Pius, a special floating house

  A true sailing enthusiast CANNOT avoid sailing up the Guadalquivir up to Seville. The navigation of the Guadalquivir is not binding but must be planned carefully by contacting the: Port Authority of Seville,  T +34 954 24 73 00 -  puertodesevilla@apsevilla.com The port authority releases all the informations relating the tides and relative timetables to be respected for navigation up to the first dam lock (buoy n.72) where you must arrive on time in the late evening for the dam to open and then continue the navigation to the drawbridge entrance to the center of Seville. It's a full day of motoring because sailing is prohibited. The peculiarity of this navigation is to plan well your average speed in order to be able to arrive at the locks and the drawbridge at the booked times. In fact it is forbidden to anchor on the entire course of the river! Once you leave the last town, Bonanza, the navigation develops in the splendor of the Parque Nacional del Estoario del Guadalquivir . Fe

 Gibraltar is a particularly touristic place for its tax-free products, architecturally it does not present great interest ..... Except for this: Gibraltar is the only place in the world  where  the airport runway is open to pedestrians and car traffic ! ... but in the 7 days of rest waiting for the favorable wind to push us towards the Atlantic Ocean we were able to have two interesting experiences. One is the phenomenon of currents influenced by the difference in density and salinity of the Atlantic compared to the Mediterranean sea. The second less sympathetic but still linked to the world of the sea is an exponential increase in attacks by Orcas  against sailing boats. Currents through the Strait of Gibraltar are mainly caused by an exchange of water of different salinity (saltiness) between the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. The water in the Atlantic is less salty and less dense than water in the Mediterranean and it flows eastwards into the Med through the Straits as a s

In Valencia, our Coastal Navigation of 500 nm takes a less glamorous turn...  the Spanish Costa Blanca is among the most built-up in the Mediterranean.  This photo is emblematic :/ Fortunately Alicante has much to offer:  a protected harbor,  the old town  and the Volvo Ocean Race Museum where you can visit an Imoca 60 outside... and inside; incredible to be able to see how little space a crew of ten people  can live for 7 months and more in absolutely extreme weather conditions  between the equator and the roaring fifties But Andalusia pays us back :) Almeria, Granada. The Rock, here We are! Gibraltar is a free port, with few taxes and many investments of dubious origin. Fuels are tax-free so diesel instead of €1.40 is €0.88.  We calculate that we will arrive with enough diesel fuel to enter the port but for that day of navigation the wind has vanished... all motorized and against the current (on the strait the currents, which can be from the west or from the east, can reach 4, 5kts)