39:27.68 N 00:18.82W

26 August 2011

Expecting a long trip we left at first decent light.  The morning was hazy so the light took a while to develop.  I did not want to leave the marina in low, light since the entrance is very shallow if you get it wrong.  So off we went in hot humid morning weather with no wind.

South along the coast is a bit boring.  The shoreline is not that interesting, just broken up by created commercial harbors jutting out into the sea.  The wind stayed low but as we got further south it began to build.  Forecast was for 10-15 knots from the south (on the nose).  That was true for a while then it grew into the mid 30’s with waves now breaking over the deck.  Of course the boat speed dropped as a result and some hull slapping was now happening.  Not really bad, Pat still reading books in the cockpit.  She must be getting used to all this.

Further south we got closer to Valencia and the forecast was for less wind.  Not true it grew to 40 knots but at least we were close to shore so the waves were not that high, just sending spray all over the boat.  The entrance to Marina Real Juan Carlos I now became hard to find.  Since our GPS had failed earlier we were now navigating using the old faithful iPad with Navionics charts and GPS.  We verified position with the Garmin GPS handheld.  But as we approached the marina all I could see through the spray was a long rock breakwater.  This made no sense as we should have been at the edge of the breakwater, not in the middle.  Peering out in between waves we watched a small powerboat enter a gap in the wall so we followed and it was the entrance.  It turns out that the commercial harbor is being expanded and it is not on any chart or even Google Earth pictures.  The GPS gave the correct entrance but the eyes did not believe it.

Once inside the wind was less, only 25 knots so docking was easy with the assistance of two marina staff.  When we called on the radio to let them know we were 2 miles off they responded that they were waiting for us and ready to help.  One of the only time a marina staff was on top of our reservation and knew the winds would make it tough for us.  The office staff stayed one hour later than normal to check us in, very nice.

So now we were berthed at the famous America’s Cup marina where the Swiss and USA battled it out both in and out of court to finally decide who won.  Huge amounts of money was spent on this marina to make it nice and now it is the home of the European Grand Prix, Formula 1 racing each June.

By the way this is the cheapest marina we ever berthed.  It is only 35 Euro per night which is about ¼ the price most marinas charge.  Most marinas in Spain are competing for customers so this may be a result or its governmental funding.  In Italy in August we would pay well over 100 Euros per night.

So we are here and glad to have a rest after 11 ½ hours of sailing and 80 nautical miles. 

The prettiest part of the coast heading south.  Looks like a mini Greek Island with the white buildings.

Part of the Formula 1 track heading east along the water toward the bridge.  The waterfront and parking areas are converted each June to a track.

The “ Sails and Winds” building was built for the America’s Cup racing and today it sits pretty idle except for a small café at the base.  It gets used every year for the Formula 1 race which occurs around it and probably for a few other events.