15th July 2008 - El Rinconet to Valencia (the motoring holiday continues)
Bali Hai
Neal Stow
Tue 15 Jul 2008 23:09
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So it was meat on the barbie again last
night! At least it was chicken this time, which makes a change from the
usual pork. It was quite a banquet with the girls trying to maximise the
washing up by using as many bowls and plates as possible, at least the wooden
salad bowl got an airing at last.
The anchorage was quite crowded with boats quite
close to each other. There was a rather well travelled
catamaran close by and I was worried about it swinging differently to
us and causing trouble but in the event the night was very relaxed as no-one
swung round much at all. It was not too rolly either but with this being
the first time people had slept on a boat at anchor most did not sleep that
well.
We pulled up anchor and left at about eight in the
morning. There was little wind but as we headed out of the bay the sea was
quite choppy. Fortunately after we rounded Cabo de la Nao and headed North
West it smoothed out and was very calm the rest of the way.
There was a worrying spell early on when a
loud squealing sound developed under the aft cabin as we motored at speed
in the swell. I was concerned that the bearing in the bracket supporting
the prop shaft had failed and that this could be a serious problem. A
call to "Good Old Dan" at Moody's indicated that this was more likely to be just
the propeller resonating (maybe after hitting something in the water) as a
failed bearing would be a rumbling sound. This sounded reasonable as the
squealing only came and went at certain revs in certain conditions and later in
the day when the water was smooth it went away completely.
With just 1-2 knots of wind we motored for
most of the day, much of it under cloud until we were a couple of hours outside
Valencia. Andy wanted another go at fishing and as the wind had picked up
to 7-8 knots behind us we put up the sails and pottered along at 2-4 knots so
that he and Steve could troll for an hour. Unfortunately they had no
luck then either and we put the iron horse back on and motored into
Valencia.
We were staying in the new marina developed for the
America's Cup held last year. As we arrived an Alinghi catamaran shot
passed us on the way out. It seems that not many people know about the
place as they are offering a very cheap rate of just Euros 20 per
night and it has lots of space, good facilities, plus attractive and helpful
English speaking staff. Moreover it is within walking distance of La
Arenas; the beach and nightlife area of Valencia. Much better than
the main marina which is 4km from the city.
After washing down the boat we had a few drinks and
I glued Andy to the companionway steps. Jane, Steve and I then went into
town for a meal and Andy and Yvonne did their own thing. The beach nearby
has a row of restaurants along the beachfront. We wanted to try La
Pepica, a favourite of Hemingway's and famous for its paella (which
originated in Valencia), but it was full and so we have reserved it for
tomorrow.
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