The Unintentional Mariner

4th August   Las Palmas!  Well gosh as unprepossessing as this place looked from the sea; it sure didn’t turn out that way on land.  Our first few hours here weren’t fabulous – apart from the (now usual) grim approach to these ports – full of industrial cargo ships and the like – we came… Continue reading Me gustas tu

31st July So this morning I was lucky enough to wake up just in time to help the boys raise the other gennaker (this one is much bigger and looks more like a spinnaker to me; maybe it is – must ask!) So after a few minutes on the winch at the back and a… Continue reading Land Ho!

29th July Day One of the Atlantic proper and we have wind; not too much but enough to make the GC decide to try one of the two gennakers we picked up in La Ciotat.  We’d been talking about getting one of these for years to use in the light Omani winds; it’s a light… Continue reading First taste of the big blue

Friday 28th July Cruising down the Straits of Gibraltar with Spain on the right and Morocco on the left … sea is flat; no wind against us; and it’s a lovely day; what can I say.  After a morning in La Linea to do our last minute shopping (Betrave and I took a taxi to… Continue reading Fair winds and farewell Europe

23 – 28 July – La Linea Our first impressions of this little town were not the most flattering; arriving as we did late on a Saturday afternoon when all the shops were closed apart from the supermarket.  Like so many places, without people it was dirty and dead.  That early impression wasn’t changed much… Continue reading Some places just grow on you

23rd July – Gibraltar Spent the day here looking around and it’s very quaint and British.  The access is a hoot; the airport runway (military as well as civilian; Gib is still an important military base) crosses the road so ti’s the only road I’ve ever been on where you are stopped for a plane… Continue reading The Rock

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… Continue reading Pit stop

20th July – Ibiza It’s so damn lousy to have the wind in the nose; we are going so slowly … Hmm well the fun capital of Europe looks pretty dismal from the fuel station!  60s block apartments; humidity at around 200 per cent and an overcast sky doesn’t help.  As we were leaving though… Continue reading Party town

19th July – Decided to do a breakfast bake this morning; partly because I was actually feeling a bit sea sick – we were going slowly – only 8 knots – and wallowing like a buffalo.  So I needed distraction.  Lined the loaf tin with baking paper; thinly sliced and buttered two layers of wonderful… Continue reading Get those home fires burning

So here it is; nearly 4pm on Wednesday the 19th of July and we’ve just passed Barcelona on our way to Gibraltar.  So far so normal; we left La Ciotat at about 6.30 last night and if this is a fine Med crossing I’m on the wrong boat.  Well actually we always knew that; Aquarius… Continue reading Everyone loves a sailor