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LOG ENTRY DATE: October 5, 2003 Picked up Seb at the Santa Justa train station in Seville on Monday, Sept. 29. Fortunately, he took a later train, which provided me with ample time to get lost, and to walk 5 times the necessary distance to get to the station. As when John arrived, it was just plain great to see a good friend from home again. . . you don't realize how much you miss the people you take for granted every day until you only see them after, say, 4 months! Took a couple of days to see Seville, and managed (for me) to see a few new spots, such as the climb up the Giralda bell tower (attached to the wild Seville Cathedral), and a trip to the Seville Art Museum. Also spent some time walking in the city, though this was made a little difficult by a radical change in the weather. . . after 4 months of constant, hot sunshine, we actually got some rain for the first time. Unfortunately, this coincided perfectly with Seb's arrival, and he expressed doubt about the veracity of my reports of great weather. Doubting Thomas that he is, he had the wisdom to discount my tales of sunburns and sweat, and packed some warm clothes and some rain gear. We still managed to pack a fair amount of things into the three days we spent in Seville, including trips to local tapas bars. Tom and I also decided that the "immersion" technique was the way to expose Seb to Spanish culture, so we sent him out on our last day there to search for some things at the local hardware store. And, just to intensify the experience, the items we had him look for included ScotchGuard, a tubing bender, 3/4" brass brads and distilled water. . . try pantomiming those items to someone who doesn't speak English! Due to his unfailing good humor and perseverance, he actually managed to get one out of four. . . not bad! We left Club Nautico on Wednesday night, October 1, and got through the bridge opening at 2000. We stopped just north of the locks, so as to catch the 1000 opening the next morning. However, anchoring proved to be very difficult. . . the Danforth absolutely refused to grip at all in the loose mud on the bottom of the canal we were in. As a result, we were forced to break out the large fisherman's anchor that I keep for emergencies under (of course) my bunk. We managed to assemble it and get it over the side with out anyone getting caught in the chain or mauling the topsides, and it held firm and fast on the first try. Good thing, too, as the wind piped up that night as a low moved through—25 knots or so. In the morning, we made it through the locks in strong winds and pouring rain, and prepared to do the Guadalquivir River trip in reverse. The tides were with us, but that actually meant trouble further downriver, where long straight stretches provided enough fetch for the strong southerly wind to set up standing waves as it worked against the southerly-setting tide. Our image of the Guadalquivir was changed, as we slammed into 4 foot waves that brought us almost to a standstill. Eventually, though, we made it back down to the Donana Parque, where we anchored out of the current and the channel. All of us were happy to end the day at 1700, though we also had wanted to make it to Rota to catch up with our friends Max and Lynnie. But, after the waves we encountered on the river, we figured the mouth of the river—where it met with the full brunt of the ocean winds—were probably mild in comparison. Cooked dinner instead and had a good night's sleep. The following day was one of true excitement for me. . . I had helped Max and Lynnie Fletcher on the first leg of their (now) two year trip when we moved their boat, Juanona, from Orr's Island to the Chesapeake. After that, we've been in constant touch via email, and once during a visit home. In fact, Max had been very helpful in his advice as I got Chase ready for the trip. But, I'd always hoped—though I didn't really expect it—that we would somehow meet up when we were in Europe with Chase. Somehow, it was actually going to happen! We had a great sail once we got into open water, with a 12 knot beam reach moving Chase down the Spanish coast at 6.5 knots. Except for a close encounter with an offshore shoal, it was an uneventful 18 mile run to Rota, where Max and Lynnie had thoughtfully saved us dock space right next to Juanona. Arriving at Rota, I realized I was lucky enough to see two more good, long-missed friends in the same week! Max and I reflected later on that it was amazing that the two boats were together again—especially since the last time it occurred was on Max and Lynnie's first date! This happened in the summer of 2000, when Max took his brand-new boat up into Quahog Bay, with his brand-new date on board. Who knows how the whole thing would have turned out if the crews from Chase and Sensu (Ted Reed's boat) hadn't been there to tie up to Juanona, and help kindle the fires of romance?! At any rate (despite our interference), one thing obviously led to another, with Max and Lynnie being married the next year, and with us— ultimately—meeting up again on the other side of the Atlantic. Don't know about you, but it puts goosebumps on my arms. . . Rota is a small town, whose modern claim to fame is the huge American naval base in town. But, it's a quaint and friendly town, and we managed to arrive at the same time as the town's La Senora de la Rosario Festival. While I'm not sure of all the religious significance that surrounds the festival, I do know that the townspeople carry an effigy of La Senora— which Max refers to as "The Thing"—around town in a parade-like fashion. More interesting, though, was the great concert that we attended on Saturday (October 4) evening. All in Spanish, but not without doing a very good job of imparting the emotions the words of the song no doubt carried— melancholy, love, excitement. The concert was held in an ancient town square, and was attended by all ages. Surrounded by history, we were reminded that Columbus sailed from Cadiz Bay (where Rota is located) on his second trip to America, and that the area produced many of the sailors that accompanied him on both trips. The stones we were standing on were probably there long before our country was know to the rest of the "civilized" western world. Plans for next week include a trip to the Sandeman sherry vineyards, and hopefully a sail or two if the weather starts to cooperate. Seb's departure date is the 9th of October, which is when Tom, Max, myself and—hopefully— Lynnie will be leaving for a side trip to Morocco. |
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