Marbella to Almerimar

Altea
Thu 22 Aug 2013 15:37

36:41:78N 02:47:48W

21-22 August 2013

The evening was calm and as we were fishing at the right time of day for once, I caught a Tuna. It is only a baby, but it is waiting in the fridge.

The sea was gloopy and calm and there was a fantastic full moon, so we just kept on going due East through the night. With just 2 hour watches it was a very easy night. Dolphins visited me on my watch. The sound of their gulp of air was the first sign of arrival and then they could be seen leaping in the moonlight.

There was just one ship, a large cargo vessel which was dead ahead. The light was the first contact, then it came up on the AIS. It seemed to sit stationary, and took all two hours of my watch to arrive about a half mile away.

S had a more exciting time, when it appeared we were tailed by the military or coastguard. No AIS beacon, and changing course to follow us and track alongside. V mysterious. The highlight of the morning was a large Tuna (I would say as big as a man) leaping in the midst of a hail of flying fish, that were leaving the water to escape the hunt that was going on beneath the water. It leapt a few times and I ran to hold on to my fishing rod in case it came our way. It would have snipped my line in a moment, but it would have been exciting to feel its pull. However, it had better fish to chase.

It was a memorable and surreal night slipping along on virtually still water, but in the morming we decided not to motor any more and headed to Almerimar, for the pleasures of a launderette and to do some maintenance.

Although we arrived at 14:00 It was late by the time we had checked in and got settled in our berth. We had a wander round the town, which is a holiday resort with a stalled marina based project slightly like Port Grimaud but not as cute. The money has clearly run out and large signs advertised apartments from 39,000 Euros. Clinging on by the finger tips, it is just complete enough to stay alive. There is a golf course squeezed between the town and the motorway, but it is not appealing.

The beer and mojitos at the beach bar were very pleasant as the sun went down, and we had a great pizza before retiriing.