 |
| Departing Alicante |
After three days in
Alicante, and dispatching Yorgos back to Paros, we were ready to head
west again. Alicante marina had been so accommodating that we
extended our stay by a day in order to do a bit more sightseeing and
to catch up on some maintenance. Our stay also coincided with an
international fireworks competition, hence each night we were treated
to a different and impressive 30 minute display.
By the end of day three
we were ready to go and hence at 1400 we motored out of the marina
and sailed south west looking for a decent anchorage along the coast.
 |
| Cabo de Santa Pola |
It was soon evident that if we rounded Punto Espato we were not going
to find shelter in the next very long bay hence we anchored in the
very open but nonetheless calm area off the beach at Cabo de Santa
Pola, just short of Espato. The night was quiet, the anchorage stayed
calm and we awoke to a freshening onshore breeze from the south east;
time to go!
From here we sailed the
short distance to the south-western side of Espato and anchored in
the shallow bay of Santa Pola town, just in from of two enormous
brilliant white mountains of salt, product of the adjacent salt pans.
 |
| Santa Pola |
With the exception of a short half mile move to achieve better
shelter here we stayed for the next two days. We had plenty of time
in hand and the anchorage conditions were good.
With the wind set fair
for the passage we set off from here for a 45 mile reach, in calm
seas, to Punta de Estacio, the only navigable entrance to the Mar
Menor (one of the few inland seas along this coast which is connected
to the sea by a navigable channel). Here we anchored in the lee of
Isla Grosa for the night before setting off at 0715 for the canal
leading into Mar Menor.
 |
| Isla Grosa at the entrance to Mar Menor |
The canal is straddled by a lifting bridge
with insufficient clearance for us to get under unless it is open.
The pilot book gave the opening times as 1100 and 1700, fortunately
we phoned ahead to check and discovered it opened at 0800, 1200 and
every two hours through the afternoon until 2000. Loitering in the
narrow canal for an hour waiting for the bridge to open would have
been particularly tedious, especially given that Kurukulla has no bow
thruster. Once in the Mar Menor we headed for the anchorage at San
Javier, conveniently situated at the end of the airport runway where
our next guest, Stephen, was due to land in two hours time.
 |
| The lifting bridge into Mar Menor |
Sure
enough the 'On time airline' delivered him without snags and I went
ashore in the dinghy to bring him onboard. That achieved it was a
swift shopping trip for Christoph and I, whilst Stephen settled in
onboard, before we sailed off the anchor and headed south to the
anchorage in the lee of Isla Mayor (not surprisingly, given it's
name, the largest island in the Mar Menor) where we spent the night.
On Tuesday morning the
waters of the anchorage were still calm but the wind was gusting 30
kts hence we decided to remain in the Mar Menor another 24 hours and
simply tumbled downwind, under genoa alone, into the anchorage at the
southern end of Mar Menor, anchoring off the sailing club at Puerto
de la Manga. Anchored adjacent to us was what was obviously the end
of some-one's dream; a yacht, unkempt, genoa in shreds and looking
particularly sorry for itself; a tragic sight.
 |
| The end of someones dream |
I was tempted to swim
over and have a look onboard but the potential for finding the owner,
dead in the cabin, was sufficient to deter me! That evening we sailed
back upwind to the entrance of Mar Menor and anchored only 100m from
the entrance to the canal in preparation for leaving the next morning
via the 0800 opening of the bridge.
The following morning
we were one of five vessels queued up in the canal waiting for the
bridge which, once open, allowed us to head out into the open sea.
 |
| Puerto de la Manga, Mar Menor |
Our destination was Cartagena, some 25 miles downwind, to the south
west. After the winds of the previous two days it was a somewhat
“rocky / rolly” passage but otherwise uneventful. We sailed into
the harbour at Cartagena, stowed the sails and motored gently into
the Puerto de Cartagena marina where we were greeted by a very
cheerful marinaio who berthed us on the most convenient berth
possible, inside the cruise-liner berth where sat Britannia, the P&O
liner, (aka. a floating block of flats!). Once the formalities were
complete, and given that it was only a degree short of 40C, we opted
for a cold drink, in the adjacent arts/convention centre terrace
overlooking the marina, before retiring aboard for a quiet siesta.
 |
| Cartagena Amphitheatre |
By
1900 it was time to hit the supermarket to re-victual and by 2100 we
were back on the terrace for a G&T before heading into town for a
Tapas dinner. All of this was capped off with a late nightcap in a
small nightclub before we wandered back to the marina via the
historic part of the town.
By 0900 next morning we
were on our way back to the historic centre to do the tourist bit
before our departure; planned for 1400. Cartagena has a vast array of
Roman remains, all very well presented.
 |
| Cartagena harbour |
There is also some amazing
Spanish architecture which they are desperately trying to preserve;
the town is littered with building facades, held up by scaffolding,
but where there is no sign of the new building being built to
incorporate the original facade. Perhaps a symptom of the Spanish
financial crash; many of the approval notices were dated 2006/7.
At 1400, after a light
lunch ashore, we set off for the next anchorage 15 miles away at
Ensenada de Marazon. Again a rolling passage, almost all dead
downwind, until we rounded Cabo Tinoso, after which we had a gusty
and challenging ride into the anchorage; not helped by an extensive
tunny net fishing ground right across our path. As we entered the bay
the winds were varying in direction by 80 – 90 degrees and gusting
from 0 to 40 kts, not easy!
 |
| Ensenada de Mazarron |
We eventually anchored under sail, just
short of the swimming markers off the beach, on pure sand; put out
30m of cable in 4m of water and sat it out. It gusted up to 40 kts
throughout the evening and into the following morning, the only
compensation was watching a solitary windsurfer virtually flying back
and forth across the flat waters of the bay. Naturally it dropped to
light airs from the south 15 minutes before our departure next
morning; just what we didn't need.
The next morning had
dawned grey, misty and overcast and, having sailed off the anchor,
were were almost immediately becalmed and subjected to light winds
for most of the day. As a consequence we motor sailed
south-westwards, doing 6 – 7 kts, towards our next destination,
Cala San Pedro, some 60 miles away. The only compensating factor was
that we were joined by a pod of seven or eight dolphins en route who
played under the bow for 5 minutes or so before becoming bored and
heading off to find more fun elsewhere. The first dolphins for
several weeks. After the first few hours it became apparent that with
no or contrary winds we were going to have to motor most or all of
the way. Three hours from our destination I decided we would need to
make a slight detour to refuel (long distance motoring is a rarity in
Kurukulla!) hence we diverted to the Puerto Pescaro de Carboneras
where the pilot gave an easily accessible fuelling station and, being
a fishing port, it was likely to be open in the early evening. By
1800 we were 5 miles short of the port with contrary 10knot winds
when the engine gave an initial splutter. Oops! We shut down and
sailed the final 5 miles anchoring as close to the harbour entrance
as we were able. From here it was a trip into the harbour by dinghy
with a 25ltr jerry can to top up. That would have been great if the
fuelling station had been open. It was not! It was firmly closed
(notwithstanding the sign on the door that said open until 2000 each
evening) and there were no signs of life. Fortunately a local, who
happened to be nearby, took pity on us and ran Christoph plus jerry
can to a fuel garage, some kilometre away, where 25 litres of diesel
were successfully procured. Having proffered our sincere thanks we
returned to Kurukulla, siphoned the diesel into the tank, and set off
again for Cala San Pedro.
 |
| Las Negras |
It was now nearing sunset and as we
approached Cala San Pedro it was obvious it would not be as protected
as we had hoped; this was not a good day! However, a mile and a half
further on was Ensenada de Las Negras which offered better shelter
and became our chosen refuge for the night. Dinner was served at
2300!
Next morning we
discovered that the bay at Las Negras is very pleasant place and
rather reminiscent of Santorini with it's white block architecture
and black sand on the beach. Thus we decided to take a coffee ashore
and have a look around before heading off again to our next
anchorage. Las Negras is obviously a place that is popular with the
locals, with several busy cafes and a launch service serving other
local bays.
By 1300 we were ready
to go and sailed off the anchor heading southwards. The light winds
very quickly gave way to 25 knots of headwinds hence it was a
somewhat wet and lumpy sail to windward to cover the 9 miles south to
Puerto Genoves, which despite it's name, is and open bay but offering
protection from the southerly winds we were experiencing.
 |
| Puerto Genovese (why do they do this?) |
By 1500 we
were anchored in 4m of water in this idyllic bay and setting about
preparing lunch. After a swim, siesta and supper we passed an
enjoyable and mostly calm night here but not before having to invite
a motor boat, who insisted on dropping his anchor 20m in front of us,
to up anchor and move!
Next morning was
perfect. Brilliant blue sky, light southerly wind and calm seas. We
stayed until 1300 before, after an early lunch, we set off for Puerto
Aguadulce, near Almeria, from where Stephen was due to depart the
next day.
 |
| Puerto Genovese by moonlight |
Needless to say this time the winds decided to die away to
almost nothing, hence after three hours covering 6 miles we were
forced to resort to the engine once again and motor sail the
remaining 18 miles to the marina. Somewhere along the line this month
we must have offended Neptune! By 1900 we were berthed in the marina
and having booked ahead had been expecting to be greeted by the
marinero on arrival. As it was we loitered for 10 minutes in the
entrance, having received no reply to our call on VHF on channel 9,
and eventually selected a berth for ourselves conveniently near the
facilities, where we were assisted by the fuel station attendant to
moor up. Eventually the marinero arrived, grumpily accepted that
where we were was where we were going to stay, and then took forever
to process our documentation and payment. He had obviously missed out
on the charm school course!
 |
| Supper at Aguadulce |
That said the ladies in the office next
day were charming and very efficient.
From here Stephen
departed next day and Nick was due to join the day after. More when
we depart....
