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Date: 06 Jul 2012 11:51:09
Title: Thursday 26 April 2012 - Saturday 12 May 2012
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Spellbinder sailed from Sant Carles de la Rapita on 26 April 2012 on a hazy morning but with an easterly breeze just sufficient to sail gently southwest 20nm to the fishing harbour at Peniscola. Onboard were Henry and Martin who had prepared and relaunched Spellbinder at the marina at Sant Carles - an efficient and well run marina that had been a good resting place for the winter with good local expertise available to rectify a shafting problem of two years standing. At Peniscola, a dredger was busy at work in the approach to the harbour, an activity witnessed frequently on this coast as silting in winter storms is a major headache for the Spanish. We made anchor inside the protection of the harbour wall which was a bit rolly in a southeast swell but good enough for the first night at sea. The 14th century castle built by the Knights Templar was worth the climb to explore. The site had been well chosen because spring water gushed from the rock at the base of the rocky outcrop on which the castle rested.
The 40nm to the harbour at Burriana was sailed the next day in a gentle NNE F4. With main and boomed-out genoa Spellbinder was going well with a clean bottom. It was hazy again, the sky overcast but bright all the same. Although cool at night it was warm during the day and the ultraviolet at meridian passage had to be respected. A major problem occured while attempting to leave the marina, a rogue mooring line caught around the propellor. The water was like pea soup and it was quite impossible to see into to confirm all lines of the mediterranean mooring were clear. Much gnashing of teeth ensued but the fates were on our side. This was a saturday, but a marinero got hold of a very friendly local spaniard out for a spot of recreational diving and the rope was cleared within an hour. He didn't want paying for his troubles but was given 20 Euros in grateful thanks.
The 30nm passage to Valencia in an east to southeast F3 was fun under main and genoa, and the Juan Carlos 1 marina was reached in good time with the sun occasionally breaking through the haze. This was built for the America's Cup in a city that had been the seat of the republican government of Spain in the civil war. The mooring was good value, the city much enjoyed and we made a rendez-vous with Eric and Dany who had arrived earlier for a long weekend break. Eric bade farewell to Dany and sailed with Spellbinder on 1st May to make us three for the 50nm passage to Denia. The log recalls four hours of motor-sailing and then three hours of a beat with reefed main in a southeast F4/5 as the Cabo de San Antonio was approached. It was good to revisit Denia where Spellbinder had been laid up for the winter of 2008/9 after returning from the Caribbean. From here the plan was to circumnavigate Ibiza, see something of the island, visit Formentera and then return to the Spanish mainland further south. The weather was still unsettled, it was wet and cold in western Europe and we had to choose our weather window carefully as strong westerly winds seemed to be established from Gibraltar through to Sardinia. It was a splendid sail to Cala Bassa (Ibiza) on a broad reach with a flat sea averaging 6.5 knots. The sun had come out, the weather was warmer and Cala Basa was a lovely place to anchor in company of a solitary French yacht. This was early season sailing at its best.
It was hazy with high cloud again the next day but another good sail ensued in a south westerly F4, with stronger gusts, along a craggy coastline. Only one other boat was sighted and Cala Carracha was found to be deserted. It was not south pacific weather but the beach was where the film South Pacific was shot. The passage from here around the north of Ibiza to Cala Llonga on the east coast was the best sail of the cruise. Weighing anchor under sail a WSW F4/5 provided the means to sail continuously on one tack through 180 degrees until Cala Llonga was abeam. Only then did Spellbinder tack onto port to make the entrance to the Cala. We spent two days anchored there, occasionally buffetted by very strong swirling gusts of wind down the bay sending the few yachts there veering about on their anchor chains in quite a violent manner. The opportunity was taken to step ashore and visit Ibiza city by bus and see something of the countryside. The old walled town and the cathedral overlooking the city were delightful.
It was in a gusty SW wind when we weighed anchor and left the Cala with one reef in the mainsail. Outside the harbour the wind steadied somewhat, the reef was shaken out and a steady beat ensued towards the island of Formentera. The remarkable site of a fast ferry still upright but wedged up on a rocky foreshaw met our incedulous gaze. We learned later that this accident had occurred some months before in the winter months presumably in poor visibility! With little rise and fall of tide in the Mediterranean it would be a difficult task to salvage the ship. Spellbinder came to anchor in the Ensenada del Cabrito after two or three attempts to get the anchor to hold - most frustrating! A dinghy trip into the harbour area found a community just starting to gear up for the summer season and the vast influx of sun worshippers who come to enjoy the miles of sandy beaches. Overnight the weather started to change in our favour, the wind backed into the southeast to make our return to the spanish mainland somewhat easier. Under main and genoa we cleared Punta de la Pedrera and headed west. Unfortunately, a light wind on the port quarter doesn't make for fast sailing and when it died further the engine had to be started. We were entertained, however, by a pod of porpoise who played in the bow wave and communicated with Eric who whistled to them. One or two of them did swim on their sides to turn their eyes on him and check him out. That evening we anchored in sand off a lovely beach at El Richonet near Moraira, followed by a walk into town and a meal ashore.
By now the wind was in the easterly sector and a levanter was blowing through the Straits of Gibraltar. The log records the weather getting hot for the first time on this cruise with the sun blazing out of a clear blue sky - it was Thursday 10th May. The 52nm passage to the harbour at Santa Pola was completed in anything from F1 to F4 ENE. The genniker was unfurled and furled, the genoa boomed out to port and then starboard, and back again - phew!, this was hard work. But for the last 4 hours the wind steadied into a F4 and a glorious sail was enjoyed. The small marina at Santa Pola, very crowded in the summer, was most welcoming and a marinero efficiently guided us to a berth. A meal ashore in the yacht club facility on the harbour wall was enjoyed by all as the sun set in the west.
The light easterly winds were to prevail for the next 4 days but the forecast was for strong westerlies to then set in and we had to get round Cabo Gato where adverse easterly flowing currents are also encountered. So on we sailed, or rather motor-sailed, to Torrevieja and having snooped around the large harbour chose to anchor just north of the commercial berth in 4m with good holding. On occasions yachts have been banned from anchoring here and we apprehensively watched a customs boat approaching with officials onboard. But the fates were on our side, the boat's engine stopped and amongst much shouting it was eventually restarted with much grinding of gears. Clearly embarrased they merely took a note of Spellbinder's name and rumbled back to the harbour. Much to our surprise the British national anthem was played over loudspeakers as we left the harbour early the next morning! It is not known who instigated this, but slightly embarrased but quietly impressed the ensign was dipped in return. There was an oily swell running as Spellbinder motorsailed, with occasional bouts of sailing, the 43nm to Cartagena for a crew change and visit to this impressive city, once the centre of Carthaginian influence in Europe. Overlooking all is the Castillo de la Concepcion, with, below, naval museums, a protype submarine said to predate Holland 1, a roman amphithreatre, a fabulous museum of maritime archaeology, and museum of the Civil War.
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