Boat delivery Spain to St Tropez.
Steve and I arrived at Gatwick on 31st May 2026, catching the early flight to Barcelona. It was then a 21/2 hour coach trip to Steve’s home Marina, Sant Carles, La Rapita, Spain. The coach dropped us in town, about a 20 minute walk form the marina. (It was my preference to get a cab all the way from the airport to the marina, but it was difficult to argue the case to do so, as a cab is about 220 euros and the coach only 5 euros. And both are more or less the same journey time).
On arrival we had heavy luggage and decided to stop at the bar, a short walk from the coach stop. After ordering drinks we asked if they could arrange a cab to the marina. Somehow, we ended up getting a lift to the marina in a local builders van, for 20 euros. All very strange, but we arrived safely!
We immediately set about preparing the boat, which ran into 3 days, In particular fitting a 3rd Aplha 9 navigation unit to the mast and replacing a defective one under the manufactures guarantee. After a little faffing around, all were up and working. I also repaired the rear lazzerette (under deck storage area) locker, I resealed the mast which had been leaking and the cockpit instrument fascia seal too. I serviced the starboard winch, which was stiffer than it should be, and found a spring that had been fitted incorrectly, I assume from someones previous servicing efforts. We also set about removing anything not required from the boat to marina lockup that Steve shares with a local electrical contractor. And then loading the race sails from the lock up to the boat. (Its a good idea and improves boat speed and performance to minimise the weight on the boat when racing).
Finally I cleaned a polished the cabin top over a couple of days and we set off at 0430 on the 4th for the passage to St Tropez. We arrived at Port Olimpic Barcelona, our first stop and about 1730, sailing most of the way. We had to use the engine for about 3 hours in low wind to keep our speed up, as we wanted to be safely in the marina before the predicted evening storm arrived. I made a mental note that the marina facilities here were not great and it’s quite a way in to town. The next day we set off about 1100 to our next stop off at Club Nautic Sant Feliu de Guixols marina about 45nm up the coast. Here the facilities were much better and it would be worth visiting for a couple of days when my boat arrives here.
The following day we set off about 1030 to cross the Gulf of Leon towards St Tropez. which is about 200nm. I had noticed in previous years and again this year that the wildlife is surprisingly sparse but it was lovely to see dolphins swimming on the bow again. And occasionally they would come along, have a look and be gone as quick as they arrive. ( I am not sure why there is so little wildlife in the Mediterranean, I am told though its due to extensive over fishing, which is a dreadful shame, but makes sense).
Storms can blow up very quickly in the Gulf of Leon, locally known as the Mistral wind. (This is a strong/storm force wind that can last for hours, funneling down from small changes in pressure in the Alps and squeezing through the valleys until it blast out into the Gulf). (Predict wind photo below). So you have to be careful to pick a good weather window for the crossing. Last year we weren’t so lucky and got caught in the Mistral for 10 hours with wind gust of up to 46 knots.
Steve saw a passing submarine overnight whilst I was off watch and we both saw a flock of Flamingos fly over. It was amazing too to hear whales blowing in the dark of night. The sunsets were amazing too.
The wind was very light and we motored most of the way, although we had a terrific sail in 20 knot wind for about 2 hours, arriving at Bormes Marina, France about 1230 the following day and decided to stay for a few days, during which time we sailed to a small bay and anchored up about 400mtrs off the beach. We swam ashore straight on to a full on nudest beach, but luckily the restaurant at the end of the beach was for those who were fully clothed. After lunch we swam back dived the boat and checked all was okay with the hull, after which we just chilled for a bit, during which we noticed the boat anchored next to us was drifting towards the shore (This is called dragging its anchor) at quite a speed. The owner obviously noticed this from the restaurant and was rowed out by staff in the restaurant row boat to sort it all out. It was a nice touch, that you can anchor up, call the restaurant and they would come and get you and take you back after lunch.
We set off to Port di Cogalin, St Tropez early and sailed overnight with 3hr watches, again it was a mixture of sail and motor. Dolphins visited again. The entrance to St Tropez is very dramatic with beautiful landscape and passing various Islands. We saw some classic yachts racing and unofficially joined in for a bit, but run out of time, so pushed on.
All in all the passage to St Tropez was about 440nm and with stopovers and chill days took 6 days. It was noticeable how much warmer it got as we travelled south. Tomorrow we will fit the race sails and change some of the rigging to suit these sails.