Spain Again 2022

Chapter One: GOOD-BYE ALMERIMAR

Cordelia was hauled out and cleaned above and below the hull at the end of March. At the beginning of April she was back in the water and raring to go.

We prepared for the journey ahead by stocking up at the local Mercadona supermarket and then waited for a suitable weather window. Almerimar did its best to keep us in its grip but on 25 April the wind finally abated and we took our chance. We waved good-bye to the friends we’d made over the winter and motored out of the harbour.

It was great being back at sea and to watch the sails do their work. The going was gentle and we even spotted a few dolphins.

It was all rather relaxing until about an hour and a half before we reached our chosen anchorage near the Cabo de Gata when the wind put a spoiler to it. Not only did it pick up to a force 6, it was also coming from the East, i.e. on the nose.

The swell and waves this caused made our anchorage untenable, so we moved to the Playa de los Genoveses instead. There we settled in for a rolly night.

The wind, however, had one last trump: it changed to North-East, meaning Cordelia was side-on to the swell. She did not like it and shook and groaned – and so did we in our bed. How we slept at all we’ll never know, but we did so remarkably well with only a few interruptions to our slumber. We must have been rather tired after all the excitement. What a start to the season!

Chapter Two: UP THE COAST

We left early and motored for two hours up the coast into San Pedro bay. There we found a sleepy hippie-style commune, a castle ruin, turquoise water and good shelter from the wind and swell. We decided to stay overnight to recover from the ordeal of the day before.

The next morning dawned cloudy and it started to drizzle which turned into rain once we were underway. We pulled into the Ensenada de los Taray shortly before a proper downpour and sat it out with tea and cake. It got quite rolly with this weather, so we continued to the bay of Águilas just under an hour away and spent a peaceful night there.

We didn’t have far to go the next day and once we’d motored past Cabo Cope we had enough time to tack our way towards Mazarrón. We had drizzle and rain again, then the clouds got darker and we were hit by a squall with the wind gusting to 32 knots.

The rain stopped shortly after we dropped the hook off La Azohía. We stayed two nights, then set off towards Cartagena.

There was hardly any wind, so after a while we took down the sails and motored along the coast. We crossed the bay, dodged a couple of fishing and leisure boats and entered the harbour. We had prepared for a stern-to mooring, but were allocated a space on a finger pontoon, so there was frantic activity to change the lines and fenders before a very nice mariñero showed us into our berth.

We loved Cartagena. We hiked to the Castillo de San Julián fortress (296m), took a boat tour around the harbour and to the Fuerte de Navidad (Christmas Fort), and bought a museum card. The latter gained us access to all the historic sites of which there were many: the Roman Theatre, the Conception Castle, the Punic Wall, the Naval Museum, the Roman Fortuna House, the Roman Forum Museum etc. We admired the preserved ruins, crypt, ceramics, mosaics, sculptures, cisterns, latrines and bath houses, paved streets, and left Cartagena with knowledge gained and cultured out on 6 May.

We set sails near the Cabo de Agua and had a wonderful downwind sail. Peter had found a protected anchorage near the Mar Menor which we reached through an unmarked channel. We were the only boat there and had a very quiet night.

We left the next day, and after a couple of hours motoring the wind freshened enough to start sailing. What another perfect day! We made it all the way to our anchorage off Santa Pola, Peter had even put the fishing rod out (not one bite!), the sun was shining, we enjoyed an anchor beer and a tranquil night.

We were underway by 8.00am the next morning. This time the wind was from behind and we had a combination of sailing, motorsailing and motoring when the sails were flapping. We did try poling out the genoa, only to find out that the repairs made to the whisker pole during the winter didn’t last five minutes. Instead, we experimented with the gennaker using it as a spinnaker, with remarkable results. We did 6 knots and enjoyed this exciting ride until the wind picked up another notch or two.

We quickly took the gennaker down and decided to change course to an anchorage nearby, behind the rock of Calpe. The swell caught up with us in the night and increased in the morning. By lunchtime we’d had enough, upped anchor, motored to the other side of the bay, and this made all the difference. After a good night’s sleep we were ready to cross to the Balearics.

Chapter Three: FORMENTERA

We upped anchor at 7.15am, too early for any wind. We motored until there were ripples on the water, and we hoisted sails. The little wind there was switched from North to South and we motorsailed (except for maybe an hour) all the way to Cala d’Hort on Ibiza where we anchored up at 4.30pm in clear turquoise water, avoiding any posidonia (seagrass).

We had a lovely sunset with many people admiring it and clapping at it from the beach with one guy masquerading as a Red Indian (complete with feathered headdress) beating a drum. It was either him or the swell following us around that woke us up. We were not so much rolling rather than bouncing!

We value our sleep, so by 9.00am we set sails for Formentera. Ten minutes later we lost the effect of the headland and got slower and slower on our tacks. The engine came on, then the wind picked up again, so we sailed until our AIS went berserk. We had joined the boating motorway between Ibiza and Formentera which was not the time or place to play around trimming sails. We therefore motored safely over to the other side where we found a place in 5.5 meters of crystal clear turquoise water in front of a long sandy beach.

We settled in among party boats, jetskis, noisy motorboats revving their oversized engines, and ferries with their wash re-bouncing all along the coastline. However, they left in the evening and the night was blissfully quiet.

The next day we prepared our tender “Buddy” and got him out of hibernation from the locker. He’d survived the winter well and was in good shape once inflated. Even the petrol we’d bought nearly a year ago in Truro was still going strong, and the outboard started on the first pull. We motored ashore to find our bearings, i.e. rubbish bins, foot and cycle paths and a safe place where we could leave Buddy.

We put all of these to the test the next day when we loaded him up with garbage in our rucksacks and our folding bikes. We left him on a little dinghy park on the beach, dumped our trash, assembled the bikes and off we went. We cycled past the Salinas (salt pans), an old decommissioned building with a waterwheel, tried to find a cave without success, did find the Eroski supermarket with rather empty shelves and the Plaza (square) in the main town of Sant Francesc Xavier. We made it back with heavy rucksacks full of essentials.

Buddy was put into action again later on when we motored to the island of Espalmador and its lagoon, formerly a mud bath but alas, no more and fenced off. We also rigged our windsurfing gear but unfortunately the wind was not strong enough to get us planing.

We spent a few days in this anchorage, looking after Cordelia and making minor repairs, resting, swimming, eating and drinking. Then the wind was forecast to change direction, so we went off to seek shelter in the Cala Saona bay.

Another beautiful place! And it had rubbish bins and a little shop, both of which we put to use. There was also a hotel and restaurant but we had no need for those. During the next couple of days we walked along the cliffs in both directions, one day to the Torre de Sa Gavina watchtower, another day through a forest with pines and wild rosemary. We picked a few sprigs of the latter and it transformed our dinners into very tasty meals.

We used Buddy to explore some caves along the coast, the best of them being the Cova Rosa with very clear blue water.

We also took our folding bikes out for a ride and pedalled to the Far de Barbarias lighthouse, the most southerly point on Formentera.

In the vicinity and thanks to big signs we found the horseshoe-shaped dwellings dating back to 1,600–1,000 BC, despite them being hidden in the undergrowth. We really liked the cycle path, scenery, beach and crystal clear turquoise water, and had a fabulous time on this bijou island.

Chapter Four: IBIZA

We left the anchorage of Cala Saona just before 9.00am on 19 May and headed North. We set the genoa in a nice easterly force 4 wind. This soon increased to a force 6 and we were going along at over 6 knots. It therefore didn’t take us long to reach our lunch stop at Sa Pedrera on Ibiza. We’d heard about a former hippie hangout there called Atlantis, and were eager to check it out. Peter rowed us ashore, and there it was complete with rock pools and stone carvings amidst a former quarry. We didn’t feel the energy vibe it was reputed to have (not hippie enough?), but certainly appreciated its originality.

After lunch we motored between the headland and Es Vedrá, another famous hippie site with more strange stories attached to it. The wind was fickle by now and on the nose, so we carried on under engine. Then, when we rounded the Punta de Cavall we not only encountered water turbulence in form of big swell but also 30 knots of wind. We were rather relieved when we reached the shelter of Port del Torrent, not a port but a very nice anchorage.

Peter had registered and booked us into one of the IB Ports which are government run and half the price of marinas, so the next day we were off to Sant Antoni. We stayed two nights and used the time for a reset, cleaning and washing (Cordelia, clothes, ourselves) and provisioning (food, drink, gas, water and fuel). In total we had five trips to the supermarket but still found time to have a good look around and wander along their very nice promenade. We did see where the clubs were situated but we were beyond the ages of dancing all night through and did not linger.

After an overnight stop at the Port del Torrent where we met up with boating friends we continued on to the anchorage Estancia des Dins, off the Isla Conejera, an uninhabited island. We could quite happily have stayed there longer and then continue up North, only the wind had other ideas. It was forecast from the North, blowing into our anchorage, so we legged it to Sa Caixota in the South, looking for shelter.

We knew something was up when we saw the dozen or so commercial fishing boats previously anchored off Sant Antoni all heading for the same bay we were going to. Other boats also had the same idea and it got rather crowded. We sat up until midnight waiting for the Mistral but it wasn’t until 1.00am when the wind changed direction from South to North. Then, however, it came in full force together with rain. We were swinging around but held very well. So did our nearest neighbour, only not always at the same time! He was very close and it looked like his boat had taken a shining to our Cordelia and was about to kiss her. Peter let out another 10 meters of chain which put Cordelia swiftly out of reach of these amorous advances. We kept watch until 4.00am, seeing gusts of 50 knots, before the wind calmed down to a more gentle 25 knots and we were assured enough to go back to bed.

We sat it out for another day with more rain, thunder, lightning and gusts to 30 knots before moving on through the Freu Mediano passage and past Ibiza Town to Sol d’en Serra. This was yet another pretty place, and the next day we ventured out on foot past the restaurant, along the clifftops and up a 19% incline to the Puig de ses Torrets (211m). Our efforts were rewarded with magnificent views along the coastline and into the hinterland. The way back was via the Cala Llonga with its hotels and supermarket.

A very pleasant downwind sail on the genoa the next day moved us along at 3.5 knots. We took the inside passage off the islands around Santa Eulalia, passed the Isla Tagomago, rounded the Punto Gosa and dropped our anchor in the Cala des Forn. We had intended to spend a few days there, but when Peter checked the forecast any wind to cross to Mallorca later in the week had disappeared. In fact, it looked like there was no favourable wind for at least another week, unless we left the next day. We made our decision and set the alarm for 5.30am.

Chapter Five: MALLORCA

Day was dawning at 5.50am on 29 May when we upped anchor. We set sails soon after and enjoyed a beautiful sunrise.

Then the wind dropped a little, so Ingrid made breakfast. By the time the kettle had boiled the wind had picked up, the sea was confused and Cordelia was shaking. Next thing we knew was that Ingrid’s coffee had spilled all over the cockpit. Breakfast would have to wait until the mess was sorted. Ingrid had just wiped off the final few drops when all but the last thimble-full of her mug emptied its content again. This time it went all over the place, including seats and bathing platform. It took a while before things went back to standard. There was no way we could make another hot drink in these conditions, so a rather disgruntled Ingrid chewed on her dry muesli bar and sucked up the last cold remnants of her coffee.

The wind by now came from abeam, so did the swell, and the waves came from the bow. At times Cordelia was slamming, but overall she behaved very well and was doing 8 knots. The closer we got to our destination the more the wind direction changed and its strength increased. We reefed when it hit 25 knots and sailed close-hauled to our anchorage off Santa Ponsa, Mallorca.

The following day was a work day: Peter baked bread rolls, Ingrid cleaned, Peter disassembled the toilet pump as it had become quite stiff. He concluded there was a blockage in the pipe, jumped into the water and tried to clear it from outside, but to no avail. In the end he had to take it off completely as the whole pipe had calcified solidly. He used the broom handle to poke it and managed to fix it and clean out all the nasties. He reinstalled everything and made it work perfectly again, then it was Ingrid’s turn to get the heads smell nicely by using lots of cleaning products. We also cleaned the log and attended to the bilges. There was water everywhere under the saloon floorboards! It took a considerable time to mop up, clean the bilges and the floor, and put all the goods we’d stored there back in their relevant places. We certainly knew how to enjoy ourselves!

The next day consisted of provisioning and sight-seeing. We found an Eroski supermarket and not only replenished our larder but also our bar with local wine and a bottle of their herbal liqueur.

We left on 1 June and motored around the corner to Portals Vells where we managed to squeeze into a very busy anchorage.

Early the next day Peter rowed Buddy to the beach, and we walked the short distance to the caves. They were connected and humongous. Some of the sandstone contained carvings, there was an altar and even an (empty) chapel. We explored the nooks and crannies, then walked back to the beach and along some nice sandstone formations towards the port.

At 11.00am we were on our way again and at 12.00pm we dropped the anchor at Las Illetas. It was also busy there, and the quantity of day launches increased the closer we got to the weekend, all jostling for prime position which seemed to have been where we were. We also had sandy rain during the first two nights, were put off walking by signs declaring “Danger”, “Private Property” and “No Trespassing”, and were amused by the Spar mini-market prices (think of a number and double it).

We left on the Monday, 6 June. We set sails as soon as we were out of the bay and were going along nicely with one reef. Then the wind dropped, so we shook out the reef. Next, it veered from North-East to South-East and increased. And so it happened that we put the reef back in, followed later by the second. It was blowing 30 knots but we had another enjoyable sail to our new anchorage off the Playa del Trench.

What a stunning place! The colour of the water was unreal, there was plenty of space, a good distance to the white sandy beach and only one party boat which didn’t stay long. We stayed two nights in this little paradise, swimming, relaxing, learning about websites, baking bread, drinking Gin and Tonic with ice from our ice-maker.

We had a direct course to Punta Salinas in a South-South-West force 4-5, but we had to gybe our way up the coast with the wind directly from behind. Around Porto Colom the wind picked up and we reefed before our gybe back out. Just after we gybed back in Peter hand-steered for a while, and that was when the wind changed direction. It was as good as on the nose again but we managed to get an angle that allowed us to sail just outside the Cala Barcas. This bay was recommended in our guidebook and we drove around and admired its beauty. It was quite crowded, though, so we motored to the nearby Cala Falcó where there was only one other boat that left shortly afterwards. We took their spot and had a swim. Next thing we knew was that the wind had changed direction again by 180º and was now blowing 20 knots onshore. The swell was coming in and getting to the stage where we thought we wouldn’t be sleeping at all that night. We consulted the charts, the guidebook and got a glimpse on Windy (a wind forecast app), and decided to move further up the coast to the Cala Estany d’en Mas. There we finally found shelter from the North-East wind and swell, and with only one other boat in the anchorage we had peace at last.

We were up for a land adventure the next day, so we walked along the cliffs towards Cala Falcó.

There were tracks all over the place but we did take the right turns and ended up at the Cueva des Piratas (Pirate Cave). The big entrance gate was locked but someone had conveniently knocked through some rocks right next to it and left a hole big enough for us to crawl through to the other side. Inside we found a room with carved-out seats which continued into another cave with stalactites, a little lake and another extension leading further into the depths of the earth. To the other side there was an opening with steps leading downwards to who knows where. It was pitch dark in there and we were glad for the torch we’d brought along. We didn’t pursue any of the paths in the caves as we didn’t fancy getting lost with our remains being discovered centuries later. After all, we were after an adventure, not an epic. So we took the obligatory photos and clambered back out into fresh air.

From there we followed a track past woodland and finished by cutting through an abandoned hotel resort still with deckchairs stacked next to the empty swimming pool, and climbing over a balustrade to get back to the beach. No sooner had we arrived back on Cordelia when the first of three fun ferries moored up to a little pontoon on the cliff next to us. It was time to leave, so we motored out of this sanctuary all the way to Porto Cristo, another IB Port.

We had a lovely walk there to the lighthouse, but mainly spent our time shopping (half a dozen trips) and eight sessions of doing laundry, all by hand in the sink.

Fully restocked we made our way to the Cala Cañamel where we spent two nights and recovered from our exertions before we continued to the Cala Guya. There we had an excellent hike through woodland up to the Talaja de San Jaumell watchtower (273m). The views from there all around the headland were breathtaking.

We had planned to sail to Menorca from our next anchorage at Platja S’Estanyol, but yet again the wind had other ideas. We started off into that direction, then the wind changed. As its strength increased we made good speed at times, but after a couple of attempts to keep on course by turning and tacking but mainly going nowhere we abandoned the idea and headed towards San Vicente instead.

This proved to be a great option. We found peace in clear water and explored the village the next day.

To start off, we had different ideas where we were going to. Peter naturally headed for a mountain a good hour away, but once he realised that Ingrid hadn’t prepared any food or drink for this excursion he was easily convinced to opt for culture and education. So off to the Bronze Age burial site we went and the caves there were well worth a visit.

We were back on board and ready to leave this lovely anchorage at 11.30am.

We continued our journey along this rugged coast, pulled into the beautiful but overrun Cala de la Colabra and dropped the anchor at 3.45pm off Port Sóller.

We’d heard stories about sudden wind changes and anchors being dragged as a subsequence, and therefore decided to stay onboard so we could be at hand if any of this happened. It didn’t, but some anchors wouldn’t grip and people went elsewhere.

We carried on South the next day with the sea at times as flat as a pancake. We took it easy, admired the cliffs and their caves, checked out the hole in the rock at the Peninsula de la Forada, saw two dolphins and stopped for a swim and lunch at the Ensa de Sas Hortigas with its stunningly clear blue water.

It got busy near the island of Dragonera and we had jetskis, fishing boats, ferries, motorboats, kayaks, swimmers and divers to deal with from thereon all the way past Andraitx. We were about half an hour away from Santa Ponsa when the wind picked up enough to sail, which made for a nice finish to our passage.

We had circumnavigated Mallorca and needed to reprovision, exchange our gas bottle, do some admin work, clean off the Saharan dust that came with some rain, and sit out the wind gusts of over 30 knots. We also visited the Archaeological Park with ruins of a watchtower, reconstructed stone huts and overall fantastic views over the area.

We tried to sail eastwards one day, and made it out of the bay to the next corner when the wind hit us right on the nose. So after some deliberation we turned back and had a great downwind sail into Santa Ponsa.

The wind kept blowing hard from the East, we had more rain with even more sand in it, but we did manage to get some gas. While we celebrated this with a pizza cooked in our gas oven Peter noticed a yacht with an Austrian courtesy flag. He passed the binoculars so Ingrid could ascertain what the second flag flying on top was. Ingrid recognised it as Tyrolean, complete with its eagle, and remarked that this was the way her cousin would identify their boat. After a closer look at the woman sitting in the cockpit and the man attending to the tender on the foredeck we were in for a surprise. It was them! In person! Of all the anchorages in the world! After over thirty years of not seeing each other!

Well, there was some catching up to do between Ingrid, her cousin Christine and her cousin’s husband Hannes. They were on a charter holiday and on their last couple of days before returning their boat. They had brought out food from Austria that they hadn’t eaten but didn’t want to take back home, and guess who were the beneficiaries. We would be feasting on these delicacies for the next few weeks! We waved good-bye at each other on 24 June, they headed for Palma, and we were sailing back to San Vicente.

After a while the wind petered out and we motored, which got us hot and sweaty, so the first thing we did after having dropped the hook was to jump into the cooling water. Did we mention it was crystal clear and turquoise?

Chapter Six: MENORCA

The next day the wind was up to its old tricks again: on and off, coming from all directions, finally settling for East-South-East. We got the genoa out before we passed the Cabo de Formentor, and were pinching our way to Menorca.

Once we were clear of the headland the wind kept on increasing to a force 6, but luckily it also swung more to South-South-East, giving us a good sailing angle. The reefs we had put in were shaken out of both sails when it got calmer on the approach to our anchorage at the Cala del Amarradó.

After a good night’s sleep we launched Buddy and explored the nearby cliffs and caves. We found them full of goat poo and pigeon droppings until we hit the jackpot – a cave where we could motor in for quite some distance.

There the water was extremely clear and we could see all the way to the bottom. We could also see the infestation of jellyfish, which quickly put a stop to any inclination to a skinny-dip. When the hoards of day boaters descended we made it back across the bay and enjoyed the day from our cockpit.

The night ended rolly, so we upped anchor at 8.30am the next morning and set the genoa soon after that. Half an hour later the mainsail went up, and we had a superb downwind sail past the Cabo Dartuch. We motored only the last bit into the Cala Trebelúja which was filled with day boats. This gave us little option on where to drop the anchor, so we carried on to the nearby Cala Escorxada where we found a spot we were happy with. The traffic there, too, was exuberant with overcrowded excursion boats throwing their anchors overboard only to heave them back in after an hour or so to rush off to the next bay. They were all gone by the evening, though, and we had a quiet night with only another three boats remaining.

In the morning we were off for a walk on a stage of the Cami de Cavalls, a bridleway that once connected all the watchtowers. We first went along the cliffs and crossed a small river, then turned inland at the Cala Mitjana. The path took us through pine forests down into a valley with a brook, along remnants of wells and ruins of farm buildings. It was a really lovely walk albeit a rather warm one.

Ingrid struggled in the heat, especially on the last stint from Binigaus back to the Cala Escorxada. It took her a while to recover with a rest, cold drinks and a refreshing swim.

Peter in the meantime got Internet connection and learnt on Navily (an anchorage and marina app) that we’d be losing protection during the night. It was due to drop from 97% to 16% mainly due to swell but also to a change in wind direction. We quickly upped anchor and headed straight out to sea, then got ship-shaped and followed the wind. We had a great sail down the south coast before pulling into the Cala Binibeca. Unfortunately this bay was full of mooring buoys and the only suitable anchoring spot was already taken. So we turned and finally found shelter off the S’Illot d’en Marsal island.

We re-anchored the next morning to avoid the seagrass and found sand in turquoise water. During the next few days we relaxed, swam, fished, caught and ate two nicely sized saddled bream, motored ashore to a little dinghy dock, disposed of rubbish, shopped and walked around the picturesque village of Binibeca Vell. Despite being anchored right under the flightpath the place was peaceful. It was also devoid of day boats.

We left the anchorage on 3 July and motored along the coast to Mahón where we arrived a couple of hours later. We looked in on the anchorage just outside where there was space, but with the holding reported to be poor we carried on to the fuel dock in the Cala Figuera. A motorboat was filling up, but instead of waiting around we went further upstream towards the Marina Menorca and had a sight-seeing tour of Mahón from aboard. We still had to wait our turn upon our return to the filling station, but eventually we got diesel for an eye-watering price and water for a little less than that.

By midday we were underway again. The wind was now a North-East force 3, and we sailed and motorsailed past calas, cliffs, islands and capes to our next anchorage north of Cabo Favaritx and past Addaya, round Punta Codolada and into the Cala Innominata.

We spent a quiet night there but moved the next afternoon to the Cala Presili for better shelter, tacking slowly back past the Cabo Favaritx. It was a good move and we had another quiet night with no-one else around.

In the morning Peter rowed us to the beach from where we picked up a path, then a track, then a road to the lighthouse of the Cabo, admired the spectacular coastline and a big enclosed bay with a ruin (fisherman’s house?), and clambered over shale rock right to the end of the island.

Back on board we re-checked the weather forecast, and with a Mistral predicted for the end of the week, decided to make our move to Sardinia today. So after lunch we started our preparations. The central solar panel was removed and the deflated Buddy stored there in its place. We also installed the superjib and lifeline. Dinner, a swim and a cup of tea were in order before we upped anchor at 8.00pm with still enough wind to fill the sails. Gracias and Hasta la Vista, España, we had a fantastic time!