21st July – Almeria
No chance to look around this town; just put in for fuel and buggered off. Apparently the marina manager recognised the GC from his catamaran racing days … when this was the biggest (and first) marina on this coast. It’s now acres upon acres of greenhouses; interspersed with high rise buildings … Spain on the coastal strip isn’t the most beautifully developed part of the world for sure.
Wind; Ah; the most variable of variables. Either too much; which means we are flooded on board; or not enough which means we are on motor. The worst is the combo of the two – too much wind in the nose which means either constant tacking or just grim motoring with a lot of water on deck. Fortunately so far THAT didn’t last more than a couple of hours yesterday; but it was enough to know that we didn’t want it.
We haven’t had nearly enough wind of any kind so far; our three day trip to Gibraltar will take nearer five; and we had to put into Ibiza yesterday morning for fuel and will again to Marbella. The GC is trying to use minimum fuel at European prices; we will fill in Gibraltar to the hilt but we are also damn heavy so unless we get bigger tanks we will have a very limited range if these quiet conditions keep up ….
But it’s very annoying to see a fair few sexy Spanish sailboats passing us on the inside; all sail flying, because they are HEADING THE OPPOSITE WAY J
The Unintentional Mariner 