Monday / Tuesday, 29 & 30 April 2019

There was not too much to say about Monday. We knew that it would be our last day on mainland Europe for a while, and so much of the day was taken with chores and shopping. It was a Bank Holiday here, and there is another on Wednesday, so there was a distinctly sleepy feel about the place.

Denia has gone up in our estimation, not least because of the launderette we found in the marina.  We were fearing that we would have to make trips back and forth to the town, and were relieved to find a well-appointed launderette actually in the marina. This also proved to be the cheapest (well, least expensive) that we have seen in years. We were first to arrive, so no queuing and the whole process was completed by about 10:30. We were also impressed by the lovely beach which is to the north of the town for a considerable distance, which we ran along.

In the afternoon I tried without success to recommission the outboard motor for the tender. A helpful chap from another boat suggested what the problem was likely to be, but I will have to do more research before attempting a remedy. Apparently, I will have to do some cleaning on the carburettor. What this space.

Late afternoon was shopping, both in the main street and the supermarket.  I realised that the latter was on the other side of the castle from where we were, and consulted Dr Google for the best route.  This directed us to a tunnel which ran directly through the rock under the castle. Quite why it was built I have no idea. It could have been defenders or attackers of the castle, of just the local authority providing a short cut. Anyway it was a useful 200 metres that saved us a half a mile of walking.

The evening was enlivened by the arrival of a search and rescue boat with a small fishing boat in tow. He was passed over to the marina’s launch and the SAR boat went on its way. I am not sure if it was engine failure or a prop wrap, but the fishing boat (tiny, 1 or 2 person) was otherwise dead in the water.

Tuesday morning, we were up promptly and called for the marinaro to come with our key deposit. He arrived impressively quickly, and we were the second boat out of the marina.  It was obviously deemed to be a good day to cross to Ibiza, as we formed part of a convoy of about 5 vessels all making the same trip. Immediately outside of the harbour we encountered a historic (replica?) vessel, which was heading into Denia. This was one of the most authentic looking vessels of this type that I have seen. It could have been a pirate ship.

The sailing conditions on the way across were fabulous, a pleasant breeze, enough to make Equinox fly along, eating up the miles. We had a couple of dolphin  encounters, en route. The Mediterranean dolphins that we have seen so far are smaller and less playful than their Atlantic cousins. We also had to cross a couple of shipping lanes and encountered a few fishing boats, but nothing to cause us any grief. The biggest concern was about a funny noise coming from the opposite side of the boat, which turned out to be a helicopter flying past.

We closed on Ibiza and heading for a bay that was described as a good anchorage, but potentially crowded. We found that mooring buoys had been laid, and after a certain amount of challenge, we have secured the boat to one we like.  We have made it to the Balearics.

Distance covered today	50	nautical miles
Trip distance covered	283	nautical miles
Distance covered 2019	283	nautical miles
Steve (and Tricia)