Ahoy, dear friends of sailingsymi,

After our short August break in Vienna, we’re now heading eastward on Symi. Following a punctual and smooth direct flight with Ryanair (all the windows remained intact) to Málaga and a two-hour bus ride, we arrived safely back at the marina in La Línea de la Concepción the night before last and found Symi safely moored at the dock. We quickly hosed off the Sahara sand, and yesterday I already started installing the replacement parts that had been delivered here. The weather in Gibraltar is definitely late-summer-like. Just 26° during the day and 19° at night. Wonderful for working and sleeping well.

It’s interesting how, as soon as you step onto your boat, you’re immediately back in “lake mode.” Everything seems quieter and gentler, and the water all around you (even right there in the marina) soothes your soul. Whenever a bigger wave rolls into the marina, the Symi rocks briefly, and you feel right at home again. 

Especially with my injured shoulder, removing and installing a new electric toilet pump yesterday wasn't exactly pleasant, but after four hours, I was able to successfully finish the job. The bilge stayed dry again when flushing, and now it sucks just like an airplane toilet.

Today, Andrea used the electric winch to hoist me up to the top of the mast, where I was able to replace the tricolor lantern that had broken off over the Atlantic. I’ve already checked off two tasks on the list. ☑️. 

Good organization on board is half the battle, which is why it’s important to always know exactly where to find a spare part. So today I set about registering all the new spare parts I’d brought on board in my phone app. There, I can check at any time which of Symi’s nooks and crannies I’ve stowed each part in. Otherwise, this would be a never-ending search. The app is called “Itemido,” costs next to nothing, and was originally designed for household use. 

Gerade habe ich per Mail erfahren, dass meine Hochdruckpumpe doch noch morgen hier ankommen soll, was ich gar nicht mehr erhofft hatte. Also kommt noch ein weiterer Punkt zum Basteln hinzu. Die Aircondition.

Today's sunset is absolutely stunning. After a long day of cleaning, Andrea has now headed to the galley, and I'm looking forward to a nice dinner with a sundowner beer in hand.

Our plans for the rest of the trip are to sail along the south coast to Almería on Sunday, with a westerly wind. I'll describe exactly what happens next in my next blog post.

We wish you a wonderful evening and all the best from aboard the Symi.

Euere Symis

Dear friends of SailingSymi,

Nachdem wir, wie Du vielleicht gelesen hast, glücklich in Portugal angekommen sind und uns Anna dann in Faro verlassen hatte, segelten wir in drei Etappen entlang der portugiesischen und spanischen Küste bis Barbate, ankerten nochmals vor der Stadt und erledigten heute die (wegen der Orca Angriffe) heißeste Strecke zum Kap Tarifa. Dort Schloß sich unser Segelabenteuer Kreis ⭕️ wieder.

Einmal rund um die Atlantikküsten. 27.000 km liegen seit Beginn der Reise in unserem Kielwasser. Im September 2023 lagen wir mit Symi in der selben Marina, bevor wir zu den Kanaren aufgebrochen sind. Somit ist der Kreis geschlossen, der Trip aber wird ab September bis Griechenland weiter gehen. Dort sind wir schließlich im Juni 2023 gestartet und wollen auch wieder dahin zurückkehren.

Für Ende Juli haben wir einen Flug nach Wien gebucht um meiner Schulter die notwendige Abklärung und Therapie zukommen zu lassen und um unsere Freunde und Familien zu treffen.

Danke, daß Du bis hierher dabei warst und vielleicht sehen wir uns bald….

Beste Grüße aus Gibraltar

Capt. Pavlos und Crew

Kap Tarifa

Dear readers of SailingSymi

Some of you have been following us via the tracking page on Predictwind.com and may have already learned that we arrived safe and sound this morning at the southwestern tip of Portugal.

Kap Portugal

6.5 days of nearly ideal conditions and a great crew were bound to lead to success

Last night, though marked by a constant stream of large ships crossing our path—moving north-south on a sort of two-lane highway from Africa toward the north or south—went off without a hitch. The only short-term effects were spontaneous adrenaline surges—and thus heightened alertness—whenever a 300-meter-long behemoth crossed our wake 500 meters behind us.

So now we're back on the European mainland, which means we've completed our Atlantic cruise. ✔️.
We'll be anchoring in Faro this evening, and Anna will disembark tomorrow and fly back to Vienna.

Our plan now is to sail to the northwest corner of the Strait of Gibraltar by July 26 and pass through it. For this to happen, several factors must align:

1. - Westerly winds, light to moderate
2. - The trip was scheduled to take place 2 hours before high tide in Gibraltar, when the tide flows eastward
3. - You should sail during the day.

This rendezvous will take place on July 26 at 12:00 p.m., and we should set out at exactly that time so that we can reach the safe marina at La Linea (next to Gibraltar) after three hours. Due to the orca problems and attacks here along the coast and in the Gulf, we’re taking the recommended detour that runs along the coast the entire way. In water depths of 0–20 meters, there has been only one attack on a yacht so far. This tactic is strongly recommended by the Spanish authorities, and it looks like a sort of single-file procession of yachts, all of them avoiding deep water and dutifully sailing along the 20-meter depth line—from the Atlantic, along the entire southern coast of Portugal and Spain, all the way to the northwestern corner of the Strait of Gibraltar. We’ll then leave Symi moored at the marina for the month of August and fly to Austria for a short vacation. Warm regards from aboard, The Symi Crew and Capt. Pavlo

Note
Falls Du das echte tägliche Logbuch, das ich während dieser Überfahrt geschrieben habe versäumt hast, hier ist der Link.