Almerimar
Not an awful lot has changed since our last stay two years ago, but that is a good thing. We have already said hello to Chris in the boatyard, Andy the rigger has sailed with us, Stuart at Inox has quoted for some stainless work, and Spencer the owner of the Chandlers here, must soon be planning retirement if we stay much longer!
We also waved goodbye to friends Mike and Lynne of Mistroma who where heading down the coast to Aguadulce before flying back home, but we have promised to meet up again before they set off. We had a great time with them during the summer.
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| Mistroma leaving Almerimar |
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| Mike and Lynne |
The liveaboard community is finding it's feet, and for those that want to, there is something going on just about every day. Activities are announced each day on the radio net on C67, and I (Lynne) am doing the Monday slot. It does bring up a few issues, and like two years ago the theft of bicycles is still going on which is a great shame.
On Monday mornings Steve often pays a visit to the GOM club. GOM stands for Grumpy Old Men but according to Steve it is actually very convivial, and has now been renamed the Meeting of Masculine Minds! A chance to sit down over a coffee, to ask advice and gain new knowledge, all in all an excellent way to spend Monday mornings.
Soon after our arrival we had a visit from my parents and brother Phill. It was the first time they had seen our new yacht in the flesh, so it was great to show them around. Phill of course was no stranger, having already stayed on board earlier in the year. It was great to show them around and they once again noticed the increased space, especially the width over Scarlet Lady. We also talked in outline about our route plans for the coming season/s.
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| Clean and tidy! |
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| Graham and Sheila relaxing on Azzy |
We also caught the local bus to nearby Roquetas, but sadly our favourite place to eat was closed for the day! We spent some time looking around the mall and had a bite to eat before returning back to the marina.
As always the week seemed to fly by but we had fun and are all looking forward to meeting up again at Christmas.
One of the activities which we have joined in is the weekly hikes up in the mountains. Each Sunday morning a group of people meet up, and those with cars give lifts to those of us without. It is a great opportunity to see parts of the countryside we would not normally, and have a change of scene from the marina. Below is a selection of vistas from the last few walks we have been on. What is surprising is how green and lush some parts of the countryside are, considering the region is one of the driest in Europe.
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| L to R Stephanie and Ian (Nautilus) Lynne, Andy and Michelle (Kerching) |
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| The oldest house in the village of Fondon, dating back to the 1700's |
Some may say that we need the walks to balance out the social aspect of liveaboard life and burn off some calories, and they would be right.
In this part of Spain it is common to get a free tapas with every drink, and depending on where you happen to go to (there are over 70 bars and restaurants in the marina), you can buy a small beer or soft drink for not much at all and get a large free tapas. A couple is all that is needed (although not usually stopped at) to have a meal, fantastic! For those with bigger appetites, all restaurants offer a menu del dia (meal of the day). This is a tradition that goes back to when Franco ruled Spain and was conceived as a low cost affordable meal, usually three courses for the common worker. The Ministry even set a price cap of around 80 pesetas, which would be approximately 50 euro cents today. The tradition has remained, but the price is a little higher. For 10 euros you can have an excellent 3 course meal, usually with a bottle of vino thrown in, fantastic value!
We met up with Annette and Campbell Hair from the yacht Annecam, who also happened to be in Licata, Sicily last year. They are on their way back home to Australia and crossing the Atlantic early next year. We met up with them as they where passing through, and it was great to catch up. We had some great meals out, and they joined in on the quiz nights with Ian and Stephanie (Nautilus), and Andy and Michelle (Kerching). Although we didn't win we had a lot of fun.
STOP PRESS... We won last weeks quiz!
In this part of Spain it is common to get a free tapas with every drink, and depending on where you happen to go to (there are over 70 bars and restaurants in the marina), you can buy a small beer or soft drink for not much at all and get a large free tapas. A couple is all that is needed (although not usually stopped at) to have a meal, fantastic! For those with bigger appetites, all restaurants offer a menu del dia (meal of the day). This is a tradition that goes back to when Franco ruled Spain and was conceived as a low cost affordable meal, usually three courses for the common worker. The Ministry even set a price cap of around 80 pesetas, which would be approximately 50 euro cents today. The tradition has remained, but the price is a little higher. For 10 euros you can have an excellent 3 course meal, usually with a bottle of vino thrown in, fantastic value!
We met up with Annette and Campbell Hair from the yacht Annecam, who also happened to be in Licata, Sicily last year. They are on their way back home to Australia and crossing the Atlantic early next year. We met up with them as they where passing through, and it was great to catch up. We had some great meals out, and they joined in on the quiz nights with Ian and Stephanie (Nautilus), and Andy and Michelle (Kerching). Although we didn't win we had a lot of fun.
STOP PRESS... We won last weeks quiz!
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| Waiting for the special order leg of lamb to arrive |
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| Better go on the hike this weekend! |
Of course it is always hard to say goodbye. It has been great catching up with Bob and Martha of D W Crow, Annie and Cam of Annecam, Simon and Helen of Interlude 1 and Stuart and Anne of Time Bandit who will all be crossing the Atlantic soon. We wish them fair winds and safe passage, and hoping our paths cross again down the line.
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| Hopefully see you in the Caribbean, Cam |
We have also managed to get out sailing, and with the help of Andy the rigger and Ian and Stephanie, we have been learning how to deploy and recover our cruising chute. This is a sail, and along with our asymmetric spinnaker, should mean we can improve our light air performance. They are designed primarily as downwind sails, although the reaching angle is impressive and it looks fantastic. Both of ours are launched and recovered using a built in snuffer, or sock as it is sometimes called. One end called the tack is attached to a line on our bowsprit, the back corner of the sail called the clew is attached to one or two very long lines (called sheets), which run outside back to blocks on the deck and then onto the genoa winches. The top (head) is hauled up in front of the genoa. At this point the sail is in its bag until such time as the person on the bow pulls at the control line, then the sock rises and the sail spills out. To gybe, the sail is snuffed and then passed from one side to another by manhandling it around the outside of the genoa.
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| Lynne learning to helm with the chute, under the watchful eyes of Ian and Andy |
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| Chute with mainsail |
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| Chute without mainsail |
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| Skipper learning new skills |
All great fun, and we will continue to practise when conditions allow.. although we have just had an incredibly windy night and day here, with the highest wind speed recorded, just under 70 knots which is a storm force 10!
The next post will be an outline of the significant changes to our rig, which at the time of writing are well under way. More on that soon...
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