The first part of the Spanish coast after Gibraltar is called the Costa Del Sol. We have hopped along that coast with most things going to plan, and we are now cruising the Costa Blanca.

I say most things, because we had a great plan to meet some friends near Malaga for dinner, friends we had not seen since we left Dubai over 5 years ago. They booked a restaurant near the Benalmadena Marina and we set off for a day sail to arrive in plenty of time. During the afternoon the wind came up over 25 knots which kept things very lively. We happily pulled into the marina to get out of the wind and were told they were full! They normally have over 1,100 berths, but in that particular wind many of their berths were too dangerous to tie up in. So they sent us away!

Not only did we miss our friends, we also had to head back out into the howling wind with no obvious place to go. We were told that a marina we had passed 6 miles back might have space, but that was straight back into the wind and after trying to go that way for 15 minutes without making any progress at all, we realised that would not work. So we headed back downwind preparing for the fact that we may need to sail overnight to get to safety. Then we spotted the Malaga Yacht Club, which was also turning boats away, but which had a breakwater that we thought we could anchor just close enough to on the outside to hide from the seas, which were now pretty big. We squeezed Jet-Lagged into the small space next to the breakwater, put down our anchor and crossed our fingers. The anchor held and the water was smooth enough to get some rest! So thank goodness for that.

Next day we found a small and beautiful bay another 40 or so miles down the coast called Playa del Este. Three yachts could fit in there and we were number three, so we dropped anchor and I had my first swim. Cold, but delicious!

Next stop was Puerto de Almerimar were we tied up alongside a British couple, John and Pauline, who had just purchased an older 57 foot Lagoon which they are renovating. We would love to have stayed longer but the weather forecast made clear that if we did not get up the coast quickly, we would be stuck for days as a strong easterly was forecast. So that meant an overnight sail to get to Cartagena.

The trip itself was lovely, a beautiful night on a gentle sea. But we heard a mayday call at about 4am and it was not at all good. A captain called to say he had just pulled a man out of the water who said that he had been on a refugee boat with 16 other people but the boat had sunk. The captain was issuing the mayday to get help to search for survivors. To their credit, the Spanish authorities immediately sent rescue boats out to his location, which was about 25 miles from us on the other side of the main shipping lanes. We never heard the result of the search. It is awful to think of these poor people that are so desperate to try these crossings in unsafe boats. We hope they were rescued.

Cartagena was a good stop and lifted our spirits after the mayday call. The town has amazing history and there are great things to see. A roman theatre, a coliseum, roman baths and medieval castles, all walking distance from the marina. And more great tapas!

We made a quick stop in Santa Pola yesterday (and enjoyed a wonderful steak dinner) and now are on our way to Ibiza. We are trying to beat some more easterly weather so will do an overnight sail tonight and should arrive at the island in the morning. We hear that pretty waters await us on the Balearic Islands, so here we come!


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