Barcelona

Some of the world race yachts We arrived back at our usual berth in Barcelona early on the 23rd October. While we were away Port Vell has been bought by Salamanca Capital Investments who plan to make it the largest super-yacht marina in the Mediterranean but it’s too early to see changes yet.

Oh woe is me, the printer/scanner (a loyal servant) has died. My post-mortem confirms it died of acute electronic failure. No expense spared, I bought a new one of the same make (alas a newer model which is slightly bigger) for a whole 49 euros – last of the big spenders!

On the 29th we had great news, an email from Mark and Pam told us that after their son Gareth’s extensive surgery for cancer of the jaw that he is doing well although there is still along way to go.

The marina hosted it’s usual Castañada celebration at the ‘Luz de Gaz’ on the 4th November and Del & Haley came for drinks the following evening.

The boat show which ran from the 8th to 14th November was smaller this year but as usual we got two free tickets courtesy of the marina. The boats afloat are on the other side of the marina from our pontoon and easy to get to so I went for a look on Monday but nothing caught my eye. Next day Tan and I went to the main exhibition centre (courtesy bus) in search of a new dinghy and binoculars. The dinghy we chose to replace our 7 year old 2.30 metre dinghy is a 2.49 metre Caribe with an air V floor. Both of our current pairs of binoculars have broken at some time and been repaired with Araldite so Tan also bought a very nice pair of auto-focus binoculars with compass at a less than half normal retail price. All-in-all a successful but expensive trip.

Barcelona World Race pavilion We haven’t lifted out (taken the boat out of the water) for the past 3 years and the anti-fouling has worn away to the equivalent of threadbare, it’s amazing that it has lasted this long. The plan was to lift-out this year. Not only is there the expense of the lift-out, chocking-up, hard standing fees, and the materials (anti-fouling paint is very expensive, from 60 euros a litre to 120 euro a litre and we need 10 litres), but there is also the expense of accommodation and eating out since we choose not to live on the boat while it is out of the water. So I was particularly interested in some relatively new technology which does away with the need for anti-fouling paint and also helps the environment.

The use of high frequency sound waves (Ultrasonic) has been used for cleaning purposes for many years especially in the medical and jewellery industries. After extensive research into the exact frequency and intensity, this technology is now availably to the marine industry. Having been burned (financially) with using a copper coating I’m more cautious, but published data seems encouraging. After reading some articles on ultrasonic antifouling I went back to the boat show in search of more information. To cut a long story short (too late!) I bought an ultrasonic antifouling system so in theory we don’t need to lift-out for many years saving money and a lot of hard work. The cost of the ultrasonic system was slightly less than the cost to lift-out and paint so it seems a reasonable risk.

Rachel & Sophia The boat show behind us I had an appointment with Nuria my local dentist hygienist for 11/11 at 11 o’clock to get my teeth cleaned. When I arrived there were five people in the waiting room which didn’t bode well for my schedule. One of the people in the small waiting room was a rather large lady in an even larger electric wheelchair. After about 20 minutes she was shown into one of the dental rooms directly off the waiting room but unfortunately her wheelchair broke down halfway through the door. Because it was electric it couldn’t be moved manually without making some adjustment which the staff and another patient tried but failed to do. I decided to make a new appointment and while waiting took a closer look at the wheelchair, I found the disengaging levels so it could be moved manually and pulled it back into the waiting room. Once in the open the problem was obvious, the cable from the control panel on the arm had become unplugged. Once re-inserted the wheelchair whirred into life and the woman manoeuvred it expertly through the door.

I made another appointment with Nuria for the following week - her eyes are so beautiful I could gaze into them for ever. The teeth cleaning went well but unfortunately it’s not possible to look into someone’s eyes when tilted back, your mouth wide open and a bright light shining in your face, c’est la vie!

Just before Tan went to Wales on the 19th November for nine days the new dinghy arrived complete with seat bag and dinghy cover, then soon after she left the ultrasonic antifouling system arrived. It took me the best part of four days to install it. After deciding to install the control unit in the engine compartment and where to place the six transducers the areas were cleared and cleaned and the cables laid. Then the tricky part, to glue the transducers in place using 2 part resin with a pot life of 5 minutes once mixed. With everything ready, I mixed the first pot, glued 4 transducers in place and used the rest to glue the through-hull connections for the hull anode in place so that it can be replaced with the boat in the water. The remaining 2 transducers were glued in place the following morning with the 2nd pot of resin. I lost count of the times I crawled in and out of the engine compartment but my body told me it was a lot! On Friday morning I connected the power and the system went live.

It wasn’t all work, one night I went to Can Mano – my favourite fish restaurant, had a great meal and met eight very interesting young Spaniards (7 men, 1 woman) who get together occasionally from different parts of Spain. We conversed in my broken Spanish and their broken English but it was great fun.

The villa where we spent Christmas Towards the end of November preparations were in progress for the for the 25,000 mile non-stop Barcelona World Boat Race. A massive pavilion (about the size of a football field) was erected just outside the marina. Boats were moved from pontoon H, the 2nd largest, to the opposite side of the port ready for the race boats to arrive. There were 15 boats, 30 sailors (27 men and 3 women) of 8 nationalities (13 Spanish, 10 French, 2 Brits, 1 Swiss, 1 New Zealander, 1 Polish, 1 German and 1 American) whose ages range from 27 to 55.

A new pedestrian entrance to the marina was made opposite H pontoon and staffed by security so that the public could have access to view the boats. The Barcelona World Race started at 13:00 on a grey 31st December but fortunately the rain and drizzle stopped before the start and many boats left the marina to view the spectacle, we were not one of them!

Meanwhile I put up the usual Christmas lights on the boat and on the 21st December and had a great meal out with Barbara and Robbie (Felix 2) then next day went to Marbella to spend Christmas with Rachel and family. It was sunnier and warmer than Barcelona and we had an enjoyable time, especial the superb meal prepared by Rachel on Christmas day. However, four days is long enough with two small children no matter how nice they are!

Year of the rabbit Next thing you know it’s New Years Eve which I spent in club duvet with a lover! Normally I’m asleep long before the current year expires but this year we watched a DVD and before long it was 00:30. What happened to the wonderful sounds of ships horns and the spectacular fireworks at midnight? There was nothing! Next day we had a New Years day party on our pontoon with the usual format, bring you own dink and food to share. The weather was kind with 16 C temperature and mostly dry despite a few rain drops trying to gate-crash at the end. Problems were solved, experiences shared, the world put to rights, and a good time had by all.

5th January is 3 Kings Eve when the three wise men arrive by boat and there are parades all over the city and on the 6th (a national holiday) the children get lots of presents. Our present was to dine with Robbie and Barbara on their boat. We had a great evening and a superb meal. During the meal I got a phone call from Colin saying that he couldn’t come next day for the long weekend as planned due to having secured a work contract in Guernsey. We are very pleased he got the job but disappointed because we will miss his company, but another time.

The 8th of January was a magnificent day, hot and sunny with a light breeze from the SW. We needed fuel so decided to take advantage of the weather and stretch our sea legs to take the boat five miles to the fuel quay at Port Olympic. It is a matter of pride that we keep the boat in a state of readiness to sail at short notice and with little effort. Mission accomplished, we had an enjoyable sail and took on 153 litres of diesel. Our built in hot air heating system runs on diesel so it’s important we maintain a good supply. On the trip Tan got to try out the new binoculars she bought at the boat show and declared them a success.

Tan with Glyn & Emma Pete and Debbie (Paradox) came back to Barcelona from Valencia for Christmas and New Year and we enjoyed their company one evening after the seasonal festivities were over when they came round for drinks. On the 14th Jan we celebrated Tan’s Birthday with a menu-del-dia at Casa Pasqual, a great Catalan restaurant within easy walking range. It’s a restaurant Tan has often remarked about so we tried it for the first time a few weeks ago and were very impressed. Tan has a remarkable ability to select good value authentic restaurants which never ceases to amaze me.

On the 22nd Tan went to Wales to stay with Derek for a few days. On Monday she accompanied Derek to the hospital for a biopsy and took the opportunity to visit her remarkable 83 year old aunt Mary who Tan really enjoys visiting, especially when treated to a Ritz style breakfast! The results of the biopsy showed that Derek has to undergo various treatments for the next several months but the prognosis is good. Tan also called our friends Nick & Marlene to be told that she is undergoing severe treatments to shrink a tumour but through it all she is still cheerful and extremely positive. Unfortunately it means we won’t see them in Pollenca this year.

Barceloneta carnival Way back in November last year Pete (Paradox) took Adam, Camilla (yacht Isola) and myself to MarinaMar sail loft in his big 4x4 to have some work done on our sails. While Tan was away I invited Adam and Camilla over for drinks and next day we went to collect our repaired sails. We had planned to do the trip by buss but Andrea gave us a lift to the sail loft and we got the bus back – very efficient. I had the sacrificial strip on the bottom edge of the Genoa replaced, and being a calm day with no wind I re-instated the Genoa on the furling gear. This involves feeding the back edge of the sail into a groove whilst hoisting the sail. Not an easy task for one person but I devised a method whereby I could use the anchor windlass to take the weight of the sail.

The first rain of the year arrived on the 28th January, prior to that it was mostly sunny although sometimes accompanied by bitterly cold wind. However it is winter and we consider ourselves very fortunate not to have suffered the severe conditions of Britain and other more northerly counties. The rain passed over just in time for the Barcelona fashion show (30 Jan – 2 Feb) held in the big pavilion erected for the BCN World Race. There was a huge TV screen outside showing the models parading the cat-walk but tall, skinny, long-legged models don’t do anything for me!

It’s the year of the rabbit! As the fashion show was drawing to a close the Chinese New Year celebrations started with a large festival on the far side of the marina. There was a large stage with many different attractions, Chinese ballet, marshal arts, singers and even what I suspect was a Chinese rapper! Also dozens of stalls, some cultural, some selling wares, others food, so on a lovely warm (24C) sunny Sunday I enjoyed sampling some of the food and a couple of glasses of cava - not Chinese!.

I took advantage of the good weather in January to start polishing the outside of the boat (the hull). This is done by balancing in the dinghy, hanging onto the boat with one hand and polishing previously cleaned areas with the other hand after having remembered to put suntan lotion on my face – rainy days would have been welcome!

Not only the weather changed in early February, so did Tan’s fortunes! The weather became much more changeable although still mostly very pleasant. As for Tan’s fortunes, she had been suffering discomfort with the dental plate fitted 3 years ago so went to get it modified, only to discover that the problem was much greater. The tooth which the plate attaches to on one side was loose and infected so had to be removed, two new crowns fitted and a whole new plate made. The whole process taking 8 to 10 weeks and involving not only the extraction of a tooth but an even greater extraction from her bank account! She had previously bought a return ticket to Wales for March to get some potentially problematic veins in her leg fixed but unfortunately the trip fell into the dental work timeframe so had to be rescheduled. The new schedule is May, flying to and from Mallorca (read about it in the summer edition!).

More carnival Earlier this year, Tan told me about a crack in the teak toe rail, she had noticed while cleaning the deck, I didn’t check for a while as it didn’t sound serious but when I got around to looking I was horrified to find it wasn’t a slight crack it was a major split where the track for the Genoa sheet is attached. It’s not a structural problem but can’t be ignored because it will continue to get worse and already water seeps into the galley cupboards underneath, so it had to be fixed.

March 6th Glyn & Emma came to stay for five days. It was Emma’s birthday while she was here so we went to an Argentinean restaurant that specialises in steaks and had a great meal. After a couple of days here Glyn’s emerging wisdom teeth became badly infected which knocked him for six. This has been a long standing problem and is unlikely to be resolved in the short term due to long waiting lists in the UK.

Barceloneta carnival was lucky with the weather again this year and was even more spectacular than usual with lots of groups from South America in colourful traditional costumes performing traditional dances. A couple of days after the carnival we had severe weather with several inches of red rain (Sahara sand) and a huge hail storm which left the deck thickly covered in hail stones.

Unfortunately the Sitges Vintage Car Rally on 27th March was less lucky because of rain showers in the morning, a great pity given all the work and preparation that goes into the cars and period costumes. My luck also ran out when I heard that I had to have the boiler and three radiators replaced in my apartment. Fortunately Debbie came to my rescue and found a plumber to give to a quote but the bottom line is my bank account about three thousand pound lighter!

The winner of the Barcelona World Yacht Race arrived back in Barcelona on the 3rd April to a fanfare and fireworks but nothing as elaborate as the send off. The 2nd boat arrived 2 days later 390km ahead of third place.

The thought of where to go in summer is never far from our minds, we had considered going to the Balearics, then south down the coast of Spain, visiting Africa and wintering in Portugal but given the current state of world affairs and Tan's dental situation (I consider them both critical!) we decided to come back to Barcelona for next winter. An added incentive is that this is likely to be the last cruising season for our dear friends Mike and Christine and they plan to cruise Sardinia so we will go to the Balearics, then on to Sardinia to meet with them occasionally.

April and the warmer weather signal many changes, not least the hectic preparations for departure in about three weeks time. Tan's already rigorous cleaning regime becomes even more intensive, winter things to be washed aired and stowed, anything not stowed to be washed and aired, decks to clean and polish, ad infinitum. It's also a time of provisioning and trying to complete all the maintenance and upgrades. Solar power was on the wish list for this year, a potential minefield for the buyer but at the last moment I got lucky and found two 50 watt panels with a considerable discount.

We should never forget how lucky we are, life may have it's up's and down's but when I walk around and see people and sights I often feel exhilarated. I like to look out and see palm trees, not that I am enamoured with the tree, but I love the climate it grows in, so off to find more of them this summer.