Equinox2018

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 ...

Aguadulce There is a distinct end of term feeling. I am starting to contemplate the horror of having to abandon my uniform of T shirt, shorts and flip flops.  I have only worn long trousers once since we started this phase of our trip and that was a mistake.  All too soon we will be back facing the delights of winter in Britain. I even went to get a haircut, suitable for going to work. Since we moved across the marina, there is a completely different feel, you could be in a different place altogether. Our original position was, let’s say, vibrant, but where we are now is peaceful and quiet.  It is a considerably longer walk to town and the other amenities, but this keeps us away from the more tourist orientated spots, so we don’t see as many people promenading past.  We believe that the Spanish schools have now gone back, and everywhere is operating at a lower level as a result. We have continued to progress our revised plan to keep Equinox here over...

Other than a few chores and a run, during the morning, we walked around to the other side of the marina to the boat yard to ask the manager about the possibility of leaving the boat here for the winter. The north easterly winds seem stuck in for a few more days and, with a possible counter current, it is going to be hard work getting north east to Cartagena. Also, we really like it here in Aguadulce. The boat yard price, for leaving the boat out of the water, is good. The sticking point may be whether they can get supports big enough to cradle Equinox. Where have we heard this before, that the size and draft make it difficult? Everywhere! The boat yard owner seems determined to make it happen for us. We have to wait while he investigates. When we arrived back, we heard that the marineros were concerned about our mooring. The lazy lines, which hold our bow, were at the wrong angle (too steep), not a problem in benign weather, but there is more high wind coming in tomorrow....

Aguedulce I had slept very soundly, but woke at about 4am. I heard that there was action going on outside and, last evening, I had planned to get up and possibly join in a bit of the party scene, but sadly my sleeping body would not move. I drifted off back to sleep. The party was nothing like the disturbances we have had from previous Fiestas. The night club opposite is named El Bribon de la Habana, the Rascal of Havana. It has a pirate theme. It seems to just cater for the youngsters on Friday and Saturday nights. I suspect I have lost my chance! All the dancing is inside so the noise is contained. We were very lazy in the morning, just reading the Sunday papers, but I did do some stainless steel cleaning to keep the boat gleaming. More rain came in so it was late afternoon when we were able to promenade along the seafront. We walked 3.5 kilometres and still couldn’t see the end of the beach.  A group of ladies came by, who were obviously a hen party, having...

Aguadulce Well, this was an interesting and varied day. Steve was leaving us and had ordered a taxi for 8:00 am and so we were all up promptly. When we woke there was rain, yes RAIN!   This was the first proper rain that we have seen since May and it was bucketing down. The taxi arrived on time and Steve was off, rushing quickly to get in the dry car. Over the next hour or so the rain continued to fall and the wind picked up significantly. We had gusts that hit nearly 40 knots, and the direction changed every few minutes. During the morning it went round nearly 360 degrees. During lulls in the downpour, we were out on deck, inflating our heavy-duty ball fenders, and inserting them between us and the boats that are alongside. We were all being pushed across our slots so that we were very close to touching at the sides. We now have 15 fenders out, protecting the sides and stern, and this in a sheltered position in the marina.   I’m glad we had decided not to move on to...

Aguadulce – Almeria With time to spare, we have reached the best location for Steve our guest, to get home from, his flight is tomorrow from Almeria. Therefore, we have had a tourist day today, visiting Almeria.   The guide book says that there are several very interesting things to see here.   We set off from very close to the marina for Almeria on the very punctual and inexpensive bus service. If things were always like this I could relent on my general dislike of buses. I will admit that I knew very little about Almeria before we arrive, but it turns out to be an attractive city with substantial docks and a ferry port, plus an airport and a whole series of buildings of historic significance.  It is the capital of the province of the same name, and apparently only failed to become a separate state within Spain by the quirks of electoral law, despite a 10:1 majority in favour. The city is reputed to have been founded by the Romans and was the first plac...

Adra to Aguadulce We slipped lines from Adra marina about 9.00 and, about an hour later, the wind filled in and we had a lovely sail across the bay, round the headland into the next bay to head towards Aguadulce. We were still hearing the PanPan emergency message on the VHF about the lost dinghy. A NATO reconnaissance aeroplane circled very close above us, checking us out, at one point. We also heard them talking to other vessels in the area to establish who they are, where they have come from and where they are going. On the land we passed by, the coastal slopes continued to be covered in poly tunnels. We are calling them poly tunnels, but they are netting covers, protecting the crops from the sun. The crops are irrigated by water that comes down from the Sierra Nevada mountains and from water deep underground. We are told that this farming has gone on for the past fifty years. When you buy root vegetables from Spain, out of season in Britain, they were probably grown here. ...

Adra Having been on the move for several days, we felt entitled to a day off today.  This doesn’t mean we did nothing, but it was more relaxing than yesterday. We didn’t wake early and then after breakfast went for a run through the poly tunnels.  As I think we mentioned yesterday, this area is a major source of “out of season” fruit and vegetables, and there are acres of polytunnels. We found a route along the coastal path that basically had the sea on one side, and the poly tunnels on the other. After various other chores we set on search of shops, and found the tourist information office, which provided us a map and other information. Usually we get this sort of thing from the marina, but this is rather a strange one. The marina is relatively new and not in all of the cruising guide books.  As a result it’s empty, which seems bizarre after several days of being told that everywhere was full, but they might manage to squeeze us in. The facilities are ok, but th...

Penon de las Caballas to Adra Well, it’s been quite an eventful day on the sailing front. We had a relaxed start; much needed after two nights of disturbed sleep. The wind died each night but there was a swell, causing the boat to roll. It was not easy to get to sleep.   Anchoring, some folks believe, is meant to give you a natural motion, in tune with the waves. Not so where we were. Steve had a work conference call, so we slipped anchor at about 10.45, in light airs, but enough to sail. Midday, we had to motor for an hour, when the wind died. Then we restarted sailing and switched off the iron donkey again. The view from Steve's "office" The wind built until we had Force 6, so we were cracking along at 8 - 9 knots. The anchorage we had planned to go in, was supposed to give shelter from the westerly wind, but it didn’t and, after two attempts to lay the anchor, in the 20 plus knots of breeze, we gave up. The anchor would not bight in the shingl...

Caleta de Valezto Penon de las Caballas Another shortish day today and it was nice to be able to wake up in a leisurely fashion and not feel the need to rush out of bed. It is so much easier to leave an anchorage than a harbour.  You have no check out formalities, no waiting for a marinero to return your deposit for a key.  We also have no fenders out, so the crew work of stowing them is much less as well. As usual we got going and then got breakfast. This is also much easier with 3 than with 2, you don’t have to interrupt preparing or eating food quite so much when there is an extra pair of hands around. Every hour or so for the last few days we have received a “Pan Pan” message, (a level or so below a “Mayday”) informing us that more inflatable boats have been spotted, with people on board (50 today), making their way from Morocco to Spain.  We are instructed to keep a look out, report any sightings to the coastguard, and offer help as appropriate.  I ...

Fuengirola to Caleta de Valez We were up and leaving Fuengirola pretty promptly in the morning, anxious to get some sailing miles in.  The weather is hot, although not as hot as it has been, but incredibly humid.  It is ok on deck when the boat is moving, but really uncomfortable below. We motored and sailed along the cost to the anchorage that we have planned for this evening. We anchored about 300m or 400 metres from the beach, and for the first time in the whole of our ownership of this boat, we swam off the back. Others have done it, but not Tricia and I. It was such a delight to just jump in the water and cool off.  We all did a couple of laps of the boat, and then after a short break, Tricia and I swam ashore and walked along the beach. The place we are is a much more Spanish resort, with local families having their Sunday out. It was great to be away from the commercialisation and foreign dominance of the previous day. Although we were close to a ha...

Estepona to Fuengirola Even though we had enjoyed revisiting Estepona without remembering much about it from our holiday years ago, we had to move on. Today we were expecting the arrival of our final guest of the year, a former work colleague of mine, also called Steve.  He was flying in to Malaga and we had said that we would meet him in Fuengirola.  Our plan that we would be there before him was dashed, by light winds on our journey but he seemed happy enough. His flight has been (unusually in our recent experience) on time, and then he had taken the train along the coast. The station was within a couple of hundred metres of the marina, and he was sitting behind a beer by the time we arrived. I can say that Fuengirola is challenging Albufeira for its place in our affections, but you may need to check up on what we thought of Albufeira. Let’s say that it was not a place that we would rush back to. At least the marina found us a space, when it was otherwise full and a...

This was to be a day in harbour, so we had a relaxed start and spent the morning cleaning up and doing laundry. We have a recurrence of problems with the toilet plumbing. Marine toilets are a pain. I won’t go into detail but one of the toilets in not usable and the second had a stiff pump. Consequently Steve spent the whole afternoon in the toilet and after three attempts at putting it together and it not leaking, it was working again. All this meant that we didn’t manage to run, so, after supper, we joined the Spanish in promenading along the seafront at dusk. Estepona is great. Although it’s very built up and changed a lot since we had a holiday here 20 years ago, it has a certain style and still remains quite Spanish. We couldn't buy fish as they had to dry until Monday. Party time for the locals The marina is probably the best run of all the marinas we have been in this year. It would be nice to stay here longer, but we have to keep moving on. ...