Pictures

A few pictures from the first leg of the trip:




The salon


My berth. Around the corner to the right is an instrument guage so I can keep an eye on the course, wind direction, etc. while I sleep.


A forward berth.


After never having to go up a mast previously, I ended up going up this mast 6 times on this trip. Fortunately I brought my climbing harness. My primary attachment is to the genaker halyard; my safety line is on the spinnaker halyard.


Pascal added a block to a reefpoint to reduce the friction. Note the use of spectra (shiny gray line) instead of a shackle. This boat uses this new type of line quite extensively as it is very lightweight and stronger than the equivalent diameter of steel.


Coming into Barcelona with the landmark "W" hotel in the background.


A great porthole pic.





Masts at sunset



A race boat designed for two-handed around the world sailing sitting at the dock in Barcelona.




Scopa! (sweep)
Nico taught Carlos & I the Italian card game, Scopa.


Sculling in the Barcelona harbor.


Nico at the helm taking us out of Barcelona.


A stowaway posing for a picture.


We marked the main halyard position for reefs 1, 2, and 3 by seizing it. Here the 3rd reef position is marked with 3 stripes on the halyard; also note that the 3rd reef line (red) is taught. 1st reef is green; 2nd is yellow; third is red.


Taking a snooze.


Plotting a course.


Reading "The Big Short" on the tramp while underway.


Chef Nico hard at work.


Mediterranean sea salt anyone? After several days of pounding waves, the boat is covered with a thick layer of salt.


Nico & I work together to solder an improvised LED bulb replacement for the faulty navigation light on the bow. For those that might zoom in to see what time it was; my watch is still set to Dallas time :-)


A gorgeous sunset and a rising full moon cap off a beautiful day.

Dolphin encounter off the coast of Spain

A short video of the return of the dolphins. Looks like I was overdue to clean my camera lens.
https://youtu.be/n0atEycoXmE





-Greg

Getting out of dodge

Tidied up the boat, did a thorough cleaning of the salon and bathrooms (thanks Carlos!!!!), took a quick trip up the mast (thanks to Carlos "the grinder" for the lift) to resolve a lingering problem of the main halyard getting lodged behind the pin securing the side stays to the mast; came back down (thanks to Nico), and caught my Blabla car to Barcelona (arranged by Carlos). 

As I write this, I'm reflecting on what great crewmates these two are. Nico has a bright disposition; cooks absolutely amazing food at the drop of a hat, and seemed almost completely unfazed by the crazy wave action we experience other than occasional bright-eyed exclamation about "the man with the hammer" beating on the hull of the boat when we really slammed into a wave and felt the shudder of the boat absorbing the blow. He is quick to offer a hand and is like a sponge for nautical information and skills. He'll be twice the sailor I am in a very short time. 

Carlos is a bit more reserved but has been a real trooper in spite of some feeling-green moments and probably a significant amount of apprehension while wondering if a boat could continue to take such punishment. 

His language skills and assertiveness in facilitating transportation, dockage, radio contacts, etc. was invaluable. Due to his profession, a matte painter, he possesses a great artistic eye and shares his passion and appreciation of remarkable scenery.  He's been a joy throughout. 

A big "Salute/Salud" to them both!!

Wind shift

Carlos' friend Abner showed up to say hi as we were cleaning the boat and preparing for departure. As we walked to lunch I mentioned that it felt like there had been a wind shift this afternoon. He's a kite-surfer so is very in touch with the local weather. He said , yes, there was a 180-degree wind shift overnight.
As they say, timing's everything....

The Spanish navy arrives

We are safely settled in Cartagena as of midnight last night. Found a nice marina that had room for a cat until the next leg of the trip starts on December 1st.
At dawn, the Spanish navy showed up; got to experience the excitement of the port as 3 tugs pushed a small carrier in with Harrier jump jets and helicopters on display. The crew was all at attention on the flight deck for the duration. Meanwhile a patrol boat and helicopter kept watch while the maneuver was underway.

A beautiful day

We never saw any wind over 7 knots today and the little breeze that did show up was always on our nose so zero sailing today but a true picnic after the last couple days of punishment.
The consensus of the crew was that we paid in full for the beauty of today.
Most of the day the surface of the water was glassy with a very gentle long/period swell gradually rocking the boat like a slow cradle. Carlos has been making quips the last couple of days about when my order of dolphins would arrive.
Late in the day while we were playing Scopa, an extremely popular Italian card card game, Carlos detected something in the water. He stepped out to see, sure enough, the dolphins had arrived!!
We went out to the bows to see several dolphins playing in the bow wake. A few moments later they were gone, an awesome experience though!
But apparently they were just teasing us. From a 100 meters off to starboard they came back in force, a dozen or more dolphins raced at high speed directly towards the boat, jumping clear of the water at every opportunity. It was an absolutely awesome display. They played around the boat for ten minutes before ending their encore and moving off to the east.
Their appearance lifted everyone to an even higher point.
An hour later brought a beautiful sunset and simultaneously a gorgeous full moon emerged from water on the eastern horizon.

What a day!


-Greg

Hoist the Flag

Roughing it

Bread- not

Started preparing to make some bread with my dad's recipe but when I opened what I thought was yeast it is apparently baking powder. Beware of getting assistance in a French grocery store when you are completely clueless about the language.




-Greg

Crossed zero degrees longitude

Just crossed 0-degrees longitude but missed snapping a pic of the chart plotter with all zeros displayed :-(

It's a beautiful day

It couldn't be a more beautiful day right now. We just pulled out of Calpe and the sun is shining; shorts and tee shirts weather.
We have the big rock of Calpe behind us and clear blue skies with no clouds; a gentle 1 foot swell. But very little wind at the moment. Beggars can't be choosers...

Morning in Calpe

The rock in the morning light.

The rock

A picture of the rock above the harbor.

Calpe

We have pulled into Real Club Nautico in Calpe, Spain.
What an awesome location. The harbor sits right behind a 1000ft tall rock. I'm sure it's even more stunning in daylight.

Everyone had had enough of bashing to windward and wanted a break. We were really pounding into 3-4 meter waves, burying the tips of the hulls occasionally.
So we are now in a harbor and you could hear a pin drop. What a contrast to Poseidon's hammer. The marina happened to have two empty berths next to each other so our cat fits beautifully occupying both spaces.
We were all perplexed on how to moor stern-to without any pilings but the dock manager assisted us.
Fortunately it was calm enough in the harbor that I didn't have to deal with any current or wind to speak of while maneuvering and we didn't even brush into anything or touch a fender.
Carlos was my savior in translating the paperwork required and 30 minutes later we were all checked in. Got back to the boat to Nico with cooked sausages, carrots and warm bread. Opened a bottle of wine to complete the meal.
What a day!

Pete's helping to find a good location for the boat for a month from his home base. Hopefully we can find something within a 24 hour sail (~160 miles)
ETD 9:00 am tomorrow.

Cape de la Nao

We are pounding to windward amongst several big ships in a constrained shipping channel of Cape de la Nao, Spain. A quite literal (in the figurative sense of the word) rollercoaster ride.
The front of the boat goes airborne then subsequently buries the hulls into the next wave. Sounds like someone (we suspect Poseidon) is pounding on the hull with a big hammer.

"The Gate"

I walked up to the restroom in Port Vell marina in Barcelona in the morning and passed through this gate. I was told earlier to press the button beside the gate and security would let me back in. When I came back and pressed the button it just recited a bunch of numbers. Very confusing.

Arrival in Barcelona

Arrived in Barcelona at 10pm. The harbor is loaded with megayachts as there is a boat show in process. One yacht (ship?) was 250' long.
The harbor is peaceful and quiet with lights all around. The W hotel is an amazing landmark at night.
Pete decided he had had enough and decided to depart. We're all sad to see him go but it's a deeply personal thing to make such a decision when attached to a long held dream.
My view is to (try) not to make decisions during the low points in life but let time bring clarity to those decisions (if time is available).
Sailing is a continuous series of highs and lows with a generous portion of boredom sprinkled throughout. The question of whether the highs justify the pains of the lows (both physical and mental) is an equation that every individual needs to solve for themselves.

The steaming light bulb

I eventually figure out that this bulb requires +12v on both of the contacts (within the black disc on the right side within this picture), and ground on the metal base. This type of bulb is designed for automotive applications where two levels of brightness are required; like a tail light/brakelight. 

The bulb that was in the fixture prior to me getting the boat required +12 on one othe the contacts and ground on the other. 

Such a simple thing seemed very perplexing at the time.

Departure from Canet

October 11, 2016: Preparing for a 6:00pm departure, unfortunately we have an issue with the steaming light  and Nico informs us that he has a spot on his skin that his dad (a Dr., which Nico has sent pictures to ) has advised him to have looked at in an emergency room. So Nico heads off in a cab while we go to work on the steaming light problem. I feel like Nico's problem has bought me a little time. Pete grinds me up the mast in a climbing harness which I brought for just such an occasion. The bulb is a marine LED bulb with a base that looks like a car tail light bulb. The wiring looks solid and this is a new fixture so assume it's a bulb problem. Pete searched the boat for a replacement and sends two up via a bag attached to the starboard flag halyard. Try both bulbs but no joy. I come back down and trace the wiring but that proves to be very difficult. I decide to go back up the mask with a multitester I brought along. Back up the mast to test the wiring; 12v on one bulb & ground on the other. Why isn't this working?? Back down the mast as I'm perplexed. Eventually discover this type of bulb requires 12v on both bulb contacts and ground on the base. Nico arrives back at the boat after a frustrating experience at the hospital with his wallet €950 lighter (correction: I misheard Nico when he was retelling this story. The medical cost was reasonable; I believe less than 100€. His taxi ride however was 50€ each way and the hospital was all of 15 minutes away. As a point of reference, my 6 hour BlaBlaCar from Cartagena to Barcelona was 45€) They have told him that it's a spot of eczema and provide a prescription for cream but they don't know where a pharmacy is. The hospital instructs him to call the police to determine that?? He arrives back a bit unhappy and frustrated. Meanwhile my time excuse is gone. Back up the mast to rewire the fixture. 4 trips up the mast but all is well. 

Departed Canet at 21:100. Skipper: Greg Wells Crew: Peter Preston, Carlos Nieto & Nico Sala. Severe weather is approaching so decision is made to go tonight otherwise we won't be likely to move until Thursday. Extremely calm evening in harbor but blowing 15 with lumpy seas once we clear the harbor entrance. We raise the main above the first reef point but it won't go any higher. It's stuck at that level and won't come down either. We use the second reef to forcefully pull it down. The halyard is clearly snagged on something but it's hard to tell what it's snagged on due to darkness and the pitching of the deck from the wave action. We struggle for a while to free it but eventually make the call to go back to the harbor to resolve. In the harbor I don my harness once again and Carlos grinds me to the top of the mast. The halyard is trapped behind a sheeve pin (and its cotterpin) for the starboard stay. Quickly freed it and headed back out. We clear the outer harbor at 2:30am and head south, course 140 making 6 knots under 2nd reef main & genny. Intentionally sailing conservatively as we are just getting used to the boat. Wind eventually slacks and we start motoring  at 4:51 AM on  Nico's watch as we were only making 3 1/2 kn. 

Welcome to Barcelona

I survived the night flight to Barcelona. From the airport I had planned to just grab a taxi to get to my hotel due to the fact that I'm carrying about 100 pounds of baggage. But when I got to the taxi stand the posted fare to downtown Barcelona was €39. Ouch! Since I have plenty of time this morning I decided to try to navigate the subway. I purchased an "airport" ticket from the machine for €4.5, eventually found the train and hopped on it. From the map on the train it appeared that I could exit and catch my next train but the ticket I had was not valid for that train. So no big deal, I'll just buy another ticket. However, this ticket machine was different. I was expecting to be able to buy a single day ticket to go wherever I wanted like I'm used to in New York City but this doesn't appear to be an option here. You need to know which zone you want to travel to to be able to buy a ticket but I couldn't figure out the zones. I walked up and hailed a taxi. The taxi cost €10 so I got a bit of an education and saved €25! By the way, taxis here don't take credit; fortunately I had a few euros from a prior trip.

IAD

Heading to Barcelona via Wash D.C. (Dulles). The dramatic skies are courtesy of Hurricane Matthew. I should be on the ground at 7:45 local time tomorrow. 

-Greg

Hurricane Matthew on YouTube

Hurricane Matthew is battering the Florida Atlantic coast this morning. The attached video is a simulation of a yacht leaving Bermuda today bound for Key West (not that I would advise that). The four tracks are based on four different weather prediction models.

Let the packing begin...

pennant

Pennant is complete.