Med Life Crisis

Closing the Spanish Coast just south of the Bay of Roses, we picked up the mobile signal again which enabled updates of the weather forecast and so many other things. We have become so very dependent on data; it is only when access is denied that our addiction becomes starkly apparent.

What we didn’t expect was a sometimes 1.5 knot adverse current running up the coast, it is unexpected and compromising our progress.

Although not essential, (particularly as we are doing so much motoring) the loss of the generator is an irritation. It would start and then stop immediately. Several years ago, when fixing a generator sensor issue, the specialist who was giving me advice, and who supplied me with a set of spare sensors as a result, confided that the control board on the Whisper 6KW generators was prone to failure and that Mastervolt had revised the circuitry. He recommended that I carry a spare board, and, by the way, (£££) he had one of the last remaining replacements. Given that I was about to sail the Atlantic, I felt compelled to buy one and shipped it as a spare. I had delayed grasping the nettle of the daunting replacement exercise until a problem was encountered which was clearly now. The generator is located in the bowels and close to the engine, so I was keen to get started early before the heat of the day makes it any more oppressive below deck. I can confirm it was still very sweaty and extremely fiddly.

We chose to pass close to the Barcelona shoreline, in part to reminisce (and bore the crew) about the 13 fabulous years I was moored there before moving on to Nice.

From the sea it is difficult to gauge the changes that must have occurred since my departure, and it would certainly be a city I would like to return to in the future if only as a tourist.

Mid-afternoon and a feeble sea breeze kicked in and we managed to fly the 140sqm Parasailor – I mention the size because my son Ollie had commented in the past ‘blimey, that’s bigger than my flat’.

The respite from the continual drone of the engine was a tonic and it wasn’t until our speed dropped to 3 knots in the failing wind that we reluctantly dropped the kite and resumed with the ‘iron topsail’.

One of the delights of sailing in warmer climes is the realisation that we are surrounded by a giant swimming pool and when the heat becomes too oppressive, we can just stop and enjoy a cooling dip in the sea. At 24 degrees, it was very pleasant and refreshing.

Before leaving the UK three years ago, I had installed an Ultra Sonic Anti Fouling system (USAF) and I have mentioned in previous blogs that I suspected that the high frequency ‘pings’ designed to repel the likes of barnacles, also discouraged the more welcome attention of cetaceans as in about 5000 miles with the USAF activated, I had received none of the usual visits. Turning the system off for this passage, it was heartening to have a pod of dolphins join us at dusk for a playful game in our bow wave.

Richard writes:-

As one of the crew for the, sadly abandoned, Atlantic crossing, I was excited by the prospect of completing a nonstop 2,000+ Nm cruise from Nice back to the UK. But, being the new boy, I have to  be very careful about how I behave. To liken my skippers’ rugged seafaring looks to Saddam Hussein, for example, is very risky and likely to consign me to the bilges. But he does ……………

Peters’ culinary skills are a revelation. Last night he served up a delicious chicken thing that we all polished off with vigour.

However, his reputation for shopping suggests a tortured soul who is determined to inflict the most dubious delicacies on his travelling companions. But I can’t wait to try his beetroot salad which, from the quantity he bought, should be a daily staple and only hasn’t appeared yet because Nick has hidden it all. Along with the lemon squash, although the skipper relented and produced the bottle when Peter pointed out that it would mean him drinking less beer. Which, for a ‘dry’ boat is odd?

The staples of our, very healthy diet are onions, garlic, and chilli. This has produced some really good meals so far, and they can surely only improve.

Life is now slipping gently into a pleasant routine although the heat keeps us from moving around very much at all. When we’re following the Spanish coast, there is always something interesting to look at.

We think we saw a whale yesterday. It was quite a way off but I’m sure I saw it blow and was far too big for a dolphin. So, I’m counting it as my first whale siting regardless!