It’s hard to believe that we are in the second half of April, nearly a month after we arrived, and Pandora is still in Almerimar. Our total “cruising” so far has been from the the launch dock to our slip, a few hundred yards.
When we first arrived in late March, I was very focused on the weather and how unfavorable it looked for our 100 mile run to Cartagena but little did I know that weather delays would be the least of our worries.
As it turned out, we have had a string of gear breakage and other delays that have kept us here.
First, there was the concern over the inverter/charger but after learning that getting a replacement was going to take a very long time, I gave up on that and thought it best to leave that part for when Pandora is hauled in June for the summer.
Then I learned, to my great disappointment, that the person I had hired to keep an eye on the boat and manage needed repairs fell short on a number of key issues, most distressingly, on taking measurements for the new code zero sail. It’s hard to know exactly what he measured but somehow the luff measurement was off by 3′. I had questioned him a number of times about the various measurements needed and he assured me that they were correct.
When I returned with the new sail, I was shocked that the size was off by THAT much. I had asked him to do what he understood himself and to hire out the other jobs to experts. Sadly, when I questioned him on who assisted with the measurements, I learned that he had just snagged someone off of another boat in the yard who told him “sure, I know what to do”. But, clearly it was the blind leading the blind.
Next, I hired a rigger, to address the failed roller furler that broke when Brenda and I hauled up the jib and after he installed the new furler and headstay, we worked out a way for the sail to be adjusted so it set well. According to the sailmaker, we only lost 5% sail area. Not a lot but not great as we are now in the low wind “Motorterranean”. The good news is that the furler did not fail when we were underway which turned out to be good timing. It took more than a week to get the new unit here but it is all fixed now.
You can see the blown bearings under the drum. Had I not noticed this issue, the furler would eventually have jammed and that would have been a huge problem. Note the brown area near the arrow. There isn’t supposed to be a gap there. It’s a sealed bearing, not sealed anymore.
As a result of hauling the rigger up the mast a few times, the primary power winch failed. I had noticed that it wasn’t working quite right for some time but had no idea that a total failure was pending. That hurt but I am so happy that it happened when Pandora was tied up at the dock. I guess you could say that this photo cost more than a few “boat dollars”, a lot more actually.
All completed now.
After we were done and I was furling the sail in, the power winch started running slower and slower and finally bound up completely. This was bad news, the worse so far. I learned that as I pulled the rigger up the mast, and he is a big guy, to prepare the new forestay and install the new furler, the gear box on the power winch, overheated and damaged itself fatally. I don’t understand why it didn’t blow a fuse but the gear box became so overheated that it completely fused after a few trips up the mast. And, as the winch was installed when the boat was built in 2007, and is now obsolete, I have no option but to replace the entire unit, winch, gearbox and motor. And, Anderson tells us that to get a complete new unit will take 3-4 months. Yesterday I completely disassembled the unit and discovered that it was a series of tiny pin bearings that failed and looking back on this I can see that there were symptoms of damage before the final break this week. And, in the spirit of “the cup is half full”, I’ll again take comfort that at least it didn’t happen while we were underway.
However, as luck would have it, the rigger has the exact model in stock but with a motor that is 12v vs the 24v that I need. The next step is to check to see how quickly he can get the new motor sent here, from who knows where. After a bit of back and forth, we decided that we’d install the new winch on Monday and if the new motor can be sourced in a few days, wait here until it arrives. If not, I will just use the winch manually and reroute lines to the remaining good winch. This will allow me to get going and take delivery of the motor somewhere along the way. It’s not an ideal option but will be fine and at least allow us to FINALLY get out of here. Well, out of here unless something else breaks.
This is all so crazy and to be here for nearly a month and still be somewhat unclear about next steps is unprecedented in our decades of cruising.
As I have mentioned before, Brenda has a workshop in Italy for a week and we had assumed that Pandora would be in Cartagena by now so we booked a flight to Rome out of Alicante, north of Cartagena for last Friday. Alas, Pandora is still here in Almerimar, so instead of a short drive, from here it was a 3.5 hour car ride, which we did on Friday. Long trip or not, Brenda made her flight and I had a very picturesque ride.
Last week, when the scale of delays became clear, we decided to rent a car for a few days and take a trip to Grenada. A sort of “when you have lemons, make lemon aid moment.” I was able to find a small three room B&B, which we just loved and had a terrific three day visit to that incredibly picturesque town.
As the US makes a big deal out of it’s upcoming 250th anniversary, it is hard to describe what it is like to visit a place that counts it’s age in the thousands of years. The home where we stayed is 400 years old and yet had been beautifully upgraded without loosing it’s historic charm. With only three guest rooms, the owner, Damian, who lives there with his young family, was very attentive and worked to make sure that our visit was perfect. He keeps a very low profile and doesn’t advertise, relying on word-of-mouth to get visitors. Apparently, he has found his way into a number of guidebooks and things are going well. We felt so lucky to get a room on very short notice. Interestingly, I used Chat GPT AI to explore options, asking for an reasonably priced room, central location in the historic area, and Casa del Aljarife Granada was the top recommendation. I heartily recommend staying there.
Damian’s inn is located on a tiny street in the historic district and just getting there meant walking down a winding series of alleyways and narrow streets. Even the parking garage was tucked into a narrow alleyway. To be sure that we didn’t have any difficulty in finding his place, he offered to meet us on a busy street a few miles from his home, jumped into the car and guided us the rest of the way.
After that, he grabbed our luggage and off we went.
What a lovely spot, the door on the left. He told us that the street was over 1,000 years old. Hard to get my arms around that thought.
And the front door has a small barred opening so you can confirm who’s knocking. Phew, only Brenda.
And, for Brenda, a bathroom that looked like it had never been used. She was happy as she likes her potties new :}
For a home that is centuries old, it has seen plenty of updates and is in lovely shape. The central courtyard is very charming.
The view from our room of nearby Castle Alhambra.
Even more beautiful at night. Amazing to think that this town and the castle date from the 13th century, with constructon beginning in 1238.
Step outside and every street was beautiful.
A few steps away, hundreds of tiny shops.
We were tempted by these lights but did our best not to be caught up in the moment as we had no idea where we would install something like that. Good decision Bob…
The castle is THE place to visit in Grenada and most buy tickets months in advance. We, on the other hand, had to get them with one day notice. As a result, we had to purchase them from a “reseller”, meaning that we paid twice the cost to a scalper. It was worth it.
While the castle is in wonderful condition now, it was left to ruin for hundreds of years but now has constant care and upgrades, all true to historical records. The most impressive thing to us was the gardens. It’s hard to decide how to start…
You have never seen hedges like these and they were everywhere.
In spite of the fact that the area is arid, there are plenty of springs channeled to fountains that do not need pumps to run. As you can imagine, not a lot of pumps in the 13th century. Water everywhere.
One more beautiful than the last.
And more…
Pretty impressive towers. The higher they were, the less crowded the spots.
With amazing views of the city.
Zoom in and some amazing rooftops. I would live there…
Some of the areas were not fully restored. These are the remains of troop barracks. In the lower right is Brenda in her white raincoat. She opted to sit it out when I climbed up to the highest tower.
There she is.
And a LOT of wisteria.
Everything was so lush.
The compound had so many amazing buildings. The exterior decoration on this buiding was unmatched.
Inside, an equally impressive courtyard. This was to be a residence but the guy who commissioned it didn’t live long enough to move in. It’s never been occupied. Actually, not a particularly cozy place to call home.
We also took time to tour the Cathedral of Granada, an impressive structure. Construction did not begin until 1518 after the Muslims were driven out. It took hundreds of years to build and is still not complete. A concise history here.
It’s hard to believe that this was constructed by hand, using levers, pullies and a lot of brute force. And, a LOT of time, centuries.
A lot of gold, even more than the Oval Office.
And a ginormous organ. And this photo is only the half of it.
As you can imagine, any dining spot adjacent to such a popular attraction will get a lot of “drop ins” looking to use the bathroom. How about a toll? Like the Strait of Hormuz but cheaper. Actually, I learned that it was “fake news”, just there to keep out the rabble and not us as we had a glass of wine.
Tapas is a big thing in Grenada, small food plates. And, what’s even better is that when you order a drink you get a free tapas. Sometimes they just bring whatever is on their list that day and sometimes you get to pick. It was recommended that we visit this place. It was a beautiful setting.
Our visit, if only a short three days, was a nice break from Pandora who has kept us busy with her own “breaks”.
So, here I sit, Brenda’s in Italy for a week and I’m still looking at the weather. And, it’s not looking like fair winds are any time soon.
As long as something more doesn’t break…