Spinnaker fishing on the final stage to Toulon, 23-25 October

 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.

Wind astern on the way to Toulon under code 0

We had planed for a 40+ hours ride. But this was without counting on the hazards of the sea...

Exploring the Balearic Islands, 14-19 October

 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.

Adventurous night anchored at a cliff along the north coast of Mallorca (see below...)

In this post, I will share some of the reflexions and adventures experienced on the way...

Easy ride to Ibiza, 12 & 13 October 2022

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. 

Sunrise as we depart for Ibiza

In crisis to Alicante, 10-12 October 2022

With time pressure increasing as Pieter needs to be in Ibiza on 14 October for flying back to his family, we decided to sail at night the 63 nautical miles from Cartagena to Alicante. The plan was doing it during the day, but because of the problems with the gasoil filters, we got delayed until late in the afternoon. The forecast was for winds 8m/s (16 knots) with gusts up to 12m/s (24 knots). In such conditions, 12 hours would be sufficient to comfortably cover the ride.

North of Cartagena

As night was falling, the weather became threatening and we could see lightnings on the horizon...

Struggling to reach Cartagena, 7 & 8 October 2022

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).

Belisama track exported to Google earth

So, what went wrong in the planning?

First miles in the Mediterranean, to Almerimar, 5 & 6 October 2022

 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. 

The Trinity Lighthouse at Europa Point, Gibraltar

We therefore decided to skip Malaga and focus on heading through the bay to the various capes along the coast...

To Gibraltar, through Barbate, 3 & 4 October

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 :-).

Arrival to Gibraltar as the fog clears up

The "Rock" of Gibraltar is not a myth. You just see it as you approach and the fog clears up. As expected, in this area, there is extremely intense traffic of all sorts of boats. While you are expecting tankers and other cargo ships to cruise along their access lines, we were surprise to see how many pleasure boats were wandering around in the fog without AIS system. We had to activate the radar for the whole crossing as the only way to be able to safely monitor the traffic ahead of us.