Ibiza in Day Sails

Hi everyone,

After our rolly night in Cala Saona off Formentera Island we couldn't wait to move on.  There was a nice WSW wind so we decided to sail around Ibiza, leaving it to starboard.  Last night we anchored in Estancia des Dins on the east side of Isla Conejera off the NW side of Ibiza.  Today we're anchored in Cala Xarraca near the northernmost tip of Ibiza.

Crystal-Clear Water, Kinda-Clean Hull

We had a great sail to Isla Conejera, a short passage of 23nm.  Initially the sky was overcast but it gradually cleared.  As it cleared the wind died.  We only had to motor the last hour or so of a 5 hour passage.  The western side of Ibiza is spectacular, especially the off-lying Islote Vedre.  

Cala Saona to Isla Conejera

Sailing towards W side of Ibiza

Islote Vedra looking like a lurking dinosaur

View of Isla Conejera from the West

Anchored in Estancia des Dins

View to E from Estancia des Dins

The anchorage in Ensinada des Dins is fairly deep (8m to 15m) with a bottom of rock and weed.  Once anchored we went for a swim.  The 25C water is crystal-clear and we could clearly see our chain and anchor on the bottom in 9m depth.  Quite a few fish too.

The winds were light W in the afternoon and evening, but changed to light NE overnight.  When we came to weigh anchor this morning we found the chain had snagged itself under a rock ledge.  Last time that happened was in Langkawi in 2012, where visibility was nil.  Happily by easing off some chain and motoring in an arc we recovered the anchor (on both occasions).

Today we motored from Ensinada des Dins to Ensenada Xarraca, another short passage of 17nm.  Wind was very light initially, building to 10kt on the nose for the last hour.  Along the way we passed the J-class superyacht Rainbow.  Yours to charter from US$58,000.  If you have to ask how long that's for you can't afford her!

Isla Conejera to Cala Xarraca

Spectacular (albeit hazy) view of N coast of Ibiza

NW coast of Ibiza

J-class Rainbow passing Sant Miquel

Approaching Cala Xarraca

View from anchorage to NE

Bottom is 50% sand, 50% weed with 5m to 15m depth

We had poor internet access in both Cala Saona and Ensinada des Dins, so we're catching up on emails etc here in Cala Xarraca.  There's a resort above the NE corner of the bay and we've had paddle boats coming by full of English tourists.  Strange hearing groups of people speaking English.  In Cala Saona it was all Spanish.

Cartagena to Formentera

Hi everyone,

We had a pretty good sail from Cartagena to Formentera in the Balearic Islands.  On arrival we anchored in 7.5m over sand in Cala Saona at 32 42.0N 001 23.2E.  Overall it was a good passage.

Playing dodge'm in the shipping lane

Here are the plots...

Track

Graphs

And here are the vital stats for the passage…

    • Distances/Speeds

        • Route Distance = 135nm

        • Logged Distance = 146nm (log still slightly under-reading)

        • GPS Distance = 155nm

        • Duration = 39 hours

        • Average speed over ground = 3.9 kt

        • Minimum boat speed = 3 kt

        • Maximum boat speed = 6 kt

    • Weather

        • Minimum wind speed = 4 kt

        • Average wind speed = 18 kt

        • Maximum wind speed = gusts to 22 kt

        • Apparent wind angle range = 40 to 100

        • Seas up to 1.5m

        • No swell

        • Clear skies!

    • Engine

        • Total = 16 hours

The passage started with a 15 hour beat into 15-20 knot winds and a lumpy sea followed by 12 hours of motoring in light winds and then a lovely 12 hour sail beating into a light SE breeze and almost flat water.

After our brief beat into stronger winds when approaching the Gibraltar Strait it was good to have another beat in better conditions.  As the track shows, our tacking angles weren't great.  For the first time for ages our boat speed was higher than our SoG which tends to suggest adverse tide.

The motoring wasn't too bad.  Perhaps we're getting used to it.  In calm conditions we now motor at 1600rpm which is a much less noisy experience than our usual 2000rpm.  Nevertheless it was very nice to kill the donk and enjoy a very nice sail to our destination.

Sunrise

Windpilot in charge

We arrived in Cala Saona on the west coast of Formentera just after midnight with the moon just rising.  We used radar to help pick our way between anchored boats in the bay.  We slept well in the light offshore breeze.

The next morning we awoke to find ourselves in a light SW breeze which was bringing a little chop into the anchorage.  We had a very nice swim in the 25C water.  As boats came and went we moved Zen Again south into the lee of the headland and enjoyed the antics of the day trippers.

View SW in Cala Saona

We decided to stay for another night which was a mistake.  There were 8-10 boats in the bay and all were rolling heavily.  The wind died but the slop didn't.  Seems that the slop was a short swell from the stronger SW winds to the W.  We've anchored in much more rolly conditions but it was not pleasant.  We'll be paying more attention to the Wave GRIBs from now on!

Rockin'

From Formentera we head north around the 'top' of Ibiza in several day sails.

Cartagena

Hi everyone,

We've spent several days here in Cartagena, one more than initially anticipated.  Its a 'must see' place with history spanning the Phoenicans, Romans, Visigoths, Byzantines, Moors and Christians.  It's amazing to find a Punic rampart, a Roman theatre, a modern yacht marina and modern warships all within a radius of a (nautical) mile or so.

Matelots!

Cartagena is a fine natural harbour which explains its use back to ancient times.  Nearby ashore there were silver and lead mines.  When the Romans drove the Phoenicans out of Carthage in North Africa they came here, only to be driven out a generation later.

Naval Base beyond the Marina

The city itself has been destroyed to varying degrees many times, from ancient times up to the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s.  It's a beautiful city now with many very ornate buildings.  Some of the plainer parts of the city are enlivened with murals and paintings, some of which cover the sides of large buildings.

Town Hall

Don't walk into this shop!

There are many bars and cafes scattered around the city.  They're affordable too.

Paella!

Cafe Asiatico

There are a host of city-centre museums which are very cheap to visit.  The remains of the Punic rampart were very interesting, constructed of two walls of massive sandstone blocks, about 5m apart.  The interior was divided into three levels for animals, stores and accommodation.  The rampart was so effective the Romans kept it.

Remains of Punic rampart

The Roman remains are more extensive, including an amphitheatre, theatre, house, baths and temple.

Original mosaic floor in the Roman Baths

Mosaic floor in Roman house

Roman Theatre

Recovered painting (on stone)

Sandstone blocks - new and 2000 years old

Mosaic floor under the Church

The Naval Museum housed many exhibits but I most enjoyed the models of naval craft through the ages.

Galley model

2m long Galleon model

More modern warship models

World's first submarine capable of firing a torpedo underwater

The Museum of Underwater Archeology is equally interesting.  It has a series of cross-sections of vessels through the ages, a set of models and a host of exhibits from each era of Mediterranean seafaring.

Ship cross-section

Phoenican-era Model

Cross-section of Roman-era vessel

Roman-era Model

While here we met the crews of Aussie yachts Roam Australia and Katarina, plus UK yacht Marama.

Also while here we managed to fill our two empty Australian 9kg propane cylinders.  They've been lying empty in the lazarette for 5 years and we wondered where we'd be able to get them filled.  Australian (= US) and UK gas fittings differ just enough to render them incompatible.  We've been using UK cylinders for the last 5 years.

We expect to depart Cartagena tomorrow.  Looks like we'll be beating into a moderate NE breeze initially but that will decrease in strength and go around to the SW over a day or so.  We'll be heading towards the Balearics.  Our plan is to get to Menorca, which positions us to move onward to Sardinia and Tunisia.

Almerimar to Cartagena in Day Sails

Hi everyone,

We departed Almerimar on the 18th and spent four days day-sailing to Cartagena.  We're now in the very smart Yacht Port Cartagena.  Along the way we overnighted in anchorages at Ensenada de Rodalquilar, Cabo Cope and Cala Silitrona.

Approaching Cabo Tinoso

Here's our overall track...

Overall 130nm Track

The first passage from Almerimar to Ensenada de Rodalquilar was a great sail.  It started with an interesting exit from the marina, directly into a short sharp chop kicked up by the WSW wind.  It was a slow motor as Zen Again hobby-horsed over the chop at 2 knots SoG.  Within a few minutes we could bear away and set sail.

Although it was a nice sail the sky was overcast and the visibility limited.  Rainstorms were passing by but we only caught a few muddy drops (water and presumably Saharan sand).  The wind was mostly 15-20 knots from the west.

Almerimar - Rodalquilar Graphs

Cabo de Gata from the SW

Cabo de Gata from the S

Passing east of Cabo de Gata

Approaching Rodalquilar

In the bay at Rodalquilar

View North from Rodalquilar

Rodalquilar Arrival Track

Rodalquilar anchorage was well protected from the seas passing by outside so we had a good night's sleep.

The second passage from Ensenada de Rodalquilar to Cabo Cope was a long motor.  The only wind came from passing rainstorms and was very light.  The skies were overcast throughout and the rainstorms brought more mud.  The mud dried out to a sandy coating over everything - deck, canvas, solar panels, rig, sails and crew.

Rodalquilar - Cabo Cope Graphs

Costa Blanca through the murk

Raining mud!

Approaching Cabo Cope

Anchored behind Cabo Cope

Cabo Cope Arrival Track

Cabo Cope anchorage was also well protected from the seas outside.  There were uncharted, unlit fishing nets close along the S side of the bay.  We spent an hour washing off as much sand as possible using buckets of sea water.  The next morning was sunny and a drone appeared overhead.  We've since heard from the 'pilot' who has offered photos, so we're glad we cleaned the boat up!!!

The third passage from Cabo Cope to Cala Salitrona was a good sail.  Wind was from the SW and from 6 to 25 knots.  And it was sunny at last!  The sea state as we approached Cabo Tinoso was confused, perhaps due to seas reflecting off the steep-to shore.

Cabo Cope - Silitrona Graphs

Sailing for Silitrona

Rounding Cabo Tinoso

Anchored at Cala Salitrona

Silitrona Arrival Track

Cala Salitrona anchorage was spectacular but rolly.  We could have anchored further south for better protection, but that would have put us in the strong gusts coming down the gully there.  Our track shows we checked it out.  Despite the rolling we actually slept pretty well.

Today we motored the 8nm from Cala Salitrona to Yacht Port Cartagena in the heart of Cartagena.  There was very little wind so we quietly donked along.  The harbour is a major naval base with a lot of warships in port.  The Spanish built pretty warships.  Entry to the marina was simple with the very helpful Marinaro having good English.

Silitrona - Cartagena Graphs

Sun rising over Cartagena

Approaching Cartagena Harbour

Entering Cartagena Harbour

Lots of Spanish warships in the Naval Base

Yacht Port Cartagena

Yacht Port Cartagena Arrival Track

Yacht Port Cartagena has expanded since the above old chart was published!

We're looking forward to spending a few days exploring the city.  Our next passages will be towards the Balearic Islands.