rickp
Active member
Mike asked me to do the writeup of the trip from Spain to Malta, so this is from memory. Those who were there - feel free to put me straight where I go awry. Photos are from my collection (so there are likely better photos on the other cameras which were on board - though you can leave out all the embarassing ones, okay?!?!).
Photos should all click to larger versions. The panoramas are VERY large though.
Writing this up & pimping photos has taken hours. All errors & omissions are the fault of my memory.
Day 1
The crew gather at Gatwick - Hurricane, SWMBO and daughter. djefabs, myself, jimmy_the_builder and his partner (H). We flew to Barcelona and made our way down to Sant Carles by train - was quite interesting seeing the coast from that perspective. Everyone mucked in to get the boat organised and provisioned and then we went for a superb meal out in the local town (though forget the name of the place). Was a very good meal anyway (somewhat of a theme if you go anywhere with djefabs /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Day 2
Up with the sunrise, few final jobs to do and a final check on the forecasts - all looked good to go.
So we got underway. Very smooth to begin with, with a slight sea - but it picked up a bit as we left the shelter of the bay. A northerley swell on our port side, with a NW4 or 5 - the boat handled it sublimely and we pressed on at 24knots. It clouded over, and despite our best efforts we couldn't get Astra 2D to watch the Grand Prix.
We did catch the UK weather forecast though...
Pretty uneventful crossing - sunburn being the only major danger once the sun came out. We could see Majorca a long way off (about 40miles), as we ran for the Menorcan coast and a rendezvous.
It wasn't long before we could see Cabo D'Artutx - and being a bit of a lighthouse nerd, I needed photos...
Then the bit you've already seen - GSkip was out there to meet us, and was soon running alongside us, then ahead of us as we ran between the Isla Del Aire and Menorca:
The colour of the sea, sky was absolutely stunning. GSkip lead us into Mahon and onto the next rendezvous. Jenny Wren, meet Jenny 7 (another P67):
Once tied up (this med mooring is all new to me!), we were quickly invited onboard Jenny 7 for champagne and chocolates. What a welcome /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
We ran into our first problem here. We managed to trip the paserelle somehow and it refused to retract. This was a problem as some large ships come into Mahon and the passerelle was in danger of connecting with the shore. Fortunately, it came with a manual hydraulic pump, so once we'd managed to work out how to operate the valves manually, we could get it back within limits. At which point the control panel started working again. Phew!
Dinner was pretty reasonable, then a few beers with GSkip - who helped us with some forecasting. My models were showing some weather coming through, and we wanted some local knowledge for the next long run. The outcome of the discussions was that we'd go earlier than planned to get the long run to Tunisia over with before the weather came though.
Distance run: 193 mile
Fuel used: 2652 litres (though tanks not 100% full to start with)
Day 3
Whilst Hurricane was sorting paperwork and paying for the berth, I had the pleasure of moving the boat around to the fuel berth. Docile as anything - a pleasure to move (and somewhat of a novelty for me to have twin engines /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif). Just got to the fuel berth and a cockney accent asked if we wanted our ropes taking - a couple of guys from the "Stavros S Niarchos" tallship which was anchored out in the harbour who were after some petrol.
Whilst we fueled with diesel (and the guy waited until we'd got a few hundred litres in before "remembering" that the card machine wasn't working!), GSkip came down to discuss weather again. Gary - thanks for all your help, it was very gratefully received. A real pleasure to meet you too!
So we were sticking with plan A. Fuel, then around to the 'lagoon' (Cala Talulera I think) for some breakfast. Then we'd push on early to make the most of the weather as this was the long long trip. It was quite windy in the anchorage due to the wind funneling down the narrow northern route into the lagoon. We could clearly see whitecaps over the little beach to starboard - so we knew it wasn't going to be the smoothest of crossings....
In order to get the range to get to Bizerte, we were working on a 100mile/200mile split. The first 100miles at displacement (9 knots) then the 200miles at 25knots. So off we went, toddling along at the sort of gentrified speed that I'm used to. I felt quite at home even with a largish swell on our port quarter - but not everyone did, and there was some bathing platform washing going on /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif The sea state was up and down a bit - sometimes slight, sometimes moderate - which was to be expected. It wasn't helped by some concerns over the power-steering pump (which was making a bit of noise) - checking that whilst down in the lazerette induced some mal-de-mer too.
The bow was a popular spot when the sea was flatter:
However, the boredom was broken by some dolphins which I managed to get on film for the first time in my boating career. Video 1 and video 2.
We had talked about a formal watch system overnight, but decided to carry on the adhoc system we were using during the day. This worked well with people sleeping when it suited them and never less than 2 'on watch' at a time (to allow for bathroom breaks, or fetching someone else). We'd all said that we were happy to be woken to take over if anyone was tired - and we got a good rotation by waking the one who'd been down longest.
By 10:30pm, we'd done the required 100miles and popped the boat up onto the plane. Our timing was about spot on and we reckoned we'd arrive in Bizerte around dawn. So on with the long night watches. Some great stars (though no moon). The most exciting part was being called up by a NATO Warship which was checking on us as part of Operation Active Endeavour. Now I should mention that Hurricane has a program which shouts at you to record a paper log every 30minutes. It gives you a minutes warning, then reels off the details to be logged. Its actually very useful - but because of that H (who'd be doing the logging at that time) immediately recognised the lat+long in the call. Very impressive at 3am /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif So a quick chat with the NATO Warship where we passed over various details. Shame none of us could spell Bizerte at that time of the morning! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
The sea state did get quite large in places - was pretty pleased not to be able to see it. The boat handled it all fine though - and we just carried on. I think we took a couple of chunks of spray over the top, but that was all (and to be expected as we were mostly downwind).
Day 4
So, just as predicted, we arrived in Bizerte at dawn:
We were guided to a spot to moor, and then had all the officials descend on us - immigrations, customs etc. There was some confusion over the agent we were using, which didn't help. Everyone wanted 'a present' - the level of corruption was quite high. We got through it all only to find they were claiming we couldn't get more than 2000litres of fuel. Finally Hurricane got hold of our agent and things started to get better. We all had a bit of a sleep to recover from the nights crossing and Mike and I shot off to an Internet Cafe to get forecasts and post updates for you lot /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
We decided the plan was to have a day in Tunisia touring Utica and Carthage, before heading off on the next day.
So the question was - how much fuel had we used? Everyone came up with an answer (via guesswork, guestimation or calculation based on engine guages) - then when we got fuel, we'd see who was closest. Well - all the lads over-estimated by a long way. The winner was in fact Mike's daughter - who was within 16 litres!
Distance run: 306 miles
Fuel used: 3255 litres
Our agent was great and sorted out dinner at a nice place for us that evening with the taxi there and back. The only problem was one of timing. Somehow we'd missed the fact that Tunisia had not gone onto daylight saving time - so we were waiting for the taxi an hour earlier than planned!!
Day 5
Utica, Carthage and Sidi Bou Said - very interesting. Then a mad dash back to be there in time to pay the port fees so we could leave the next day. Jimmy and I bailed out with Mr. Fixit to go and get forecasts and it was looking good for the next day. The only problem was - would we be able to get our exit stamps without yet more 'presents'?
Day 6
Hurricane and djefabs were up early (4am) to go and get our stamps. There was some argy bargy, but I think Derek managed to communicate that the sort of present they might receive would not be what they wanted (but in a cuddly, non-threatening way /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif). So, paperwork done, we were allowed to go. If I were to go back to Tunisia, I'd probably skip Bizerte - but Sidi Bou Said might be quite interesting, if you can get over the baksheesh culture...
So, the final leg. A short (hah!) sprint to Malta. Forecast was for 3s or 4s, moderate sea dropping away. Which is exactly what we got. Once out of the port, onto the plane and away at a steady 25knots. Passed the island of Zembra with its unusual cloud cover.
Another lighthouse at Cap Bon:
We saw 3 pods of dolphins, and this time I had the SLR ready to go...
We skirted Pantelleria - one I'd not heard of before, but it was irritatingly short of lighthouses along the coastline we skirted! It did have some fascinating strata though...
It wasn't long before we could see Gozo & Malta. Job nearly done! H knew Malta well, so guided us to the Blue Lagoon on Comino for our first look....
Oh yes, I could visit that place again! Anyway, on to Malta itself. A bit of a saga with Port Control, then on we went...
Our agent guided us in, then came aboard to sort out the formalities. Then Poweryacht came down to give us some pointers & local advice. He ended up recommending another good restaurant where he joined us for dinner.
Job Done.
Distance run: 245 miles
Fuel Used: 3201 litres
Day 7
We spent day 7 sight-seeing and relaxing. Some photos and panoramas:
Indian Empress was bunkering for the trip to Monaco for the Grand Prix:
Many hours later, she was still at it - note the bow on Spiro-F (the bunkering boat) now:
Grand Harbour:
Dockyard creek - where they put the biggies. Derek thinks this should be given a name with more bling!
The evening saw us heading to St Julian's under the guidance of H - cocktails and dinner in Portomaso. A bit differen to Puerto Solente!
Day 8
The crew's last full day on the Island. We must have pleased someone as the weather was absolutely perfect. Poweryacht turned up at 9 and we couldn't resist a run around to the Blue Lagoon again. We spent the day swimming, snorkeling, diving & jumping from the flybridge, lazing, eating, drinking, relaxing, blasting around in Hurricane's bonkers dinghy, H even managed some water-skiing once the bay had emptied!
Hopefully our mad english antics didn't bore Poweryacht too much!
Sundry photos:
Finally, the star of the show. Jenny Wren, with Poweryacht on the bow:
All I can say is I had a great time, thanks to everyone on board - we all got on famously and I can't think of anyone I'd rather have done that trip with. Special thanks to Hurricane and family for inviting me along - a real honour!
Photos should all click to larger versions. The panoramas are VERY large though.
Writing this up & pimping photos has taken hours. All errors & omissions are the fault of my memory.
Day 1
The crew gather at Gatwick - Hurricane, SWMBO and daughter. djefabs, myself, jimmy_the_builder and his partner (H). We flew to Barcelona and made our way down to Sant Carles by train - was quite interesting seeing the coast from that perspective. Everyone mucked in to get the boat organised and provisioned and then we went for a superb meal out in the local town (though forget the name of the place). Was a very good meal anyway (somewhat of a theme if you go anywhere with djefabs /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Day 2
Up with the sunrise, few final jobs to do and a final check on the forecasts - all looked good to go.
So we got underway. Very smooth to begin with, with a slight sea - but it picked up a bit as we left the shelter of the bay. A northerley swell on our port side, with a NW4 or 5 - the boat handled it sublimely and we pressed on at 24knots. It clouded over, and despite our best efforts we couldn't get Astra 2D to watch the Grand Prix.
We did catch the UK weather forecast though...
Pretty uneventful crossing - sunburn being the only major danger once the sun came out. We could see Majorca a long way off (about 40miles), as we ran for the Menorcan coast and a rendezvous.
It wasn't long before we could see Cabo D'Artutx - and being a bit of a lighthouse nerd, I needed photos...
Then the bit you've already seen - GSkip was out there to meet us, and was soon running alongside us, then ahead of us as we ran between the Isla Del Aire and Menorca:
The colour of the sea, sky was absolutely stunning. GSkip lead us into Mahon and onto the next rendezvous. Jenny Wren, meet Jenny 7 (another P67):
Once tied up (this med mooring is all new to me!), we were quickly invited onboard Jenny 7 for champagne and chocolates. What a welcome /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
We ran into our first problem here. We managed to trip the paserelle somehow and it refused to retract. This was a problem as some large ships come into Mahon and the passerelle was in danger of connecting with the shore. Fortunately, it came with a manual hydraulic pump, so once we'd managed to work out how to operate the valves manually, we could get it back within limits. At which point the control panel started working again. Phew!
Dinner was pretty reasonable, then a few beers with GSkip - who helped us with some forecasting. My models were showing some weather coming through, and we wanted some local knowledge for the next long run. The outcome of the discussions was that we'd go earlier than planned to get the long run to Tunisia over with before the weather came though.
Distance run: 193 mile
Fuel used: 2652 litres (though tanks not 100% full to start with)
Day 3
Whilst Hurricane was sorting paperwork and paying for the berth, I had the pleasure of moving the boat around to the fuel berth. Docile as anything - a pleasure to move (and somewhat of a novelty for me to have twin engines /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif). Just got to the fuel berth and a cockney accent asked if we wanted our ropes taking - a couple of guys from the "Stavros S Niarchos" tallship which was anchored out in the harbour who were after some petrol.
Whilst we fueled with diesel (and the guy waited until we'd got a few hundred litres in before "remembering" that the card machine wasn't working!), GSkip came down to discuss weather again. Gary - thanks for all your help, it was very gratefully received. A real pleasure to meet you too!
So we were sticking with plan A. Fuel, then around to the 'lagoon' (Cala Talulera I think) for some breakfast. Then we'd push on early to make the most of the weather as this was the long long trip. It was quite windy in the anchorage due to the wind funneling down the narrow northern route into the lagoon. We could clearly see whitecaps over the little beach to starboard - so we knew it wasn't going to be the smoothest of crossings....
In order to get the range to get to Bizerte, we were working on a 100mile/200mile split. The first 100miles at displacement (9 knots) then the 200miles at 25knots. So off we went, toddling along at the sort of gentrified speed that I'm used to. I felt quite at home even with a largish swell on our port quarter - but not everyone did, and there was some bathing platform washing going on /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif The sea state was up and down a bit - sometimes slight, sometimes moderate - which was to be expected. It wasn't helped by some concerns over the power-steering pump (which was making a bit of noise) - checking that whilst down in the lazerette induced some mal-de-mer too.
The bow was a popular spot when the sea was flatter:
However, the boredom was broken by some dolphins which I managed to get on film for the first time in my boating career. Video 1 and video 2.
We had talked about a formal watch system overnight, but decided to carry on the adhoc system we were using during the day. This worked well with people sleeping when it suited them and never less than 2 'on watch' at a time (to allow for bathroom breaks, or fetching someone else). We'd all said that we were happy to be woken to take over if anyone was tired - and we got a good rotation by waking the one who'd been down longest.
By 10:30pm, we'd done the required 100miles and popped the boat up onto the plane. Our timing was about spot on and we reckoned we'd arrive in Bizerte around dawn. So on with the long night watches. Some great stars (though no moon). The most exciting part was being called up by a NATO Warship which was checking on us as part of Operation Active Endeavour. Now I should mention that Hurricane has a program which shouts at you to record a paper log every 30minutes. It gives you a minutes warning, then reels off the details to be logged. Its actually very useful - but because of that H (who'd be doing the logging at that time) immediately recognised the lat+long in the call. Very impressive at 3am /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif So a quick chat with the NATO Warship where we passed over various details. Shame none of us could spell Bizerte at that time of the morning! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
The sea state did get quite large in places - was pretty pleased not to be able to see it. The boat handled it all fine though - and we just carried on. I think we took a couple of chunks of spray over the top, but that was all (and to be expected as we were mostly downwind).
Day 4
So, just as predicted, we arrived in Bizerte at dawn:
We were guided to a spot to moor, and then had all the officials descend on us - immigrations, customs etc. There was some confusion over the agent we were using, which didn't help. Everyone wanted 'a present' - the level of corruption was quite high. We got through it all only to find they were claiming we couldn't get more than 2000litres of fuel. Finally Hurricane got hold of our agent and things started to get better. We all had a bit of a sleep to recover from the nights crossing and Mike and I shot off to an Internet Cafe to get forecasts and post updates for you lot /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
We decided the plan was to have a day in Tunisia touring Utica and Carthage, before heading off on the next day.
So the question was - how much fuel had we used? Everyone came up with an answer (via guesswork, guestimation or calculation based on engine guages) - then when we got fuel, we'd see who was closest. Well - all the lads over-estimated by a long way. The winner was in fact Mike's daughter - who was within 16 litres!
Distance run: 306 miles
Fuel used: 3255 litres
Our agent was great and sorted out dinner at a nice place for us that evening with the taxi there and back. The only problem was one of timing. Somehow we'd missed the fact that Tunisia had not gone onto daylight saving time - so we were waiting for the taxi an hour earlier than planned!!
Day 5
Utica, Carthage and Sidi Bou Said - very interesting. Then a mad dash back to be there in time to pay the port fees so we could leave the next day. Jimmy and I bailed out with Mr. Fixit to go and get forecasts and it was looking good for the next day. The only problem was - would we be able to get our exit stamps without yet more 'presents'?
Day 6
Hurricane and djefabs were up early (4am) to go and get our stamps. There was some argy bargy, but I think Derek managed to communicate that the sort of present they might receive would not be what they wanted (but in a cuddly, non-threatening way /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif). So, paperwork done, we were allowed to go. If I were to go back to Tunisia, I'd probably skip Bizerte - but Sidi Bou Said might be quite interesting, if you can get over the baksheesh culture...
So, the final leg. A short (hah!) sprint to Malta. Forecast was for 3s or 4s, moderate sea dropping away. Which is exactly what we got. Once out of the port, onto the plane and away at a steady 25knots. Passed the island of Zembra with its unusual cloud cover.
Another lighthouse at Cap Bon:
We saw 3 pods of dolphins, and this time I had the SLR ready to go...
We skirted Pantelleria - one I'd not heard of before, but it was irritatingly short of lighthouses along the coastline we skirted! It did have some fascinating strata though...
It wasn't long before we could see Gozo & Malta. Job nearly done! H knew Malta well, so guided us to the Blue Lagoon on Comino for our first look....
Oh yes, I could visit that place again! Anyway, on to Malta itself. A bit of a saga with Port Control, then on we went...
Our agent guided us in, then came aboard to sort out the formalities. Then Poweryacht came down to give us some pointers & local advice. He ended up recommending another good restaurant where he joined us for dinner.
Job Done.
Distance run: 245 miles
Fuel Used: 3201 litres
Day 7
We spent day 7 sight-seeing and relaxing. Some photos and panoramas:
Indian Empress was bunkering for the trip to Monaco for the Grand Prix:
Many hours later, she was still at it - note the bow on Spiro-F (the bunkering boat) now:
Grand Harbour:
Dockyard creek - where they put the biggies. Derek thinks this should be given a name with more bling!
The evening saw us heading to St Julian's under the guidance of H - cocktails and dinner in Portomaso. A bit differen to Puerto Solente!
Day 8
The crew's last full day on the Island. We must have pleased someone as the weather was absolutely perfect. Poweryacht turned up at 9 and we couldn't resist a run around to the Blue Lagoon again. We spent the day swimming, snorkeling, diving & jumping from the flybridge, lazing, eating, drinking, relaxing, blasting around in Hurricane's bonkers dinghy, H even managed some water-skiing once the bay had emptied!
Hopefully our mad english antics didn't bore Poweryacht too much!
Sundry photos:
Finally, the star of the show. Jenny Wren, with Poweryacht on the bow:
All I can say is I had a great time, thanks to everyone on board - we all got on famously and I can't think of anyone I'd rather have done that trip with. Special thanks to Hurricane and family for inviting me along - a real honour!
