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Nimrod's Adventures
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Nimrod's Adventures

đŸ§‘đŸœâ€đŸŠ±đŸ§’đŸ» Bart & Bel
â›” Nimrod
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    11

    CĂĄdiz

    8–10 jan. 2025, Spanien ⋅ ☀ 15 °C

    From Mazagón we had a long day ahead to Cádiz, the oldest city of Western Europe. We had another gorgeous sail, even though it started chilly, and entered the harbor area just as the sun started to set.

    We are both big Cádiz fans. We might have only had one day in the city, we were out and about the entire day to see as much as possible. We started with a visit to La Cueva del Pájaro de Azul, a archeological site. Here we immediately learned a bunch about the history of the city.

    This site was only discovered in 2017 when after more than 35 years of closure a flamenco taverna was looking for a rebirth and wanted to install a new staircase. By accident, this archaeological site, about 2 flights below street level, on the neighbor's plot, where the stairs would be built, was discovered. In the 60s there had been a very successful taverna here, but eventually it was closed and forgotten. This taverna had already used some of the space below ground, but it was the neighbor's plot where the real gem was discovered: a Phoenician dry dock.

    More than 2000 years ago Phoenicians used the channel that separated, back then, the two islands that formed Cádiz to build dry docks alongside. This site is one of them. They used a special type of rock in this area, oyster rock as you can actually see the shells in the rock which are used all over the city. In Phoenician times they also had a very smart sort of a hooking system to build strong structures without the use of concrete.

    At some point the people of Cádiz weren't very happy with the Phoenicians anymore and when the Romans offered them more favorable conditions they switched sides. As a result, after this dry dock and some genius underground rain water holding rooms, we were also able to visit an old Roman theatre.

    For the rest of the day we mostly walked around the beautiful city; peaked into the cathedral up until the point where it was still free and of course enjoyed some delicious tapas.

    After a long day we shared a drink with our friends Square One before going to bed to get ready for our sail to Barbate the next day.    LĂ€s mer

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    Barbate

    10–11 jan. 2025, Spanien ⋅ ☀ 17 °C

    Barbate, we are now entering Smälland, Disney world, Valhalla for orca's. For us sailors, not so much. Luckily this time of the year the big tuna nets that are usually laid out here in front of the coast are not in the water. Which is great for us because this means we can sail around the 20m depth line.

    Thankfully the sail was very uneventful animal wise. No fish for us either unfortunately, but we will take it. It did look like we had a big one at one point, on our new fast trolling bait, we were unable to pull it in😭

    Sailing wise if was another downwind cruising sail and eventually we arrived a bit after dark. The most exciting part was going into the harbor as we surfed down a big wave into the harbor. A bit tricky, but no harm. We are ready to go through the Strait of Gibraltar!!    LĂ€s mer

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    Strait of Gibraltar â›”đŸŽïž

    11 januari 2025, Strait of Gibraltar ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    We are finally doing it! We are passing through the Strait of Gibraltar! It is an almost 50 nm sail from Barbate to La Linea/Gibraltar and this trip will take us through the strait. At first we sail downwind further south along the most gorgeous green hills and mountains. Then the Strait starts to get narrower and narrower. We smoothly sail 15-20kts downwind towards Tarifa. Here Europe and Africa almost touch.

     We have done it! We have, almost, sailed our Nimrod to Africa. The continent where many generations ago my far far ancestors were taken away by boat under very different circumstances. Now we are here on our Nimrod. Africa is no longer just in the distance but it's only a couple miles to our starboard. Since the orcas are very active in this area we do not cross but keep to the European side of the Strait of Gibraltar. This is definitely a milestone. And we are going fast! Downwind, current with us, we reach a high speed of 8.6 knots over ground! What a blast!

    By the way, we heard from Beautje that they had caught a massive bonito just before Tarifa. So we had three lines out. We got lucky just past Tarifa: a small and a medium bonito and a large mackerel. That's going to make for a festive reunion dinner with our Beautje friends. That is, if we make it safely through the Bay of Gibraltar and into the harbor.    LĂ€s mer

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    Gibraltar and La Linea

    11–22 jan. 2025, Gibraltar ⋅ 🌬 19 °C

    Following our successful crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar the next challenge was the Bay of Gibraltar. After cruising downwind the whole day the wind shifted entirely once we were in the Bay of Gibraltar and suddenly we were sailing upwind! We had been warned for strong winds by our friends who had conquered the Bay a day earlier, but an increase of 15 knots we hadn't seen coming. All around us massive container ships were passing through or anchored; here and there ferries to Morocco sped along; and while I was trying to keep Nimrod in control, while she was bashing through 29 knots, Bart tried to enjoy a dolphin show.

    Meanwhile the Rock of Gibraltar was staring at us all along the way. We went into the harbor of La Linea, on the Spanish side, for a couple of days to spend some time with our friends after being separated for a while. On day two we went into Gibraltar. After we had been cleared by customs we crossed the Gibraltar Airport runway. Crossing the runway is just the same as crossing a bridge in the Netherlands. When a plane is coming, the barriers are lowered and you have to wait to cross until they have gone up again.

    Gibraltar felt a bit like a theme park such as the Efteling or Disneyland where you go from one world into another. It feels like you are still in Spain, but there is the British part, the Irish part and so on. We weren't big fans. I tried to call mama with a typical red phone cell, but they aren't even connected anymore... They are there just for the pictures.

    Later on in the week we visited the Rock of Gibraltar. Which was really fun. We went into the siege tunnels that were used in the 19th century, the WW II tunnels, the Moorish castle, hurried past the monkeys, walked up about 200 stair steps but our favorite part was the Saint Michael's Cave. This cave is several thousand years old and they use lights and sounds within to make it even more beautiful. The highlight was the sound and lights artwork that demonstrated how the Rock of Gibraltar came into existence.

    Meanwhile we also spend a bunch of time trying to figure out whether it will be possible for us to do some part-time work. We have experienced that sometimes, such as our eleven days in Gibraltar/La Linea, we have some time left to work a bit. This could mean we would have some more money to have a bit more budget for fun things, boat repairs or maybe an extension of our trip. We will see.    LĂ€s mer

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    Cartagena

    25–28 jan. 2025, Spanien ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Only a couple of days after we had had our interaction with the orcas in the Bay of Biscay we had properly met our friends Willem and Marielle (Walk of Life). With them we have cruised the entire French coast in Biscay and a large part of the Northern Spanish coast. Even though there is an age gap of 35-40 years between us, we have become very good friends. We have very similar personalities and similar takes and perspectives on many things. It is so interesting to have experienced how Bart and Willem, but also Marielle and I are so much alike.

    At some point we continued our journey while they still had some engine troubles in Laredo (Cantabria, Spain). While we were in the Spanish Ria's we met each other again since the WoL (Walk of Life) took a bit of a detour to spend a couple days with us. Then they continued on at a fast pace to be able to be at the right place at the right time to meet up with family. Since then, we haven't seen each other although we have been in contact with each other ever since. Recently, when we were on the phone with each other they told us that they had decided that their journey will end in Cartagena, where they are staying for the winter. They will sell the WoL and then return to the Netherlands.

    We couldn't let them leave without saying goodbye first. One teeny tint detail, they are in Cartagena and we are still in La Linea/Gibraltar. Since our orca interaction we have sailed through the night anymore. We had big plans for sailing longer trips now that we are in the Med, and are almost orca free. So we took the first opportunity we had for a big trip and set off for a 250nm adventure from Gibraltar to Cartagena.

    Where we arrived in a very windy and gusty Bay of Biscay, we left in a very calm flat sea kind of condition. After we had rounded the Rock, where we were met with 30 knots of wind, we had a lovely 12 knots downwind kind of situation. This continued all the way into the night. We did a 3 hours on and 3 hours off schedule starting at 9 pm. Bart usually starts on watch since I get tired sooner. Our first night watches, we still felt a bit nervous to be sailing through the night again. Especially for Bart, during who's watch we were still in an area where there have been orca sighting even tough there have been very few and a long time ago.

    At 10pm Bart told me to be alert, no orcas this time, but because a very fast boat without navigation lights was circling around us. A bit later he told me to get out of bed since Customs was about to board our Nimrod. From a rib three many in very black outfits boarded us an while Bart was going through the paperwork outside, while we were still sailing, I showed one of them around inside and answered questions like if we had any drugs on board. He opened a bunch of cabinets and pulled a few plates from the floor before he was satisfied and we joined the others outside. Apparently sailboats coming from La Linea, due to the vicinity to Morocco, and especially at night are very "hot". The men became nicer every 15 minutes. At some point I was talking with one of them about Isabel Allende because I thought he liked my Spanish name but I think he was Hebrew and liked the name Nimrod😂. Oh well, it broke the ice. After quite a while they left and boarded their rib again. It was just the two of us again.

    The rest of the trip went pretty smooth. We had to seek the wind a couple of times and ended up sailing and motoring 50-50. When the wind was there we had a very nice 10-15 knots from behind. As the hours passed we got back in the sailing rhythm better and better. On the second morning when we were barely making any speed we took some time to take a dip into the water and have a shower on board. A few hours later the wind picked up and we were able to sail almost the entire way till Cartagena.

    The last couple of hours were during my watch. It had been a very beautiful and clear night but it started to get wetter and wetter. And I could see fewer and fewer starts until I looked up from my book and we were suddenly covered in fog. As we were closing in on Cartagena we were getting closer to the anchored container ships and the pier. We had planned to not wake up Bart for another hour, but I could barely see 10m in front of the boat. So I woke Bart up and he sat in the front of the boat to keep watch. There is one light you are supposed to see from more than 10 nautical miles out of the coast. We were 2 miles away and didn't see a thing. We decided that if we could still not see anything a mile away from the coast we would turn around and continue sailing north east. Then all out of a sudden the fog started to clear between the coast and pier of Cartagena. Saturday at 1:30am we were docked in Cartagena.

    We were greeted by Marielle in her pyjamas. The next day we spent getting to know Cartagena but mostly spending time together with Willem and Marielle. On Sunday there apparently is a bbq with a bunch of the sailors that spend the winter or their life in the marina of Cartagena. We were invited through the WoL. Bart and Willem had a great time socializing, Marielle and I entertained each other 😉 On Monday we were treated by the WoL to a tour of the local mountains and a lunch 😋 It was very nice to spend some time together again before they say goodbye to their WoL and return to the Netherlands. We're sure we'll see each other again somewhere someday.    LĂ€s mer

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    Torrevieja

    28–29 jan. 2025, Spanien ⋅ ☁ 17 °C

    While we were in Cartagena a pretty strong Westerly storm was coming over. This gave us a couple more days with the WoL while we waited for a better wind window to open up. After three days of very strong winds the weather apps predicted that on Tuesday the 28th, the wind would quiet down a little bit to a 20-25 kts broad wind sail. Bart didn't feel very at ease with the forecast as he anticipated that after so many days of much stronger wind there would be at least one more transition day. However, we had set ourselves a little bit of a deadline because in a little over a week a plane was going to take us to the Netherlands so that we could visit the KvK to set up our very own small business.

    So, around 7 am while it was still dark we quietly left marina the Cartagena. We like to leave without any anxious marineros at our own pace. We very soon noticed that Bart had been right. We hadn't even left the the harbor bay yet or the 25+ knots from ahead were coming our way including 2m+ waves. We know that once we turned the corner the wind would come in more favorable, but we were very close to not even going that far. But we sailed on and indeed once we turned the corner it got better. We needed all three reefs but we were doing okay. And a visit from some dolphins always makes our day!

    Since we knew we might not have a very comfortable day ahead of us we had multiple options as our final destination. We passed our first one Mar Menor after only a couple of hours and since we were doing well we decided to go for our next option: Torrevieja. The wind started to turn a bit less favorable as we continued on but we managed to get to Torrevieja safely. We were met by a loooooot of kids in their little optimist boats. We think there most have veen somewhere between 50 and 100. It looked like it was some kind of World Cup with of course a lot of Spanish boats, but also kids from Canada, Czech and Singapore. The most impressive part was that they were still sailing in close to 30 knots of wind! They were sailing with one hand and getting the water out of their boat with the other. We said to each other some of these kids will definitely make it to the Olympics in a couple of years.

    For us the silence reappeared once we dropped our anchor in the Bay of Torrevieja. Even though the wind was still blowing 25knots and more, we were snug like a bug. At least for the little while that we would stay there...    LĂ€s mer

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    DĂ©nia

    29 jan.–14 feb. 2025, Spanien ⋅ ☁ 15 °C

    During the early hours, around 3 am, of January 29th we lifted our anchor in Torrevieja. Ahead of us, a 70 nautical mile trip to Dénia. The first part of the trip we did together and then we alternated a couple of shifts so we could both get some more sleep. Bart let me sleep first so I was awake for the gorgeous sunset. It was another beautiful sailing trip for us. We arrived around 6pm in Dénia. Usually you have to fill in all sorts of information about the boat yourself. But we looked so tired, and Bart flirted a bit with the lady when she said her and I share the same birthday just 10 years apart and he added a "oh so you must be younger", that she filled it all out for us.

    The next day we cleaned up the Nimrod and prepared her to stick around in Dénia all by herself while we would visit Pleun, Bart's sister in Valencia, and set up our business in the Netherlands but mostly to enjoy our time with family and friends.    LĂ€s mer

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    Valencia

    30 jan.–2 feb. 2025, Spanien ⋅ ☁ 17 °C

    We had actually hoped to be in Valencia with our Nimrod on October 13th to celebrate Pleun's 30th birthday. Cute idea, I know. About 3,5 months later we finally made it! Technically, we still didn't make it. As the Nimrod was still docked in Dénia and we had taken the bus to get to Valencia. But we have a good excuse, the marinas in Valencia didn't have a spot available for us.

    We hadn't since Pleun in real life since our departure party in June so it was really nice to be reunited again. As a local she gave us a couple of tips for the city: the park, old town, modern art museum and some fun neighborhoods to just stroll around like Rufasa. Around her work we were able to spend some good quality time together and the rest of the time we entertained ourselves. The highlight by far was the paella, which we have been craving and not giving in, for months at the beach. It was absolutely delicious!!    LĂ€s mer

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    The Netherlands

    2–8 feb. 2025, NederlĂ€nderna ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C

    8 months ago we left our spot in the Marina Monnickendam on June 3rd. On February 2nd we landed on Schiphol and were greeted by my parents (pap and mam) 😍 Straight from the airport we went to Lennert (big little brother) and Annet's new home to surprise Lennert. Without a doubt it was a successful surprise!

    The entire week we were magically able to spend quality time with friends and family. How before we would have to plan weeks ahead to meet up, everybody's agendas eere cleared to make some time for us. What a love 😍 Most special was the fact that even all Bart's family members (Berlin, Italy and Spain) were at some point sitting at the same table!

    We had some very good conversations throughout the week. Especially with our families we talked a lot about our time past and future plans. Up until now it has felt like we were travelling. Now that we have started, since February 7th, our own business and will be working 1-2 days a week from the boat, it feels more like we are starting a new way of life. Which will likely make it easier for us to come visit you and for you to come visit us. This makes being away from you a bit easier. Yet, after a week with family and friends it is still hard to leave again, no matter how much we are enjoying our life at sea 💔

    Regarding our business, Bart & Bel (services) is now officially live! Take a look at our website bartandbel.com 😅. It's not done yet, I'm still working on it. But it's getting there. Through our sailing network Bart has found a gig as freelancer account manager for the Bridge AV group. I will be building websites and doing SEO jobs! So if you need one, let us know 😉    LĂ€s mer

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    Eivissa I: Port des Torrent⚓

    14 februari 2025, Spanien ⋅ ☀ 16 °C

    We had a very special Valentine's day together. We had a date that lasted for more than 24 hours. We left Dénia, a day later than anticipated due to a bit too high of Cape index than we like, on February 13th late in the evening. We're going to Ibiza! Woahoo! We're (not) going to have a party. For a minute we thought we had to turn back around since a ship was dredging in the middle of the peer. Which shouldn't be a big problem except for the fact that insanely long lines running almost through the entire pier were keeping the boat in place. We called them and they secured us that we should have enough room if we crossed port side to port side. So we did and we were free to go!

    We had to seek the wind a little bit at first, but once we had left the lew of El Mongo (big rock shaped a bit like an 🐘), we were cruising! Unfortunately, the ways were very quick and hitting us from the side. It would go to bed first. I went down to brush my teeth and that was a brutal mistake. Shortly after I got really seasick. While I was in bed I didn't sleep but was fighting against the nausea. Just before stepping outside to relieve Bart, I fed the fish for the first time. So far our romantic sailing date 😉 Somewhere halfway through my shift I fed the fishies again. I did feel a lot better after the second time and thought it had passed. When Bart came up to relieve me we decided to take a reef out first, out of nowhere I suddenly needed to feed the fish for a third time! ❀‍đŸ”„That was the last of it though. Mostly because the waves had calmed down a lot too. Bart wasn't struggling so much luckily.

    During my last shift I saw the sun rise behind Ibiza, so beautiful. I tried to see if Bart was awake so have some romantic highlight😂, but he was fast asleep. Only a couple hours later we dropped our anchor for the first time on Ibiza/Eivissa. We stayed in this bay for a couple of days to work a bit, hangout with Coco, chill on the beach, try to catch some fish (no luck) and eventually welcome Beautje to Ibiza (read making the fishers angry by playing Venga Boys' We're going to Ibiza very loud). It is nowhere near party time this time of the year on Ibiza. It is very quiet which is lovely! The water is still a bit chilly, but we going for a quick dip every now and then just because it is so pretty and the weather is great to go on hikes.    LĂ€s mer

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    Ibiza II: Cala Es Bol Nou ⚓

    19–21 feb. 2025, Spanien ⋅ ☁ 17 °C

    Together with Beautje we left our first Ibiza anchorage to set sail to our second one on the south west side of the island. It was only a 15nm sail and it was another lovely. Only downside of today is that the wind had shifted a bit sooner than anticipated so we had had a bit of a bumpy night and not a great night's rest. But the wind was great, barely any waves and the sun was out (a bit). It was going to be a lovely day.

    One of the prettiest parts of the trip was passing between Es Vedra, a small rock island just off the coast of Ibiza, and Ibiza itself. At some point we passed the bay we thought we would make our final stop of the day but we couldn't see any place to get on shore with our dinghies. So we sailed, crawled, on. On the Balearic Islands we don't just need to take the swell and wind into account, but the local seagrass as well. You are not allowed to drop your anchor, or chain, in the seagrass. If you do you can get a massive (€2000 or something like that) fine. We use an app to see which bays are not entirely covered in seagrass and in the bay itself you can easily see the darker spots where the seagrass is located.

    Eventually we found a good bay, Es Bol Nou. We were both able to drop our anchor safely. We took a short walk on shore but we, but mostly I, were pretty tired after a bad night. Not long after we sat down on the beach to enjoy a drink with the best view there is: our own boat anchored in a beautiful place.

    On our second day, we but mostly Bart, worked a bit in the morning and in the afternoon we took a hike up the hill nearby. The views were stunning. Along the way we passed a lot of rosemary thus obviously I had to pick some. But also a lot of little graveyards where people bury their pets, it was a bit creepy.

    We spent the evening with Beautje again, before we went to bed after another very good day on board, in the Med!    LĂ€s mer

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    Formentera: Cala Saona ⚓

    21–22 feb. 2025, Spanien ⋅ ☁ 15 °C

    Formentera, the colors of the water around this island are unbelievably beautiful. Due to the strong swell we unfortunately didn't even spend 24 hours on Formentera. Yet, we are very happy we crossed from Ibiza to Formentera even though it was only for a day. We wouldn't want to have missed these colors.

    We left our anchorage Es Bol Nou together with Beautje. Of course, they were much faster than us again. But! that also meant that Lajla told us to sail on as far as possible into the anchorage so she could take some pictures with us and capture the beautiful colors. Wow, they turned our amazing!!

    Beautje needed some groceries so we went on land to find a small supermarket. After we had docked their dinghy at one of the local boathouses we had to go through, we're pretty sure, someone's backyard to get to the road. Some construction workers stared at us like they just saw some aliens land from somewhere else in the universe when we came out of the bushes. They were able to tell us that the supermarket was very far. They turned out to be right.

    We walked to the first so called supermarket which was supposed to be open. But, it was another one of the small stores that are part of a hotel, which of course aren't open yet. We walked some more kilometers before we decided to turn around because the bigger store was still kilometers away. On top of that the surroundings of our walk weren't that pretty. So we returned to our boats and we put something together with what we could find on board and had another cozy dinner together.

    The swell started to come into the anchorage more and more as the night progressed. As a result, we didn't have a very good night's sleep and we agreed together with Beautje that our visit to Formentera was going to be short but sweet, and with sweet we mean beautiful.    LĂ€s mer

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    Ibiza III: Cala Llonga ⚓

    22–27 feb. 2025, Spanien ⋅ ☁ 16 °C

    From Formentera back to Ibiza was a bumpy ride. Decent wind, but mostly lots of waves. On top of that we also hadn't slept very well, not a great combo. Somewhere along the way, we got a message from Beautje saying they were going to go into Ibiza and look for a marina. Fatigue, uncomfort and an empty food storage were the deciding factors for them. So we continued on back to Ibiza by ourselves.

    We had set our minds to go to Cala Torretes. A beautiful anchorage surrounded by just cliffs, no beach, houses or hotels. From there we could go to Cala Llonga, a mile further north, the next day when the wind and swell would shift favorably. When we arrived and had just dropped our anchorage we were swinging from port side to starboard back to port side and back again like crazy. It was too much. We decided to already try our luck one bay further: Cala Llonga. That turned out to be a very good decision.

    Once we were anchored we were still swinging a little, but nothing like one bay back. Tired but satisfied we went to bed not soon after.

    We spend a bunch of days in Cala Llonga since it was a very well protected anchorage and the wind was blowing strong for a couple of days. Secondly, on both sides of the anchorage we were protected by mountains which gave us several options for beautiful walks. Third, there was a small supermarket which was open where we could get some fresh fruit and a bar that was open to enjoy some drinks!

    The latter we didn't go to until Beautje had joined us again. After a geocaching adventure, a sort of treasure hunting (you use the app geocaching to find little boxes that people have hidden and write down your names on the little piece of paper in the box once you have found it), during which we found all treasures, we treated ourselves to a drink, or two, at the local bar. We attempted to go for two more geocaches with the four us on the other side of the bay the next day, but Lajla had a knee injury that was bothering her too much. So Bart and Hilda found the caches by themselves and Lajla and I had some good conversations together on the beach in the sun. Not before long we were joined by Bart and Hilda and the Noordster who had just arrived for a little picknick, some beers, on the beach.

    On one of our last days we had a diver down below at our anchor and anchor chain. He was by himself, didn't have the diver flag or buoy and we never saw him come up. We still don't know who he was or what he was doing exactly. We think it might have been an environmental activist, who was checking our anchor and chain in regards to the posidonia seagrass. When we arrived in the anchorage we didn't have a clear sight of the bottom of the sea so we had dropped our anchor based on an app hoping it was a spot clear from the Donia. The next day when the water cleared up a bit we looked to be hooked in a good spot. However, we have been swinging around a lot so our chain might have gotten a bit too close to the seagrass. We still don't know as the diver didn't come out of the water to tell us what's up. To be sure, we moved our anchor.

    We might have stayed a day too long in Cala Llonga because at some point the swell was coming into the anchorage very strong. We were trying to work but we were swinging like we were sailing in a pretty rough sea, thanks to Lajla for the video evidence. Since we needed to go to the supermarket, change our gas and do some laundry we left the next day, before it become too uncomfortable, to go into a marina in Ibiza for a day.    LĂ€s mer

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    Ibiza IV: Ibiza City

    27–28 feb. 2025, Spanien ⋅ ☁ 15 °C

    How much can you do in 24 hours? Turns out, a lot. We arrived around noon in Ibiza Marina. We were the only boat on the pontoon. Our view? The old town, read castle on a hill, of Ibiza. Not too shabby. And by that we mean awesome! Normally Ibiza Marina would be a big no go for us. In season it would cost us someahere between €150-€250 a night here!! Since it's the low season, we now pay nowhere near that kind of money. So we took the opportunity and enjoyed it.

    We arrived around noon and we had a lot of plans, but very little time. The next day we would have to check out, just like a hotel, by noon again. On our to do list: doing laundry, grocery shopping, finding a new pan, exchanging our gas tank, go to the Decathlon for snorkeling gear, go into Ibiza Old Town and have a client meeting. Somehow we managed to all of that in 24 hours and all by foot. On day one we did laundry, found a new pan, discovered where we could go for gas after many failed attempts and went into Ibiza town. On day two Bart got the gas while I Had my meeting and afterwards we walked about 20 minutes, instead of the suggested 45 minutes by Google, to the Decathlon and grocery store. You just have to walk like a local here, cross where in the Netherlands you would never. You're fine and it saves a lot of time😉

    Ibiza Old Town was gorgeous. It is build on a hill and it mostly consists of a castle and is surrounded by small streets filled with white painted houses, bars and restaurants. Unfortunately, the downside of it being low season is that everything is still closed. Luckily, our main attraction when we visit a city is walking around anyways so it doesn't matter a lot. The vibe just is pretty sad instead of vibrant. We did however find a nice wine bar with a little terrace with heaters. So we concluded our very successful day with a drink there. Just a drink, because the snacks were outrageously expensive 😉    LĂ€s mer

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    11

    Ibiza V: Cala Es Jondal ⚓

    28 feb.–4 mars 2025, Spanien ⋅ ☁ 14 °C

    This was one of those anchorages where the time passed very quickly and we are not sure what we actually did. We worked for a couple of days, read a lot in our massive books by Ken Follet, had some drinks and dinner with our neighbors Beautje and Noordster, and only went ashore once. We did have a lot of gray and rainy days so it does make sense this anchorage wasn't too memorable location. once it was another pretty one though. But all in all, not much to say.LĂ€s mer

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    Ibiza VI: Cala Tarida

    4–7 mars 2025, Spanien ⋅ 🌬 17 °C

    We were about to get a lot of strong easterly wind. So we decided to move further to the lew side of the island together with Beautje. Not the regular crew of Beautje, Hilda and Lajla, but Hilda and her two sisters Gonnie and Gerdina.

    The wind was already blowing from behind so we decided to sail with only a reefed main sail. This was going fine until we got back to the point where you have to pass through Es Vedra, the big rock formation just of the coast. The wind was funny last time we passed through here and it was again this time. We would go from being very happy we were reefed double with the wind blowing 29 knots to hoping for the next burst of wind when we only had 3-5 knots. At some points, even though Beautje was right next to us, either we would get a gust which only boosted us forward while Beautje would fall still and the same thing happened multiple times the other wind. It makes sense with the many rock formations and cliffs which can cause odd fall winds, but it is still quite odd when you go through it. On the last leg the wind was turning more and more against us. While Beautje was tacking its way to the anchorage we cheated a bit and turned on the engine for the last mile or so😬

    In Tarida we worked some more and explored this part of the island. Since it has rained a lot for the past week, a lot of the flowers and plants have finally started to show themselves and it is gorgeous! Hilda and her sisters invited us over for dinner on the second evening. Hilda still had some tuna in the freezer which they had caught at the coast of the Spanish mainland. We went through all of us Lajla's storage, the main chef on board of Beautje, and made some delicious dinner together while we chatted away.

    Beautje left the next day and soon after they were gone Watertuin arrived. We had briefly passed them in Gibraltar when we had just gotten diesel and they were on the way to the fuel station. The next morning we had a cup of tea/coffee together before we went out way again. Up North we go!    LĂ€s mer

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    Ibiza VII: Cala Benirràs ⚓

    7–8 mars 2025, Spanien ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    After a couple of days in Cala Tarida we were ready for our next bay. Since my family is coming to Mallorca at the end of March for a week we are starting to look for upcoming wind windows to cross from Ibiza to Mallorca. Therefore, we are aiming to travel northeast from here.

    Our course is upwind from Tarida towards the north. After a mile or 10 we are getting close to the northwestern corner of the island when the wind dies. We only have a few miles to go to a dream anchorage, secluded with just cliffs and rock formations. Unfortunately once we get there the swell happily rolls in and additionally we would have to drop the anchor in about 12 meters of water. So we continue. Sadly, the wind is still nowhere to be found but we have 7 more miles to go. Perky the engine it is.

    On the upside, this side of the island is absolutely gorgeous. Even though we get sprayed by some rain, it is a nice trip. We finally make it to our anchorage Cala Benirràs after a long day. We took our time in the morning, having a cup of tea with the Watertuin, go for a shower and thus a swim since the color of the water again is mesmerizing and thinking we had the whole day ahead of us. By time the anchor is hooked the sun starts to set and we go inside for dinner and a another early night. We sleep, swell wise, okay but not great. So the next morning we wake up early and move on to the next bay.    LĂ€s mer

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    Ibiza VIII: Portinatx ⚓

    8–13 mars 2025, Spanien ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

    In Portinatx almost our entire Dutch fleet , and more, from Sines is reunited. We are welcomed by Square One and Simon Hendrick when we enter the bay. We saw SH for the last time in Villa Real in Portugal and Square One in Gibraltar, it has been a while. We quickly get invited for a hike to the Lighthouse later that day with the both of them. The cliffs are impressive again and the views amazing. The way back turns out to be quite adventurous as we're slipping and sliding our way back down to sea level again. Still pretty impressed by five year old crew member of the Simon Hendrick for sticking with us! 😉 Obviously, we had to cheers to our accomplishments at the local terrace in the sun.

    On Sunday we take on the invitation of Square One to go on another hike to the other side of the bay. Over there it looks like we have travelled to the moon. The rock formations are very pointy and there are crater like holes in the cliffs. At some point we think we see a lookout point and we decided to follow a trail that turned out not to be a trail at all... We're doing fine climbing over the rocks and through the bushes but at some point, and at this point we had already passed the point of no return, we have to go pretty much straight up. I don't remember how but I somehow find my way up there and soon I am followed by Bart, Harmen and Kiki. We're glad we didn't look down on our way up, let's leave it at that.

    The next day Beautje, Noordster and Watertuin join our Dutch party. It is pretty cool to have 6 Dutch boats anchored in a bay in Ibiza, but at the same time it also feels kind off invasive.. But, the fun part is that Simon Hendrick invited all of us! over to their boat for a fun night of drinks, good conversations and lots of laughs. Bart joins the party a couple of hours before I do as I get stuck, willingly, working on our website www.bartandbel.com!

    The next day Beautje and us leave to go to just one bay around the corner, over there we should get better protections against the wind and swell. Beautje gets there, of course, before us and lets us know over the VHF that there isn't enough space seagrass and depth wise. So we both turn around and sail the 2,5 miles back to Portinatx. It was a beautiful day for a sail, so no harm done.

    The last two days we spend playing football and volleyball on the beach, hiking to the anchorage around the corner we didn't go to and enjoying each others company. On the last night together we share our travel plans. Simon Hendrick and Square One are going southeast, Beautje West and Noordster and us are debating whether we will leave for Mallorca the next day. Around 4pm the next day the forecast warns for gusts of 55 knots near Palma de Mallorca. Additionally there is some thunder on its way. We both decide to wait for tomorrow morning's weather update and decide then...    LĂ€s mer

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    Ibiza IX: Cala Punta Grossa ⚓

    13–14 mars 2025, Spanien ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    In the morning we check the weather update. No more gusts of 55 knots, the thunderstorms are still coming. We're not going, yet. The Noordster does decide to go, they leave early while we turn around for another hour of sleep. After we wake up we get ready to leave. With us, you might guess it correctly, Beautje. However, it's the last time we will set sail together for a while. They are heading back to the mainland to bay their new boat and sell their current Beautje! Very exciting.

    We don't have to go far, only a mile or 6. In the distance we see Simon Hendrick. Behind us Square One (an x-yacht) is catching up with us. Just before we turn starboard to go into the anchor buy Square One passes us and we wave each other goodbye until the next timeđŸ‘‹đŸœ

    Finally, we have not only made it to an anchorage of my dreams we are actually tucked in, snug like a bug, not going anywhere. And we're really not going anywhere for a while since it is raining again. After a couple of hours we decide to lift the dinghy into water and go for a walk. This makes for some beautiful pictures! And it was just a pretty spot, we had a very good night as well! (We also got rained on during our walk, but I guess that's the part we better leave out to make the story better 😉)    LĂ€s mer

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    Ibiza X: Cala de Sant Vincent ⚓

    14–15 mars 2025, Spanien ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    Just around the corner, if there would have been a path one of us could have walked, from Punta Grossa we anchor the next morning in Cala San Vincent. We had a very good night but today the swell and wind will come in more from the north so we will be better protected on this side.

    We don't have a lot to say about this anchorage. We can sum it up in three bullets:
    ° It rained
    ° We checked the weather
    ° It rained, also when we did dare to go for a walk

    Good news is, it looks like tomorrow, March 15th, we can cross to Mallorca!

    More good news, we fixed the water maker, again, and now are tanks are pretty much filled with our freshly produced water!    LĂ€s mer

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    Mallorca I: Portals Vells ⚓

    15–17 mars 2025, Spanien ⋅ ☀ 13 °C

    We had a beautiful sail from Ibiza to Mallorca. We initially planned to leave the 13th but we didn't trust the forecast of 40+ knots of wind and local thunderstorms. Boy were we happy we waited. While we started with high waves and not a lot of wind, after only a few miles the sea calmed and the wind started to blow. We cruised, reaching, all the way to Mallorca.

    Our first anchorage: Portals Vells. We were welcomed by the Noordster where we were immediately invited onboard for a drink and eventually dinner right when we dropped an anchor. We gladly accepted the invitation. Can't really think of anything better after a day of sailing than to be able to join for drinks and dinner 😍 Well, as it turns out it can get better. Because we suddenly heard violin music. Apparently our neighbor boat is a travelling and sailing violin artist! It was magical. He even tool requests, so Bart asked him if he could play Fragile by Sting. It was really cool!!

    The next day we worked a bit in the morning before exploring the beautiful caves and cliffs. The caves were dug out to use the stones for the cathedral in Palma de Mallorca. Legend has it that a ship from Genoa once got caught in a storm and promised to build an altar once they found a safe haven. They did so in the anchorage of Portals Vells and there does still seem to be some remains of an altar in the caves. We were able to enjoy the anchorage for two days before the swell started to come in and we decided to move on to the next stop on Mallorca.    LĂ€s mer

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    Mallorca II: Santa Ponça ⚓

    17–21 mars 2025, Spanien ⋅ ☁ 14 °C

    From Portals Vells it was only a couple of miles around the corner to our next anchorage in Santa Ponca. Unfortunately no wind, so we turned on Perky once more.

    In Santa Ponca we had a couple of good game nights playing Catan with the Noordster and were able to restock with groceries. We both worked a bit and we went for a nice walk around town. Compared to Ibiza Mallorca is a lot more lively. There are more people out and about and stores and restaurants are opened which doesn't give off the deserted vibes we felt on Ibiza (although we absolutely enjoyed our time spent on our walks in nature on Ibiza).

    Gerben and Jolanda had caught one of the local sea breams in our previous anchorage so Bart lent them his fish trap. On the third day they caught their very first octopus! This time its size was perfect for the four of us. Jolanda created a new Dutch special: hutspot with pulpo! 😋    LĂ€s mer

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    Mallorca III: Port d'Andratx

    21–24 mars 2025, Spanien ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

    There was a lot of wind coming so we needed to hide somewhere (35+ knots of wind)! We chose to go to Port d'Andratx and to book a berth in the municipal harbor. We first booked just for a night as we are looking for a weather window to go up North. Unfortunately we quickly realized the strong winds would keep blowing until Monday.

    While we were securely snug like a bug in Port d'Andratx it looked a couple of times like we could have gone out sailing. However within 30 minutes the strong winds and high waves would come back. We decided we had made a good decision and be okay with the fact that we should Stay in a harbor for a couple of days. After all, we had just spent about a month on anchor âš“â›”

    Port d'Andratx was a very cute town with adorable little traditional or semi-traditional fishing boats. We like to call them dopjes. We did a nice walk to the other side of the bay, got some treats from the bakery and chatted with the baker woman about the NL-ES ⚜ game and by accident enjoyed some waaaaay to expensive drinks on a beautiful terrace on the boulevard.

     From Port d'Andratx we also took the bus to Palma de Mallorca for some sight seeing. It was a surprisingly beautiful city. Especially the cathedral and castle, which we obviously only saw from the outside, and the older smaller streets were gorgeous. For lunch we found a nice tapas bar before taking the bus back home. On Sunday we walked to the pier to look at the violence of the waves chashing into it and we were happy with our decision we didn't go yet. Afterwards, we did some work and went to bed rather late since Spain and the Netherlands decided to take it all the way to penalties!!    LĂ€s mer

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    Port de Soller ⚓

    24–26 mars 2025, Spanien ⋅ ☀ 14 °C

    After the stormy winds have passed we find an acceptable weather window to sail north to Port de Soller. Since my family is coming to Mallorca for our birthdays we have a bit of a tight schedule. We start the day as we call it "gray and grauw": gray clouds, not a lot of wind and rain. Slowly the gray clouds pass and here and there a little bits of blue sky appear. The wind also gets better and better. After a couple of hours, after a couple of attempts, we hoist our colorful gennaker. Ideal for light winds from reaching to downwind (van achteren). Above 10 knots we prefer not to use our gennaker because she's a beauty, but she has some years on her. So when the wind picks up after a few hours we take down the gennaker and set up a "melkmeisje". After all we have a beautiful sail along the rocky and impressive west coast of Mallorca.

     Port de Soller is one of the very few protected anchorages on this side of the island. It's quite a big bay and it surrounded by mountains. Absolutely stunning! On the other hand, it is also very touristy. The entire bay is surrounded by a boulevard filled with shops, bars, restaurants and veeeery expensive ice cream. We keep it to just one scoop each😉. On top of that a small tram brings heaps of tourists from the coastal town Port de Soller to Soller itself. It's a cute town and the mountain views are gorgeous, but a bit too touristy in our opinion. After 2 good night's of sleep we continue north to Pollenca. There we'll be able to leave Nimrod in the municipal harbor when my family is here.    LĂ€s mer

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    Port de Pollença I ⚓

    26–29 mars 2025, Spanien ⋅ ☀ 15 °C

    For those of you who have known us before this sailing adventure, you might remember our not so successful "Christmas 2023 at Vlieland". It all started in 2022. It has become a bit of a Dutch sailing tradition to spend New Year's Eve on Terschelling, one of the islands in the Waddenzee. In 2022 we attempted to go there. Long story short, we didn't make it and we ended up cheersing to 2023 in Makkum, Friesland, in the middle of nowhere. In 2023 we thought that's not going to happen to us again! This year we will take 2 weeks to get Terschelling and while we are at it, we will invite our families to Vlieland to celebrate Christmas at the Nimrod. Well, we did celebrate Christmas at Vlieland that year. But we had to take the ferry and Nimrod was still in Enkhuizen (but, yes we did make it Terschelling for New Year's that year).

    Since my family is coming to Mallorca and we had booked a berth, pretty close to where we would stay as a family, in Pollenca we had a deadline and a challenge. Will we make it to Pollenca on time OR will it be Christmas on Vlieland 2023 2.0.

    Challenge accepted and challenge succeeded! Wow what a trip it was from Port de Soller to Pollenca. Amazing wind, another gennaker day and on top of that a small pod of 3 dolphins accompanied us for at least an hour. At the same time that the gennaker was up!! All the while we were cruising by the highest mountains and rocky coast of Mallorca 😍 Some of them looked like the rock from the Lion King, naturally I had to...    LĂ€s mer

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