Logbook

• Departure: Moraira (38.6855, 0.1383), Sunday, May 11, 2025 at 06:43 UTC
• Arrival: S’Espalmador (38.7788, 1.4248), Monday, May 12, 2025 at 00:23 UTC
• Duration: 17.7 h
• Distance: 64.2 nm
• Average speed: 3.6 kn
• Crew: Tobi, Anna, J, E

Slipped the lines at Moraira and pointed the bow toward S’Espalmador, a long day that ran past sunset covering 64 nautical miles at an average of 3.6 knots. Wind 3–13 kn from the SW, gusting to 17 kn. It backed from NNW to WSW. Seas up to 0.7m. Current up to 0.7 kn setting E. The crossing to the Balearics — arrived in the middle of the night and dropped anchor by moonlight. Come morning, the anchorage turned out to be breathtaking, a great white-sand beach, and we ended up spending a long day there. Tobi and J took the dinghy over to Formentera to stock up on groceries and hunt down a replacement VHF antenna.

Logbook

• Departure: Villa Joyosa (38.5044, -0.2178), Friday, May 9, 2025 at 09:26 UTC
• Arrival: Moraira (38.6855, 0.1441), Friday, May 9, 2025 at 16:24 UTC
• Duration: 7.0 h
• Distance: 21.2 nm
• Average speed: 3.0 kn
• Crew: Tobi, Anna, J, E

Weighed anchor at Villa Joyosa, bound for Moraira — a modest half-day’s sail covering 21 nautical miles at an average of 3.0 knots. Wind 4–6 kn from the SSE, gusting to 16 kn. Seas up to 0.6m. Current up to 0.5 kn setting NNE. The anchorage in the bay of Moraira was a bit rolly, but the transit berth at Club Náutic more than made up for it.

Logbook

• Departure: Santa Pola (38.1856, -0.5631), Thursday, May 8, 2025 at 08:53 UTC
• Arrival: Villa Joyosa (38.5064, -0.2199), Thursday, May 8, 2025 at 15:47 UTC
• Duration: 6.9 h
• Distance: 26.8 nm
• Average speed: 3.9 kn
• Crew: Tobi, Anna, J, E

Cast off from Santa Pola bound for Villa Joyosa — a modest half-day’s sail, 27 nautical miles at an average of 3.9 knots. Wind 3–9 kn from the SE, gusting to 22 kn. Check-in at Club Náutico de Villajoyosa was a bizarrely bureaucratic affair, with the staff insisting on a bank statement proving insurance premiums had actually been paid. Ran into Stephan, a fellow member of the SC Gothia sailing club back in Berlin, on the pontoon.

Logbook

• Departure: Mar Menor (37.7471, -0.7397), Monday, May 5, 2025 at 09:59 UTC
• Arrival: Santa Pola (38.1881, -0.5619), Monday, May 5, 2025 at 17:20 UTC
• Duration: 7.3 h
• Distance: 31.5 nm
• Average speed: 4.3 kn
• Crew: Tobi, Anna, J, E

Departed Mar Menor for Santa Pola, a modest half-day’s sail covering 32 nautical miles at 4.3 knots average. Wind 8–11 kn from the WSW, gusting to 24 kn. It backed from WNW to SSW. Seas up to 0.6m. Finally caught up with Siggi and Kati on S/V Kasibu here, to hand off a package we’d been carrying since Almerimar, and finally tracked down the proper odor-proof hose to fix the toilet.

Logbook

• Departure: Cartagena (37.5929, -0.9809), Sunday, May 4, 2025 at 08:44 UTC
• Arrival: Mar Menor (37.7469, -0.7422), Sunday, May 4, 2025 at 16:30 UTC
• Duration: 7.8 h
• Distance: 29.6 nm
• Average speed: 3.8 kn
• Crew: Tobi, Anna, J, E

Slipped the lines at Cartagena and pointed the bow toward Mar Menor, a modest half-day’s sail covering 30 nautical miles at an average of 3.8 knots. Wind 0–17 kn from the SSW, gusting to 34 kn. Seas up to 1.3m. The approach to the Mar Menor runs through a narrow, shallow canal under a bridge that only lifts once an hour. By the time we reached the western end of it, wind and sea state had picked up considerably, so rather than press on into the Mar Menor itself we tied up at Puerto Deportivo Tomás Maestre.