Mahon Photos

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Morpheus in Peru?

Our son Patrick showing Morpheus some love recently, while hiking in the Cordillera Blanca mountain range in Peru.  Thanks Pat!

Circumnavigating Menorca

After two weeks, we've almost made it all the way around Menorca.  Those that told us that we'd like this island more than Ibiza and Majorca are correct!!   This island is far less crowded than the other two neighboring islands.  Tourism has not overwhelmed the island, and the national parks that have been established suggest that will not happen any time soon.

What next?

We are in somewhat of a holding pattern right now.  Initially, we had planned to head to France about now.  But...things change.  Our long term Spanish Residence Visas have been approved.  Once we get that stamp in our passports we will be able to stay in the EU for up to two years without a problem.  The alternative was 90 days out of 180.  There is just one catch.  We need to visit the Spanish Consulate in Miami in order to get our passports updated!!!

So, we will return to Barcelona in a few days, and fly to Miami on the 13th of June.  We'll grab our visas and then return to the boat on the 16th.

The one positive to come out of the need to fly "home" for a few days, is that we have coordinated with our son Patrick to meet up with him for a few days in Florida as he returns from his 3.5 month adventure in South America.  For those that are interested, check out his blog .  His photos alone are worth a look.

Better Lucky Than Good??

Ok, I know that you are not supposed to root for disasters on other boats, but sometimes it's just too hard not to!

Once your own anchor is down, or your dock lines safely tied off, the number one spectator sport while cruising is watching others absolutely screw up their own maneuvers. 

Normally, the number one disaster waiting to happen is when some yahoo comes motoring into an anchorage at 3 or 4 knots and decides to let his anchor go. Normally it ends very badly.

Watch this video to see how that move turned out yesterday near us!!

Jim

Close to Perfect!

Jim Gregory 

Tonight's Anchorage

Nice quiet evening.  

Sending best wishes to my nephew Mike Beasley for a fast recovery!!

Menorca Maxi

The regatta is over and most boats were gone before sunset last night. Off to the next event, or destination.

Jim Gregory 

Front Row Seats

Two J-Boats sail past Morpheus on the way to the race course.

Jim Gregory 

Mahon, Menorca

And look what went sailing by today!!

Jim Gregory 

Mahon, Menorca

This is our harbor tonight. An incredibly historic maritime port which has been occupied by the Romans, Moors, French, British, and Spanish. 

Great to be moving again!!

Auto no worky.

Auto decided he didn't want to leave! We are fixing....

Feria de Sevilla

Leaving Barcelona Tomorrow

I'll admit that there have been times that I thought we might never escape from Barcelona.

 It is such a great city, and the perfect place for visitors to join us.  (Visitors while in Barcelona have included Deb's brother Dan, Deb's sister Nina, Suzanne Rischman, Denise Quackenbush, and most recently Dave and Betty Rasmussen.)

Last year, we came for what we thought would be a week maybe two.  And we ended up staying a month and a half before flying home for six months.  Now, we've returned and spent another two weeks putting the boat back together.  Tomorrow, we leave!!  Really, this time I mean it.

Our friends Ulf and Sara from Seville are arriving this evening.  We plan to head out tomorrow afternoon with them onboard for one or more weeks cruising the Balearic Islands.  Menorca will be our first and primary destination.  Majorca (probably Palma) will also be part of the tour.

If all goes as planned two weeks down the road, Deb and I will point the bow towards France and will leave not only Barcelona, but Spain behind for a while.

I suspect we will return at some point.  We have certainly enjoyed every bit of our time here in Spain!

-Jim

Jim Gregory 

Marina Badalona

Ham

Deb and I were just talking over dinner about the fact that today having dinner while sitting under a collection of twenty plus pigs legs seems "normal". 

It wasn't that long ago that we would have been disgusted by the very thought. 

Humm.....

A perfect end.

This is the view from my bedroom for La Feria. Gracias a Ulf y Sara para toda!!!! I had the best time. Feria was beautiful. The horses were awe inspiring. My accommodations were so central and comfortable! And I totally love Sevilla! Gracias!

A Great Mothers Day!

It wasn't "The Best" since I wasn't with my men, but it was pretty darn good. I spent the day at the Rejonedor, or the bull fights on horse back. It was an education to watch these horses fight the bulls. Loved every minute.

Party Time in Badelona

As always, the Spanish know fireworks.  Our displays at home don't come close.  Not even the same game.

Lost & Found

Hey Mike Wallach!!  From one long suffering fan to another. Look what I found!!

Jim Gregory 

What I'm doing on Sunday

Just bought tickets. In the shade! So excited!

More...

The carriages and coaches were beautiful. Everything from single surries to full stage coaches. Even a street cleaner/washer pulled by mules. There were single carriages, 2 in hands, 4 horse and 3 & 2's. Black, White and Bay Andalusians, Friesians, Spanish Cattle horses (tall and lean), matched teams of mules, Carmelo's, Pintos, and Standard Bred's. What a blast!

Sent from my iPhone

To see and be seen!

The Feria is amazing! The whole point is to go see and be seen, and to eat, drink and dance. There are horses and carriages and mules and people and music and dancing everywhere.

 It honestly looks like lunch time in New York City on a crowded day. Traffic jams of horses, with people all dressed in suits and ties or traditional flamenco dress cutting through the traffic.

American horses would have freaked out, but these Spanish horses just wait and stand and squeeze through spaces I would never have thought a carriage would fit. Amazing.

The Seville Faire

Deb appears too be distracted and too busy to post updates from Seville to the blog.   So, as a public service I will pass along her last message to me. 

"OMG!  I'm in heaven.  More cool horses in one place than I've ever seen in my life. It's amazing!

Dresses, carriages, horses.  3y/O kids side saddle on horses.  

Wow!!"

It sounds to me like we may be moving to Spain....

-Jim

I'm in heaven!

This is too cool.

Here's the video...

Here's the video of the gate lighting up.

OK. This was amazing!

This is the gateway to the Feria. It must be 5 stories high. It was a fantastic sight when they turned on the lights last night at midnight.

On my way to Sevilla!💃💃

Debbie here:

I'm off to Sevilla for the Feria! For those of you who know San Diego, I think it's going to be a little like the San Diego Exposition, on steroids. I am meeting our Sevilla friends, Sara and Ulf. Sara says I have to wear the traditional garb. We will see...

I've left Jim in Barcelona to finish putting the boat back together after our 6 month "vacation" in the US. Lucky me! I did help for the last three days.

If I get lost, look for mE under the Don Diego tower!

Putting her back together!!

It was a busy day here in Badalona, Spain. Lots of cleaning, organizing, and reinstalls. 

But, what I really want to talk about is my new wireless remote control for our anchor windlass. 

Instead of paying $375 for the official Lewmar Wireless Remote Kit, I purchased "non branded" parts on Amazon and built my own.  I spent a total of $27 and it is installed and working!!!  That's $348 of free money.  

Time for some tapas and a cervesa or two!!

Jim

Jim Gregory 

The Wanderer

The Wanderer

Wan-der-ing

adjective

1. moving from place to place without a fixed plan; roaming; rambling: wandering tourists.

2. having no permanent residence; nomadic: a wandering tribe of Indians.

3. meandering; winding: a wandering river; a wandering path.

 
noun

4.  an aimless roving about; leisurely traveling from place to place

Like father like son??  Who knows.  But, Patrick has certainly picked up some of our desire to see the world!  Patrick is "on sabbatical" right now, and thought that this might be his last chance for a long time to jump on a flight to South America and explore.   We were certainly in no position to tell him otherwise.  He's been gone now for three months and has a few more places to see before he is home.

If you'd like to check out some of his adventure take a look at his blog.

Wasting Away Again in Margaritaville!

May Day

No, not mayday.  It's May Day!!

Yes, this blog has been in hibernation, but it's time to start cranking it back into action.

Deb and I are scheduled to fly back to the boat in Barcelona on May 1st.  We are currently in Austin, Texas attending Debbie's niece Linden's wedding.  A typically huge McCoy family reunion has been the order of the day for the past few days, but today is the main event.

Tomorrow, Deb and I fly to Miami where we will submit our Spanish Visa application and be interviewed at the Consulate.  We are not quite sure what happens next, but will provide updates.

At some point, we will travel North to New York where I plan to sail the first weekend of the American Yacht Club Spring Series with friends onboard Gibb Kane's "Mutiny".

Right after that, it's off to Spain!!

Great Day On The Water

78 degrees, 10-15 knots, 4 races, and 3 firsts!!

We had a good day...

Jim Gregory 

Victory!!

1st race. 1st place!!

Jim Gregory 

Patrick Heading South

Jim Gregory