Weekend sail
Thursday we finally cast off and headed east, about 18 nm to Roquetas de Mar. When we left the marina we took some pictures of the snow capped peaks of Sierra Nevada. Fantastic feeling to be sailing in 30+ temp and know there is snow about 1.5h from here by car. Reminded us a bit of W Norway, mid summer. At Roquetas we had a fantastic clear sea, anchoring at 4 meters and we had to triple check the depth because of the clear water. Three days spent doing some underwater cleaning, checking anodes, through hull fittings etc. The Copper Coat paint seems to work fine, only a thin slime of algaes, easy to get rid off with scotchbrite. Roquetas de Mar is a mid size town offering most services needed. We got some fishing tackle (tuna) at a well stocked shop near the marina. The recession is clearly visible in the marina, probably only 25% of the moorings occupied, in the pilot books this marina claimes to be completely packed by this time of the year. The town has quit a large british community.
The sail back to Almerimar gave us a nice surprise – our first encounter with a flying fish. To high speed to allow for a photo though. When we got back to our mooring in Almerimar we noticed both our folding bikes where gone, albeit inside a locked gate and securely strapped to a lightpost with a locked wire. I guess we have so far been lucky, this being the first theft in 18 years and the bikes have been well used more than 15 years. Learning though is to stop being naive, anyting that easily can by stolen will be stolen.
S/Y Tina Princess 