This week we planned to put a few miles under the keel for the guys as qualifying miles towards their Yachtmaster. The decision was taken to head out to Ibiza and following a cracking sail up the Costa Blanca with a rather iffy forecast in hand it appeared that the predicted weather was not coming so with clear skies and perfect force 4 we peeled away from the land and crossed. Around 25 miles from Ibiza the wind freshened and gusted at 40 knots, with 3 reefs in the main and a handkerchief of headsail we pressed on experiencing some exhilarating sailing.
Returning to the mainland we were not so lucky with the wind and required the use of the iron spinnaker to reach Altea, stopping the night the crew were all early to bed as the previous nights watch system had left us somewhat jaded and we had a 0600 hours slip time for our trip back to La Manga. With clear heads and fresh pot of coffee we encountered strong head winds and El Rubicon struggled to make serious progress into the building swell so we made for our port of refuge which happened to be Torrevieja leaving us a short sail back the following day. The normally reliable winds abandoned us and rather than just motor back we ran a series of pilotage exercises and practiced following contour lines.
With 2 x 60 miles passages accomplished, some great navigation exercises, experience of strong winds and calms we had a true mix of what sailing can be like and an example of just how changeable the weather can be. Overall we achieved 380 miles, had a ball and the guys are rapidly gaining confidence in their sailing ability, for more information of joining our adventure sailing and mile-building trips please contact us on 00 34 695 326 184 or cheap call from the UK 0872 426 0837. The next trip is planned from Gibraltar to Cartagena at the end of June and we will be sailing from La Manga down to Ayamonte our new tidal base at the end of September, so if you need qualifying sea miles or just fancy being part of a great sailing adventure get in touch.
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