At the anchorage in Almuñecar, we were satisfied our anchor was not dragging, but the wind was considerably stronger than we expected. At 8 to 9 knots it produced a considerably swell and the boat was rocking from side to side. Combined with this being our first anchoring we didn’t anticipate a good night’s rest. In fact, we where contemplating … Read More
First time at anchor: Caleta de Velez to Almuñecar
It was time to move on again because we wanted to get to Almerimar, near Almeria, to get Goodvibes hauled out so we could put on new antifouling and check some other bits and pieces under the waterline. Tuesday looked like a good day to leave Caleta de Velez: a bit of swell and a bit of wind. However on … Read More
Caleta de Velez, a hidden gem
We did not engage much with Fuengirola: it looked like a typical Costa del Sol town with restaurants geared towards the tourists and a host of karaoke bars near the marina. This wasn’t really a problem though, as we soon got into a sort of routine doing boat and other jobs in the morning, including quite a few conversations with … Read More
Sailing with no wind: Estepona to Fuengirola
Estepona is our old hometown: we lived there for a few years before we came up with our boat plan. For that reason it was very nice to make this our first stop. We had several people to meet and say goodbye to and had a few jobs left to do (sell our car, check our mailbox etc.). Although the … Read More
Homemade boat fender covers
Fenders have an essential role on a boat: they are portable bumpers on the sides of the boat that prevent damage from banging into a quay or another vessel. The ones used on yachts are usually white or sometimes orange. I had noticed that some boats had covers around them: usually blue. (Yes, blue is still the favourite colour for design that … Read More
Our maiden voyage: Gibraltar to Estepona
After living on our boat in Marina Bay in Gibraltar for almost a year, it was time to start our sailing adventure for real. We were ready, the boat was ready (well, as ready as you can be, the list of pending jobs is still considerable) and summer had started. Our last commitment in Gibraltar was a third vaccination session … Read More