Return to Denia
Posted at 9:21 AM, Apr. 17, 2006
The Savarna blog has been inactive since we arrived in Denia last September and as we are back there on 7 May it is time to provide an update as the 2006 cruising season is about to be upon us. Anyway to go back to last September – life got very hectic in Denia (hence no blog postings). On going across to the haulout yard having made a booking to lift the boat out on the Monday morning we found to our dismay that the travel lift driver was on holiday for the week and they could not lift us until the following week by which stage we would be well departed for NZ. Anyway we found a resident German (Karl Kuenen who owns Mundo Maritimo along with his wife Judy – mobile +34 617 46 33 76) who would provide us with a yacht management service while we were back in NZ. I arranged with him for the boat to be lifted the following week and we did the big winterizing exercise, removed all sails, bimini, dodger etc and flew back to NZ.
A week or so later no news from Karl so I called him and found that the yard did not have big enough cradles to hold us. Karl was in the meantime trying to locate another marina that could lift us out but to no avail. So the boat stayed in the water and Karl has done a great job of looking after her over the winter. Regular washing down, polishing the stainless and hull, diver to clean off the hull etc and several other jobs completed also. Runs the engine and genset and keeps batteries fully charged off shore power through the onboard charger. He is an excellent and very reliable and willing guy and hugely recommended and even replies to emails ( seemingly not a strong Spanish trait). He also sends over regular photos to show us what is happening.
As we prepare to go back we are loading up with more gear to take up including some much smarter sound gear plus a screen which we will install. We will also install a watermaker – have decided on a Spectra model which while not the cheapest by far is fully automated - they flush and maintain the membrane automatically which saves a lot of tedious maintenance and time – no pickling of the membrane needed and auto flushes when away from the boat. Over the winter also had Hanse send across to Denia some ecru fabric (to match the mainsail cover, bimini and dodger) and had covers made up for the instruments, cockpit table and screen and the winches. Pedro the fantastic and very helpful Hanse dealer from Portugal sent on the new 24 volt alternator that was replaced under warranty and Karl arranged for that to be installed – now done and reportedly all working ok.
Sailing plans include a possible visit to Valencia (about 40 nm up the coast) to see a day or two of the next round of the America’s Cup Acts which start 11 May. Then across to Ibiza to cruise the Balearic Islands of Ibiza, Formentera and Mallorca. Then a 100nm passage across to Barcelona to drop off friends who will join us in Denia and also to pick up more friends in mid-June. From there a 340 nm crossing across the Golf de Lion to St Tropez then along the Riviera to the island of Elba (where Napoleon was incarcerated), then down the east coast of Corsica and across to the Costa Smeralda on Sardinia and then back to NZ for a while before returning in September.
Savarna with new cockpit covers.