We’re now resting up in Malta and recovering from a exhausting trip. Mixed feelings – wonderful to be here and feels amazing to have completed our journey from the UK to Malta. But also feels slightly strange that we’re not going sailing today or tomorrow or possibly even this week! We’ve sailed around 3,000 miles this summer over about 11 weeks (we took several holidays ashore!), met many great people en route, visited some wonderful places, had many terrific experiences, seen dolphins, flying fish, turtles and swordfish (sadly no whales), had a very steep learning experience (looking back I realise how very inexperienced we were when we set off – which has made it a bit stressful at times (as some of you may have noticed!)), had mostly good weather (although the wind always seemed to be from an unhelpful direction – either dead ahead so we had to tack upwind adding considerably to our distance and time – or dead astern which is uncomfortable and slow) and greatly enjoyed having so many friends sailing with us and helping us bring ALMA to Malta. Many, many thanks to all of you who have helped us on the journey:
· Lymington to Plymouth – Tim, Doug and David
· Plymouth to Baiona – Geoff, Andy and Doug
· Povoa to Oeiras – Steve and Peta
· Villamoura to Gib – Michelle
· Gib to Ibiza – Doug, Roy and Ed
· Ibiza to Palma – Roy and Jackie
· Palma to Mahon – Nick and Lindy
· Mahon to Marsala – Andy, Ian and David
· Marsala to Malta – Tim and Chris.

Hope you’ll all join us onboard again next year – whether on a delivery trip or just cruising somewhere nice (Ionian and Croatia?). Will start planning for next year shortly!

Take care, enjoy yourselves and keep in touch. Hope to see many of you over the winter.
Very best wishes
Helen and Iain

The initial forecast was for light ENE winds; but later on Wed evening I got an update (via text from Andy in the UK!) suggesting great winds about 10 to 15 knots ENE or NE due to a low pressure system forming in the Adriatic – perfect for the crossing due south to Malta. For the first hour we did have light winds and wondered if we’d have to motor. Then suddenly we had 20 knots of wind building to 25 knots and we had to put a reef in the main. So we had a very fast crossing and we entered Grand Harbour Valletta at 1430 in time for a late lunch! It was a great crossing although with quite a rough sea especially approaching the harbour. We were excited to see Gozo then Malta appear on the horizon and then pick out landmarks on the coast. Previously (when we were onshore in Malta) we’d thought the Hilton Tower was a bit of an eyesore; but we discovered for arrival by sea it’s the best landmark on the whole coast! Then we began to pick out the forts and churches of Valletta; then the harbour breakwater and finally the magnificent Fort St Angelo and beside that our apartment block. Great moment to sail into Grand Harbour past the wonderful historic sites and moor up almost outside our apartment.

END OF THE JOURNEY TO MALTA

SICILY TO MALTA - 2 TO 7 OCT

Next stop on our journey south east along the coast was Porto Empodocle – a large commercial port (ferry port for the southern islands and major fishing harbour) which we’d been told was dirty and smelly; which it was a little. But it is only a few kilometres from the Valley of Temples at Agrigento – more superb Greek temples (6th century bc). But we found the port very friendly and it had great non touristy restaurants, cafes and bars. Once again we were amazed by how kind people can be – we asked the marina manager how we could get to the Temples and he arranged for the pontoon marinero to drive us there in his own car and then come back and pick us up a few hours later! And he would absolutely not accept payment. Then when I tried to buy an allen key to replace a jib block that had broken the chap in the chandlery called the marinero who went off and then brought back a key for me to use rather than have to buy one – again he wouldn’t accept any payment; not even a cup of coffee. All this was conducted in sign language as he did not speak any English and we don’t speak more than 2 or 3 words of Italian (we need to learn some basic phrases before we come back next summer) – I really wished I could have told him how kind he was to help us out. All I could do in return was buy a fishing lure from the chandlery (the chandleries here are for fishing not sailing) – it’s for tuna so not sure if we’ll ever use it! – and we left a bottle of wine on the pontoon for the marinero.

Our next port of call was the new marina at Licata – unfortunately we arrived to find it hadn’t actually been built yet although the break waters were built just no pontoons and absolutely nothing ashore. However it made a very secure anchorage. Next morning we set off early for Ragusa where it was promised there would be another new marina. This has been finished and it is a very high quality marina – hard to see how it will make money as no expense seems to have been spared in building the marina. Its main attraction for us was that it is the closest departure point on the south coast of Sicily for crossing to Malta – approx 52 miles.

SICILY - 28 SEPT TO 1 OCT

While Helen was in London, I returned to the boat in Marsala (Ian had stayed onboard after our crossing from Menorca to boat sit and explore the region around Marsala/Trapani) and Ian and I re-visited Favignana Island (this time anchoring on south side – took three attempts to get the anchor to dig in as there was so much thick weed on the seabed – fortunately the water was so crystal clear that even in 5 metres we could see where there was a small patch of sand and drop the anchor directly on the sand). Then we took the boat further south east to Sciacca from where Ian returned to the UK and Helen, Chris and Tim joined me.

I collected everyone from Trapani airport and we visited Erice – a middle ages town (although the Elymians, Phoenicians, Carthaginians and Romans all had settlements here) perched on a hilltop (750m) overlooking Trapani with outstanding views of the west and north coasts and the offshore islands. The town still has a superb Norman castle (extraordinarily the Normans conquered as far south as Sicily and Malta) built on the site of the ancient temple of Venus/Astarte/Aphrodite. Erice is also famous for wonderful pastries! Then we drove to Selinunte where there are remains of Greek temples and the acropolis – the Greeks colonised Sicily and Selinunte was established around 650 BC but then destroyed by the Carthiginians around 400 BC.

Sciacca was a great town to visit – not only a good base for exploring the temples of Selinunte but a very friendly marina (we were offered beer and a bottle of wine on arrival and on Sunday morning some bread with oil and anchovies!) and the town has some lovely buildings, is well known for its thermal springs and for ceramics and has an amazing piazza looking out over the harbour. The downside is that the town is an arduous climb up from the harbour – we discovered how unfit (at least for climbing) we have become. Sciacca also has some famous citizens (incl Bon Jovi’s family and Johnny Dundee (boxer) was born in Sciacca) and other important families!

Friday morning we had a terrific sail across from Favignana Island to Marsala (famous for its sweet wine) on the west coast of Sicily - upwind with flat water and 12 to 15 knots of wind - perfect conditions for ALMA and we made great time and were in the harbour just after midday. Just as well as the wind was up to 20 knots by the time we'd finished securing all our lines and up to 30 knots within an hour followed by torrential rain and thunder (with even stronger gusts) - I haven't seen as heavy rain since Singapore's monsoon rain.

Hope to explore the west coast of Sicily next week and then next weekend make the final stage of our journey along the south coast of Sicily (would like to visit the ancient Greek temples at Agrigento and Selinunte) and across to Malta (which lies about 70 miles south of the southern point of Sicily).

Hope you're all well.
Best wishes
Iain and Helen

Favignana island (the island of goats in Homer's Odyssey) was lovely with a spectacular high ridge in the centre of the island with a commanding fort built for Catherine of Aragon on the highest point. Favignana is a local (ie Sicilian) tourist destination but not many non Italian visitors and so hardly any English spoken. After Portuguese, Spanish and French this summer we're now trying to learn a few words of italian. I confused a shopkeeper in Favignana by saying thank you in Portuguese! We had a wonderful dinner watching Palermo beat juventus in the Italian Football league - a very popular result - absolutely no-one in the restaurant cheered for juventus! The restaurant was on the quayside and of course the "menu" was almost exclusively fresh fish but what was particularly special was the whole tuna on the counter - steaks were just sliced off and put on the wood fire grill - basic but marvellous. Favignana was a major tuna port and the old warehouses line the harbour - but now its a centre for tuna conservation (apparently)!

20-27th September 2010

Hi,

We are now in Malta for the weekend but on the move again today and tomorrow. Iain sailed the boat with the help of Andy, Ian and David from Minorca to SIcily where the boat now is while Helen flew from Minorca to the UK and then to Malta. Andy and David flew back from Sicily to the UK and Ian has remained on board to sail a little further towards Malta with Iain. There was not much wind on the way to Sicily so the engine was on so that deadlines could be made.

After a weekend here of R and R plus the gym and some inevitable admin, Iain leaves this evening for Sicily and Helen tomorrow for the UK before meeting up in Sicily next weekend.

Hope to report next weekend on the sail to Sicily. Looking forward to visiting Sicily for the first time but also very much looking forward to arriving in Malta – what a wonderful experience it should be to sail into Grand Harbour Valetta past Forts St Angelo and St Elmo. From Sicily we should be able to get to Malta in 4 or 5 short day sails so by next weekend after this last long leg to Sicily we should feel we’re nearly at our destination.

Hope all going well for you.
Best wishes
Iain and Helen.

In the past week we’ve sailed around the south and east coasts of Mallorca and then crossed over to Menorca with friends Nick and Lindy from Reigate. Its been a great week of sailing with good breeze most days and good anchorages, especially the island of Cabrera (a beautifully quiet island off the SE coast of Mallorca which is a nature reserve; a permit is needed to go there and only 50 boats are allowed to stay there overnight) and a lovely inlet at Es Grau on Menorca recommended by a friend David (who visits Menorca in summer but whom we met skiing in Les Carroz! Small world.) Es Grau is a small village with numerous fishing boats and one restaurant where we had the best fish ever (well maybe on par with the crab house cafe in Weymouth). We also went round to Fornells Bay for lunch – its a lovely bay but quite a busy tourist destination so we preferred the quiet local feel of Es Grau and went back there for another night. (thanks David for your recommendations for both anchorages and restaurants – both excellent! And for guiding us around.)

On Saturday we sailed into the historic harbour at Mahon – what a wonderfully sheltered harbour and it’s easy to understand why the English navy made this their base in the Med in Napoleonic times. Sadly many of the historic fortifications have not been well maintained and the town itself was a little disappointing. But it was a terrific experience to sail into the harbour and imagine Nelson and Captain Jack Aubrey sailing in here around 200 years ago.

Sunday 19th Sept – in Mahon, Menorca getting ready to leave tomorrow evening for Sicily. So a day of cleaning the boat and doing a few jobs. David, Andy and Ian are joining me for the trip to Sicily while Helen is going to Malta for a week and then on to the UK to deal with the changeover of tenant on a small apartment we let out in London. As the changeover is on 30th Sept/1st Oct, one of us has to deal with that and the other has to continue the delivery trip on the boat to Malta - I think Helen drew the short straw!

It’s been great to have so many friends who have helped us sail ALMA from the UK to the Med this summer. We’ve greatly enjoyed everyone’s company and in addition it’s made it much easier for us and allowed us to have a much more restful journey. So many thanks to all of you who have sailed with us this summer and we hope you’ll join us again next year!

So as soon as Andy and Ian arrive tomorrow on Easy Jet from London (David is already here for the weekend with Tricia) we’ll set off provided the weather is OK. Journey to Sicily (Trapani in NW corner) is over 400 miles so if we can average 5 knots the trip should take about 4 days and we should get into port Friday evening – at latest hope we arrive by Sat morning as Andy and David are booked to fly back to UK on Sat afternoon – tight schedule. However if we are making fast progress and if weather looks like holding we might have a very brief stop in southern Sardinia as the route to Sicily passes very close to the southern tip of Sardinia. If not, we’ll need to go back to Sardinia in future as I believe it’s a lovely area to sail in with some lovely anchorages/ports and a Swiss chap on the boat next to us here has lent me his pilot books for Sardinia and Sicily and lots of info on places to visit. So if we’ve got the books (and charts) we should go!

Since Wednesday, Helen and I have been catching up with the normal domestic jobs (yes even in paradise the same jobs have to be done!), cleaning the boat, got an oil change done and an electrical problem fixed, and managed a bit of sightseeing – we took the train to Soller and the ancient tram to Port Soller on the west coast; lovely trip with great views of the countryside and the mountains on the west coast. Also visited Deia (which is a lovely small town in a most beautiful part of this island) for a superb anniversary lunch. Wonderful sleep on the train back to Palma!! Also met up with friends Peter and Gill from Yorkshire who keep their boat here and enjoyed a great time wining and dining with them and their friends Hilary and Sue.

Now just relaxing today and getting ready for the next leg to Menorca – plan to set off from Palma on Tuesday.

Hope everything going well for you.
Best wishes
Helen and Iain

We had a lovely sail across to Ibiza (150M), especially once we were through the shipping lanes on Thursday night – there was a lot of shipping going up and down this coast and we were pleased to get away from the main lane and get offshore for a quiet night. We enjoyed a lovely dawn then Ibiza appeared on the horizon. We’d made good time so we anchored up off Formentera for lunch and a swim before heading into Ibiza town. Unfortunately we discovered the new marina must be the most expensive in the world – Euro 190 for the first night; ONLY E140 for subsequent nights. So after Douglas and Edward headed off for the airport and Roy and I had got the laundry done and a major shopping trip, we sailed out to find a quiet and inexpensive anchorage in Cala Llonga on the east coast – and it was a great anchorage with just a few boats and a beautifully calm Mediterranean evening. However we had to go back into Ibiza to pick up Helen and Jackie who had flown from Malta (via Valencia) but who had been delayed a day thanks to Ryanair “technical problems”. Ibiza town has some interesting historical buildings and must before the tourist explosion have been a lovely old town. But now it seems to be the hedonistic capital of the Med. I’ve never seen such a concentration of bars, clubs, restaurants, thronged with such a variety of people from the super rich to the wacky and everything in between – quite an extraordinary place; but a couple of nights there was enough for me!

We sailed north for an overnight stop on the NE corner of Ibiza – unfortunately it was quite a windy night and although we were on the lee side of the island the wind whirled around the cliffs surrounding the bay and we had a bit of a disturbed night as the boat rolled and swung around in the downdraughts. Roy and I were both up several times during the night to check the anchor but it was well dug in and hadn’t dragged. It would have been nice to have a late start but the weather forecast suggested the wind might get quite strong later so we set off for Mallorca at 0700. We had a fast crossing in 22 to 25 knots of wind – even with 2 reefs in the main we maintained around 7 knots speed over the ground. So we arrived in Andraitx, a lovely fishing town in SW of Mallorca, around 1.30pm and had a lovely evening there with Roy and Jackie’s very good friend Geoff who has a property (actually it sounds more like a major construction project as he’s converting an old finca) in the hills near Andraitx. Next day, Wed 8th, Roy and Jackie were flying out of Palma so we sailed round from Andraitx again in a good breeze over 20 knots – at least until we got into Palma bay where the wind died and we had to motor into Palma. But however you enter the bay it’s a wonderful view with the great cathedral sitting above the marina.

Gibraltar to Palma, Mallorca – now resting up in Palma Mallorca at the Real Club Nautica de Palma – The King of Spain’s yacht club so as you would expect it is wonderful. Lovely bar, restaurants, great showers and toilets, lovely swimming pool, even a great gym – wish we could stay for a month or two! Need a bit of a rest as it’s been a long trip from Lagos where we set off from on 21st August after our return from our summer break in the Alps. In the 19 days since then we’ve sailed nearly 800 miles – firstly with Michelle along the SW Spanish coast to Gibraltar where Helen and Michelle flew back to the UK and Roy, Douglas and Edward joined and we sailed from Gib on Sunday 29th August along the E coast to Aguadulce and Cartagena then across to Ibiza. We refuelled in Gib where thankfully the fuel is a bit cheaper – but to get to the fuel dock we had to sail alongside the airport runway – just before an Easyjet flight landed! If there is a flight due before you pass the end of the runway you have to wait (lights flash!) until the flight has passed! Also passengers walk across the runway on their way to/from terminal! Gib is a strange place we thought – worth seeing but a day or two is sufficient. We sailed out of the bay around noon on the Sunday and had a glorious view of the Rock as we sailed towards Spain.

We hadn’t intended to stop at Aguadulce (about 180M from Gib) but on Monday night the weather was deteriorating as we approached Cabo de Gata on SE tip of Spain and around the cape the seas were quite rough so we decided it would be better to turn for port rather than struggle through a rough unpleasant night – I think everyone on board was quite pleased to head for port and we got in around 11pm for a well earned rest. Aguadulce doesn’t have much to recommend it but we enjoyed a relaxing day, a great lunch and a good night’s sleep! Next stop at Cartagena (125M from Aguadulce) was much more interesting. We arrived just before first light and we moored up and asleep by 7am! After a couple of hours sleep we explored the lovely town centre and visited the wonderful Roman theatre and museum and then after some shopping set off again at 1.30pm Thurs for Ibiza.

Sailing with Michelle

HI,

we arrived back in Lagos, getting up at 0230 for the taxi to Geneva Airport, on Thursday 19th August. After getting back into boat life, we sailed to Vilamoura on Saturday and awaited Michelle's arrival on Sunday.

With an extra pair of hands, the next few days went very well. We sailed on Monday to Ayamonte, and then the next day to Mazagon.
On Wednesday, we set off for Rota which was to be 'home' for 2 nights. On the way we saw a swordfish and a dolphin. We went to Jerez to see the world famous Spanish Riding School display (excellent) and the Tio Pepe Bodegas. Of course we had to sample the sherry and have some more tapas!

Friday we sailed to Barbate and this time saw of pod of dolphins. By now the temperatures were so hot, we delayed our arrival in the marina for a swim, snooze ....

And yesterday, we sailed into Gibraltar - accompanied by several pods of dolphins - to meet up with Roy, Douglas and Edward who with Iain are taking the boat to Ibiza while Helen meets Jackie in Malta for a few days R and R before joining the boat in Ibiza and Michelle returns to London.

we had a lovely dinner out last night, Iain celebrating his birthday a month early. He now has an ipad so that technology will keep him busy for a while. And then there are all those downloaded books to read.

Today, Michelle and I had breakfast in the Rock Hotel, watching Alma motoring out of the harbour without us.

Photos to be posted next week

love Helen.

ALMA’s crew have been on holiday in France – a week near Sancerre (we travelled from Briare – famous for the canal bridge over the Loire – to Nevers) with our friends Peta and Steve on their fabulous barge (28 metres!!) cruising along the Canal Lateral de la Loire (and of course enjoying great food and wines esp Sancerre, Menetou Salon and Pouilly) and 3 weeks in the Alps walking, cycling, relaxing and catching up with friends Tim and Chris (from Reigate), Roy and Jackie (friends from our Singapore days) and Aubin and Jackie (who run a wonderful chalet in Les Carroz).

Now getting ready to return to the boat. We’re delighted that Michelle (elder daughter) is joining us on ALMA for the trip from S Portugal to Gibraltar. We’ve booked a visit to the Spanish Riding School in Jerez en route which we’ve heard is worth visiting. Might also have time to sample some sherry! Also would like to see Cadiz. Hope we get favourable winds (not easterlies!) in the Straits of Gibraltar so we’re not delayed – Helen and Michelle are scheduled to fly back from Gibraltar to UK (and then on to Malta for Helen) on 29th August. Douglas, Edward and Roy are joining in Gibraltar for the next leg to Ibiza – plan to arrive there around 2nd/3rd Sept and then have a couple of weeks pottering around the Balearics. Looking forward to seeing Ibiza and Menorca which we’ve never visited previously but we hear great reports about these islands (away from the clubs, bars and major developments) – esp great beaches and anchorages – and also keen to re-visit Mallorca. Then we plan to make the long trip across to Malta in late September. Will be great to complete the journey and sail into Grand Harbour Malta!!

Hope your summer is going well.
All the best
Helen and Iain

Wed 21st July - in Lagos cleaning, fixing things and packing for trip to
Les Carroz. Had another tough day yesterday. Left Vilamoura 1030 at HW to
catch the ebb all the way west to Lagos; wind 12 to 15 knots NW - a close
reach - perfect conditions for ALMA and we made great progress - at least
to begin with! Had a great "race" with another 2 boats heading same way
and was first to the first headland. Into the next bay we had a big wind
shift and then we ran into a big "hole" in the wind - when the competition
saw this they managed to sail around us! We slowly got back into the
breeze and then the wind built and built until we had a reef in the main
and half a dozen rolls in the jib in 22 to 25 knots with gusts up to 30
knots - not quite the leisurely sail we'd hoped for on the final day of
this leg of the odyssey. Thankfully ALMA performs well in these conditions
and although it was hard work we had no problems - at least thought not
until this morning on unfurling the jib discovered we had a small tear!
Grrr!

Maintenance work and cleaning today (just on my coffee break at the moment
- seems I'm allowed a short break since I started at 0700 this morning!).

Michelle is joining us on our return from Les Carroz and sailing to Gibraltar, stopping off en route to see the Spanish Horses in Cadiz. Really looking forward to sailing with her.

Off to Les Carroz tomorrow for a month - Rest and Relaxation!!

Will have better wifi in LC so hope to speak to you on skype soon.
Best wishes
Iain and Helen

An eventful day!

Saturday 17th July – left Ayamonte Spain for a short sail along coast back to Vilamoura. Early start as shallow at entrance so alarm at 0700 and off pontoon by 0730. Stiff breeze blowing us on to the pontoon so not an easy departure but managed to spring off ok. Beautiful morning but quite breezy – think it might just be funnelled down the river valley. By the time we get to river mouth tide has already turned – should have left a bit early as don’t like crossing shallows on a falling tide (particularly as channel twists and turns a bit and in places it's not entirely clear where deep water will be)– danger clearly illustrated by a boat sitting aground – he must have gone well out of the deep channel and gone aground on high water – now he’s got a long wait until next tide! We have no problems getting over the bar but discover wind still strong (wasn’t just the river valley!) – up to 27 knots so set off with just the jib and make great progress. Sadly after an hour winds drops quickly and soon we’re crawling along at 3 knots – so engine on as we want to get in at a reasonable time (and Helen wants to see the Tour!). All going well until suddenly there’s an odd ripping sound from below then while we’re wondering what it is the engine overheating alarm comes on. Discover TWO fan belts have disintegrated – one runs water pump for engine cooling. So while Helen sails I explore the unknown territory of the engine compartment. Biggest problem is access – very confined space and the nuts I need to loosen off are particularly inaccessible. Two hours later and skinned knuckles and much frustration I managed to replace one of the belts. Unfortunately I discovered one of the spare belts I’d been left was almost torn through and wouldn’t have lasted 2 minutes. Moral about checking even the spares thoroughly! Difficult to get sufficient tension on the new belt so reluctant to use engine and we continue under sail. However, it is a lovely sail and we have a visit from a large school (Helen says its a pod) of dolphins – always a thrill. Wind holds up until we’re a few miles from Vilamoura but gradually dies in the evening. We should have anchored in last of the breeze but a passing mobo (motorboat) agrees to give us a tow. Interesting experience. So eventually we made it into the marina about midnight Spanish time. Glad to get in although reception pontoon was immediately outside Marina club and there was a very big party which lasted until 4am local time (ie 5am Spain!!) – but we were so tired we slept through it all except just woke briefly for the finale at 4am!

So an interesting and challenging day – but as it's probably about 35 years since I last used a spanner seriously it was a great experience. Now looking forward to some quiet restful days!

Best wishes
Iain and Helen

HOT! DAMN HOT! And I understand it is (was) too in England. Unfortunately for us, while there is a great breeze early morning and late afternoon/evening to keep us cool(ish), in the middle of the day the thermal wind seems to just about cancel out the gradient wind and we have to resort to sitting in front of our new fans to keep us cool!

Sunday 11th July – World Cup Final day - we’re sitting in Ayamonte on the River Gaudiana, the border between Portugal and Spain. We’d hoped to be able to go up the river as the pilot book says “not to be missed” esp to see white storks, cattle egrets, black winged stilts, kingfishers, red-rumped swallows, hoopoes, golden orioles, bee eaters, and azure winged magpies! I’ve no idea what most of these are like (need to get an App for an iphone – also need to get an iphone!) but it sounds wonderful. However, the clearance under the bridge is only 20.5m – our mast is 20m! We’ll try and get a local ferry at least part of the way upriver tomorrow. But tonight we want to be in town to see the football (well at least I do and Helen wants to see the Tour this afternoon as we’ve not managed to see it much this year – although we did see Cavendish win stage 5 in a fantastic sprint finish) and if Spain win there will be a huge party here. Last night the celebrations in the town centre just for Spain BEING in the final went on to 4am!!

On our way along the coast from Lagos, we’ve visited Vilamoura (a very large modern marina/tourist resort – great marina but the resort is totally artificial – makes me think of the Truman show – and is slightly run down/tacky) and a river estuary between Faro and Olhao – great anchorage except it’s under the flight path for Faro airport! Lots of very long term cruisers there – some may not have moved for 10 years!

We’re discovering what a small world this is – as we sailed out of Lagos we spoke to another boat (“Pennypincher”) from Lymington and arranged to meet up in Vilamoura – discovered Alan and Penny knew Dave, one of the skippers we’d met on the Rally whose boat is “Jennard III”, whom we’d had dinner with on Monday and they’d had dinner with him on Tuesday! And as we sailed into Ayamonte we saw “Yarona”, a Hallberg Rassy 43, whose owners, Barry and Cath, we’d met skiing in Les Carroz! And even more extraordinary, it turned out that “Yarona” was previously “Jennard II”! Barry and Cath had bought her from Dave! Spookily small world.

We may make one or two further steps eastwards along this coast but then, sadly, we need to turn around and head back to Lagos where we’re leaving the boat for a few weeks (seems a good secure marina and we get a good discount as participants in Rally Portugal since the marina sponsors the Rally). Looking forward to our next trip when we plan to visit Jerez and Cadiz before going into the Med.

Hope all well for you.
Best wishes
Iain and Helen

PS Only now (13/7) posting this blog as we’ve got good wifi here – we’re now in Mazagon, as far east as we’ll come this trip, having a rest day. Tomorrow we’ll start our return along the coast westwards to Lagos. It’s been great being in Spain – a very happy place after the World Cup final!

PPS Sorry – didn’t manage to post until today 15/7!! Now back in Ayamonte (on Spanish/Portugal border) where we met up last night with another two boats from the Rally who are also cruising this coast – one before returning to UK and one who like us will head into the Med late August. Reunions always seem to mean a late night so now having a quiet domestic day recovering (and laundry, emails etc). Also treated ourselves today to an English newspaper as we’re having coffee in a great cafe here (excellent wifi, lovely coffee and “tosta” with tomato and olive oil which seems to be the standard breakfast – although as we’re Inglese they bring us butter and marmalade too!). Early start tomorrow to catch the tide as it is shallow at the entrance to the river – only 1m at low tide – we’ll need to get to the Med before we stop having to worry about the tides.

Love and best wishes
Helen and Iain

BACK ON BOARD

After a week in Malta catching up with admin, and two weekends in the UK catching up with family and friends, we’re back on board ALMA in Lagos (Sunday 4th July). It’s now very hot here – up to 37 degrees yesterday so we’ve been out to buy some fans and covers for the hatches! Hope to get out sailing tomorrow and hopefully there will be a breeze to keep us cool. Glad we fitted the bimini – it would be just too hot to sail without it.

We plan to cruise along the Algarve/SW Spain coast to Cadiz visiting Villamoura, Ayamonte (on the River Gaudiana which forms the Portuguese/Spanish border), El Rompido and Mazagon before returning to Lagos by 19th July where we’ll leave the boat again while we spend a few weeks in Les Carroz.

We feel very relaxed this time on the boat as now we don’t have any timetable – so we’ll just cruise along slowly and see how it goes.

Hope you’re enjoying great weather and having a lovely summer.

All the best
Helen and Iain

LISBON TO LAGOS

We made it to Lagos on the Algarve! The leg from Lisbon to Sines (birth place of Vasco de Gama who discovered the Cape Hope route to India) was even windier than previous legs with gusts up to 30 knots. Perversely the last leg had hardly any wind most of the way and we had to motor for 7 hours – the first lengthy period of motoring we’ve done. But as we rounded Cape St Vincent (the most SW point of Europe and at one time, before the Americas were discovered by Europeans, thought to be the end of the world) the breeze came, the skies cleared and dolphins joined us for a lovely gennaker reach along the coast to Lagos – and for the first time in 3 weeks and 1,000 miles we had flat seas – superb sailing.

Sadly the Rally ended in Lagos and after a few farewell parties some boats left for the Med, some to go to the UK immediately and some are cruising the Algarve/Spain. After a few days rest, cleaning the boat and sightseeing in Lagos (famous as a base for the Portuguese exploration of West Africa inspired by Henry the Navigator and as a slave market), we’ve left ALMA in Lagos while we spend a week in Malta catching up with admin and having a good rest! Its been quite a hard few weeks between strong winds/rough seas, sightseeing and lots of parties! We plan to cruise along the Algarve coast (slowly and quietly) when we get back to Lagos from 4th July until 22nd July. Then we’ll head for the Alps to escape the mid summer heat in southern Spain/Portugal. We plan to return to the boat late August and then head into the Med and spend a few weeks in the Balearics before hopefully finally getting to Malta late Sept/early Oct. Beginning to appreciate just how long a journey it is – we’re still not even half way!

Hope you’re enjoying the summer and hope we’ll catch up soon.
All the best
Iain and Helen.

BAIONA TO LISBON

Now in Lisbon after a very windy and rough passage down the coast from Baiona. We called at Povoa/Porto (great visit to Taylor’s Port caves – resisted buying the 1994 vintage but now a fan of Tawny port!), Leixos, Figuera (wonderful visit to Coimbra University – one of the oldest in the world with an amazing library – they keep bats in the library to eat the insects which would otherwise damage the books, some of which date from the 1500’s), Nazare, Peniche (visited an old medieval town inland) and now in Lisbon which we think is a lovely city – great history, lovely streets and a relaxed charm. Friends Peta and Steve joined us in Povoa for the leg to Lisbon. They sailed with us last year in Brittany and it poured with rain and this year when they met up with us it was again pouring with rain! Next year we’ll need to make sure we’re in sunnier climes.

Winds in this section as we sailed down the coast have been from the North and quite strong – up to 28 knots and seas were quite rough with 3m to 3.5m waves. Glad to be in Lisbon for a couple of days rest. We hope the winds will abate a little for the next two legs down the coast – we leave Lisbon on Saturday for Sines then on Monday plan to round the SW corner, Cape St Vincent, to Lagos and the Algarve. Looking forward to it. We’ll leave the boat in Lagos for a week while we go back home to Malta (via UK so hope to catch up with many of you in the UK either 25th/26th June on our way to Malta or 2nd/3rd/4th July on our way back to Lagos). Then we’ll have a few weeks in the Algarve and SW Spain – hope to visit Cadiz, Seville and Jerez.

This section of the Rally has been quite eventful. One boat lost steering in heavy seas and two others tried to tow it but the tow line snapped and so eventually the life boat came to the rescue. There have been a few crew changes – one unplanned as crew and skipper fell out. Several of us have had a Rally tummy bug which is a bit of a knock out for 48 hours! Two crew on another boat have fallen overboard (at separate times!) – luckily both in harbour! And a third person fell in and got a bad infection. The fleet was storm bound for two days but we had gone ahead the previous day and managed to keep sailing. We were lucky to have our friends Peta and Steve with us as it would have been very hard work with just two of us. They did a lot of helming (in difficult conditions) which was a great help. Judging by the smiles I think they really enjoyed it! Today we’ve been catching up with repairs and doing a wall painting (quite a tradition in some ports where lots of passage boats pass through). I hope Helen will post a photo of ALMA’s contribution. One repair I must mention – I asked the sailmaker here to splice a new rope for me (hi tech spectra rope which I cannot splice – need to learn but it seems a miracle to me anyone can splice this type of rope) and he’s just returned it to me perfectly done (I think) at 7.15pm (he should have finished work today at 4.00pm but the Rally has kept him very busy!) and won’t accept any payment for it! I really can’t believe the kindness and generosity we’ve encountered in Portugal – wonderful and amazing.

So now heading for Cape St Vincent and the Algarve. Looking forward to visiting the UK and seeing many of you.
Best wishes
Helen and Iain

ALMA’s travels have begun for 2010! ALMA had been in winter storage in Lymington waiting for the summer to begin her long voyage to Malta. We had a great test sail to Weymouth on 8/9 May – good winds (although very cold for May) and everything seemed to be in good shape except the anchor light which Berthon had somehow managed to re-wire incorrectly (it came on at the same time as the radar!) after putting the mast back up! It took a good few very frustrating hours to find the cause and fix it. However, I now know a little bit more about the boat’s wiring! I guess that’s why it’s good to have a test sail at the beginning of the season.

On Friday 14th May we sailed to Plymouth to be ready for the start of Rally Portugal. Another great trip - little wind overnight but a lovely breeze on Saturday as we crossed Lyme Bay and past Start Point, Dartmouth and Salcombe and on to Plymouth arriving at 5pm. We left ALMA there for two weeks then we (Helen and I plus Geoff, Doug and Andy) were all back on board by Friday 28th to get ready for the Rally – safety checks, provisioning, checking over the boat, getting new charts, navigation prep, weather forecasts etc. Sunday morning 9.00am start and we were away from the pontoon by 0730 so we had time to check the instruments (electronic compass and main compass were not agreeing!) and the start line. Nice breeze at the start and at 0900 the fleet was heading out of Plymouth Sound for the Channel and Ouessant. I was a little late at the start and we were behind a few boats to begin with but by the time we left the bay we were in the lead (ALMA sails really well in these conditions – upwind in a breeze over 12 knots) and upwind of the fleet. We settled into our 3 hour watch system and looked forward to warmer weather further south.

We had a couple of periods when the wind was very light but for most of the time we had great winds, up to 25 knots. At one point we had a little too much wind when we had the gennaker up and we had a real struggle getting it down! I think it was about 3am – always seems to be the middle of the night when these things happen! Anyway, once we were back under control the off watch slept a bit better. We also had periods of fog which are always disconcerting – especially in the very busy shipping lanes around Oessant and Cape Finisterre. We were very grateful we had radar and AIS (a radio signalling system that gives the position, course and identity of ships). Downside of having these systems is that you see just how much traffic there is!

Much of the way across Biscay we had frequent visits from dolphins (some dolphins may have been porpoises!) – great feeling as they jumped alongside us or “torpedoed” the boat then dived under us at the last moment. I’d swear they were laughing at us as they came alongside to watch us struggle with the gennaker in the middle of the night! One boat saw two whales – minke I think.

After 3 days it was great to see land again as we approached the coast of north west Spain. We had been sailing off the continental shelf in depths of over 4,000 metres (the depth drops from 150m to over 4,000m in only 30 miles!!) and enjoyed the longer ocean waves but were now back into choppier seas as we sailed down the Costa del Morte and rounded Cape Finisterre.

We crossed the finish line at Baiona at 0050BST on Thursday – about 550 miles in 3 days 15hours 50 minutes. A great trip and although we were pleased to have arrived in Baiona we were really enjoying the fantastic sailing conditions on Wed as the weather improved (sunshine, blue skies, warm, and great wind – champagne sailing) and we had settled into our sailing routines and felt we could have just kept on going!

Doug, Geoff and Andy had a day to explore Baiona before they had to fly back to the UK from Porto. Helen and I have been able to relax and enjoy the town ( famous for being the first place in Europe to hear about the “New World” as the Pinta sailed into Baiona on her return from Columbus’ voyage. We’ve also visited Santiago Compostella – amazing to see the huge numbers of pilgrims making the journey from many parts of Europe as well as other areas of Spain by bike and on foot to visit the burial site of the Apostle Saint James who had lived and preached in Galicia for many years. His body was apparently brought back from Palestine after he had been executed. Santiago also has a wonderful Parador hotel which claims to be the oldest in the world – dating from 1499! And it looks wonderful – if we ever return to Santiago we hope we’ll stay there!

Now we’re getting ready for the next leg of the Rally on Tuesday to Povoa de Varzim near Porto. Let you know how it goes in next update.

Best wishes
Helen and Iain

ALMA 2010 PLANS

HAPPY NEW YEAR! ALMA's plans for this year are to sail to Malta where our new home is. Estimated timetable is:

APRIL 17/18 FIT OUT LYMINGTON

MAY 8/9 TEST SAIL – WEYMOUTH?

MAY 15,16 (or MAY 25,26) DELIVERY TO PLYMOUTH

MAY 30 DEPART PLYMOUTH FOR BAYONA

JUNE 4 or 5 ARRIVE BAYONA

JUNE 8 TO 23 BAYONA TO LAGOS

JUNE 26 TO JULY 18 SOUTHERN SPAIN

MID JULY TO LATE AUG HOLIDAY ASHORE!!

SEPT 4 TO 18 BALEARIC ISLANDS

SEPT 18 TO OCT 1 SARDINIA

OCT 2 TO 15 SICILY

OCT 16/17 MALTA.

Hope plans work out with fair winds, blue skies and warm sunshine and hope we'll see all our regular crew on board again this year at some time to share our adventures! We'll be updating ALMA's Travels blog as we go so you can follow our travels.

Best wishes for 2010.
Iain and Helen