I have left Alghora for the Northern tip of Sardinia. Patty has flown to the USA for a month, we plan to meet again in Rome. I plan to travel up the East Coast of Corsica, cross to Elba then the Italian mainland.
Of all the places I have been to so far in the Mediterranean, Sardinia has to be my favourite. It is not overdeveloped so keeps its natural beauty. Even Alghora manages to keep a quiet peaceful town atmosphere. I sailed all day yesterday and saw only two other yachts and very few man made structures on shore.
After spending a week waiting for the right winds to cross to Sardinia where I hoped to meet Patty, plans were changed (again 🙄). Instead Patty (who is Patty? You may ask.. be patient all will be revealed 😉) flew to Mahon and met me at the marina. After a few days at anchor in Mahon we have crossed and now anchored near Alghero.
Patty (Patricia) is a lady I met via a Facebook sailing forum and have been chatting to online for a few weeks. She responded to a post I put up about the realities of loneliness when travelling solo. Patty is also a solo traveller, originally from Argentina but lived most of her adult life in California but more recently in Italy. She wanted to join me for a few days en route back to the USA. We have found an instant connection, so she has sailed with me to Sardinia and will travel to the USA from here in a few more days.
Although that’s great news, there’s more… she will be back in late July when we hope to make more plans.
We will relax, sail and explore around Alghero for a few more days. After Patty flies off I will sail up to Corsica then across to Tuscany. I will then explore south down to Rome, Naples and Sicily. Patty will rejoin me somewhere along that coast.
I am still in Mayon waiting for the wind to be strong enough in the right direction to cross to Sardinia. I moved the boat to a marina for three nights mainly to pick up some spare parts for the dinghy engine and to get a passport exit stamp. Today I moved back to the anchorage.
The dinghy engine has been unreliable since I left the UK. It has suffered from various fuel problems. I have stripped and cleaned the carburettor numerous times and eventually decided a complete rebuild was needed. I did that yesterday with parts i got in Mahon and so far, 🤞 all looks good. She fires on the first pull and doesn’t hesitate on acceleration any more. Next door to the chandlery was a gin distillery so I have stocked up ready for a future tasting session.
The forecast is little to no wind Thursday and Friday but it starts to pick up on Saturday when I hope to start the 50 to 60 hour crossing.
I have sailed from Mallorca to Menorca and currently anchored in what to me is heaven. I am just outside the port of Mahon at a sheltered bay surrounded by post Napoleonic fortifications (1848). The bay is protected on all sides from the wind.
Anchorage below the fortress of Isabel II on La Mola in Mahon harbour
I arrived yesterday and went out on the dinghy this morning to explore and take Dotty for a walk. I was thinking I could come back to the fort later without Dotty to explore. No need, dogs are allowed in 🤗. It was fascinating and another example of humans spending huge amounts if money, time and effort in building weapons and defences that barely saw a shot fired in anger. It was built to house massive front loading cannons, just before breach loaded guns were invented with greater accuracy and range, making the whole place obsolete. It did continue as a defensive position but never as it was designed for.
Mayonnaise I hear you ask? Or did you not read the title of this post? Well a French guy named a sauce after Mahon when he returned to Paris. The same sauce we now call Mayonnaise. I love these little social facts you pick up in strange places.
Mayonnaise History
I am in no rush to leave here, I want to go and explore the town while I’m here. I may use the dinghy for that, or I may go to the marina next week. The winds are in the wrong direction to sail to Sardinia until at least the middle of next week.
Yes, I am living my dream of travelling the world in an affordable manner. But what’s the cost? This is going to be a hard post for me, it will reveal difficulties in my life that very few people are aware of.
Well financially, its affordable. It is costing more per month than I budgeted for but even with no further income, I can survive at least another year. I have a couple of small sources of income so in reality I can survive another 2-3 years before i have to go back to employment. I am working on a software app which, if successful, would provide regular long term income.
But what about emotionally? That’s a different story. The cost is contact with friends and family, you cannot put a price on that. Loneliness and isolation have, and continue to be a major factor in my life.
I have tried to do something about it and will go through some of what I’ve done and how it turned out. But, in summary, I have yet to meet that one person who is happy with themselves, knows what they want, and are brave enough to take necessary risks to get it.
Online messaging friends and family
I try to do this regularly but I have noticed this usually ends up a one way street. By this i mean I usually initiate contact and it eventually tails off until I spark it off again. It’s still worthwhile though, they have busy lives and time restricted. I have too much time on my hands.
Facebook Groups
I have had good new contacts this way, one turned into a very short term relationship. But mostly these are people who have their own plans and looking for somebody to join them or to discuss sailing issues. I did made contact with a lady who joined me as crew for nearly two months via one of these groups. But mostly these contacts are dreamers, curious about this lifestyle but not brave enough to do it for themselves or are recovering from a life changing event such as bereavement or divorce and are in the process of self discovery.
Meeting locals
I have had least success here, I meet other sailors at the marina and have made new friends that way. I have also met locals through Facebook groups. But they tend to be short duration contacts.
Dating sites
I have been registered on various dating apps such as Facebook dating, match.com, tinder and bumble. It’s a jungle.
Several times I have found what initially appears to be a good prospect, but what starts out well, has consistently hit a roadblock. Some of the dead ends I have followed are.. ladies who don’t know what they want and are disappointed in not finding it 🤔😳, a rich lady who wanted a companion to fit in her life, ladies who just want attention and are not serious about meeting, ladies who are actually men, ladies who have artificial intelligence, ladies who are scammers, I won’t give more detail but you get the idea. I am sure there are some lovely, perfect for me, ladies out there, but after 7 months, I am starting to doubt it.
What has prompted this post is my latest failure. I met a lady who is nearly perfect for me. But, through a combination of factors, it’s not going any further. I am hugely disappointed and having to seriously consider whether the cost (loneliness) is worth it. I will continue to travel this summer but I need to rethink my future plans. I have discovered how much I need human contact, how much I need to have somebody with me. Yes this is post is full of self pity, but it’s also honest.
So if there is anyone out there who thinks this lifestyle is for them, who can live in a confined space with a guy who although tries very hard to be the best person he can, will occasionally fail. Please contact me. Or, if this lifestyle is not for you, but have an hour or two to spare, or fancy a cheap holiday in the sun, send me a message to say hello. Sometimes that’s all I need.
I have been in Alcudia for a while now, its time to start moving again. I plan to leave on the 20th of the month and the route is Menorca, Sardinia, Corsica and then Tuscanny in Italy.
Last week I had some work done on my ship tattoo. I am really pleased with the design, the tattoo artist really listened to and encapsulated what I wanted which was to add some missing rigging lines to the ship, add waves and storm clouds around the ship, and place a kraken below the ship lying in wait. He has arranged the elements perfectly and as a bonus he added a compass.
I have a second appointment in a week to finish the kraken.
I had an opportunity to fly to the USA and spend a week with Imke who fits saddles in the New England area. As this coincided with ex crewmate Nellie being in Barcelona and available to doggy sit Dotty, it was too good an opportunity to miss. So here I am in Dover, New Hampshire, USA have just finished a 4 day road trip around New England.
It has been a really interesting and fun few days and I have learned a lot about horses, saddles, and the importance of having a correctly fitted saddle. Even I could see the difference in the way a horse rode from before and after Imke made small and subtle adjustments.
It’s not all been work though, we have had a lot of fun too. We stayed in a motel one night by the sea and moved the mattress onto the balcony to sleep under the stars. The next night we stayed at a friend’s house and went out to see a live band playing at a distillery. Tonight we plan to go out for a meal with Imke’s daughter and her boyfriend.
I have seen some beautiful locations and pretty houses and towns. It’s a lovely part of the world and I am so glad I got the chance to experience it.
All good things must come to an end though, tomorrow I fly back to Barcelona, pick up Dotty from Nelly then get the night ferry back to Mallorca. That should be the end of my little adventure… 🤔 except its not 🙂 Imke will be flying out to Italy in June when we will spend time together sailing.
Last week a friend flew out to visit. Nicola stayed in a local hotel and we went out for meals, sailing and sunbathing.
I have also been working on another boat in the Marina, Thorenas is a motor boat that needs a lot of work to make it watertight and pretty. I have been painting, fixing leaks in the deck, doing electrical work and restoring a teak deck. It’s slow progress on the deck due to discovering rot in the sub floor, a source of her many leaks.
Next week I am off to the USA to spend a week with another friend Imke. She is a saddle fitter and has invited me along on a road trip to visit clients in the area around New Hampshire. Nelly (former crewmate) is back in Barcelona and available to look after Dotty, so everything slotted into place. We get a ferry from here on the 24th to Barcelona and I fly to Boston from Barcelona on the 25th, returning on the 4th May.
I have been on an expensive Royal Yacht Association sailing course to learn how to sail 😳. Why? To get a bit of paper that says I am competent 🙄. The last time I was checked by the police I was hassled because I did not have a captains license, in Spain and many other countries, you need a license or certificate of competence to be in charge of a boat. However, a foreign flagged boat with a foreign captain comes under international law, not national law. This states that home port rules apply, in my case UK which does not require a captains license. But you try explaining that to the police who want to enforce national laws on you. 😲. I have heard that in Italy, the police are even worse. So, to avoid future hassle, I decided to get my International Certificate of Competance (ICC) and the simplest way to get that was by taking the RYA day skipper course. I did this in Palma last week, I passed the course and my ICC should arrive in the next few weeks.
On the plus side, I did learn a few things, practiced some manoeuvres like man overboard, I got to sail a bigger boat (a Bavaria 46) and met some new people.
It’s going to be a busy month. Next week a friend flies in to spend a week in Alcudia and we will spend a lot of time together. I will continue working on somebody else’s boat and, spolier alert… I am planning a road trip.. but not in Spain 🤔. More on that another time.
I’m in Alcudiamar Marina For the next 2 months. It’s a lovely Marina less than 7 years old so everything’s new and modern. The town is very nice it’s sleepy because it’s out of season. Its a family resort so you don’t get the big clubs and noise that you would in Palma or Ibiza. I had a walk up to the Old Town.
Alcudia old town
I’m going to be working on somebody else’s boat for a while but also I need to get an International certificate of competence (ICC). It’s a bit of paper issued to prove that you can sail. It’s not legally required on a UK registered vessel, but as I found recently the police don’t necessarily know that and want to enforce the national rules which says a captains license is required. I will have the same problem at most European countries I visit so it’s easier just to get the certificate and then produce it when somebody asks for it.
I am booked onto a sailing course that will give me the certificate in Palma next week. The course is very expensive and I’ll need to hire a car but if I want that bit of paper. I have to bite the bullet and do it.
