Wind no wind wind no wind

Along the east coast of Spain it's running and standing still with the wind picking up and disappearing.

After entering the Mediterranean sea we had the plan, sorry INTENTION to go to Almeria were our skipper would be replaced by the skipper I met in Portimao. Skipper 1 had to go back to Belgium for his elderly mothers birthday, he didn't want to mis her potentially last birthday. But along the way we (first-mate and myself, skipper was vast asleep) to find some shelter for the night as heavy winds and waves were expected for the night. So why didn't we do a quick stop and leave early tomorrow morning. So while we were motoring in the industrial port of Motril-Granada we woke up our skipper to inform him that the intention had changed into a different plan.

We arrived around 2 am, and found a spot alongside another catamaran. We thought about hopping over to the dock to connect the shore power, so we would have Nespresso in the morning, but decided it was too much of a hassle and we would miss some valuable minutes of sleep.

In daylight on Sunday morning (April 28) we noticed that we we're quite close to the Sierra Nevada and spotted snow on a mountain top! Our Belgian skipper reached us that the Belgian royal family had a nice “Pied-à-terre” here. I hope they never see the ugly harbour!

The rest of the Sunday was zero wind. So the short distance to Almeria took us all day motoring. Maybe not the best decision we made last night… Luckily the new skipper would arrive Monday afternoon, so we were still very much on time.

Near Almeria we contacted the harbour to ask for a berth for the night. “No, we don't have room for a catamaran”. We decide we would see for ourselves… with some Belgian smooth talking we were allowed to stay at the visiting dock, were you normally temporarily dock before getting assigned to your final spot.

Monday morning was spent with doing some tasks, cleaning up and sticking sail numbers to the sail. Not common for cruising sailboats, but I think it gives the boat a more racey image. 😎 See for yourself.

Around 18:00h we left Almeria with a fresh new skipper so we could stay ahead of some nasty weather, had a quiet night and some good wind during the day. Around diner we passed a rain front with thunderstorms and had a great opportunity to test out the radar. We could easily find a way thru. During the night we reduced the sail (1st reef) so that could handle a sudden wind increase.

Wednesday morning is was woken by our skipper asking me what the wind limits of the boat are, above what wind should you reef.

We were racing in 30 knots of wind, so I quickly arranged the 2nd reef and was treated with a morning salt water shower 🥶, what a way to wake up. The rest of the morning we reached nice speeds in a violent sea.

Just as I decided to get some rest the wind also took a rest and I was woken by engine noise. And just when I got up, the wind increased again! But just now it has really stopped.

Our intention is to arrive at the final destination in Roda de Bara early tomorrow morning, but you know that might change.