The plan I mentioned in my last blog went out of the window the forecast was just awful and the predicted NE wind was going to make the trip 
hard which is not what I wanted for Debbie who is as enthusiastic as she is supportive yet alas a fragile sailor. Looking at the forecast again saw a weather window appear on the Thursday not great but with the winds veering from NE to SE it meant that the wind would not be on the nose and that at least we might be able to sail rather than motor which dramatically improves the motion of the boat. The trip was 78NM which should take about 18 hours so having gone ashore in the rain to stock up on food we slipped the anchor and headed out about midday sailing along the beautifully wooded coast of Ibiza. The weather window failed to materialise the wind remained stubbornly on the nose and we motored into a 15 knot headwind through a bumpy confused sea; the boat pitched and heaved and Debbie grew whiter and whiter until finally she succumbed and projectile vomited over my nice clean boat……she forced two sturgeron down and went to bed for the rest of the trip…….so much for the company!!!!!
The weather never really changed so it was a long cold night thumping through the choppy sea slowly moving inexorably onwards towards Palma and the finishing line. Off to the west a tremendous thunder storm crashed and flashed lighting up the sky thankfully I skirted the rain storms sweeping the horizon…. The lights of Palma finally lit up the horizon and as I crept into the bay I was passed by no less than 5 huge cruise liners …. The sun stated to light up the
easterly sky and by 7.30 a.m. I could see well enough to moor up single handed….. I slipped round the breakwater and into the familiar harbour of San Antonio de Compestela just east of Palma city…. I tied up jumped ashore and could not believe that the journey was complete…..it was a huge anticlimax… not in a bad way but it was just like every other day for the last 4 months.
As soon as I turned the engine off Debbie suddenly came to life jumped ashore started talking at 50 miles an hour and wondered why I, who had had no sleep for 20 hours, was a little quiet!!! I love her but why sometimes I know not?
The following series of events was slightly surreal to say the least……I had always thought that getting here was going to be the easy bit and that finding a place to stor
e the boat the tough one yet Debbie and I entered the marina office at 8.30 a.m. spoke to a women on the desk, I told her I’d like to get my boat taken out of the water and put in the boatyard in the next few days for about 8 months whilst I tried to find a permanent mooring…….just an hour later the boat was out of the water…it had been jet washed and we were on the bus home to our place in Palma….to soft beds, hot showers & a cold fridge!!! There was a big “Congratulations” sign on the front door and on entering a big “Well done David!!” a huge toblerone, two bottles of champagne and a card!!! Thank you Debbie & Small it was a really lovely surprise.
hard which is not what I wanted for Debbie who is as enthusiastic as she is supportive yet alas a fragile sailor. Looking at the forecast again saw a weather window appear on the Thursday not great but with the winds veering from NE to SE it meant that the wind would not be on the nose and that at least we might be able to sail rather than motor which dramatically improves the motion of the boat. The trip was 78NM which should take about 18 hours so having gone ashore in the rain to stock up on food we slipped the anchor and headed out about midday sailing along the beautifully wooded coast of Ibiza. The weather window failed to materialise the wind remained stubbornly on the nose and we motored into a 15 knot headwind through a bumpy confused sea; the boat pitched and heaved and Debbie grew whiter and whiter until finally she succumbed and projectile vomited over my nice clean boat……she forced two sturgeron down and went to bed for the rest of the trip…….so much for the company!!!!!The weather never really changed so it was a long cold night thumping through the choppy sea slowly moving inexorably onwards towards Palma and the finishing line. Off to the west a tremendous thunder storm crashed and flashed lighting up the sky thankfully I skirted the rain storms sweeping the horizon…. The lights of Palma finally lit up the horizon and as I crept into the bay I was passed by no less than 5 huge cruise liners …. The sun stated to light up the
easterly sky and by 7.30 a.m. I could see well enough to moor up single handed….. I slipped round the breakwater and into the familiar harbour of San Antonio de Compestela just east of Palma city…. I tied up jumped ashore and could not believe that the journey was complete…..it was a huge anticlimax… not in a bad way but it was just like every other day for the last 4 months.As soon as I turned the engine off Debbie suddenly came to life jumped ashore started talking at 50 miles an hour and wondered why I, who had had no sleep for 20 hours, was a little quiet!!! I love her but why sometimes I know not?
The following series of events was slightly surreal to say the least……I had always thought that getting here was going to be the easy bit and that finding a place to stor
e the boat the tough one yet Debbie and I entered the marina office at 8.30 a.m. spoke to a women on the desk, I told her I’d like to get my boat taken out of the water and put in the boatyard in the next few days for about 8 months whilst I tried to find a permanent mooring…….just an hour later the boat was out of the water…it had been jet washed and we were on the bus home to our place in Palma….to soft beds, hot showers & a cold fridge!!! There was a big “Congratulations” sign on the front door and on entering a big “Well done David!!” a huge toblerone, two bottles of champagne and a card!!! Thank you Debbie & Small it was a really lovely surprise.
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