Socially Acceptable at Last

Even More Nav Plans

The Motley’s are excited to announce that we again have (some very brave) crew arriving in June to help us sail to the Balearics.  Obviously it only takes one to start the ball rolling.  GS (aka Chief Navigator) has made these plans to get us from Gibraltar to Menorca with a little sightseeing in between….( weather & time permitting):

Our planned cruising area

Gibraltar.  We will leave our guests to climb the Rock, talk to monkeys and wander down historic streets.  When we’re ready, we’ll hit the magenta line.  Needless to say, we also plan to stock up on goodies that promise to be hard to find once we’re underway, such as British beef & lamb, mint sauce, creamed honey and marmalade.  Thank goodness for our WAECO.

Smir, Morocco.  We loved exploring Chefchaouen so much with BCK we are hoping our guests don’t mind taking time for a ride up to into the Rif Mountains with us.  We can, after sipping mint tea, stroll through the famed blue village and visit its walled medina.

Cueta, Spain.  We’ll take a stop at this interesting Spanish enclave on the African coast to stock up on groceries and wait out tides and winds to cross the Gibraltar Straits.  Then let the day hopping along the Spanish “Costa del Sol” begin.

Costa del Sol, Spain.  Our main stop will be Fuengirola Marina.  From here we can explore Roman ruins and palaeolithic caves in Ronda; walk through Mijas, one of the famed Andalucían white villages; and then catch a train to Granada to explore the famous Alhambra and Generalife Gardens.  I’m sure we’ll have time to snack on tapas, dance flamenco and taste head-spinning local vinho (it will be the cheap stuff JD – so prepare yourself!).  Nearby Malaga also has the Museo Picasso, so be prepared for a little culture hit too!

Costa Blanca, Spain.  A few more day stops to Cartagena, a famous old town and our base to explore this coast.  After days of being turisticos, we will anchor to R&R in the Mar Menor, a shallow inland sea.

Costa del Azahar, Spain.  Last stop along mainland Spain’s orange blossom coast will be Valencia where we can hunt for the Holy Grail, said to be in the Cathedral there.  We can also prepare ourselves for the party and sun worshippers that flock to the Balearic Islands over a plate or two of paella. 

Ibiza, Mallorca & Menorca, Spain.  Hopefully we’ll have time and weather to enjoy the good life as we anchor in narrow calas, eat at beach cafes and swim in clear blue waters.  Somebody famous lives here for sure but I don’t think we’ll really care…

A hectic schedule?  Of course!  We hope the crew approve and it's always open to discussion and weather dependant!  Meanwhile the Motley's are busy preparing WJ3 for her Monday morning splash (27th May).  From Lagos we will slowly make our way to Gibraltar, so keep your eye on our tracker & map. (Let's make that a 28th May splash - the steaming light's not working & that means another trip to the top of the mast for our Cap'n.)

Broken Silence

2013, Here We Go!

At last the time has come to book fares, buy (more) boat bits, pack bags and make nav plans for the year – dare I say our 6^th on the high seas…..  This year should be especially interesting as we plan to make a dash for Turkey.  So, one heck of a trip to look forward to!  Yes, it will involve more than a few over-nighters but we’ve planned plenty of day-sail hops to make best use of our allotted 3 months (90 days) Schengen time.  With expert timing, our itinerary has caught the high (tourist) season so anchoring will be the preferred “choice de jour”, unless we need to utilise a marina to replenish stocks of essentials such as water, fuel, wine and food.   Oh, and wash clothes, bathe etc.  So here you have it – 2013 in a (big) nutshell:

Stage 1: Splash-Lagos, Portugal

Having given the Cap’n & First Mate a few weeks to get over jetlag and a spot of touristico-ing in London and the Isle of Wight on the way over, a little boat & bottom polishing is in order to prep up WJ3 for her Lagos splash - about 1^st June.

Stage 2: Portugal to Gibraltar (1-2 weeks)

Our previous record for this trip was 3 (good weather) days, so we should have time to whip up the Guadiana, the river that borders Portugal and Spain, before hitting Morrisons in Gib to stock GS’s little freezer with lamb, steaks and all things British before heading back out into the deeper briny. 

(O H 237, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

End to end, it all adds up to a couple of thousand nautical miles....

Stage 3: Gibraltar to Mahon, Balearics (3 weeks)

We’ll skim up the Spanish Costa del Sol, anchor in the Mar Menor, find time to visit the Alhambra in Granada, admire antiquities in Cartagena and then, before heading from Valencia, sip (real) orange juice.  Afterwards, it’s out with the party clothes as we head for Ibiza, Mallorca and Minorca; quintessential Med, the Balearic Islands.  Marinas can be quite pricey here (€200-300 per night) and the big, fast ferries will be out in force, so I’m guessing we will work around the swell and bikinis.

Stage 4: Balearics to Sicily (2 weeks)

Into July by now, we’ll take our time to cross to Corsica then hop down the east coast of Sardinia, dodging the cool and famous in their cool and famous super yachts before launching off to Sicily.  (We’ll save the western coast of Italy for another year.)

Stage 5: Sicily to Greece (2 weeks)

Until we read the pilot, we won’t make any decisions on how we plan to do this trip.  Suffice to say that The Strait of Messina is rather tempting to see if we can sidle up close and personal to Scylla (six headed monster) and the Charybdis (whirlpool) of Greek legend.   Our next few stops will be along Italy’s big toe until we’re at a convenient jump-off for Greece.  First stop most likely Kalamata on the Peloponnese Peninsular – as close to Athens as we get this year. 

Lots of islands to keep us busy as we travel through Greece

Stage 6: Greece to Turkey (2 weeks)

It seems a shame to rush Greece but plenty of time for that next year.  For now, WJ3’s nose will be pointed in the direction of Rhodes, last Greek bolthole, before we cross into Turkish waters.  August is also peak, peak holiday season in this part of the world so we’ll try to find a road less travelled – if it exists?  (Tell ‘im he’s dreamin’…)

Stage 7: Turkey (2 months)

If all has gone to plan, we’ll arrive bang on our 90 day limit (Schengen limit) mid-August and then have almost 6 weeks to potter Turkish waters before, hauling out, cleaning WJ3 from head to toe then heading home.  Most likely we will stay in the vicinity of Marmaris and Bodrum, two popular places that offer haul out facilities.  (Visitors note: we need to fly to Istanbul to catch our flights home.  Also, GS is planning a little stop-over in Istanbul before we jet home, as she does.  The Cap’n is already limbering up his “no, we don’t need another carpet” comeback to enthusiastic vendors.  Tell ‘im ……)

Keep in touch by email if you’d like to catch up with us.  GS will endeavour to keep WJ3’s map and tracker updated regularly (hopefully) so that you can see where we are.  We will try to fit in with your plans but we are strictly “regulated” by our 90 day visa, so can’t wait anywhere for too long, or indeed change this itinerary too drastically.  Next year will be easier as we are thinking of sailing Greece (3 months) and maybe the Black Sea & more of the Turkish coast (3 months).  Notes on what to bring (and what not to bring) can be found here.