Lotta Costa

 

Yesterday, or was it the day before, we had a marvelous six hours of sailing under the Parasailor at a good speed with the engine off and silence prevailing – bliss. Unfortunately, this and a fitful 2 hours the previous day is the only sailing we have done, and it is a huge disappointment. The high pressure sitting over the Mediterranean is to blame but, as this is the predominant situation in the summer, we should not be surprised. We have been hugging the coast, but the afternoon sea breezes we had hoped for have not really materialised.

With a continual adverse current, we have been just chugging along and it makes you wonder how any passages were made in the Mediterranean in the summer months before engines were invented.

Under engine, with our clean bottom, no wind and a flat sea, we can achieve 6 knots through the water at 2000rpm. At this modest, relatively quiet, and un-stressful level, our engine performance graphs suggest we should be consuming a little over 2 litres of diesel an hour – not bad eh?

The relatively verdant coastline of the Costa Brava has given way to the parched and arid appearance of the more southerly Costas. This is punctuated by some of the most spectacular mountainous  vistas, and it would be wrong to tar it all with a negative brush. However, so much of the coastline is dominated by unattractive development, one wonders about how this will all be viewed by future generations. Another feature of a part of the coast is the proliferation of greenhouses, so many in fact that I was moved to look into it on the internet and discovered this:-

“Since the 1980s, the small coastal plain, some 30 kilometres southwest of the city of Almeria, has developed the largest concentration of greenhouses in the world, covering 26,000 hectares. More than half of Europe’s demand for fresh fruits and vegetables are grown under the plastic shades, fuelling the province of Almeria’s economy by $1.5 billion in annual revenue. But 35 years ago, this region in the southeast of Spain was dry and arid, and desert-like, receiving an average of 200 mm of rainfall a year. In fact, Spaghetti western films were once shot here, because the land was so dry and barren. But with imported soil and fully hydroponic systems that drip-feed chemical fertilizers into grow-bags, over the last 35 years, the area has been intensively used for agriculture. A mix of thousands of smallholders and large companies tend the crops inside the plastic greenhouses.

Temperatures can reach more than 45 degrees Celsius inside. Many Spanish workers find it too hot to work and the conditions too brutal so the sweat-houses are staffed mainly by legal and illegal immigrants from Africa and Eastern Europe. One hundred thousand immigrants are thought to work in the greenhouses and many believe it is the lack of workers-rights that help the businesses to be profitable.”

The latest forecasts for next week when we should be tackling the Atlantic coast off Portugal are currently showing gale force winds from the north which will make a seamless continuation of our passage absolutely impossible.

As a result, we are reviewing our options, ruling nothing out and taking a pragmatic view. We are manically updating forecasts, looking for the slightest break in the northerly gales but with a coastline of nearly 400 miles to negotiate before tackling the Bay of Biscay, we really need a sustained improvement in the weather. Should we find it prudent to ‘lay-up’ Hejira and return home, we have the additional factor of the Covid regulations for citizens returning from abroad. Our options appear to be Spain, Gibraltar, or Portugal so we are endeavouring to establish the rules that currently apply and where might have the space to accommodate Hejira. My only but major time constraint is my son’s impending wedding which, being on the 11^th of September (9/11), adds a further complication should I have to quarantine on my return.

Richard writes:-

The sun is now unrelenting during the day and shade is limited. However, with the foresail up there is a comfortable shaded area on the foredeck, which I was quick to take advantage of.

Unsurprisingly, my idleness was too much for Saddam who immediately ordered me to scrub the decks!

Nick has the most amazing, pressurised deck wash system onboard Hejira, just one of the features designed to make life comfortable and as easy as possible. It’s incredible how dirty the decks become with sand from the Sahara coating everything – and Nick’s grubby footprints.

The abundance of unusual wildlife continues with a Flying Fish appearing close to the boat, skimming gracefully above the water for ages before disappearing back into the blue. Then came a strange looking, flopping fin! It turns out it belongs to a Sun Fish (or Mola Mola), a native usually of more tropical waters.

It was Nicks’ turn last night to delight us with culinary perfection. Curry, what else! Strewth, it was hot and the effects are still with me! Actually, it was very tasty and was awarded top marks. The left-over rice, and there was lots of it, was served up today for lunch by Peter. It was apparently prepared to a secret recipe handed down over many generations, it was awarded an outstanding 3/10.

My contribution? Boiled eggs and toast – another winner!!!