The chart on the right tracks my progress from Almerimar to Altea, just before my eventual crossing to the Balearic Islands of Spain.

My route is depicted by the black line on the chart.  It is difficult to see in this thumbnail, but if you double-click on the chart you can view it at full resolution.

When I entered the anchorage the wind had picked up out of the SW to about 15 knots.  However in the anchorage the winds appeared to be Katabatic, that is down slope winds from the mountain range to the west.  The Katabatic effect accelerated the wind speed to over 25 kts.  Later that evening, before dark, the winds increased to over 30kts with gust to 40.  I was glad the holding ground in sand was very secure and with the relatively shallow depth I did not have to put out too much anchor rode.  Still Sarah sailed actively on the anchor until the winds finally died to less than 20 kts around midnight. 

The combination of the strong winds and this being my first time anchoring Sarah since we left Flores in the Azores last summer made for a less than peaceful night.  Since I was not sure I wouldn't be having to re-anchor sometime during the night, it was also a non-alcoholic evening.

Around 9:00 AM I departed the Puerto de Genoves and motored up the Costa Blanca.

The picture on the left shows the pale limestone cliffs that give this coast of Spain its name.

Cruising guides are helpful, but they can get out of date real fast.  My guide was published in 2005.

My track back to Aguilas and my anchor position are shown in the SOB screen capture on the left.

Aguilas is a large and attractive harbor.

The wind mill at the top of the hill (center of the picture) was lit up during the night and turning.  Since there was no wind I assume it is not a working mill, but just a tourist prop.

My destination after Aquilas was Cartagena.  When I departed the harbor at Aguilas I immediately pickup a 10-12 kts breeze out the NE.  For the first time this year I was able to sail Sarah with all three sails (Genoa, Main & Mizzen) for more than a few minutes.  The downside was that I could not fetch the harbor at Cartagena without going hard on the wind and tacking frequently.

Since there was a large anchorage at the Ensenada de Mazarron 5nm to the west of Cartagena and I could fetch that harbor on a close reach without tacking I changed my destination.

I anchored in about 25' of water well off the beach in the ensenada as shown in the SOB screen capture on the right.

The screen capture also shows my track coming into the cove.  The wind speed increased dramatically as I neared the headland and it was a little struggle to get the sails down and under control before I hit the beach.

Knowing there are limited yacht facilities in the port I had attempted to call the Puerto Deportivo de Cartagena several times on the phone.  I got a quick message in very rapid Spanish (is there any other kind?) which I could not understand and then was put on hold.  Eventually an hombre answered, I did my usual, ¿Habla usted Ingles?" and got a "No entiendo" response.  I asked, "¿Esta Puerto Deportivo de Cartagena?" and got a, "No esta Puerto Deportivo" response.

So either the phone number I had from the guide was incorrect, or this hombre just didn't want to talk to me.

Once more I was headed into a crowded harbor not knowing if there would be any space for me.

A few miles out of the harbor I called the Puerto Deportivo on the VHF Radio, Channel 9 and got an immediate response from an English speaker.  When I asked for a berth she told me I had to call the Club Regatta de Cartagena, the local Yacht Club.

As it turned out the Yacht Club is indeed private, but it appears the club has taken over the management of visitor berths at the Puerto Deportivo (they are adjacent to each other).  That may explain why the phone number in the guide did me no good.

I called the Club Regatta on the VHF radio and got an immediate response (sounded very much like the lady who answered for the Puerto Deportivo) and I was informed they could provide me with a berth for the next few nights.  As I entered the marina a female dock master directed me to tie up to the reception dock along the inner seawall.

It turned out that this was to be my actual berth in the marina, shown in the picture on the right.

The major shortcoming of this berth is that there is no electricity available, so I am living off the generator very much as I would at anchor.

Since this is Europe and the World Cup is underway everyone is glued to the TV screens at night watching the games.  On this night the bar in front of my berth had screens set up outside for their customers.  Because of the cheering of the crowd I assume Spain was playing this night, and won.

I can't say Cartagena was one of the more interesting cities I've visited in Spain.  It is a nice city, with a pleasant waterfront and a good shopping district.  However there are not much in the way of sights to take in.  There are some Roman ruins, including an amphitheatre that is being re-furbished for concerts and performances.

Anyway, I found little of interest and hence very few pictures to show for my three days at the marina.

I'm beginning to think the source of my back problems is all of the hiking and back packing I'm doing to get provisions at each port.  In Cartagena it is a long hike to the Mercadona, and I've made several trips.  After each such trip my back seems to be worse.

If you click on the picture to view at full resolution you can make out two large mounds of salt behind the ships.

The next day the winds were calm and the seas were down.  It was another motor trip, but at least it was comfortable.

I decided to stop at the Puerto de Altea, about 10 nm west of Calpe.  On the way I passed the amazing resort town of Benidorm.  How do they find enough tourist to fill all these places?