14th Sept; Ibiza to Formentera:
Even though I’d only just arrived on Hoopla at midnight last night, our alarm went off at 7.30am! By 9am, we had had breakfast and we were preparing Hoopla for her next passage – but we’re really not liking the look of the (very) grey skies at all! Let’s hope that they don’t come to anything!
I cleared the galley and took up the recycling. Gosh, it’s so hot! So, while Rob checked us out at the marina office (€60 per night for us), I had a quick (cold) shower! Bliss!
Rob & I then walked into town for bread and washing up liquid, which also included a visit to the chandlery, of course! We were all ready to slip our lines at 12.30. Rob was on helm duty, Jack on the slime lines in the bows and I am on the stern lines. We exited the marina very well and we met a 1mtr swell. It was quite rolly too. Hmm.
The grey skies gave us one short, sharp shower, during which we dived down into the cabin, as we can steer from here too, thank goodness.
Shortly after, Rob made us all nice bacon sandwiches for lunch! Nom nom!
We entered the bay at 4.30pm and picked up bouy that was swimming distance from the shore. Nice! A rib pulled up alongside, requiring our payment of €36.30 per night for the bouy (we’re staying for two). We were expecting cash only but she said we could now pay by card! Yay! After she left, Rob swapped our Ibiza flag for the Formentera one. It is now just after 5pm, and both the boys are in sea, which is warm apparently. Unsurprisingly, it is an island after all, it’s quite a rolly anchorage unfortunately. I’m currently all cosy in bed, looking at my rucksack that still needs unpacking hahaha! Hopefully I’ll have time to sort it tomorrow.
15h Sept; Caló de s’Oli, Formentera:
I forgot to set the alarm last night, which meant it was 9.30 when we woke! Whoops. On a school day. Double Whoops ! It was 10.30am when Jack and I started on psychology. This looks to be a very, very interesting course and our first module is all about child development.
This anchorage is quite rolly, especially when the ferries go past – which they do, a lot! I was beginning to feel a little queasy (working and reading in the cabin) and so we called it a day after half of a history lesson. Rob and Jack went snorkeling to the shore for the afternoon, and I finally got to unpack my rucksack! The sea is nice and clear but a little cloudy near the beach, because of the sand.
Oh! Matts bike was fine! Yay! No leaks! So between them (Matt and cousin Martin) they must have tightened up something and sorted it! Really good news!
Its an early night tonight for the Hoopla crew, as we have a long passage tomorrow – but our LAST long one of the season: 14 hours. We are leaving Formentera and heading for mainland Spain. Our summer is coming to an end 🙁
I’m sorry that this is another post without any photos. My phone was left on charge in the cabin. Normal service will return with the next one though 🙂
16th Sept; Formentera to mainland Spain :
Well, we have one 14 hour journey ahead of us today! We are heading for Altea Marina and this will be our last long passage of the season. None of us will miss Formentera, though, because of the roll. We (or mainly I!) don’t really like arriving at a place in the dark. I would rather leave earlier to arrive at our destination in the light. So our alarm was set for 5am! We set Hoopla up ready to go before we turned in last night, which helped, because, by 5.30am, we were leaving the bouy. Rob and I began the task of looking out for the nasty fishing bouys by the light of the silvery moon. Unfortunately, we had quite a rough sea, with a 1 mtr side swell, plus quite a strong head wind (18knots). We were both happy to see the sunrise at 7.30am 🙂
I went back to bed at 9am and spent most of the morning and early part of afternoon there, as I wasn’t feeling too brilliant. I wasn’t sick, though, so that was good! Jack popped up to the cockpit every now and then to keep Rob company. At around 2pm, the wind had eased to 10 knots which, in turn, calmed the sea. Thank goodness for that! This made for a much more pleasant journey. Rob took down the Formentera flag, so now we just have the Spanish one flying. We finally arrived at the marina in Altea, at 7.30pm, in daylight as planned. Jack was on bow duty and I was on slime line duty (ugh) and we moored up without any problems 🙂 Jack plugged Hoopla in while Rob and I left to get checked in at the office. We were told that the office staff had left for the day, and so we were only allowed to pay for one night. We are to return in the morning. We wandered back to Hoopla and Altea seems like a very nice town, the facilities are very clean.
We opened a bottle of wine to toast our safe arrival Cheers everybody 🙂 🙂
17th to 20th Sept Altea, Spain :
Oh my life! This is SUCH a peaceful marina! We all slept very well. Rob worked this morning before we left to explore the town at 4pm. We decided it is lovely. The wind has picked up and its a little cooler, at 25°. Rob wanted to walk to the river that we saw on Google maps. We found it and it and we saw a family of ducks! They were very cute and we were sorry that we didn’t bring any bread. On the way back we saw the tram station. We decided to catch one to Benidorm tomorrow.
So, next morning, after a delicious cooked breakfast, we were all on the 12pm tram to Benidorm. We had a wander around the city, taking in the sights and sounds. Very lovely they were too. We had lunch in a seaside cafe before wandering along to the sea front. We’ve sailed past this stretch of coast a few times now, so we were pleased to actually be able to see this side for a change. We came across a small park where there were a lot of doves in the trees, which were interesting. Soon after, we caught the tram back to Altea and had a beer/wine in the marina bar. A great end to a great day 🙂
The 19th was the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. We have had our flag at half mast for the last few days. The WiFi signal wasn’t strong enough to watch it on TV but, by the powers of Facebook, we managed to see clips of it on Facebook.
The following day was a school day, with Jack and Rob on chemistry and English. I did some tidying up and aired our bedding. On a walk to the sea, later, we saw a squirrel. Not a grey one like home or red like Scotland – but a gorgeous chestnut brown colour! Rob had quick swim, followed by a cheeky glass of wine for us both, before we headed to the supermarket to stock up as we leave tomorrow. Rob has received an email from Cartagena marina confirming that our F34 spot is waiting for us 🙂 I have also received an email confirming that my Half Marathon has been rescheduled for the 9th Oct. I obviously can’t return to the UK again. But there is an offer of a virtual run replacement PLUS I can reduce the distance to 10k. So I have completed and submitted the form.
Tomorrow we leave for Santa Pola. Its a 6/7 hour journey, so as long as we leave before midday, that will be fine.
21st Sept; Altea marina to Santa Pola, Spain:
Our alarms were set for 8.15 this morning, as we have a fair bit to do before we leave. First things first, Rob walked to the marina office to return our key cards (and received our €30 deposit back, thank you very much). He asked to borrow a water hose adaptor from them, and was told that the pontoon water is not potable(!) He was told that it is only suitable for washing the decks! Apparently, there is too much calcium in their water, which is not good for water tanks. We weren’t expecting that! Luckily, we have 2 x spare 25 gallon containers on deck. Rob emptied these into our water tank and we hope that this lasts us to Cartagena We are also low on diesel! Great 😀 We were eventually ready to leave at 10.45 and Jack slipped our shore lines, and Rob, on helm duty, took us out of the marina very nicely.
We have grey skies, but no rain is forecasted, and we hope that that stays the case. We passed a magnificent waterfall before going past Benidorm. We tried to spot where we were yesterday, but we were just a little too far from the shore to recognise anywhere, which was a shame.
Our destination was always in sight, which is great when it gets nearer and clearer. Unfortunately, it was a motor journey all the way as (again) there was no wind.
We have just arrived in the anchorage in Santa Pola (at 17.45). It was a 7 hour journey and it’s great to switch the engine off! We are in a nice, sheltered bay, which will suit us just fine! I’ve also just received a confirmation email that I can swap my Half Marathon for a 10k and I can also run it virtually in Cartagena, on the 9th October. My t-shirt and medal will be posted to Tina’s after I’ve uploaded my stats. So that’s great! I will struggle with a 10k (due to lack of training while travelling) but at least it is do-able!
Apparently rains are due tomorrow and more nasty weather is due for the 26/27th Sept, but hopefully we will be in Cartagena by then, fingers crossed!
Before we all turned in at midnight, I moved all the cushions from the cockpit to the cabin and tidied up the decks, just incase it rains before our alarm goes off in the morning.
22nd Sept; Santa Pola to the Mar Menor, Spain:
Our alarm was set for 8.15am. It is about a 5 hour passage today, so the earlier we leave, the earlier we arrive – and we might just dodge the rainstorm due, fingers crossed!
It was 9.45 when Rob lifted the anchor up and I helmed us out of the bay. No rain yet, but we have a slightly chilly morning, with threatening dark skies. We met a fairly calm (but rolly) sea, with a 1 metre swell and 8knts of wind – on the nose! Rob unfurled the Main Sail to help dampen the roll. This did help a little. I’ve just seen a flying fish! Awesome!
Unfortunately, we are not having a pleasant journey at all with this roll – we are all looking forward its end. Not even the ever changing coastal view of the hotels help. The Mar Menor bridge opens up on alternate hours, and we are aiming for the 4pm slot. There were two of us boaties waiting to go in and two waiting to come out. Rob wanted to enter via the fuel berth, and we topped up our tank by €50. Just five minutes later, we were back on our way. We dropped the anchor at just inside the Mar Menor (‘small sea’ in Spanish) at 4.45pm. Its very sheltered here, with no swell at all. Hurrah! There is a little bit of wind but its ok. Rob quickly prepared a lovely lunch during which we opened a cheeky bottle of wine. This was followed by a lazy afternoon for all 🙂 😀 Happy Days!
23rd Sept; Mar Menor to Cartagena (!)
Last night was another very peaceful night for us all and the 8am alarm woke us from a deep sleep.
Well, tonight we go to sleep in Cartagena! Our last passage is finally in front of us and we are sad and excited at the same time. We are aiming for the 10am bridge opening, so after breakfast we will start to get Hoopla ready. But first, I’m to enjoy my first cuppa of the day 🙂
Jack pulled up our anchor without any problems and Rob started to head towards the bridge at 9.50am. As we approached, we saw a kingfisher flitting along the bank! It was so pretty! Then, as we went under the bridge, we saw a heron fishing! Wow! There was also quite a strong current as we passed under it. Rob was quite surprised to notice that it had changed direction from when we arrived yesterday. There was even a standing wave! Not a big one, obviously, as it is the Med, but one nevertheless.
We exited the Mar Menor and met a very flat and calm sea. It was like glass! The complete opposite of yesterday! As we were following the coastline, we saw a flurry of tiny flying fishes! How fantastic was that! Unfortunately, though, there was no sailing for us on our last passage of the season It was a motor journey all the way, with a calm sea and 10knts of wind on the nose! Ah well.
Just as we were entering Cartagena, we saw (just in time) a huge tanker coming out! Rob slowed down our engine and we watched it leave. Rob radioed our marina a few times on approach but there was no answer! So, no help from any of the marineros! Rob likes to go in “stern first” (reverse), and, because we have the dinghy on the back, it makes it tricky, and we need help. We resorted to Plan B! This meant dropping Jack off on a pontoon, he runs to our pontoon to take our lines. It all went like clockwork! We’re in and we’re back on F34! Phew!
We are all slimed up, it’s 3pm, and we’re about to walk into town. We had a very pleasant run back, really, with sunshine and a flat sea. Our engine hours this season totaled 244 (10 days, roughly). She looked after us very well!
Jack took his skateboard to the skatepark and, as we walked into town, we saw lots (and I mean lots!) of “Romans” preparing for a parade! It would appear that we are coming to the end of a 5 day siesta, celebrating the time the Romans came to Cartagena! We arrived at our favourite cafe/bar in San Francisco Plaza and pulled up a chair for beer and a sangria! To our surprise, the procession went right past our table! How lucky were we! They. Were. Fabulous! After, we stopped at Kuss (another favourite of ours) for a coffee and a cake 🙂
**** We are back ! ***
24th to 30th Sept 2022; Cartagena:
The 24th, our first full day back, brought us our first lie-in, in what felt like ages! A leisurely breakfast at 10.30am too – it was so lovely – and so needed!
The following week it was Kuss (our favourite cafe), Kuss, Kuss and more Kuss !
We also completed our first full week of boat school for Yr 10 and it went well! This week I also arranged for our weekly shopping to be delivered to Hoopla! What a game changer that was/is! No more struggling with heavy shopping for us!
Rob bought two new (for us) folding bikes from a couple here in the marina. They are very nice (we need to make sure we use them!) but could do with more comfy saddles! Hahha! What a busy, busy, busy first week back we have had!
So, our 2022 summer adventures have come to a close 🙁 But what wonderful memories we have all made! 4 months (June to Sept) of exploring Corsica and Sardinia and not to mention the Balearics, as we made our way over. Our huge thanks go to Pete who came out to help us with the crossings! Very much appreciated!
My highlight of the season had to be seeing the mama and calf pilot whales! Robs was the 3 day run of fantastic spinnaker sailing in Corsica! Jack’s was meeting up with Clara and Emilio for a good 3 to 4 weeks in Corsica and Sardinia. I think Pete’s was snorkeling daily from Hoopla and the hire of the motorbikes in Menorca. Fantastic memories for all indeed. Attached are some photos taken during this week.
