April 26, 2008

Got another chance to post to our log so here's a little of what is going on. I survived the trip to Spain and found Captain John's yacht even more elegant than the pictures. We've been doing a lot of work to get it ready for our anticipated departure on May 1st. I'm slowly learning what halyards are and that cars can in fact can go up and down without fuel. Cars are the pieces of equipment that hook to the sail to move it up and down the mast. John is a most patient teacher and I am grateful for that.

Tarragona is a beautiful city. It's located in the south of Catalonia and east of Spain. It is the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the capital of the Catalan comarca Tarragonès. As of the 2005 census, the city had a population of 260,152, and the population of the entire urban area was estimated to be 450,921. In Roman times, the city was named Tarraco and was capital of the province of Hispania Tarraconensis. The Roman colony founded at Tarraco had the full name of Colonia Iulia Urbs Triumphalis Tarraco. Pictures below.


















A partial itinerary from John:

We anticipate sailing from Tarragona to the port of Mahon on Menorca, the most northeastern of the Balearic Islands. The Balearic Islands are an archipelago near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. They form an autonomous community and a province of Spain, of which the capital city is Palma de Mallorca.

Mahón is the capital of Menorca, it´s administrative center and population is nearly 30,000 inhabitants. Mahón is a city that was built on a natural port that during centuries has been a witness to disembarkments such as Alfonso III of Aragón. In the Puerto de Mahón there are two other existing islands, Isla del Rey, in honor of Alfonso III, Isla de Pinto and Isla de Lazareto.

Mahóns history is also Menorca´s history as it is the history of civilizations that have left their mark on these lands. Romans, phoenicians, greeks, arabs and carthaginians all left a piece of them behind, but most imporantly the carthaginians who founded the Puerto (port).

The saddest chapter in the history of Mahón and the island took place in 1535 by the looting of Pirata Barbaroja (pirate redbeard).

Today Mahón lives off of it´s port as well as tourism. It´s patron saint festivities are celebrated in September, around the 8th, in which they celebrate Madre de Dios de Gracia. See pictures below.



   

April 4, 2008

Well, the adventure begins! The chance of a lifetime presented itself last month. I have been cordially invited to help crew aboard Captain John Button's 55 foot sailboat, "Boutonniere". The yacht is currently in Tarragona, a seaport on the northeastern Costa Dorada or Gold Coast of Spain. I fly out of DFW April 22nd to Barcelona, Spain then take a one hour bus trip south to Tarragona.

The skipper's present itinerary is to cruise through the Mediterranean and ending the summer probably in Marmaris, Turkey. He is also considering, in the fall, going through the Suez Canal and wintering in an Egyptian marina. That's one of the things that's so appealing to me about sailing and as the skipper puts it, "There just really is no such thing as a long term itinerary when you're cruising".

I have several million things to get done before leaving but will get them done one at a time if need be. During the journey I will be trying to post, as often as possible, where we are, what we are doing and pictures of the adventures. I hope to share the fun with family and friends, albeit vicariously but shared, none-the-less. Will really look forward to hearing from everyone and hope you enjoy our journey too.

Most of you know my e-mail address and for those of you who don't it is listed for me under "Crew". If you are tracking Captain John's or Maria's adventures I will post their e-mail addresses on here when and if they want it done.

So fair winds for now.

Greg