Malua is at 39:53,75N 00:41,18E

Yesterday I set out from Barcelona on passage to Ibiza.  It is some distance and as usual on these occasions in the Mediterranean there is either no wind or the wind in on the nose.  I pointed Malua’s bow south along the coast heading for the delta of the Rio Ebro which appeared to give me some respite from the consistent southerly swell over the shallow waters of the delta.  I left this anchorage early the following morning and headed out again right into the wind with a very choppy short sea.  Not much progress into the swell and little wind but as the afternoon progresses the wind filled in and I started to sail.  12 then 14 knots of wind on the nose.  I chose an angle into the wind in the direction of my destination Ibiza but expected to have a long all night passage.

As the sun started to sink into the west I noticed a black dot on the horizon and zoomed in on the chart plotter.  There right in front of me was an island.  The cruising guide indicated that it was a marine reserve and the remains of an extinct volcano.  The centre is deep, deep but the authorities have laid some mooring buoys that one can pick up.  So with the light fading Malua entered the circle of rocks which is the extinct volcano of Isolates Columbretes.  Much to my surprise it is much larger that the chart indicated.  There where a number of mooring buoys to which a few yachts and fishing vessels where attached.  I chose one and make myself fast.  I took a quick swim to inspect the condition of the mooring and retired to cook myself a well earned steak and have a sip of some good French wine.  Off to sleep to the gentle rock and roll of the swell.  Much better than a long night at the helm.

Tomorrow it is the cruising grounds of Ibiza