After spending a few days along Spain’s Costa Brava, I was eager to keep moving west. I had a feeling the weather would soon turn cold and stormy. Westerlies often barrel through this time of year, and when they do, leaving the Mediterranean becomes a serious challenge. I think Nike would have happily stayed a bit longer, soaking up the last warm days, but I couldn’t shake the urge to keep going—I didn’t want to get stuck in a gloomy marina, waiting out endless wind and rain.
Little did I know how the journey would unfold.
One weather system had just passed, and another was already forming on the horizon. In true Mediterranean fashion, these systems weren’t just about wind—they brought short, steep waves that make any passage wildly uncomfortable. So we made the call to leave while things were still calm, with hardly any wind, and just motor as far as needed.
The next morning brought a bit of breeze, and since we already had the mainsail up for stability, we unfurled the genoa and switched to sail. Everything was going smoothly—until I noticed something off at the back end of our rolling boom. That’s when I suddenly remembered the rogue screw I’d found the night before… the one I couldn’t place. Now I knew exactly where it came from: the boom.
A few days earlier, I’d found a similar screw. Turns out, both were supposed to be holding the end fitting of the boom in place. Some of the rivets had sheared off, so I had to drill them out and replace them mid-passage. Bit of an operation, but hey—what did I write in the last update? You’ve got to keep your McGyver skills sharp when you’re living on a sailboat.
I managed to replace the screws and patch things up, but while giving the boom a more thorough inspection, I found another issue—a screw attaching the boom to the mast had snapped. And to replace that one properly, the entire boom has to come off. Not exactly a mid-sea fix. So we took it easy, kept the boom usage minimal, and added another item to the ever-growing “to-do” list for the next anchorage.
Our next stop was a stunning little private island just off the north coast of Ibiza. Looking back now, from the Canaries, I can appreciate the Mediterranean’s charm even more. Its beauty hits differently once you’ve left it behind.
Having said that I’ll leave you with some impressions of that beautiful place:
Talk to you next time, stay curious, stay salty.
Floh