Cruising progress 2016 (Click to enlarge)
30th June 2016
As we had spent a while in Cartagena last year, we were looking for something new and came across the Naval Museum, which houses the very first submarine, designed by Isaac Peral and launched in 1888. It also had all the features of a modern submarine, which was pretty incredible for that period. This was the most interesting maritime museum we have come across for a long time and really enjoyed all the exhibits.
Our next stop was in the Mar Menor, which again we had visited last year and we headed down to our previous anchorage at the far end of the bay just off the Club Nautico. This is a great place to anchor as we can leave the dinghy tied up in the marina and not have to worry about it. Mike wanted to finish tweaking the rigging now that the new sails have been tried on all points of sailing, so the following morning he was back up the mast to tighten the jumper wires connecting the first set of spreaders to the mast. We spent a few days here trying to get more of the outstanding work finished and then set off for Valencia. The trip up was fairly uneventful with very light winds most of the time and nice calm anchorages.
The main reason for going into Valencia was to carry out work which was easier to do in a marina and as we had spent a week there last year we weren't too bothered about sightseeing. I was sewing webbing on to the awning to secure the new solar panel and making up Velcro straps to hold the wire on the rigging. The panel is working very well and so far we haven't had to run the generator to charge the batteries, which is a big change from previous years. We did manage to escape from the marina just before we left to do a bit of sightseeing and some shopping.
For the next four days we had some excellent sails along the coast as we headed towards Barcelona. We stayed in the marina in Badalona which is about five miles east of Barcelona. We were caught out on our first excursion on the bikes, when it started to rain as we left the supermarket. Fortunately we were able to shelter in the laundrette, as we had to collect our washing. A few minutes later it dawned on us that we'd left the windows open, so Mike headed off to shut them and bring back some waterproofs. He was lucky to arrive back at the boat just as a torrential downpour began and was able to shut the windows just as water was beginning to cascade in. Meanwhile I was stuck in the laundrette watching as the road and pavement became a river. Visibility was virtually zero while the thunder crashed overhead along with forked lighting. The traffic coming out of the marina ground to a standstill. After about thirty minutes it all cleared up as though it had never happened.
We travelled into the city on the Metro and visited the very ornate Basilica , but unfortunately we had been unable to book tickets online and would have had to queue for at least an hour in the heat, so we decided just to walk around the outside. This truly impressive building which was started in 1882 is due to be completed in 2026. So far eight of the twelve bell towers, each 100 metres tall have been completed, while even taller towers of 170 metres and the central dome are still to be built. I would have loved to see inside - maybe next time.
From there we walked up to the Hospital Sant Pau, which was built between 1905 and 1930 as a garden city hospital. It is a collection of separate buildings, all very ornate and connected by a network of underground service tunnels, in similar fashion to very modern hospitals. It was used up until 2009 when it became too small for the population and a new hospital was built.
We also visited the Park Güell which was designed by Antonio Gaudi and like the Basilica was very ornate and featured very unusual stonework and a network of paths winding up the hillside to a vantage point with spectacular views over the city. Finally we went to the Maritime Museum, but were not particularly impressed with the exhibits. Barcelona is a beautiful city and we only scratched the surface with our sightseeing, but the weather dictated that we should leave. Hopefully we'll be able to return sometime.
The day we left Badalona we had a very early start and motored out into a flat calm, but the wind gradually increased and we had fantastic downwind sail for about seven hours with our speed peaking at over 8kts under the main alone. When we anchored for the night in a sheltered bay the wind was blowing at over 32kts. We had planned to sail across the Gulf de Lyon, which is about 130 miles, but this area is renowned for very strong winds. As luck would have it strong winds in excess of 40kts were forecast for the next 4-5 days. So all for self-preservation, we decided to coast hop the whole way round. More of this in the next blog.
