The final stage from Menorca to Toulon was 215 nautical miles. The wind was as forecasted, astern from start to end, in the 6-8 m/s (12-15 knots). We used our "code 0" rather than the spinnaker for ease of gybing at night from one tack to the other, as required.
We had planed for a 40+ hours ride. But this was without counting on the hazards of the sea...
The Balearic Islands are worth their reputation. In October, we have been enjoying very nice and warm weather, with water around 24°C. These conditions explain why there are still so many sailors around here, from all over Europe: Dutch, German, Norwegian, Swedes, French and from the UK mainly. We have experienced full marinas and anchorage where we could not sneak in.
The ride to Ibiza was the last stage of the second period of the Belisama migration from Rochefort to Toulon. We planed to cover the 103 nautical miles in 20 hours given the fact that we could do it on a single tack with headwind in the 8 to 12m/s. We departed 8:30 in the morning and went along the coast up to the city of Benidorm, then headed a bit more eastward directly towards Ibiza.
What was supposed to be a 110 nautical miles in straight line ended-up being 200 miles when considering the tacking involved in relation with headwinds and currents. We had planed for a 24 hour ride but it took us 36 hours all together to reach Cartagena (a day, a night and a day).
So, what went wrong in the planning?
We did not stay long in Gibraltar as there are still lots of miles ahead of us, and the forecast is indicating mostly headwinds in the coming days. As we get in the Mediterranean, we go around the Trinity Lighthouse at Europa Point before heading west towards Almerimar.
Today, we made it to Gibraltar, kind of a significant step in our way to the Mediterranean. We were extremely exited about the trip and wishing to enjoy the cruise. To most of our surprise, a thick fog emerged as we were approaching the straight of Gibraltar, and we could not see more than 50 meters around us as we moved full speed in the currents all along the straight. No need to say that we will plan a new crossing of the Gibraltar straight in the future :-).
Olhão is a busy fishing harbour along the Algarve coast protected by a lagoon. The entrance of the lagoon is shaky even at high tide because of the high winds and currents.
We did not have much time in Lisbon. First, the marina was fully booked as expected at this time of the year when all Lisbon sailors are back from their summer cruises, and there was some sailing race to take place here. In short, we had to leave at short notice... We made a first segment to Sines, 61.3 miles away, followed by a 59.9 miles ride to Sagres, a natural harbour the southern most point in Portugal.
We reached Porto Douro Marina around 18:00 Saturday evening to find it full in relation with regattas organised this weekend. After asking if we could stay overnight on the service peer, one spot was finally identified for us, with a view on the Douro bridge! Nice to have a spot in such a city.
We made it to Baiona, along the Galician cost, 193,411 days after La Pinta made it. La Pinta was one of the three boats of the first expedition of Chistophorus Columbus (as they call it here) that departed from Southern Spain on 3rd August 1492. It was the first one to make the return journey in March 1493, reaching Baiona and bringing back the news of the success of the expedition!
On the picture below, I summarise our ride from Rochefort to Muros. As you can see, on the way from Rochefort to A Coruña, we had to divert when we encountered the tail of Danielle and the wind shifted northwest driven by a tropical hurricane going across the North Atlantic. When we reached the coast, a head wind of 30 knots and the swell were so high that we had to use the engine to support our move towards Burela.
After two months in Croatia following the start of the season in Southern Brittany and having dropped Belisama in Rochefort for the summer, I made it back to Rochefort to prepare for the conveying of Belisama to the Mediterranean. Rochefort is a place to be visited by any sailor as it used to be the centre of sailing activities for centuries in France. And it shows in the city!
From Vannes, we had a window of opportunity to moor for two days in Houat at 20 nautical miles, in Tréach Er Gourhed. Given the tides, we could only depart around 16:00 from Vannes, and reach Houat by 20:00. There were already around 40 ships mooring in this bay, but it was not a problem given our 1metre draft to find a place very close to the shore. Keep in mind that we are still in June, and the sailing season starts in mid-July, where you are likely to be in the hundred of sailing boat around here.
Despite winds from the West in the 8 to 10m m/s, from which we were protected, the night was a bit shaky because of a northern swell.
The Golfe du Morbihan is intimidating at first. It is known for its strong currents, tides and tricks. But in fact, as I asked my neighbours in the Le Crouesty marina, you just need to let yourself flow by the current in order to avoid obstacles.
Belisama was discharged from the Alubat rehabilitation service on Monday. She was thrilled to go back to water. However, there was still a long way to go before she could set sail. Especially since she got a raging fever, with temperatures above 40°C.
After arriving in Sables d'Olonne in May 2021 on our way to the Mediterranean we had to make a stop-over for Belisama to undergo a surgery involving both hip replacements following a hit on a rock a few years ago in northern Sweden that resulted in some deformation in the aluminium hull that we did not noticed. Indeed, we had hit a rock in Sweden, but did not realise how much it deformed the hull as the behaviour of Belisama was not affected. Below is the picture of Belisama being lifted off water last summer. The angle between the two rudders was not resulting from having bent one of the shaft but rather from having hit the shape of the aluminium hull around the portside rudder.
