We left Cartagena just before 09.00 hrs on Sunday for the passage to Torrevieja, YPC has been a greta place to spend the winter. A lovely town with lots of history, a good central position and great staff – recommended! virtually no wind for the first few hours and then a SW 3 /4 with the big genneker out gave us some additional push for the last half of the trip. We arrived about 15.30 hrs and dropped anchor with a couple of other boats off the beach outside the International Marina. Overnight just us and another British boat stayed there and we were not approached by anyone (we had read reports of boats being moved on but as this is out of season it was less likely to be an issue) The town looked very concrete and uninteresting which matched the reports we had read. We didn’t go ashore but it was a comfortable anchorage even when the wind got up to 25 knots for an hour or so that evening.
We raised the anchor at 08.10 hrs the next morning and set off on the longer trip towards Calpe. There are some spectacular cliffs along this stretch of coast and as the route was only a few miles offshore we had a good view of the differing caves, crags and rocks. There was close to no wind the whole trip so the motors again got a work out. We have had a couple of short engine alarms on the port Volvo which we worked though the logic with help from the manual, our conclusion was that the water-pump belt was slipping and when Chris checked it was rather stretched. Another maintenance task on the urgent list. Other than this it was an easy if long trip. We arrived off Calpe at 17.45 hrs intending to check out the anchorage, not a large area and the swell was moving through so we opted to go into the marina. They were helpful and friendly, giving us an alongside berth for the night on a hammerhead. The cost was E43 including power (this didn’t include water as we had a full tank). The situation here is stunning with the peak hanging above the town. We walked along the seafront being pestered by the waiters from the fist restaurants and found a nice little place with an evening ‘Menu de Dia’(out of the marina, past the fish places on the seafront until you hit the beach, turn right up the steps and its facing you on the right, the building that comes to a point). Fish soup, lamb chops, vegetables and chips, wine and cheesecake/cheese for E27. Friendly service and there was a good atmosphere with a number of other customers.
We only had about 20 nm to go the next day so a more relaxed start at 10.10 hrsr and an hour later we anchored in El Rinconet bay next to Moaira. This is a lovely bay though open to the south, we had a slight/moderate swell whilst there. It was a great stop for coffee and lunch in the sunshine with attractive views all around. A number of other boats stopped there whilst we were at anchor so getting there by 11.00 meant we had the choice of where to drop the hook. The rest of the trip to Denia was again in light winds, they teased Chris by getting to 9 knots and then as soon as he spread the sails, dropped back to 3knts! The only point the wind arrived was as we entered Denia at 16.30 hrs, suddenly 25 knots whist we were berthing! At Marina EL Portet they gave us another side-on berth as there were no more Med moorings available………..has someone been telling tales about our Med mooring skills? Of the three marinas in Denia this is both cheaper and closer to the town, they were very friendly but the cost was higher that Calpe at E50 (though this included water).