Trip Report #3-2000: Gibraltar to the Balearics

May 24, 2000

Hi Everybody:

We left Gibraltar and sailed to Estepona, Spain, a very charming  seaside town, where we spent several days replenishing supplies and topping off the propane that we use in our stove and barbecue grill. We left Estepona on April 28 and headed toward Alicante, where we hoped to catch up with American friends before sailing for the Balearic Islands. The forecast called for 2 days of winds from the southwest at Force 3-4 and we looked forward to two days and nights of pleasant sailing. The wind was exactly as forecast as we started out on a very bright, clear day. As the day progressed, the wind built to Force 6-7 (22-33 kts) and the seas built to 2 to 2.5 meters. We were sailing wing-on-wing with the Yankee poled out, and the boat easily handled the short, steep waves that build quickly in the Mediterranean.

One thing that really amazed us was the amount of freighter and cruise ship traffic along this coast. We think we encountered more traffic here than we have along the eastern coast of the US, even along New Jersey and New York. We stayed about 6 miles offshore to make certain that we were away from the tunny nets. We were making good time and passed Almerimar at about 1 am local time. Shortly after that, the wind started to die down and back. We took the pole off the yankee and soon found ourselves motoring along the coast. 

During the early morning hours, the wind switched into the northeast, and steadily increased during the course of the day. After nightfall on the second night out, the wind continued to blow from the northeast (pretty much on the nose) and again about Force 7 with short, steep waves. We were tacking toward Cabo Palos, making about 3.5 kts vmg and tacking frequently to get out of the way of one or another of the many freighters. As we neared Cabo Palos, which was, at that point, protecting us from heavier winds and waves, we knew that after rounding the cape, we would most likely encounter heavier conditions and still have a 50 nm beat to Alicante. 

Photo:  Waves, Estepona to Mazarron

About 4:00 am local time, we decided that we would just head back to the nearest port, Mazarron, and pack it in until conditions improved. We headed into the bay at Mazarron about 6 am, picking our way into the shore, trying to read a multitude of lights, and ran smack dab, albeit slowly, onto a tunny net! We now have an up-close and personal acquaintance with tunny nets! It took about an hour, backing sails and trying to push the heavy cable holding the net away from our rudder, before we finally and suddenly just floated off. The engine started up right away, and there seemed no harm done. 

We finally made our way into the Puerto Desportivo de Mazarron, a very friendly marina and yacht club with an active racing and junior sailing program - very nice people with a great sense of community. We were in Mazarron for two days of windy (35 kts) weather and rain containing a fine red Saharan dust. We were glad to finally leave and head once again for Alicante. We had a good sail and decided to head for port at Torrejieva when the weather once again deteriorated. We never did make it to Alicante, but got a weather window and left at 6 pm on May 2 heading for Isla Formentera, Baleares.

We had nice weather for the overnight trip to the Balearics, but had to motor part way when the wind died. Whenever we have to motor, two things happen: 1-Tom gets a very long face - he much prefers using the sails, and 2- Tom starts checking whatever is going on in the engine compartment.  It was at this point that he discovered that we had a transmission oil leak. He suspected an incontinent seal. 

We spent several days at anchor at Isla Espalmador, in a beautiful large bay near Isla Formentera. In summer, this bay is crowded with up to 100 boats at anchor. We were there with 6-10 boats. This bay reminded us of anchorages in the Bahamas with crystal-clear turquoise water, lots of fish, and long stretches of sandy beach. We had excellent holding in sand. The water was definitely cold, but we were able to swim and snorkel. 

We reluctantly left the anchorage and sailed 25 miles upwind to Santa Eulalia where we had a mechanic check the transmission. We were not impressed with the service in Santa Eulalia and decided that we would sail to Palma and have the transmission checked there. We're glad we did.  Mallorca has the best yacht services that we have seen on our trip to date. 

Photo:  Hatteras East on Mallorca

The mechanic is very competent , the service is efficient and speedy, and the quality of the work done here is excellent. Because of the age of our transmission and the fact that a repair might fix the problem only temporarily, we elected to have a new transmission installed.  One was found in Paris and because of the number of flights in and out of Mallorca daily, it was here within a few days. We felt the cost of parts and service was reasonable, although we did have to pay VAT tax on parts.  It was probably more expensive than if we were to have it done in the US, but we're not in the US and overall we were very satisfied. It turned out that hitting the tunny net may not have been without consequence, and it could have been a contributing cause of our leak.

Photos from Palma:  A doorway, a street scene, and Tom along the Wall

We have heard so many people say that the sailing in the Mediterranean is not good - that people come for the culture and not the sailing. So far this season, we have used little diesel fuel and have had some challenging sailing experiences, but in general, the sailing has been very good. We expect that the summer weather will bring lighter winds and more motoring. 

Next stop: Isla de Cabrera, a national park and haven for seabird, including the rare Audouins gull, the osprey and several types of falcons.

73s, 88s, Love & Hugs,

Peg & Tom