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Published: March 22nd 2015
Cleaning the Propeller
After internet research I used diluted acid to dissolve all the creatures that had made a home on our prop over the last two years.
I then coated it in layers egg white to stop them coming back - I guess we won't know if it worked for another two years! (Although Mike is concerned it will slow her down, hmmm..)First sailing blog of the year! It seems ages ago that we were giving Disco Volante her winter make-over in Malta. Since then we have sailed from Malta all the way to our present location in Palma Mallorca, sailing 708nm in a month. The sailing has certainly been a mixed bag – sometimes motoring into headwinds (not fun) for 12hrs, other times ripping along at 9kts in almost perfect sailing conditions. We have had sleet, rain, brilliant sunshine, cloudy days and even a gale. I am definitely getting a sailors tan – brown face and hands!
Admittedly we have been quite adventurous setting out on our long sail back to the UK in February. Most sailors don’t set off until late April. But we have been careful and left lots of weather margins, so even when we got stuck in Marsala for 4 nights due to a winter Maestral blowing in, we have kept on schedule and got some big sails out of the way inc. Sicily to Sardinia (190nm/30hrs) and Sardinia to Menorca (218nm/48hrs).
Having a break from sailing was definitely a good idea, we feel reenergised and excited for our sail back to England. I
was worried that I would have forgotten everything I learnt last year, but if anything it has cemented what I know and I feel much more confident for our adventures to come. I think it was good to get two of our biggest sails out of the way early on, when you are not so jaded. Looking forward to the next few months and exciting new places to visit. It’s great being back in Spain too where we have a better grip of the language and 100s of new tapas to try out, yummy!
Tuesday 17
th – Weds 25
th February 2015 - Malta
Distance: 0nm
We flew back to Malta on the 17
th after a few days in London to recover from the flight back from Thailand. Back to living 10ft in the air and tackling the ladder to climb aboard while we were on the hard standing. No usable toilet on board and no water for cooking & washing up until we are back in the water.
We put in some long days working on Disco Volante. Sanding and painting the waterline, antifouling, getting the boat ready to sail. Luckily she was none
Sanding the keel
Mike adopted some strange poses. ..and just check out his wellie/short combo. worse for wear after three months alone. No leaks and only a smattering of mould upon our return.
Walker’s parents flew out to meet us on the 21
st Feb, while they went off sightseeing with their friend who lives on Malta – Terry, we did the final push to get the paint on in time for lift in on the 23
rd Feb. We were hampered due to heavy rain, so literally just got the paint on and dry in time.
The boat lift in went well, apart from in the dock we were lifted into, which had some strong surges, so the boat was really corkscrewing about as it touched the water, I only just managed to jump on before Mike took her around to the marina and sheltered waters.
Thursday 26
th Feb – Gzira Malta to Gozo, Malta
Distance: 14nm
While we waited for a weather window to get across to Sicily, we decided to do a short hop over to Gozo, which slightly reduced the sail to Sicily and also gave us slightly more favourable winds. Also a good opportunity to test the engine & sails, after Disco being laid up
Disco Volante looking pretty
Anti-fouled and newly painted waterlines for a few months. The weather wasn’t ideal, with the tail end of a storm and also overcast, but we got the sails up! It was pretty rough as we went between Malta & Gozo and we were pleased to arrive in the nice marina and have a celebratory beer!
Friday 27
th Feb – Gozo to Ragusa, Italy
Distance: 47nm
We set off for Sicily @ 8am expecting it to take about 10hrs, but actually only took 8hrs as the wind was strong and we made good speed. Walker’s parents enjoyed having the autopilot – as once we we’re out of the lee of the islands it was a straight course all the way there. It’s the first proper sail we have done with the Walker Seniors, Rod was impressed by the way Disco goes to wind! As we arrived the wind started to pick up, so getting the sail down wasn’t very fun and we had lost the knack a bit! But once safely moored in the marina, we we’re happy to find out it was happy hour in the local bar. So we enjoyed some 2euro Birra Morretti’s and caught up with some
Disco Volante going back in the water after 3 months ashore
The pic doesn't show it, but it was bloody windy, with big surges coming through the dock! of the over wintering crowd we had met when we stopped off on the way to Malta in November.
The weather was great in Ragusa while we were there, so we we’re in t-shirts most of the time. We explored the town and bought some provisions. We had a lovely meal with Rod & Janet on the last night. It was a Sunday and there we’re crowds of people walking around the town, literally hundreds of people out for a chat, coffee, stroll. We found a nice Sicilian restaurant and had yummy pasta.
Monday 2
nd March – Ragusa, Sicily to Licata
Distance: 35nm
We had been checking the weather and realised a Maestral winter storm was on its way and would mean we would be stuck in whichever port we managed to get to for at least four nights. So despite it being forecast as northerlies for at least the next few day, (wind straight on our nose, meaning no sailing just motoring into waves – not comfortable!!) we decided to set off and try to get some miles under our belt. We we’re waved off at 9am by Rod & Janet after a
lovely ten days together.
We headed to Licata, which is another marina where lots of over-winterers chose to base themselves in. It was a pretty non-eventful sail and we managed to motor the whole way at just under 6 knts which wasn’t too bad. We arrived at 1530 and got a mooring at the marina for 32euros. The people at the marina we’re really nice and it has a huge shopping centre nearby, so we stocked up!
Tuesday 3
rd March – Licata to Sciacca
Distance: 50nm
We had an early start as we decided to miss out Porto Empledocle (Nr Agrigento) and push on to Sciacca instead, so we would be in Marsala by the time the storm came in. We had a nice motor down the coast, admiring the views on the way. We arrived in Sciacca at 5pm, fortunately before the sun had set and coasted over to the sailing club pontoon, which had quite a few spaces this time of year. We managed to get booked in for 20euros using my poor Italian, as they didn’t speak English. They we’re most concerned about the forecast Maestrale storm and made sure we
Mike putting the main sail back on
No pressure with those bowline knots! knew about it and not to go anywhere after Wednesday – which fortunately we already knew. Once safely moored, we had a wander up the 100s of stairs to the old town, which is really pretty and covered in the colourful enamelled tiles the town is famous for.
Wednesday 4
th March – Sciacca to Marsala
Distance: 40nm
Another motoring/motor-sailing day to get us to our goal of Marsala (NW side of Sicily) to sit out the storm, before attempting our big crossing to Sardinia. Another nice coastal sail, with one small panic when I realised the autopilot had gone off and we had gone into 2.5 meters of water at 5kts – ooppss!! A good lesson for us not to get too complacent when the autopilot is on! The sun was out all day and it got so hot I was in a t-shirt and Mike had his top off during the middle of the day!
We spent most of the day planning our tactic to negotiate the marina price. On one hand we wanted four nights at least, but we knew, they knew, we we’re stuck here until the storm passed.
As
we arrived, we were beckoned over by one of the marinas. But we were keen to fill up with fuel first. We made for the dockside fuel station, but the charted depths we’re off and for the 2
nd time that day we had a scare when the boat got stuck in the mud, but even with winds building, Mike did some nifty manoeuvres to get us out. Not the classiest of entrances to a port. We headed back to the marina. As expected the Sicilians won the haggling competition and we grudgingly paid 30 euros a night, at least it included water & electricity!!!! Sometimes we are just too British! Need a beer!
It was time to batten down the hatches as the wind had already started building to 35knts. The owner of the marina came around to check our lines before he left for the evening. We were in for a roly night as winds were higher and earlier than forecast. We decided to stay onboard as the wind was pushing us off the quay (we we’re very happy to be moored off a large concrete wall in these winds!!!) and we risked not being able to get
back on the boat!
Overnight the wind was howling through the rigging and large waves we’re coming in the harbour mouth, even though it was well protected, making the boat feel fairly unpleasant. By morning we were getting gusts of 45kts and again couldn’t risk leaving the boat, so spent an uncomfortable day bouncing around, watching DVDs as we couldn’t tune the TV to any decent strength channels. Weirdly the sky was actually clear as Maestrale storms don’t typically include rain, if you hadn’t been floating you might never have known how windy it was outside.
By the next evening the winds we’re still crazy and the marina owner got us to put another line on the front of the boat in case one of ours snapped. We started getting a bit stir-crazy by this stage, but it was certainly better in the boat with the heater on than being outside.
Finally on day three with the winds dying slightly we headed off to see what Marsala was like. There isn’t much to do (We had planned to take a day trip to the temples of Agrigento, but couldn’t risk leaving the boat unattended for that long),
but we visited a Punic war galley they had been brought up from the sea bed in the 70s. We tried and failed to find any night life (The place seemed abandoned), so went shopping and bought nice food and wine to keep ourselves amused.
After four days of little or no activity, Sunday and the forecast lighter winds couldn’t come soon enough. By Saturday the winds were much lighter than forecast and had changed direction, so we were hopeful we might be able to set off on the 190nm sail to Sardinia. We were most concerned about the swell still being big from the storm as it takes a few days for the sea to calm down.
Luckily the forecast was in our favour, so after a hearty roast chicken dinner and a re-provision, we were all ready to finally depart Marsala the next day for our first challenging sail of 2015.
Sunday 8
th – Monday 9
th March – Marsala, Sicily to Cala Teulera, Sardinia
Distance: 190nm
With slightly nervous tummies we headed off to Sardinia. We had a plan that if the sea state was too wild, we would turn back
just North of the Egadi Islands and sail back into Trapani (Ironically the last place we had been storm bound for 5 days back in Oct!!) We set off at 11am to give the sea an extra few hours to calm. If you are doing an overnight sail anyway it doesn’t matter too much if you set off mid-morning as you aren’t trying to get in before it goes dark. The first couple of hours we had comfortable long waves/swell, which is quite pleasant for the Mediterranean sea which is normally short and choppy.
Once North of the Egadi Islands the sea did pick up quite a bit. 2-4 meters of swell, but quite comfortable on a reach. The autopilot was coping well, which we always think is a good sign if its quite windy and theres lots of swell. We did have a bit of a moment, when the knot in the end of the Genoa sheet came undone and tangled around the other genoa sheet, but I volunteered to go and sort it out, with Mike staying on the helm. Safety lines on and I was on the front deck, untying the most extreme knot of my
Motoring into a northerly head wind
Sunny day, but the waves certainly cooled us down! life! Mike said it was crazy seeing the size of the waves, as we surfed down them, swell towering above me! I didn’t look and focussed on the job instead. I was happy to get back safely in the cockpit!
It was certainly going to be a fast sail. We were averaging 8-9kts on a lovely broad reach, so we were comfortable, but quite wet as the odd wave broke over the back quarter. The new breakwaters did well though, stopping water flowing into the lockers and our bottoms! Deciding that it was a bit too rough to be cooking anything hot, we had some alfresco sandwiches and chocolate for dinner. (Lesson learned about preparing something to reheat easily next time!)
I was first to have a sleep, we had pre-prepared the front cabin, so at 7pm I went to get 3hrs kip. It took a while to get off with all the strange noises, but I was so tired from all the adrenalin I was soon out for the count. At 10pm I went on watch in certainly the most challenging sail I had done on solo watch. It was very eerie seeing the large waves through
Motoring to Marsala
Walking up with a hot drink the darkness and also the cold was really bad. Luckily it was almost a full moon and I can’t tell you enough what a difference this made, it was quite comforting and gives an amazing amount of light, reflecting off the sea. By this point I was wearing full thermals, three other long sleeved tops/fleeces, Mike’s Musto fleece, a thick hat and gloves and was still feeling cold, probably partly due to tiredness too! I was nervous about leaving the cockpit even for a minute with the autopilot on in those conditions, so just stayed hunched in the corner out of the wind, popping my head up every few minutes to look out for any other shipping traffic. I have found music really helps too – listening to some sign-along tunes in the pitch black – singing like a twat, definitely passed the time and keeps you awake!
The sun was fully up when I took my third shift at 9am on the morning of day 2. I have never been happier to see the sun! As I changed watch with Mike, he gave me the joyous news that we were making fab progress and would arrive into Sardinia
Mike catching some rays
We got quite warm that day - Mike had his top off over lunch! 6hrs ahead of schedule!!!
Finally at 7pm we arrived in Porto Teulada and our anchorage for the night. It was a tranquil little spot. We had a glass of wine to celebrate our arrival! A local fisheman came over to us in his boat, we thought at first he was asking us to move, but turns out he was just pointing out an underwater net in the bay. It was a big test of the newly anti-fouled
Disco Volante and
us and we all passed with flying colours!! A quick dinner and off to bed for a very sleepy Mike & Sarah.
Tuesday 10
th to Thursday 12
th March – Sardinia to Menorca
Distance: 218nm (plus 6nm diversion!)
We set off early on our second big sail. In fact our 2
nd largest sail, in distance & time of the whole trip – and just the two of us! The forecast wasn’t ideal with at least half of it just about motor-sailable, with winds changing in our favour as we approached Menorca.
Anchor up and we decide to hug the coast a bit, before heading out to sea. SHOULD have checked the charts properly –
we somehow managed to stray into the Italian Navy’s firing zone!!! Which we don’t realise until a very fast Navy motor-cruiser zooms over to us to explain that we are in the middle of a Navy exercise zone. So much to our dismay we are told to head off (In the wrong direction) for 6nm (The quickest way out of the zone).
We were in good spirits after the last sail and actually (don’t tell Mike) it’s quite nice to motor, you can get stuff done around the boat, cook and read. I baked a Spanish omelette for lunch, to kill some time and we just read and chatted. As the sea started to pick up, we dropped from about 6kts down to 3.5 kts under engine, which is kinda soul destroying. We realised it was going to be a LONG sail. Certainly a lot slower than our last leg. As the day wore on, we realised this was going to mean a second overnight too. When things like that happen, you start getting a sinking feeling and morale on board takes a big downturn. But you have to stay positive. The first evening, as the boat was pretty
Our anchorage in Sardinia -Porto Teulada
We we're up at 6am and the wind was very cold. There was a freezing mist blowing off the sea. level, we could stay inside, popping our head up every 5 minutes to check for ships and check our course. It was lovely to be warm on a night sail, makes such a difference. You end up inventing all sorts of activities to keep you active and awake! Ok now time for some tea, then i’ll tidy a cupboard, then i’ll read some of my book, then i’ll check for any shipping, then check the course. Each hour between recording our position and distance covered in the log actually flew by! Before you know it, your watch is over and off for a blissful few hours sleep in the snuggly front cabin.
It WAS still cold though, so we were sleeping in a couple of layers, which also makes getting dressed again when it’s time for your watch easier. Though we we’re a bit smelly!
DAY 2 – We we’re definitely a bit delirious by now. The lack of sleep starts catching up with you. I try not to eat too much chocolate or drink too much caffeine on shift though as otherwise you can’t sleep and it becomes vicious circle of uppers and downers. Come the shift
Spanish omlette on way to Menorca
We motored for the first 24hrs to Menorca, I amused myself by cooking! change at 9am we see a slight wind shift and finally we are able to get the sails up, albeit taking us slightly off course. But our speed is up, which makes us all feel happier, our ETA is coming down! By the evening of day two we are soooo tired, I think I had the first sleep at 6pm! At 4am our speed is really picking up – averaging 5.5 knots under sail – the end is in sight!
Menorca starts to come into sight and we are actually quite jovial/insane by the time we we’re a few miles away. It helped we had a known lovely anchorage just outside Mahon to recover in. So finally we have arrived in Spain – had a nice glass of wine to celebrate – at 8am!!! – and then took our bodies and minds to bed.
Friday 13
th March – Anchorage to Mahon
Distance: 3nm
Our first venture onto land in Menorca as we didn’t go to shore on our way through back in early October. Mahon is a fabulous natural deep harbour – I can see why the British chose to base it’s Navy there
back in the 1860s!!! It’s absolutely beautiful too, so we soaked up the sights on the way to the marina. As we pulled into the new Marina de Mahon, we we’re beckoned over by a marinero and got a nice little mooring for 25euros a night. Once checked in and customs cleared, we headed into town for a spot of lunch. I used to come to Menorca when I was young (My aunty had a villa here), but I don’t remember it well. Off season it is still buzzy, with people milling around. After a nice alfresco lunch (lovely and sunny) we stopped off at the old fish market for a 2euro glass of rose. We we’re ecstatic to be back in Spain! We did a little recce of the nightlife and also to find a bar for the rugby on Saturday. Decided to have a night out as we were craving tapas and Rioja!
In the evening we headed back into town to a great locals tapas bar, were we almost immediately bumped into some ex-pats, who invited us to join them on a little pub crawl around the old town. Had a great night with them. Love
love love Spain!
Saturday 14
th March
Distance: 0nm
Up quite early as wanted to visit the Menorcan History museum and gin factory before the rugby kicked off at 3pm. The museum is well worth a visit, but the gin factory is closed at weekends off season, so I consoled myself with buying a bottle of the local Mahon gin anyway!!!
Mike finally got a haircut after his disastrous Hitler undercut he managed to get in Thailand. The place we were recommended was an Aveda salon, so he got a free cut-throat razor shave and eyebrow trim, even had his skin steamed! I was very jealous and have insisted I get my hair done in Palma now. They did give me nice cake and coffee while I waited for him though.
We we’re tipped off that a bar in the marina played the rugby, so headed there and immediately bump into more expats, Irish & English. So there was a nice bit of banter for the game! Mike obviously really chuffed with the Wales performance and the nice people we met even drove us up to the supermarket afterwards, so kind!
Sunday 16th March – Mahon to Porto Cristo, Menorca
Distance: 53nm
Another superfast sailing day, averaging 8kts. Mike well pleased with Discos performance. We we’re recommended a nice little anchorage off the beach in Porto Cristo. As we came in a huge dinghy sailing fleet was finishing up a race, so we we’re surrounded by lots of little kids in Optomist dinghys, looking like little ducklings bobbing all around us! Anchorage is a little roly, but very pretty port.
Monday 17
th March – Menorca to Isla Cabrera National Park (South of Mallorca)
Distance: 32nm
We had to get a permit to moor @ Isla Cabrera. It’s only 6euros a night though and on a mooring buoy, so means we could safely leave the boat to explore. Winds in our favour again, so very very quick sail to get here. Weather is a bit rainy, so we decide to stay on board tonight and have a whole day of exploring tomorrow. Seagulls everywhere, checking us out and loudly squawking their displeasure at our arrival! I took us into the mooring buoy as I was overdue some practise. Three attempts to get Mike close enough
to thread through the rope, but think he was purposely not letting me get away with anything but a perfect approach! Water is brilliant turquoise and flat calm. Only one other boat here, despite there being room for 50. There are definate perks to sailing off season!
Next morning we are excited to get to shore and explore the reserve. The dingy gets it’s first outing of the return leg and we row in to the quay. Spot a little cantina and have a nice morning coffee looking out on the tranquil harbour, where tourist boats occasionally drop off OAPs from the mainland to visit the park. Spend the rest of the day exploring the hiking trails, visiting the little fortified castle and walk (most of the way) up to the lighthouse. Much further than it looks due to the zig-zagging path! Back to the boat in time for sunset drinks. Wonderful day (Just check out the pics, which explain the beauty of the place way better than me).
Next we headed off to Palma Mallorca, for a few days of chores in the marina and also wanted to be somewhere lively for our 5
th wedding
anniversary.. Palma didn’t disappoint, amazing restaurants and bars. More info in next blog. Currently anchored on the NW of Mallorca, headed to Ibiza tomorrow for a week of fun and frolics.
Catch you soon.
Sarah & Mike xxx
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Spencer Lynch
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