July 21 - July 26: Ibiza and Formentera

Cala Raco des Mares and sunset in Ibiza

The passage to what was going to be Formentera but turned out to be Ibiza took 13 hours and 50 minutes. We motored for half the way and then a lovely close hauled force 4 brought us rather north of our target. However, after a long day it was no disappointment to find a peaceful anchorage at the eastern tip of Ibiza in a small bay called Cala Moli with towering rocks on either side and a beach. The clear turquoise water had never looked more inviting. We were in the water within seconds of anchoring – bliss!

This was to be one of many picturesque calas or bays that we were to find around the Balearics. It was a brilliant area for cruising with so many hidden bays, some popular, others almost empty. The landscape was far greener than the mainland with rich pine forests stretching down to the sea.

As we made for Formentera a couple of days later we passed some spectacular rocky islands, with amazing jagged formations including Isla Vedra that was the location for the Bali Hai photography in the film South Pacific.

Formentera was different with much lower islands where sandy rocks, some firm, some crumbling formed a lunar-type landscape. It was far less developed than Ibiza and its 5,000 inhabitants are supposed to have the longest life expectancy in Spain. Is it something to do with the fact that nudism is commonplace here?

Isla Vedra

The bays around the island were magical and quiet but on our third night everything changed. We had sailed round the whole island in just a gentle breeze and then anchored in the shelter of a high headland on the east coast. We spoke to a neighbouring boat owner who confirmed that from the forecast he had heard this would be a sheltered spot for the night. As we sat in the cockpit eating dinner, most of the day trippers left with their boats and there were just three of us left. We took a trip in the dingy to explore the caves and a quaint little harbour neatly chiselled into the sandstone. There was a beautiful sunset as we watched the sky turn deeper and deeper red. It was the perfect end to another lovely day. We slipped into our warm cabin at about 11pm and the peaceful lapping of the waves against the side of the boat rocked us to sleep.

We both awoke up at 3 o'clock. The waves were no longer lapping they were shouting angrily and the wind was howling in the rigging. We climbed up in the cockpit to see a dark, menacing sea that was getting crosser by the minute. We took down the bimini to reduce windage and Anders checked the anchor every 15 minutes to see that it was holding. Although we were being pummelled constantly by increasing wind and swell we decided to stay put until daylight as this would make navigation through a narrow passage to shelter on the other side of the island much easier. Once dawn arrived Anders lifted the anchor by hand as unfortunately the automatic windlass had gone out of business a few days earlier. We were both safely clipped onto the boat as the rocking was now fierce and it took a lot of concentration to stay upright.

I took the helm, spreading my feet to try and cement them to the cockpit floor as Moonshadow rolled through the angry waves. Anders put up a small amount of sail to give us some stability. It took three hours to sail through the gale to the safety of a bay on the other side of the island. Once safely moored it was time for breakfast and plenty of sleep.

As the pilot book had warned us the Mediterranean is very much an area of calms and gales and the latter are often unpredictable. Being an easterly wind it was probably a levante we had experienced which is caused by a depression between the Balearics and the north African coast.

The next day was spent enjoying a beautiful sandy beach and taking a mud bath in a small inland salt pan together with an English couple on Espalmador, a privately owned island which welcomes visitors to its shore. The sand was a silky cream and the beach totally unspoilt. 60 yachts anchored in the beautiful bay.

Formentera was obviously the refuge for the rich. The harbour charges of 165E per day were to keep rifraf like us well away. It certainly did the trick. However, we did manage to moor in the marina for a total of three hours for 10E during which time we were fortunate to use the services of a local engineer to fix the windlass andto top up our water supplies for 4E!!

Enjoying a mudbath at Espalmador and windlass repairs

July 15 – 20 From Torreveija to Altea

Washday in Altea harbour

After a week's break from the intense sunshine to return to the Uk for Jane's lovely wedding, it took us a day or two to acclimatise to the heat once more.

While in the UK Anders had stocked up on some essential items such as more fans for the cabins, a gas dectector, anchor chain markers, a bilge blower and various screws and brackets that had been hard to find in Spain. We spent a day sweating profusely and fitting some of these new acquisitions. I find it hard just making sandwiches while Anders had the cabin sole of the boat up and grovelled around in the bilge fitting new cables.

As always he completed the tasks with wonderful dexterity just checking with me on the colour of the wires. Anders is colour blind but that does not stop him getting the connections right every time!

There was plenty of action on our last night in Torreveija. A long line of boats packed full of cheering passengers snaked round the harbour at dusk, followed by a very noisy fireworks display. The long breakwater was packed with Spanish families intermingled with a few surprised tourists who like us wondered what was going on. The Spanish celebrate a series of saint's days during the summer turning out in full force to celebrate and without a hint of having too much to drink. Everyone has a smile on their face and they are great family occasions.

Although Torreveija was not our favourite place in terms of the local town and surroundings the harbour was exceptionally good with great showers, plenty of space, pleasant walkways and a very reasonable charge of just 19E per night. If it wasn't so out of our way it would be a great place to overwinter especially as Anders had managed to do a deal with the Swedish commercial manager Robert who promised us 50% off the six monthly fee. Still at least we had his quotation in our back pocket.

We left Torreveija on July 17 in a lovely southwesterly that skimmed us along the coast in the direction of Villajoyosa. It was great to be out on the sea again. The beauty of the clear blueness was ecstatic. I was beginning to learn about and appreciate the vast appeal of the sea that had consumed Anders with a passion from childhood. He knew the meaning of every ripple, every breath of wind had a message and it was the art of interpreting this great union of wind and sea and its effect on our boat that was the everlasting fascination and challenge. I was coping rather clumsily with this concept but nevertheless learning a little more about the wind every day.

Villajoyosa was a small compact very Spanish holiday resort, almost devoid of tourists. In contrast to the modern harbour and yacht club which was shared with the fishing fleet the old part of the town was filled with haphazard, worn buildings that appeared to tower rather perilously above us as we walked through the cool alleyways created by their tight alignment. Families sat chatting, children spun round on bikes and an occasional thin looking cat loitered in doorways.

The narrow streets of Villajoysa

Our final stop before heading for Formentera was Altea recommended to us by a bubbly lady from Holland who had opened a bar in Villajoysa. "Go to the old town of Altea it is full of art and craft shops and you will love it," she said.

Benidorm - to be avoided!

Passing the brash high rise buildings of Benidorm it was great to tack out into the blue and finally head inland again to the towering mountain setting of Altea. Once again a very Spanish resort with an excellent harbour and a very picturesque town. The steep stone winding steps to the church on the hill seemed to go on for ever and one wondered how anyone managed to bring in provisions to such a seemingly hostile location. There was obviously an easier route than the one we took as the quiet alleyways suddenly filtered into a picturesque square around the church which was packed with people, bars and art and craft shops.

As Altea was our last port of call before the 14 hour passage to Formentera in the Baelerics we stocked up on food, drink and cooking gas. We were planning to anchor on as many occasions as possible since we had been told that the harbours were very expensive. This would mean our dingy would be our lifeline to the shore.

The alarm was set for 4.45am in readiness for a 5am start – the pleasures of sailing!

July 2- July 10: Puerto Genoves to Torrevieja

Two dips before breakfast and a walk on the cliffs was a good way to launch into July. Our course was set for Garrucha and after that fairly long hop we could make our way more slowly up the coast towards Alicante where we were flying from to Jane's wedding.

One night in Garrucha harbour was enough as it was a busy industrial port with poor facilities. There was a constant stream of lorries loading sand onto massive ships and the bathing facilities were poor so we were pleased to be at sea again early the next morning.

Our course was set for Cartagena, one of the oldest cities in Spain and it turned out to be a fabulous natural harbour with wonderful Roman remains in the city that had only been discovered in the 1980's. A magnificent amphitheatre had been uncovered and through its discovery the history of the area had been traced back 3,000 years. The town had a great feel of traditional Spain with lots of decorative old and new buildings. Apart from plenty of money being spent on marketing its Roman treasures, spacious palm tree lined promenades had been built all around the harbour, a large section of which was reserved for the Spanish navy.

Cartagena harbour and the Roman amphitheatre in the town centre

Cartagna Royal yacht club facilities were also open to us so we took a refreshing dip in their swimming pool and managed to connect to their wifi facility – a rare experience as half of Spain has never heard of it!

We left Cartagena at lunch time with the aim of making for the inland lake Mar Menor just 25nm away. As we approached it on a very hot afternoon we rounded the Cabo de Palos lighthouse and saw a number of yachts moored in the bay – a perfect place for an afternoon swim. The anchor was down very soon and we took a number of dips before hitting the cold beer and crisps. We then decided to spend the night at anchor in this bay together with an American yacht who we make contact with. It was a Hans Christiansen from 1978. Hull number one – of a very seaworthy sort. The couple had sailed it for 6 years and it was their home and they were on their way to the Canaries.

This is very much what sailing is all about. It is very much a voyage of discovery as quite literally you never know what is round the next corner. The anticipation of all these new experiences is what drives us on. There are those magic moments in quiet anchorages when you sit in the cockpit after a long day's sail sipping wine after a dip in the azure sea Your body tingles with the coldness of the dip and you feel you are in heaven. Then there are those hot, dusty moments when sweat pours off you and you would do anything to be cool!

It was very much back to civilization when we arrived at Torrevieja – a typical overpowering Spanish holiday resort but with an excellent marina called Marina Salina with good facilities. The young girl at the reception was the first person we had met who spoke good English. We were also starting to look for a harbour where we could leave Moonshadow for a week so we were keen to negotiate reasonable fees. Fortunately, Robert the commercial manager was Swedish which also helped!

We did a long sail the next day to Puerto de Campello which would have been a perfect place for commuting to Alicante. We were squeezed into a very narrow mooring rather late at night and although it was a quiet and peaceful harbour they did not have space for us to stay more than a few nights.

The next day we returned to Torrevieja. It was in the wrong direction but the bonus was that the wind was aft of the beam and for the first time we could use our colourful cruising shute which helped us to skim through the water at 7 knots in a lovely keen wind of about Force 5. On arrival at Torrevieja we anchored within the large and sheltered harbour as we had seen many other yachts there on our previous visit and knew it was safe. We spent the next day on boaty work and washing – two things that are always with you even if you are on holiday!

Our colourful cruising shute

June 21 - July 1: Costa del Sol

After five days in Gibraltar – the cheapest mooring charges yet – at £22 per night we made our way into the Costa del Sol on June 21. The day dawned with a heavy mist that lifted gradually but was still shrouding the Rock when we left at 11.30am. There were lots of large container ships in the harbour and it was nice to say goodbye to Gibraltar's heavy land and sea traffic and head out into the Med.

Sadly there was little wind so we motored nearly all the way to Estepona, stopping briefly for a refreshing dip. This was an impressive and neat harbour brightly painted in blue and white with lots of restaurants and shops along the quayside already giving a flavour of the costas to come. However, as before there were masses of empty tables in the cafes with only the popular ones doing any business. To compensate for 42E per night we were given a free bottle of Spanish wine!

Estepona harbour

The next stop Fuengirola was a typical Spanish tourist town with loads of tacky bars along the seafront and beyond – great for youngsters. We visited an interesting market with around 800 stalls selling everything from lovely Spanish fruit and veg to the usual jewellery and clothing. Good deals on local oranges, tomatoes and cherries – much cheaper than anywhere else.

Our next harbour was Caleta de Valez where we arrived after another misty day quite late in the evening. The harbour was quiet but there was plenty of activity on the beaches which were packed full with families, tents and bbques! We discovered it was the festival of San Juan (St John) which was celebrated with a dip in the sea at midnight and making three wishes. This cleansing of body and mind was celebrated with much laughter, music and excitement so we had an interesting walk along the promenade witnessing the celebrations and eating the best ice cream I have ever tasted.
For the past couple of days we had noticed that the sea at times was streaked with strands of yellow so we were pleased to find out that this was not as sinister as we expected but was in fact millions of fish eggs about to be hatched!

Puerto del Este where the Thomsons joined us

Nina, David, Luca and Anya were due to visit us from the 25^th to the 29^th so we were keen to find a small, attractive harbour with few tourists and a real flavour of Spain. Fortunately, thanks to the excellent pilot book that we study daily to make our passages we found just that at Puerto de Este. Up to now we had avoided harbours that charged high mooring fees, but on this occasion it was worth the 54E per night.

The harbour was neatly tucked behind a towering rock draped in flowers and palm trees with just a couple of cafes and a shop and pleasant walks around the harbour. The beach was close by and it turned out to be the perfect place for the Thomson family. At night David and Nina slept in the fore cabin, Luca was securely tucked into the pilot berth and Anya slept on a cushion underneath the saloon table! It worked a treat and we had some lovely warm atmospheric evenings eating and drinking in the cockpit surrounded by the towering mountains and white balconies and tiled roofs of the Spanish homes that dotted the hillsides.

It was sad to wave them goodbye on the Monday morning but we were soon off on our travels again – this time to Almerimar, one of the largest harbours in the Costa del Sol. There was little wind so we motored all the way much to Anders's distress! The harbour was huge with space for up to 1,000 boats, but as it was very much an artificial rather than a natural harbour it lacked authenticity and once again had a haunted feel. Massive apartment blocks were deserted as were most of the restaurants. There were also more abandoned looking boats in the harbour than we had seen before. There were many character yachts for sale and it would certainly be a place to check out if you were looking to buy a boat. The recession is very real here and with 17.5% unemployment at the moment the building and tourism industry has been hit the hardest.

Before we left this harbour I had the pleasure of hoisting Anders up in the missen mast to fit a halyard to hoist the wind scoop that we had bought to bring more air into the aft cabin. The sheet jammed on the winch and for a few tense moments Anders thought he may have to spend the rest of the holiday up there – fortunately wise words from Anders soon sorted out the tangle and he was gently brought down to earth!

Anders at work on the missen and relaxing the next day at Roquetas del Mar

Next day we took a short hop to Roquetas del Mar. It was a quiet fishing harbour with few visiting yatchs but they had not heard of Wifi which we were frustratingly searching for on a number of occasions. The castle near the harbour was however, well worth a visit.

To date we have only anchored on two occasions as safe, sheltered bays are difficult to find. However, the next stop was the most picturesque of the holiday so far. We had planned to go into St. Jose but a peaceful, panoramic bay just before the harbour caught our eye. One or two small boats were anchored there and everyone was taking a dip. The water was crystal clear with just fish and a sandy bottom visible to the eye. We anchored and literally dived in. The azure water enveloped us in its refreshing coolness. It was a great end to a very hot day.

One of our most peaceful anchorages at Genove's, near Cabo de Gata