Number 2
Date is the 27th December 1999 and all is still going well.
It has taken 6 months to get things sorted out in England and letting the houses as mine did not seem to go quickly and mums had a burst tank which lost me a tenant and it took time to repair and dry out the house. My car is still not sold so if anyone wants a good Audi A4 2.6 Let me know. Cheap. So things are a bit tight.
Gibraltar was OK and I made good friends with a couple who had all their worldly possessions in a boat similar to mine but 12 ft longer. A very nice boat, wood, copper bottom, two Gardener engines, bow thruster and stabilisers. He had a few problems which I fixed. My first earnings afloat. I also met a couple in a 37 footer who had just spent 2 ½ years in the Caribbean and had just returned from across the Atlantic from there. He nearly lost his mast on the way over. They had a little Jack Russell with them all the way as well. His wife wanted a thatched cottage so he now has a job in the UK and the boat is for sale. They are both in Almerimar now and have visited me here.
While in Gibraltar I did a trip to Marina Smir in Morocco and to Ceuta. Ceuta is on the opposite side of the straights to Gibraltar and is Spanish, much to the annoyance of the Moroccans, so when the spanish complain about Gibraltar say what about you in Ceuta..
The trip from Gibraltar to here was via Puerto de la Duquesa and Benalmádena. I had one crew from Gibraltar to these ports. Apart from stopping full astern 1 meter from a fishing net it was uneventful.
From Benalmádena I was on my own. My first long solo trip. 10 hours. I had made flasks of coffee and soup and sandwiches so I would not have to go below more than necessary. After passing through a patch of rubbish I checked that water was still coming out of the exhausts. Starboard OK but port was not good.. A check in the engine room showed water flying off the drive coupling. Stopped the engine, slowed the other engine and had a good look round to make sure that no boats were in the vicinity and went to investigate. The pipe feeding sea water to the engine had corroded through. Tape did an emergency repair and I carried on. Could have been much more serious but would have become apparent when the engine started to overheat. I will have to rig up ‘not under command’ lights.
I was going to stay in Almerimar but after 4 days I did not like it so with 2 others of the same mind we took a bus ride to here. We all agreed that it was ideal and 100 times better than Almerimar so we brought the boats here the next morning. It really is nice here with the mountain in the background and in a small town. A goat lives on the mountain although since Christmas it seems to have disappeared!!! Only spanish is spoken here so it’s a crash course in spanish. Its good because you have to use it. It is still difficult to remember it though. Something to do with age I believe. A king was supposed to have had a lisp so ce and ci is pronounced th as is z. H’s, j’s , ll’s and v’s are not what they seem either.
There are about 100 live aboard boats here, about 80% english, although a few go home for 1 or 2 months. BBQ every Sunday, quiz on Wednesday night and diner parties etc on other boats. The weather wasn’t very good to start with but is now settled. Cold at nights though, 12˚C !!!, and in the low 20’s during the day with blue skies and sunshine. There is a VHF radio net on channel 67 at 9:30 social events are advertised, lifts to town (Almeria) offered and anything else someone may wish to talk about to the general community. The radios are left on all day so all boats can contact each other. Everyone is very nice and helpful. There are enough skills amongst the yachties here to do every job necessary. There are people who know the Crouch and Burnham and one couple in Almerimar who looked at Lady Coppelia when Chris Petrie owned her with a view to buy. It’s a very small world.
Spent Christmas on a catamaran called Detour. Smoked salmon, soup, roast leg of lamb with roast and boiled potatoes and 3 veg. A trifle I made and cheese to follow. I bought some really good wine to go with the meal and we had Champaign to start with the salmon. John and Kim on Detour have 4 children from 8 to 12. She teaches them herself using the school curriculum. It works so well she has to stop classes as they are getting to far ahead. Their life experience on the boat will stand them in good stead.
Christmas eve everyone went carol singing around the boats, some of which offered hot punch and eats, and we ended up on a 70 footer with a party.
Done lots of work on the boat. Had the ballast out and cleaned the bilge’s. A big dirty job which I had some help with. Rewired the mains electric’s and fitted a distribution box with fuses. Found the galvanic corrosion wiring in a bad state and have redone that. In the process of doing this found that the lack of galvanic wiring had caused problems with timber softening around the prop ‘P’ bracket bolts and one sea cock. This also probably caused the pipe to corrode. Fitted a new carpet in the saloon and aft corridor that I bought in Gibraltar. Due to be lifted out early January so will fix the problems then when I do the anti-fouling etc. It will not be too serious I hope. Could be fun being lifted out. The lift states its 50 tonnes, so when we visited here I thought it should be OK. I now find that it has been de-rated to 35 tonnes by the insurance company. It will be close as I am, I think, 30 tonnes. Still problems with the deck and I am in discussion’s with Robin Prior about it. Started varnishing the outside.
I will be at the following address at least until the end of March, probably till the middle or end of April as the weather, apparently, can still be rough March and April.
Destination then will be the Islas Baleares. That’s Menorca, Mallorca and Ibiza to save you getting the maps out. The trip will be an easy one stopping overnight at various ports and anchorage’s along the Spanish coast. So if you fancy a trip let me know. Return flights are about £130 from Gatwick or Luton with Tarleton Travel.
Next winter could be back here but Tunisia is a strong possibility. However it is not wise to plan too far ahead as thing rarely go to plan.
Regards to everyone
Tony
M.Y. Lady Coppelia
C/o Torre de control
Puerto Deportivo Aguadulce
04720 Aguadulce (Almeria)
Spain
Mobile 0034 639 088823