Sailing Season 2019 - Part 2      From Ceuta (Africa) to Martigues (Provence)

Usually Petit Prince 2 is the smallest of the boats in call. But this time our neighbor is a foot shorter and he comes from a much farther place. It is a Halberg Rassy of 24 feet long. She goes from Sweden to Tunisia with her owner and two crew members. I am really impressed. However after a week it is time to return to the Iberian Peninsula. The Poniente will last only a short time. We cannot wait and we have to take this opportunity to cross the Alboran Sea, heading to Almeria. We leave Ceuta with strong wind on a broad reach. Petit Prince 2 is moving fast, splitting the water at 6 or 7 knots under her blue sail and I enjoy watching the mesmerizing white bow wave. In the middle of the afternoon we meet a group of pilot whales, it is the first time since our departure. Dolphins are more common. In the Atlantic, they were coming to greet us almost every day. Imperceptibly the wind falls when approaching the land. It will not last until Almeria, so our stop will be Almerimar, a few miles further west. I take advantage of this situation to go by bus to Almeria. The road crosses thousands of hectares of plastic greenhouses producing vegetables and fruits destined for European countries. From the road you have a bird's eye view of the steep, rocky and arid coastline. Outside the heat is stifling and the air conditioning of the coach is welcome. The bus stops to take passengers at Roquetas de Mar, a very lively seaside resort. Finally, arrival in Almeria and tour of the Alcazaba perched on the heights of the city. It is also the "feria" here and I take this opportunity to immerse myself in this typical Spanish atmosphere. After another ride in the southern foothills of the Sierra Nevada, the wind calls us. I hoist the sails to pass the Cabo de la Nao and stop, for lack of wind, at Garrucha. We are now in a wind system known in meteorology as the "thermal wind". Difficult to make long journeys in these conditions. During the day it is mainly a headwind and at night the wind is practically unusable because it is too weak. In this season (we are at the end of August), as the earth is very warm, the only possibility of having a favorable wind to make a north or northeast route, is to wait for a change due to a disturbance which will disorganize this established system.

After the pleasant but noisy port of Garrucha (very low price but uninterrupted daily passage, on the pier housing the marina, of a column of trucks loaded with sand to fill a cargo ship), we sail up north to Cartagena. This time pilot whales come to welcome us shortly before arrival. Unfortunately we have too little time to stay in this historic city, but Cartagena is an inescapable stopover to recommend particularly (reasonable price for boats and comfortable marina with swimming pool (50m) included).

Alicante is another stop not to be missed. And after visiting the old town, the Santa Bárbara castle at the top of the Benacantil, or a walk on the Explanada de España lined with palm trees, go to Borgonesse, in front of La Plaza Portal de Elche with its ficus trees several hundred years old, to taste the best ice creams in town. Another nice stop on the Costa Blanca is Altea and its charming old village with whitewashed houses dominated by the domes with blue and white tiles of the church located at the top of the hill.

Then a breath of air from the south soon takes us north. Near the Cabo de la Nao, this zephir turns into strongs gusts and when we approach Denia the strength of the wind is nearly 7 on the Beaufort scale. The weather forecast announced the approach of a strong depression and the barometric pressure is decreasing steadily. It is time to seek shelter and it will be here in Denia. The entrance to the port is a bit special and uninviting. There are two piers, but one of them is considerably much longer than the other and is heading straight for the sea. At the end of it lies a recent wreck of a ferry, reported in urgent notices to mariners broadcast on VHF. Dismantling work is progressing around. With a force 6 wind in the port, I make for the Marina of Denia, the only one advised by my nautical instructions, the Block Marine for Spain and Portugal 2019 which unfortunately, is not up to date! I have some difficulty finding a place to moor the boat safely. At the marina office, I am not welcome, my boat is too small... and they want to charge me for 12 meters. It is out of the question ! The receptionist calls the harbour master. The conversation gets quickly pretty heated. After half an hour of idle talk, he finally told me that there is the El Portet Marina on the other side of the port with berths for boats under 12 meters. And indeed, there I get a price, certainly expensive, but more related to the size of my boat. The storm comes around to southwesterly. We have to stay during 6 days in the rain, thunderstorms and the wind which will go up to force 12 (hurricane) and we experience also the passage of a tornado. The last days, despite it is windy, the clouds have come down just above the sea level and there is a thick fog over the harbour. The wait is long but in the end, after a departure postponed three times, the wind is good to go north and we leave Denia under the greyness. And the further north we go, the clearer the sky, and it becomes finally blue. Behind us nothing changed over Denia.

The next day after a hundred miles, this breeze that was pushing us disappears and we put into port at Benicarlo. In the evening, a 28 foot boat, flying the French flag, comes to the pontoon to take the place next to Petit Prince 2. I thought that maybe this boat was also going back to France, and I initiate a conversation with the crew members. Her crew, Geneviève and André, tells me that her home port is just a little more to the north of the coast, at l'Hospitalet de l'Infant. In the evening, we find ourselves together in front of an excellent Indian dish at the Ali Baba restaurant on the quay in front of the marina. We agree to travel together the next day. In the early morning the wind is weak, increasing later and we leave the harbour with the engine running. At Cabo de Tortosa we are sailing close-hauled on a fresh breeze then after rounding the cape we continue sailing on a broad reach. At nightfall without wind we arrive at L'Hospitalet where a reserved berth awaits Petit Prince 2. Thank you Geneviève and André to give a so warm welcome to Petit Prince and also a big thank you for the various car tours, the images of which can be found in the galleries below. L'Hospitalet was a very pleasant break.

We leave again with a light wind coming from the south. And I'm not able to go very far. Barely 18 miles are covered and I have to stop for lack of wind in Tarragona, a must-see city of Catalonia. Coincidentally, I arrive on the first of the two main days of the Santa Tecla Festival, a procession among the most important in Spain. These two days also end the festivities of this week-long celebration. Obviously I cannot leave without having attended this event. The procession, which circles the old town several times, ends in an apotheosis of fire in front of the cathedral.

From Catalonia the climate changes, it is less hot, the coast is green and the winds are more variable in direction. So I will be able to go faster towards my goal. It is again running downwind that we reach Barcelona at Olympic Marina. This marina was chosen because it is outside the large harbour and therefore, entering and leaving is faster. We don't hang around in the Catalan capital because I know I will come back here in future. The departure is the next day at midday, we are 80 miles away from Rosas, last stop in Spain. Arrived very early next morning, we only stay there for the day and the following night. A gentle south-easterly wind is forecast. And so it's time to cross the Gulf of Lions. The departure takes place in the early afternoon to be in Martigues in the morning. The wind is fairly light but the gennaker still pulls well Petit Prince 2 all night long. The French coast is not very high around Martigues and we are able to see Port-de-Bouc under a radiant sun when only ten miles away. Crossing the harbour and travelling upriver the Caronte canal leads us to Martigues. We still have to stay an hour at the Quai de l'Hotel de Ville at the entrance to the Ferrière basin until the next opening of the lifting bridge which gives access to the Étang de Berre. At 3 p.m., after almost four months of navigation, the voyage ended. Petit Prince 2 was moored at La Mède.

Finally let me thank "BigShip STL Nautisme" in Granville and how seriously they considered my orders relating to the preparation of the boat as well as the competence of their advice throughout the past two seasons. Then for the warm welcome or the help they gave me, thanks to, J-B on the S/V Sheratane (Granville), Daria and Alex on the S/V Aleria (OCC), Maryline and Serge on the S/V Ylang ani, Gilles on the S/V Ermos, Alan and Kate on the S/V Far Fetched (OCC), Eskander and the crew members, Konstantin and Christian, on the S/V Nejia, Nicole and Philippe on the S/V Shangri-La 3 (many thanks for your help in Almerimar), Lynne and Phil on the S/V Dark Tarn (OCC), Geneviève and André on the S/V Alea, the radio operators F6CTS and CT7ANH met in Lagos, CT7/EA8CMS for relaying messages when the propagation did not allow a direct contact from the position of the boat with the radio club of Waterloo (Belgium). Special thanks to the stations of the radio club of Waterloo (ON4BE, ON4KNP, ON4TX, ON4ZD, ON5DS, ON5EG, ON5JV, ON5TA, ON6DU, ON7JV, ON9CBA) who followed the trip from the beginning to the end for 4 months, most of them with exceptional attendance. They were present every day to establish communication with the boat, these radio contacts were particularly useful to receive detailed weather forecasts. Thanks also to the distant stations contacted occasionally (they will recognize themselves here) which leave good memories such as VE9ZY in Canada. And last but not least, thanks to all those who followed Petit Prince 2 during her journey and to Horizon Marine (La Mède) for the warm and friendly welcome on my arrival.

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