The forecast was for an easy sail so we decided to make for Valencia (40+miles) in one hop.  All 3 sources of weather agreed it would be easy – and all were wrong!  Shortly after leaving shelter, we were in fairly strong winds (F6) but horrible seas; 2-3 metres and very unpredictable.  So we ended up motor sailing for the 1^st few hours and adding miles onto the distance to keep a decent speed on the boat.  We had the usual window leaks we get in those conditions, and lost our mooring hook overboard – we just hadn’t expected such rough weather and things were not properly shipshape!  Another lesson for us… 

It was all worthwhile in the end, as we had nearly 3 hours lovely sailing into Valencia at the end of the day (9 hrs later).  It turns out to be a great spot.  We had low expectations from various sources, but the old America’s Cup marina is not bad, in a great location, and we will be very happy to spend the winter months based here.

First mate is a particularly happy bunny as there is a long beach just a few minutes walk from the marina and at the moment the sea is deliciously warm.  We also found ourselves with half the city this Sunday watching an air show over the beach which was a bonus.

So anyone who was planning to visit us this year – come on over!  It’s Spain’s 3^rd largest city with oodles to do and see, plus a great base to explore the rest of  Spain.  No excuses now, just come & keep us company for a bit.