SARAH SMITH
FAMILY AFLOAT PART VI
ventilation. David (knowing how much we Mike, Mandie, John and Franny came meant that I had to run up and down the
women love a mooch around Ikea) was (from Portimão) to visit for a couple of deck like a loony at the last minute. Still
a bit crafty and had me in and out in 20 days. We tracked down large quantities flustered, I didn’t like to argue when
minutes flat before I’d realised what he was of fish and seafood for supper, lazed on David insisted on attempting to berth on
up to. More importantly, I suppose, we got the beach at Isla Canela (the Cinnamon the pontoon that said ‘DO NOT BERTH’.
the springy thingies, so hopefully the bunks Isle) and talked junk well into the night The kids jumped onto the pontoon to tie
will be more comfy and the underside of the – the recipe for a perfect weekend with off the ropes, but there was only one cleat
mattresses won’t go green. friends. The children made friends with on the whole pontoon – which is fine if
When the rain finally stopped we Anouk, who was staying next door on her you are a ferry with bow thrusters, but not
returned the hire car and headed back grandparents’ boat. Catching crabs and if you are a yacht without, attached only
westwards from Mazagon to Ayamonte. racing them almost reached the status of a at the stern with the wind blowing you
An 0500 start had us peering into the national sport on our pontoon – that and off. David stomped up and down the deck
darkness on the lookout for pot buoys Nintendo marathons. (suffering irreparable Croc damage), while
for the first couple of hours, but a gentle he and I shouted rude things at each other.
breeze got up with the sun, giving us
WE HAVE WIND!
Meanwhile, Bethany and I threw bits of
enough wind to get the genoa out for No, not a digestive complaint, but the rope to each other and eventually found
a motorsail. stuff that lets us get from place to place a way of pulling the bows in. The kids
comfortably, while able to talk to each remained calm and efficient throughout
AYAMONTE
other – and for free. We had a superb our little discussion of our respective
Ayamonte was lovely – really pretty sail from Ayamonte to Rota with a steady technical abilities and eyesight.
with the added advantage of lots of 10-15kn northwesterly that enabled us to
cheap bars, a few supermarkets within get both sails up and make a comfortable
TECHNICAL
walking distance, prawns at €5.99/kg 7-8kn without making Bryn seasick. It’s
HITCH NO. 542
and free Wi-Fi. What more could a girl a good job that we were able to sail, Once safely installed on a nice long
ask for (apart from a good long mooch because our engine mysteriously started hammerhead with lots of lovely cleats
around Ikea of course). We spent 10 days getting hot and leaking water. Mmmm, to tie bits of string to, we addressed the
in Ayamonte, catching up with school, been here before… problem of the engine. After spending
boat jobs and work, as well as a couple a while down the engine hole, poking
more weeks exploring the Rio Guadiana,
ANDALUCÍA/ROTA
hoses and paddling around in murky
but that’s another story. One of our art Given the delicate state of the engine water, David narrowed down our problem
projects involved painting terrapins from we were lucky to be able to sail almost to a cracked expansion tank on the engine
natural paint that we made from rocks that into the marina in Rota, just using the freshwater system. We ordered the part and
we’d selected carefully for the purpose. engine for the last 10 minutes or so. Our settled down to explore Rota and Cadiz.
Another day the crew was dispatched to arrival in the marina was a masterpiece The old town of Rota is a warren
purchase a new washing machine – two in miscommunication. First of all I of narrow, cobbled, twisting streets
large, black plastic buckets. totally forgot to set up a bow line, which opening onto public squares and Moorish
courtyards. It has two beaches – one sandy
beach stretching out along the Atlantic
Cadiz architecture – coast and another curving around the Bay
a perfect backdrop for
of Cadiz, cut short by the wall of razor
Spaniards in ruffs and tights
wire, CCTV cameras and watch towers
that marks the perimeter of the Rota Naval
Base. The base, a shared Spanish/NATO/
USA undertaking, is home to quite a few
Sea King helicopters, Galaxies and Harrier
Jump Jets.
Rota had lots to offer – a friendly
bar with Wi-Fi, a tourist info place
in the library, a banana tree, bakery,
vegetable and fish markets, hairdresser
(for Bethany’s fringe), a choice of
supermarkets, an army surplus store, a
sherry bar (local sherry €0.40 a glass and
no seats – presumably so that your knees
tell you when you’ve had enough) and
lots of lovely ironmongers.
CADIZ
When we set out on this trip, Cadiz was
one of the places that I really wanted to
visit. When we were little, Catherine (my
sister) and I had a game called Buccaneer
92 Sailing Today Saeptember 09
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