Hallberg Rassy 352 Matilda

The internet connection was very bad on Cabrera. Consequently, emails updating and blogging was problematic. Amazing how dependent we are on these media. I realized this again when I turned on my PC in the morning in order to check some underwater pictures I had taken. I was getting the error message: “The User Profile Service failed the logon. User profile cannot be loaded”. Great I thought. This is exactly what I need now. How do you solve an issue like this if you don’t have access to the internet in order to check for possible solutions? To cut a long story short, via a quite unstable GSM connection it was possible to connect to the internet and look for a possible solution on the Microsoft page. With Patrick’s help who was so kind to support me on the phone, I managed to log in in safe mode. I modified the registry according to Microsoft’s instructions and everything was ok again. So, reporting and blogging can go on.

We left Cabrera Archipelago National Park yesterday for Club Maritimo San Antonio De La Playa / Mallorca the final destination of Leg 4. This marina is just 2km away from the airport and thus the ideal location for a crew change. With 60 EUR per night, it is quite expensive, but significantly cheaper compared to Palma de Mallorca. It is also quieter and the “Playa de Palma” is just walking distance away which is nice because the temperature is above 30°C now (not to mention all the beauties on the 3km long beach :) ).

The crew for Leg 5 (Mallorca – Catania) is arriving on Wednesday and the plan is to leave on the same day and sail to Cabrera for the night.

Cabrera – Anchor lights are being switched on when the sun is set

View on Cabrera’s natural harbour, with Eckhard climbing up the way to the 14th-century castle

Cabrera is a Maritime-Terrestrial National Park and Anchoring is prohibited. The laid out buoys must be used which have to be booked and paid in advance

The hull is still quite clean after 3 months in the water. At some spots, the last antifouling layer is peeling off, but there are still enough old layers underneath :)

The fish seem to know that fishing is prohibited and don’t escape when you move closer

Gennaker test on the way to Mallorca. The hose needs some repair but the rest looks ok

Moored at Club Maritimo San Antonio de la Playa

After leaving Cala Sahona Formentera at 11:00 we arrived in Santa Eulalia Tuesday early afternoon. There were many big and expensive yachts at anchor and on the way along the northeast beaches and bays of Formentera. We stayed in Eulalia one night for provisioning. Just one hour ago we arrived in Cabrera and made fast in one of the buoys laid out in the bay.

Testing my new AW130 waterproof camera

Expensive yachts all along the NW Formentera coast

Ahhh!… Now I know how my next boat is going to look like

Dutch traditional sailing boat “Stad Amsterdam”

“Little” Matilda squeezed between bigger boats in Eulalia marina

Italian live-aboard couple with 2 kids

Long distance cruising single sailor, no kids

Today is salad cooking day :)

Arriving in Port de Cabrera

At anchor looking NW

After 8 hours sailing and 18 hours motoring we arrived in Formentera and dropped the anchor in the Cala Sahona bay in between many other boats.

At anchor in Cala Sahona / Formentera

Matilda from underneath

My new Rockna 20kg anchor buried in the sand

A light wind F3 is pushing us to Formentera. We are making 5 knots. Another 120NM to go. Arrival will be tomorrow afternoon.

Matilda got a new flag …guess which one :-)

Heavy weather sailing

On Sunday morning at 01:00 the wind that was blowing for three days, suddenly dropped to about F3 and we decided to take the chance and move the boat from the tighter inner harbour to a more convenient (maneuver-vise) place at the outer harbour because we were expecting the wind to pick up again to F6-F7 in the morning when we wanted to leave. We started the engine and prepared the lines. I dropped the mooring line, waited a bit for it to fall to the ground, coupled into reverse gear and the boat started to move. A few seconds later the engine died. I had that once before, so I turned it back on but it died again. The mooring lazy line was wrapped around the propeller… We were wondering how that could have happened because I had waited long enough for the lazy lines to drop to the bottom before engaging the propeller. Now, the mooring line was pulling the boat at the propeller. Not really nice. I was able to rotate the shaft manually in the engine room a few turns left and right and then it got free again. In order to make sure there was nothing left to be wrapped around again, I took a (very) early morning bath in the unclear harbour water (not really recommended) and checked the boat from underneath. With the help of my “self-made super-duper torch” I could spot a part of the lazy line clamped between rudder and hull and going to the propeller shaft. Now I understood how it happened. The mooring lazy line came to sit on top of the rudder when we made fast 2 days ago and did not drop to the bottom. Going astern, it wrapped around the propeller. I removed everything and went for a shower in order to get rid of the harbour dirt. We repeated the maneuver and moved the boat. It was 03:00 in the morning and 3 hours left to sleep.

The forecasted F6-F7 was not there in the morning and we motored out of the harbour. The wind picked up later and we hoisted the sails. In the last post I wrote “After Cabo de Gata which is about 35NM away, the wind is expected to drop” and that is what it did. Then suddenly after we had hoisted the full main sail again, it picked up to more than 30 knots (F7). We had to take the 2nd reef in and were still making 7+ knots. We arrived in Garrucha at about 20:00 meaning no key for the marina gates and toilets but also no marina fees.

Cabo de Gata

Moored in Carrucha harbour

The repaired tear in the main is perfect and the wind instrument is also still working! By the way, the Alamar chandlery in Almerimar which is run by some English guys was very professional and friendly. They did everything to get the work done in time and have been very helpful. 5 Stars!

Today we motored all the way to Cartagena because there was no wind and we wanted to arrive earlier for provisioning.

On the way to Cartagena

Moored in Cartagena YPC

The Wind instrument is repaired (just got the cable with socket and mast top sensor replaced under warranty) and the tear in the sail is sewed (thanks Speedy Stitcher ). I also got a new 20kg Rockna anchor which is supposed to guarantee me peaceful nights at anchor. So, as it seems Matilda is ready for the Baleares. Plan is to leave tomorrow in the morning at 06:00. The weather is still unchanged and the forecast is about F5 – F6 SW. That was the forecast for the past days too but it was blowing with F7. Anyway, once out of the harbour (which is going to be quite wet and choppy) we will have the wind from the right direction. After Cabo da Gata which is about 35NM away, the wind is expected to drop. Next destination is Aguilas.

Brand new 20kg Rockna anchor

Sail tear repaired

Waves at the Harbour entrance

Almerimar

Are you looking for a boat?

The trip to Almerimar from Bemalmadena was good sailing. We left at about 12:00 midday and arrived at 01:00 after midnight. A constant F5 – F6 was pushing from SW and we managed 90NM in 13 hours! Then, at midnight and about 5 NM off the harbour of Almerimar in a gybing maneuver it happened. The outhaul line clamp came off and all the force was applied to the little openings for the reefing lines at the foot of the sail. The cloth is quite thin there and it teared off. The sailmaker in Almerimar is of course not available but fortunately, since this part of the sail is not exposed to strong forces, it should be possible to go on as long as the outhaul line is stretched properly. I visited Spence’s chandlery shop yesterday and they have been very professional and helpful with the Raymarine wind instrument issue. The Cable in the mast was replaced and the wind sensor is arriving today. Both parts were showing corrosion because of a leakage in the joint. I was told that this is often a problem with these wind sensors. Let’s hope that the sensor will arrive and be installed today.

Heading east at 7 to 8 knots

Dolphins in the Mediterranean are smaller

Moored in Almerimar

Tear in main sail

Gibraltar is now 50NM behind. As there was no wind today, we motored to Benalmadena. It has been a fast trip with currents pushing us to more than 8kn over ground. I was hoping to get the sensor for the wind instrument replaced in this harbour but Gekser Nautic, the company that was recommended by Shepparrds in Gibraltar does not answer emails neither is it picking up the phone… So, as it seems this warranty issue is not going to be resolved before the trip is over…

Leaving Gibraltar – Queen Elizabeth

Leaving Gibraltar – Ships waiting to be refueled

This one is fortunately at anchor

Moored in Benalmadena

Find Matilda

Gibraltar is a great stop and a significant milestone along the route and the skipper is of course more than happy

The Gibraltar crew left early this morning. I had to do a few things today and first went to the Sheppards chandlery in order to buy a garden hose and also fix the problem with the wind instrument. I had contacted Raymarine via email and they directed me to the company mentioned above for the repair under warranty. Of course, the technician was not available until Tuesday next week… I got the hose and went back to the boat where I wanted to wash the salt away from the engine room. When I turned the water on I realized that I had bought a sprinkler instead. The hose had about 7 holes. I will get it back tomorrow. I could do what I wanted though and thoroughly rinsed out the salt from the engine and the entire engine room with fresh water. I also had to remove all floor boards in the boat and wipe out the salt water underneath. The work was accomplished this afternoon and most of the salt is out. I would have to do a more thorough job when arrived in Greece where I could take everything out of the boat, wash it with fresh water and let it dry in the warm summer breeze. Good thing is, the boat is cleaner now than before.
Yesterday, we did some Gibraltar sightseeing and also went up the Rock with the “CableCar”. The old town is very nice (and British) and the view from the top is breathtaking. I have added a gallery below with some impressions:

A southeasterly F5 to F6 was forecasted for today backing to an easterly F5 after rounding Tarifa. The levanter is actually blowing from the Mediterranean through the strait into the Atlantic but veering close to the coast and following the Spanish coastline all along the way to Cadiz. We left Barbate at about 07:30 and prepared for a rough passage. Staying in Barbate and waiting for better conditions as some other sailors we spoke to decided to do, was not an option because the weather forecast was even worse for Sunday. After one hour of motoring close to the coast where the waves were smaller and the boat faster, we had to change course and go further offshore in a big loop in order to avoid a field with tuna nets which we fortunately saw early enough before running into it. The waves were quite big and steep and the water was permanently coming over spraying all along to the stern. We had calculated the passage to around 7 hours. We passed north of Bajo de Los Cabezos a dangerous shoals area (where is said that the waves break even in calm weather) and rounded Tarifa. The conditions went better and the wind dropped to an F4 to F5 but still blowing exactly from the direction we wanted to go. About 4NM before Gibraltar, when I was writing an entry in my logbook I noticed that the floor carpet was wet. We had noticed some water that came in from a leakage at the starboard chain plate but that was not enough to explain the wet carpet. I jumped to the companionway, took away the steps and opened the bilge cover. The water had reached the floor level. I opened the door to the engine room in order to check the seal at the propeller shaft and got a horizontal salt water shower. The propeller shaft was already under water and the flexible coupling was squirting the salt water all over the engine and all other installations whilst rotating. I switched on the emergency bilge pump and observed the water level dropping. At the same time I checked all through hulls but couldn’t see where the water was coming in. With a great relief I realized that there was no more water entering the boat, but how did it get in and when? I had checked the bilge before leaving Barbate. Being safe, we continued to Gibraltar and made fast in the Marina Bay. To keep the long story short, the water came in from a hole in the back locker on the aft deck which was used as a cable feed through. The locker filled up with water because of the overcoming seas and the water found its way into the boat through that hole. It is amazing how fast you can get 150LT of water into the boat through a small hole. Unfortunately, the way to the bilge was through the lockers and over the mattresses in the aft cabin. Everything was wet. Next thing to do was getting the water and salt out of the boat which was our activity for the afternoon and evening.

Approaching Gibraltar

The Rock with the levanter cloud on top

Ships in the Gibraltar harbour

Drying mattresses and other stuff