Valencia to ... Castellón de la Plana
Yesterday we arrived to Valencia to find that whilst we had been away there had been a storm and as a result the davit lines suspending the dinghy had chaffed on the harbour wall. We thought we had done the rtight thing to lower the dinghy to just above the waterline so that it was clear of the wall but when the storm came n the boat stretched the mooring lines enough to allow the lines holding the dinghy to rub against the wall. Fortunately being made if Dynema they simply scored the outer sheath but I now need to replace the lines… so that was an expensive mistake.
In the evening we went into Valencia to a restaurant that we had visited before and did so with friends Vanessa and Nick and their crew. They had arrived to collect their newly purchased Amel which is perfectly kitted out. It is a much more modern boat than ours but equally well made.
This morning we got up nice and early and left for Ibiza, initially there was little wind so we made slow but steady progress towards our destination but as the morning wore on we were headed by the wind and so we furled the genoa and put on the engine. However the wind continued to build and the sea state became awful it was like trying to bash across Christchurch Bay against a F5. We slowed to 2knts it was untenable. The choices were not good, we could pull out the sails and tack, not a good choice when you have friends on board, bashing to windwards is not on anyones holiday list particularly the first day… We could bear away and head for Majorca, return to Valencia so we went to Castellón de la Plana. After four hours or so this was a huge disappointment, but once we had turnaround everything in the world was nice again. It took another four hours to arrive and so after more than nine hours traveling we had made it twenty miles along the coast from Valencia, not a great start.
When we arrived at the port we had some trouble raising the harbour on the radio but when we did they allocated up a berth right in the harbour along a long narrow channel. As we entered I found that the newly fitted bow thruster was not working and we were being blown onto the quay. I made a hasty retreat whilst we contact the harbour master for a better berth. We were allocated a very exposed berth on a long and empty pontoon. Well it took some thirty minutes of effort to dock the boat. It would not steer backwards in a straight line we had to make several attempts. Eventually I managed to get the boat to track in enough of a straight line to tie up. It is funny when you are fatigued because you have been at sea for longer than you want and not in the place you want to be in and then have a long wait to tie up, it is such a relief once you are.
Tomorrow we will explore Castellón de la Plana, it isn't where we planed to be but it does not matter we have not been here before.
In the evening we went into Valencia to a restaurant that we had visited before and did so with friends Vanessa and Nick and their crew. They had arrived to collect their newly purchased Amel which is perfectly kitted out. It is a much more modern boat than ours but equally well made.
This morning we got up nice and early and left for Ibiza, initially there was little wind so we made slow but steady progress towards our destination but as the morning wore on we were headed by the wind and so we furled the genoa and put on the engine. However the wind continued to build and the sea state became awful it was like trying to bash across Christchurch Bay against a F5. We slowed to 2knts it was untenable. The choices were not good, we could pull out the sails and tack, not a good choice when you have friends on board, bashing to windwards is not on anyones holiday list particularly the first day… We could bear away and head for Majorca, return to Valencia so we went to Castellón de la Plana. After four hours or so this was a huge disappointment, but once we had turnaround everything in the world was nice again. It took another four hours to arrive and so after more than nine hours traveling we had made it twenty miles along the coast from Valencia, not a great start.
When we arrived at the port we had some trouble raising the harbour on the radio but when we did they allocated up a berth right in the harbour along a long narrow channel. As we entered I found that the newly fitted bow thruster was not working and we were being blown onto the quay. I made a hasty retreat whilst we contact the harbour master for a better berth. We were allocated a very exposed berth on a long and empty pontoon. Well it took some thirty minutes of effort to dock the boat. It would not steer backwards in a straight line we had to make several attempts. Eventually I managed to get the boat to track in enough of a straight line to tie up. It is funny when you are fatigued because you have been at sea for longer than you want and not in the place you want to be in and then have a long wait to tie up, it is such a relief once you are.
Tomorrow we will explore Castellón de la Plana, it isn't where we planed to be but it does not matter we have not been here before.