15th to 17th June - Those ominous words

The decision to go to Motril was a last minute change as the marina there would confirm a reservation, so I could arrange to have a GPS antenna for the AIS to be sent out to us from the UK.  No-one had heard of Motril before, it is the capital of the equally unfamiliar Costa Tropical, but the small marina is ranked number one in Andalusia.

While we have some long passages ahead, this one would be our last overnight passage until the Bay of Biscay.  It started well with our first opportunity to have a decent sail.  In 12 knots of wind and with all three sails up, we managed 8 knots of boat speed.

A decent sail at last

All three sails up

Unfortunately, some tensions resurfaced on this leg as one unnamed crew member who had initially shown promise, relapsed into his former behaviour of showing little inclination to participate in domestic chores, such as cooking, unless pushed. So, we were forced to introduce a cooking and clearing-up rota.   This immediately yielded positive results when, for dinner, said individual transformed a couple of basic frozen pizzas into gourmet masterpieces with leftovers from the fridge.

This passage’s disaster struck shortly before dusk on the second night when Greg headed to the loo pronouncing “I may be some time.”  Emma and I looked at each other in concern and sure enough, a short while later, Greg emerged and uttered those ominous words “I think we have a problem.”  I shall spare you the graphic details, but Emma and Richard took refuge at the front of the boat where some dolphins entertained them, while Greg undertook the unpleasant task.  Unfortunately, it was not until the morning that all returned to normal when the blockage miraculously cleared itself.

We arrived in Marina de Motril late morning and immediately discovered why the marina is rated No.1.  The location is nothing special but Roberto, the very jolly owner, came out to meet us while we were refuelling and proceeded to tell is all the things we could do during our visit.  He recommended a restaurant for lunch and even called to book a table and pre-order a paella.  We were then directed to moor on a hammerhead which would make our early morning departure easier.  We were even given the luxury of steps to get on and off the boat.

Luxury of boarding steps

There were a couple of hours before lunch and so I retrieved the GPS antenna which, having been successfully installed, means that we will now get decent reception without having to remove the sofa.  Then it was off to lunch which was excellent, at a proper local restaurant rather than the tourist restaurants of Ibiza.  A starter of tomato and avocados  was simple but delicious, followed by seafood paella and then a local dessert.  A toast to Emms’s dad who would have been 90 today and very much enjoyed the paella we cooked whenever he came to France.

Sleep deprived nights and two bottles of wine take their toll

After two sleep deprived days, two bottles of wine and several beers we all returned to the boat for a very, very long siesta.