Tuesday 092012

37:44.474N 01:26.26E

Gibraltar to Palma, Majorca ( Aguilas; SE Spain to Formentera anchorage, Balearics - 163 nm )

06:30 37:24.63N 01:33.04W Anchorage, Aguilas . Engine on. Raised anchor and left bay later setting a course of 61 degrees motor sailing – as ever !

Noon Position 37:33N 0: 44W Wind: NE 4kts ,SOG 6.7kts

12:45 Jackie prepares lunch; Tony in driver’s seat and yours truly working on log.

21:00 38:12.18N 00:20.85E Dinner of beef bourguignon with mashed potatoes, a piece of cheese to finish the bottle of Bordeaux, followed by the panna cotta and freshly made red berries coulis, which to our taste, took ages to cool down and become firm enough to be served. Now the red berries coulis has turned into a sorbet and the panna cotta has the ideal consistence. The well-meant e-mail received lately suggesting that I needed to go on a diet will be followed once Bootlegger has arrived in Palma. But in the mean time, great importance is given to our meals, which are important – more psychologically than physically - in particular when the watches don’t allow for more than 3 hours sleep in a row.

Tony takes the 21 to midnight watch, Frank catches up with sleep in a very warm cabin and Jackie sorts her many photographs in the cockpit.

00:01 38:22N 00:44E Frank takes watch. Note wind is now southerly 20 -22kts. We motor sailing with engine rpm of 1800 and a SOG of 7.5kts. Time to be sailing. Put rolled in genoa out and brought out main and mizzen.

00:10 We are sailing – only! on full sail with wind off starboard quarter we are soon back to a SOG of 7.4kts but with sail only. Course 59 Bearing 62 degrees. DTG to Formentera anchorage 39.5nm.

On radar I identify a yacht we have had ahead of us all day still ahead of us but now by just one mile. Ahead again I have three targets, 2.5 and 3.5 nm respectively. Suspect they are trawlers.

01:30 Wind dropped suddenly to 10kts necessitating the re-start of the engine at 1899 rpm and the pulling back in of the genoa..

03:45 Our sailing companion is now less than three quarters of a mile ahead. We still have a number of fishing boats to port a couple of miles off. SOG 7. Wind 2kts Wind: southerly SE10.7 kts

03:00 Jackie takes watch. Starts by making tea and toast as we near Formentera just 12 nm distant. Slow engine to 1500 rpm giving SOG of 5.3kts in order not to arrive too early at Formentera anchorage as it will still be dark.

07:00 38:46.71N 01:25.47E Arrived Balearics, specifically Formentera anchorage and dropped anchor at this position. Plan is to depart here lunchtime for Ibiza town. Tomorrow we head for Palma, Majorca at 06:00

Distance done from Aguilas anchorage (SE Spain): 163nm >From Peel: 2,085nm