Equinox2018

Somewhat belatedly, the conclusion to the years blog. A taxi, 3 buses, an aeroplane, two trains and a lift in a friends car later, we are home.  We had booked the flights from where we thought we would be, rather than where we actually were, hence the convoluted journey. Now back to the grindstone! Distance covered today 0   nautical miles Trip distance covered 1616   nautical miles Distance covered 2018 2336   nautical miles Steve (and Tricia)

We were breakfasted and ready at 8.00am as Ginis, the boat yard boss, had said he would come to the boat “first thing”. We’re not sure if it was our misunderstanding or a different interpretation of the phrase but, when he hadn’t arrived by 10.00, we went to find him. We’ve been aware of the ease with which things can be misinterpreted in translation, then there’s also the cultural differences in timings of the day. Finally, he came late morning and I think was surprised at our extensive list of work needed on the boat. We wanted to show him everything so he could better understand the job list, which he appreciated. He understood we were frustrated, to say the least, at the delay in getting the boat out of the water, but, hopefully his efforts will speed things up. It’s not ideal, us not being there to see Equinox settled on the hard, but we have no choice. We have to leave her in their, hopefully, capable hands. Meanwhile the guy came to measure for canvas deck covers to be m...

The cast of Cats The end is very definitely in sight. The store cupboards are bare and we have been eating whatever combinations of leftovers are available. Even my bottle of shower gel is conveniently at an end and so hopefully we will be at the hotel tomorrow, when I get to have my next shower.  It will be pleasing not to have to push a button for more water every 45 seconds. We have made good progress on the jobs, albeit with some frustrations.   The sail-maker and rigger turned up exactly on time, to help us remove the mainsail and to take it to join the jib for winter storage. They then performed a rig check and it was very useful to be here when this was done, so that we could discuss the various items that need attention.   The particularly good thing about this, is that there is now time for them to acquire whatever components are needed and do the work before we set off next spring again. Less positively, we still do not have a confirmed date for ...

Sunday morning is clearly a prime time for promenading.   The walkway behind the beach was extremely busy while we were running, and it made it difficult to fall into a rhythm. Every few steps you had to slow or divert around families meandering along. Even so, we managed the longest run of our summer, helped by the fact that the temperature was a bit lower, and we had made a prompt start to get it done before the heat of the day set in. I was able to enjoy the sight of the 16 fenders that I cleaned yesterday, sparkling along the side of the boat, they have not been so clean since they were new.  Today we spent another day of work in preparation for leaving the boat. We have had the floorboards up, cleaning the bilges and servicing a couple of the pumps that lurk below the deck. The outside decks have been cleaned again, and the spray hood has been packed away. We have started to sort out a pile of things that need to be taken home with us.  Every time we thi...

Today may be Saturday but it’s the day of the “deep clean”. This is another carry over from my Clipper race experience. At the end of each leg, in the Clipper race, we had to do the deep clean. This meant cleaning every crevice of the boat; much needed in a large boat with a crew of 18. We have, never the less, adopted this on Equinox, as good practice. It involves lifting the floor boards and cleaning out the bilges. However hateful, it means we know the boat well and know we will not get ill from dirt lurking below the floor boards. Fortunately, we woke to rain this morning, which meant it was also cooler. We couldn’t have ordered that better. The rain cleared mid-morning, perfect timing to allow the boat to dry out. The cleaning has taken up most of the day, so we missed our run. It’s too hot to run in the late afternoon. Instead, we had a brisk walk along the beach-side promenade and back via the supermarket to buy fish. We’ve noticed a large posse of cats around the brea...

It’s been a while since we found a decent fish shop, Aguadulce is unusually not a fishing port, and so there is no catch local to the town. This means that there are also less seabirds around, although from the noise emanating from the various mast heads, and the mess on some boat’s decks, this is a little hard to believe. Having asked where the best local source of fish was, we were directed to the largest of the local supermarkets, on the far side of town. We mixed a run along the seafront with a walk to locate the supermarket, and were impressed by the quantity and quality of fish on offer. We fixed on sea bass, one of our favourites, and half the price that it is as home, selected the individual fish that we wanted, and waited while they were cleaned with the same skill and care that we have seen in the fish markets everywhere in Spain and Portugal. We noted that the locals were all buying smaller and cheaper fish, but it seemed like too much of a bargain to miss.   We will be ...