Time zone UTC + 0.00
Local hour (Gibralatar & Spain) + 2.00
07.00 - Departure from Queensway Quay Marina
Coordinates 36.º08’120N 005.º21’377W
Going to the fuel dock at Ocean Village Marina
08.00 - Departure from fuel dock at Ocean Village Marina
09.00 - 2 reefs on the Mainsail 1 reef on Genoa
Coordinates 36.º05’596N 005.º18’736W
Heading: 100 degrees
Wind speed: 20 knots
Wind direction: 135 degrees from starboard
Water temp: 15.3 C
Barometer: 1012
Cloud coverage: 100%
Visibility: 90%
Sea state: chop
SOG: 8.5 knots
Engine off.
09.00 - 2 reefs on the Genoa 1 reef on Mainsail
Coordinates 36.º05’596N 005.º18’736W
Heading: 100 degrees
Wind speed: 20 knots
Wind direction: 135 degrees from starboard
Water temp: 15.3 C
Barometer: 1012
Cloud coverage: 100%
Visibility: 90%
Sea state: chop
SOG: 8.5 knots
10.00 - 3 reefs on the Genoa 1 reef on Mainsail - rain
Coordinates 36.º05’002N 005.º09’672W
Heading: 090 degrees
Wind speed: 24 knots
Wind direction: 160 degrees from starboard
Water temp: 15.2 C
Barometer: 1011
Cloud coverage: 100%
Visibility: 90%
Sea state: light chop
SOG: 8.8 knots
10.30 - Furl Genoa (Unfurl 15 min later)
Coordinates 36.º05’335N 005.º05’350W
Heading: 090 degrees
Wind speed: 22 knots
Wind direction: 170 degrees from starboard
Water temp: 15.5 C
Barometer: 1011
Cloud coverage: 100%
Visibility: 90%
Sea state: light chop
SOG: 7 knots
11.00 - 2 reefs on the Genoa 1 reef on Mainsail
Coordinates 36.º05’320N 005.º05’360W
Heading: 100 degrees
Wind speed: 20 knots
Wind direction: 145 degrees from starboard
Water temp: 15.8 C
Barometer: 1010
Cloud coverage: 100%
Visibility: 90%
Sea state: light chop
SOG: 9 knots
11.15 - Unfurl Genoa
Coordinates 36.º05’306N 005.º05’379W
Heading: 100 degrees
Wind speed: 15 knots
Wind direction: 160 degrees from starboard
Water temp: 15.5 C
Barometer: 1010
Cloud coverage: 100%
Visibility: 90%
Sea state: light chop
SOG: 6.3 knots
13.10 - Dolphins - so many dolphins. 2 reefs on Genoa
Coordinates 36.º08’664N 004.º39’031W
Heading: 095 degrees
Wind speed: 30 knots
Wind direction: 140 degrees from starboard
Water temp: 15.9 C
Barometer: 1009
Cloud coverage: 100%
Visibility: 90%
Sea state: light chop
SOG: 10.5 knots
15.00 - More dolphins. 1 reef on Genoa
Coordinates 36.º12’460N 004.º15’147W
Heading: 070 degrees
Wind speed: 17 knots
Wind direction: 130 degrees from starboard
Water temp: 15.8 C
Barometer: 1006
Cloud coverage: 80%
Visibility: 100%
Sea state: light chop
SOG: 9 knots
16.30 - Furl Genoa (Unfurl 15 min later)
Coordinates 36.º14’950N 004.º02’415W
Heading: 075 degrees
Wind speed: 17 knots
Wind direction: 100 degrees from starboard
Water temp: 15.8 C
Barometer: 1004
Cloud coverage: 90%
Visibility: 100%
Sea state: light chop
SOG: 9 knots
17.00 - Dolphins again and rain
Coordinates 36.º15’560N 003.º57’567W
Heading: 075 degrees
Wind speed: 17 knots
Wind direction: 090 degrees from starboard
Water temp: 15.8 C
Barometer: ?
Cloud coverage: 100%
Visibility: 90%
Sea state: light chop
SOG: 8.5 knots
17.30 - Broach!!!
Heading: ? degrees
Wind speed: up to 48 knots
Wind direction: ?
Water temp: 15.8 C
Barometer: ?
Cloud coverage: 100%
Visibility: 90%
Sea state: big swell
SOG: ? knots
Got smacked by the cold front and we broached!
360 degrees, autopilot lock went to hand steer.
Shit!Shit!Shit!
Gusts were more than 48 knots (this was the maximum we noticed but not the strongest we felt)
Managed to close the Genoa after insane flapping and half an hour later turn to wind and put the second reef on Genoa.
Engine on as we lost speed completely during the manoeuvres.
19.30 - Back to normal. Engine off
Coordinates 36.º18’554N 003.º38’532W
Heading: 065 degrees
Wind speed: 14 knots
Wind direction: 140 degrees from port
Water temp: 15 C
Barometer: 1010
Cloud coverage: 90%
Visibility: 90%
Sea state: light chop
SOG: 5 knots
20.00 - Engine on at 1800 RPM
Coordinates 36.º20’279N 003.º33’725W
Heading: 075 degrees
Wind speed: 11 knots
Wind direction: 165degrees from port
Water temp: 15.3 C
Barometer: 1012
Cloud coverage: 90%
Visibility: 90%
Sea state: light chop
SOG: 6 knots
After the breaching when hit by the cold front (the worst forecast the cold front should reach us at midnight, not at 5.30pm) we are worried about the arrival time so motor-sail is the decision to keep us always at 6 knots minimum speed.
07.00 - Mainsail 1 reef and full Genoa
Coordinates 36.º40’852N 002.º01’953W
Heading: 040 degrees
Wind speed: 18 knots
Wind direction: 140 degrees from port
Water temp: 14.3 C
Barometer: 1012
Cloud coverage: 70%
Visibility: 90%
Sea state: light chop
SOG: 7 knots
09.40 - Wing on wing
Coordinates 36.º53’123N 001.º46’581W
Heading: 055 degrees
Wind speed: 14.5 knots
Wind direction: 175 degrees from port
Water temp: 14.9 C
Barometer: 1009
Cloud coverage: 80%
Visibility: 90%
Sea state: light chop
SOG: 6 knots
18.00 - Arrival to Yacht Port Cartagena
Total hours of the trip: 35h
Total hours sailing: 34.30h
Total hours motor-sailing: 23h
Total hours motoring: 0.3h
Distance: 227nm
***In the spirit of sharing our dreams and experiences we have shared this blog post in the NOFOREIGNLAND.COM website sailors community.