of a chunk of mainland Spain, almost circumnavigating Ibiza, and seeing the top half of Mallorca. Biggest eye opener for us both was just how pretty Ibiza is. Now whether this was because we had such a low expectation it matters not, the island is of such a size that one can easily find shelter around the island. Soller was our favourite stop on Mallorca, with Denia being the best of the places we hadn’t seen before on the mainland.

So that’s it for now, with the next few days having to be spent on getting the boat cleaned and laundry etc carried out so that Sun Dog is ready for our next sojourn.

Back to the boat for some R&R under a blue sky and sunshine, and also for me to catch up on some of the backlog of maintenance work.

This entailed rewiring and fitting new fluorescent lights (when connected to shore power) as the current ones have been discontinued by the manufacturer, and lo and behold the new ones have completely diffent connectors, thus the need for a complete rewire. Also renewed was the chain from the autopilot to the main steering cog, as the current one is pretty slack and cannot be adjusted. Post Note: this has made a big difference when underway using the autopilot. The impeller and drive belt were also changed and the gearbox oil changed, with the stuffing box also being checked and adjusted. The boat was totally cleaned and polished, with the “Brucie Bonus” being that we have found a really good product locally for removing rust from stainless steel. With this product you lightly brush on the effected parts, leave for 5-10mins and then simply rinse off with water with no damage to the paintwork.

Nico our friend from Argentina insisted that we have a BBQ at the club and he rounded up the “International Contingent” of friends for what turned out to be a fantastic evening. Not everyone could communicate in all languages but we managed to have an evening containing lots of fun and laughter – almost medicinal. Nationalities included; Argentinian, Scottish, English, South African, German, Belgian, Spanish & Catalan.

Once all the boat work was completed we headed along to Port Ginesta to have a stainless steel frame made for the back of the boat so that we can quickly get shade over the cockpit for when we are either in port or at anchor. Once again Ramon and Jordi (didn’t take a note of their company name, but Ramon owns the company i.e it has nothing to do with the marina and they are located in one of the workshops just behind the bars an restaurant in the marina) were excellent in measuring constructing and fitting this to Sun Dog for what I consider to be a really fair price.
They completed and fitted this within a couple of days, and I think because we have used them before we got a wee bit of preferential treatment. While this was being manufactured we went for long walks along what seemed like an never ending beach – miles and miles of clean beach. Don’t think I have ever paddled so much in my life!!

We were parked alongside “Silver Heels” a lovely old boat and the Dutch owner Paul, and when we were chatting about needing to find a sail maker to make the cover to fit between the new stainless frame and the wheelhouse, he kindly gave us the contact details of a company he used and they are based in Barcelona. But they are not located anywhere near the sea, they are apparently located away back in the city. We have sent them an email with a view to them coming down to the boat once we are back in Barcelona to measure and price up the job.

From here the decision was to head further west (along the coast) to visit Torredembara – hard to miss with the very tall lighthouse close to the entrance!

Lighthouse to the right of the following photo – click on photo to enlarge.

The lady in the marina office gave us some local guidance/information, including the fact there was a coastal walk round past the lighthouse, to what can only be described as a gorgeous little village/town called Altafulla.

This area was so pretty and tranquil that we stayed a little longer than planned, and would highly recommend to anyone sailing down the coast – only caveat being that we don’t know how busy it would be in high season. I also think, that because the the marina is home to the Guardia Civil it should keep away any rag tag and bobtails…..

From here we decided to head back along the coast towards Barcelona with the forecast indicating Westerly, backing South Westerly 6-8kts of breeze with 12kt gusts. This didn’t last too long once were left the marina. When the wind was hitting a steady 12 – 15kts and 20 – 23kts in the gusts we had all sail out and old Sun Dog was sailing along at around 6kts…….fantastic! We gybed along past Sitges and Port Ginesta about 5 mile offshore, and were having so much fun that we kept going all the way back to Barcelona – great sail. When we were sailing along we encountered a fish farm well offshore and have now marked this clearly on both the paper charts and chartplotter. We are accustomed to these big circular nets/farms in Scottish waters, but have never seen one so far offshore.

Back in Barcelona we received confirmation that the girls from the sailmakers could come down on measure on the Friday morning, which was fine by us as we fly back on Friday evening. They duly arrived at 0900 and through sign language and drawings we finally came up with a final decision on the style colour etc for this cover. They will email us back next week and if we agree to their price they will have it made within a couple of weeks.

So all in all a lot of good work done on the boat and a lot of well needed R&R with lots of sunshine.

I have been out in Barcelona with my mate Ian getting Sun Dog lifted out and prepared for a full hull Survey as requested by the insurance company. We also had our own “job list” to work through subject to weather.

The survey was conducted by Nick Adam of Adam Marine and a most thorough job he conducted. He was into every nook and cranny in the boat, and I’m delighted to report that his conclusion is that Sun Dog is in pretty good shape for her year – a very reassuring endorsement from someone of his experience.

One point worthy of note, was that Nick could see a rusty bolt while checking out a hidden corner of the boat. Now I went to get myself into this tight space to look at the bolt and its embarrassing to state that despite Nick’s patience, I consistently failed to see it for myself. However I trusted him in that he could see it on the outboard end of the horizontal metal bracket holding two pulleys for the steering cables.

With this being a safety critical area I emptied the locker and lifted the sole plate to expose this bracket. At this point I could clearly see the rusty head of a coach bolt going through the wooden plate and holding the outboard end of the bracket. Out came the spanners and we stripped out the coach bolt – and once out – to my horror, I could see that it had rusted away to about half it’s original diameter – see photo below. In my mind this made the cost of employing Nicks services more than worthwhile, as no doubt it would have ultimately failed. And as we all know Murphy’s law dictates this would have happened at the most inopportune moment…..nice one Nick.

(Update on Survey: After submitting the survey report to the Insurance Company when I got back home, they came back to me after a week stating they were happy to keep the boat covered, after, and I quote……. “such a good report”

Our final Brucie Bonus from the Gods’ was that the Jabsco toilet pump started leaking, and whilst I had a repair kit on board this would have necessitated the removal of the pump and a complete strip down and rebuild. I decided to leave this strip down for another day and ran (well walked briskly) over to the chandlers to pick up a new pump which was easily fitted.

There are times when owning a boat seems to be a constant and ever changing set of challenges………….but there again I won’t be the first one to have made that statement!!!

This year we had a wonderful opportunity, thanks to Keira & Brett, of spending ten days with our granddaughter Aaliyah in and around Barcelona. We flew down to Southampton, picked her up, stayed overnight with her at the airport hotel and then flew out the next day. We arrived back at the club late afternoon/early evening and after a bit of a kerfuffle got everything stowed away, beds made etc.

This was Aaliyah’s first time on-board Sun Dog, and after a walk to stretch our legs, she settled down in the forward cabin and had a wonderful sleep, despite the rocking and rolling of the boat on the pontoon. I’m not exactly sure why, but there are times when the boats suffer a fair bit of wash – might be reflected waves from the fishing boats in the other side of the harbour, as they seem to have their own rules wherever they operate; and (the majority) never seem to stick to speed limits.

Next morning I couldn’t help grabbing the camera when Aaliyah asked me to lift her down from her bunk……………I love this “I’m just awake” photo!

With the club having a swimming pool, we spent a lot of time here as Aaliyah is a bit of a water baby and was keen to learn to swim, which she successfully managed by the end of the holiday – both under and on top of the water.

I could witter away endlessly about our time with Aaliyah, but will not bore you this time – instead for the benefit of family and friends I will simply attach a selection of photo’s………….

Practicing counting to ten in Spanish, during a break from the pool – Uno…….

At the “dinosaur tree”

Mmmmmmm

Aaliyah with a prehistoric creature – and also a Mammoth !!

Inside Aaliyah’s favourite café; Bosc de les fades (Fairies Forrest)

Getting framed on La Ramblas

Olympic moment

Nana, Aaliyah and Pony

Aaliyah with an old goat……..no not me!!

Sara and Aaliyah enjoying a meander along the beach on one of the days when the weather was not so good.

Who needs sunshine to have fun?

Captain Aaliyah – note the relaxed foot steering style!

Captain Aaliyah checking all is well on the port side.

Poppet & Papa at the market.

Aaliyah and Columbus in harmony.

Don’t believe we need to add anything else, other than to once again say a big thank you to Brett & Keira. It was a very special holiday, with a very special young lady.

As an early birthday treat for Reyce, we ordered tickets online for the Barcelona v Mallorca to be collected at the stadium, and flew out for a week. Unfortunately Sara couldn’t join us due to work committments (end of financial year). We arrived on the Wednesday night and jumped in a taxi to take us to the club where Sun Dog is moored, and on Thursday morning we headed up to Camp Nou to collect the tickets for the game. Somehow I thought we might meet with some issue but all we needed was three key documents; the confirmation note sent to us when the tickets were ordered, the card we used to pay for the tickets, and passports for identification. Upon presentation of these docs the tickets were duly printed off and we were both happy and relieved.

I had work to do on the boat during the week fitting Ultra Sonic Antifouling but will do a new entry to explain that process.

Reyce and I had a lot of laughs during the week we walked for miles, saw the city from the top of the tour buses, and also met with friends whom Reyce had meet last year. Match day duly came round and we arrived at the ground a couple of hours before kick off to soak up the atmosphere and watch the players warm up. The Metro around Barca is without doubt the best means of moving around the city, and there are a number of station on the L3 line close to the ground.

This photo was taken from our seats

As was expected Barca won convincingly but I have to say that the first half of the game was simply the best 45 mins football I have watched in a long long time, and not simply from a Barca perspective as Mallorca also had opportunities but they simply failed to take them. If one player shone out it was Iniesta and to see him in top form was a delight for both Reyce and myself. At the end of the game the score was 5-0. Half time it was 4-0 with Barca substituting some of their key players in preparation for the Paris St Germain game on Wednesday night.

In and around the city with a teenager who loves his football, we inevitably ended up in Football Mania a huge store selling a massive range of goods, with the price of some of the football boots rather eye watering.

I thought Reyce might like to visit Parc Guell but this was a step too far – however I did manage to capture a photo of him with his favourite zig zag tree in the background 😉

All in all a wonderful time spent with a wonderful grandson who is almost 15, and his behaviour and attitude is a credit to himself and his family. Thanks Reyce it was indeed fun……………

Sara and I headed over to Barca with our friend Eilidh on Friday for a quick weeks break, but we had a weather forecast indicating rain for the first couple of days – and boy they were accurate and did it rain!

However Sunday arrived with clear skies and sunshine and suddenly the world looked a brighter happier place and we spent the day on the tour buses having a whistle stop tour of the main attractions around the city (never seen the city so busy – it was manic) with Eilidh taking lots of photos.

One of the trips we went on was at night, and with everything lit up it was an unusual and interesting touristy thing to do. We also met up with Nico + his Mum who was over visiting from Buenos Aires plus Marcus & Katherine + bump “Greta” . It was particularly good to share some time with Mrs Benedit and its quite clear who Nico gets his charm from 🙂

On Monday we were setting off for Sitges; Now where we are berthed is in front of the crane where boats are lifted in and out and naturally there are times when boats are tied up waiting to get lifted out thus reducing our space to exit. This is compounded by the the fact that the stern walks to starboard when reversing out, but ideally we want the stern to go to port. Anyhow this has never been an issue as the bowthruster allows us to manoeuvre easily enough.

Today it was a bit breezy and a couple of boats were tied up waiting to get lifted out by the crane; and out I went in reverse – went to use the bowthruster but it only provided limited power -I could have blown harder!! Well some sticky palm agility with engine and rudder enabled us to get out of a tricky situation. Nico noticed what was happening and jumped onto the boat next door to help swing the front of the boat around and that was a big help, as we had a 35 ft boat in a 34.5ft space.

I was puzzled as to how the bowthruster wasn’t working but did recall the last time we used the boat I thought it wasn’t up to scratch, but I subsequently put it to the back of my mind as it wasn’t a big issue. Thankfully Sara had noticed that when activating the bowthruster switch the chartplotter was switching off indicating a drop in power. I asked the chap in this photo for some advice but he obviously didn’t want to get involved….and he just looked to the sky and whistled.

I felt it would probably be battery related, and decided to use the engine for a while to see if the alternator could pull the battery back up – but after an hour or so the problem remained. As I was uncertain as to what was actually causing the problem I thought it prudent to go back into our berth, which is another story in itself – but we made it in.

I decided to leave the battery charger on all through the rest of the day & night, and in the morning it seemed we were in business as the bowthruster was a bit stronger, and as there were no boats at the back of us out we went with no drama. Sadly we had no real breeze today which meant we had to motorsail to Sitges with Eilidh at the helm dodging lobster pots along the coast and all under a really warm blue sky – lovely.

We radioed Aiguadolc Marina (Sitges) and they told us they had a berth available and a mariniero would be on hand to show us to our berth upon arrival. Before going into the berth I tried the bowthruster (not that I needed it) and blow me the problem was back again. O’ deep joy I heard myself say!! Anyhow no point in phasing myself out over it so we headed into town and had a lovely day and night in and around this beautiful town and marina.

On Wednesday morning I decided to head up the coast to Port Ginesta where we could kill two birds with the one stone. In the evening we could meet up with our friends Pete and Debbie who are back after a big motorbike trip around Europe. Also with Port Ginesta having lots of boat type services/chandleries I should be able to identify and fix the problem. It was quite funny/deja vu, as Port Ginesata allocated us the exact same berth that we had been in the last time. After the boat was tied up Sara and Eilidh headed off to the beach while I got the floorboards up to check things out.

Now the old adage of “think cheap” in other words check the simplest things first had me checking the wiring, and I found in the engine compartment that I had, (presumably when I was working on the engine) inadvertantly tripped the isolated switch for the engine battery, which is the same battery used by the bowthruster & I thought, there we go easy fix………………o’ no it wasn’t.

I checked the battery and it was only reading 10v indicating a cell was away (dead) in the battery. I decided we needed a new starter battery but it had to be one to fit exactly into the wooden box where it is stored. From previous experience I was not terribly optimistic of finding my exact requirements but I took note of the dimensions etc and was astonished that one of the shops Marina Boats had the exact size of battery I needed with the bonus of providing higher amperage. Now the funny thing is that whilst I could not speak Spanish, and the chap in the shop couldn’t speak English, I still managed to come away with a 20% discount – result. Back to the boat I went, fitted the battery put it on charge – squared the boat back up, and had everything spick and span before the girls got back from the beach…….see there is a God !

We had a lovely night with Pete and Debbie and as ever their company generated lots of laughter with Pete regaling Eilidh about life in South Africa, Motorbikes, Chilli Oil on Pizzas, the Meaning of Life, merits of Malboro Lights etc with Debbie keeping him in line……………….great time had by all and wonderful to be warm enough to be eating outside.

Thursday morning we were heading back to Barcelona and again it was a mixed day of sailing/motorsailing with a number of cruise liners and commercial ships going in and out of Barcelona, and once again I was impressed by AIS as it amongst other information it provides is the ships destination. One knows clearly that they are coming down the coast and will be turning into the approaches to Barca. AIS certainly does gives another level of comfort to aid decision making – brilliant piece of kit IMHO.

Going back in to our berth the bowthruster was a bit better but nowhere near its proper performance level – so once again the girls headed off the boat and away to the shops…..

Meanwhile I got back to (hopefully) finally tracking down the remaining fault. I will now cut this story short as you are bound to be bored. I found, believe it or not three loose connections on the circuitry all on back of the 1-both-2 switch! Also why is that you need to be made of flexible rubber to get into most things on a boat??

I was actually delighted to find these loose connections and once tightened up properly the bowthruster is back to full power – what a pallaver – you couldn’t make it up!!

I felt bad that so much of my time had to be spent working on the boat – but heigh ho – at least it gave Sara and Eilidh plenty of “Girl Time”

Rather than write an entry for this leg, I have instead provided a link below to the blog entry written by Marcus on his “El Nino” blog -a bit lazy I know but heigh ho………………

El Nino Blog

I had arranged to help my mate Marcus to sail his yacht El Nino (a Dufour 32 Integral) from Poole to Dartmouth, which, if the wind gods behaved themselves, would be a quick and straightforward trip of around 10 hours. However given the wind forecast Marcus decided that we should sail for Alderney, and from there we could make Dartmouth all under sail alone.

Marcus picked me up at the airport and after we had picked up groceries etc from Tesco it was down to the boat. After all this was stored we then dropped the mooring to fill up the tanks with water and diesel. We nipped into the new marina and filled up with water – then around to the fuel berth at the bridge, but as it was busy Marcus decided to abort here, and fill up at the fuel barge moored in the harbour. Down the harbour we went but the fuel barge was nowhere to be seen so back to the fuel pontoon at the bridge we went……………ho hum.

From there we went out to anchor in Studland Bay, make an evening meal and get a few hours sleep before departing at midnight. With El Nino having a lifting keel we were able to get really close inshore and find a spot to anchor. This was my first time in Studland Bay and clearly it is a popular spot because there were plenty of boats at anchor.

When we awoke at midnight the wind had either eased off or we were sheltered in the bay, so up with the mainsail and on with the engine. As we rounded “Old Harry” and cleared the headland the wind began to fill in well so engine off genny out and a course set for Alderney. All through the night the wind was pretty strong and gusty and we were close hauled so as tight to the wind as we could get. After sunrise we made the decision to abort on Alderney and instead head for Cherbourg.

On the approach to Cherbourg the wind was still pretty strong and squally, and after we entered past the massive breakwater the wind increased even more. This was my first time sailing into Cherbourg and it is huge with a Navy Base taking up one complete section. There were a few option for us to berth, but the easiest was to go alongside the pontoon that sits by itself in the harbour, and use the dinghy to go ashore. We were both pretty jaded after the crossing and turned in for a few hours sleep. In fact we never went ashore until the next morning, and we had a good walk around the town picking up a few bits and pieces that we needed.

Having a look at the route and tides over to Dartmouth we decided to set off at 1000 the next morning rather than set off at 0400, and we reckoned on us having initially one full west going tide, then a full east going tide and the final run into Dartmouth would be with the westerly tide. Off we set and had an absolutely cracking sail with the speed over the ground exceeding our expectation, and it seemed in no time that we were approaching the end of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) in mid channel amazing. When we cleared the northern tip of the TSS the wind started to ease off, which was a disappointment given that it was forecast to go to the south. Eventually we gave up and motorsailed with the swell and waves subsiding noticeably. We eventually got into Dartmouth at around 0130 and tied up at Town Quay and within minutes of tying up the wind began to pipe in strongly. The wee bonus was that it stayed dry for the entire crossing.

In the morning we moved El Nino over to Darthaven Marina and booked a flight for me to get home – luckily there was one at 1215 out of Exeter so that was that for now. Marcus and his family will be using the boat for a week or so and then I will nip back down to help him sail her back to Poole………….question is Dartmouth to Poole via?????