Start of season 2025
“From the frying pan straight into the fire”
Text: Christian / Pictures & short films: Carola
We leave the wintry Switzerland at the end of February and look forward to spring-like, mild weather in Torrevieja. The warm sun by the sea invites us to relax for a few days, enjoy the peace and quiet and unwind.
Joyful anticipation - Zurich Airport
Take off and landing
Arrived
Fantastic weather - Torrevieja's promenade
Soak up the sun
Just enjoy
But the joy doesn't stay for long. A bad weather front reaches the Costa Blanca, bringing rain and gale-force winds with it. It gets uncomfortable. We hole up in our Blue Wave, take care of the boat and do some organisational things. But the storm takes its toll: the power fails.
Uncomfortable
powerful
Impressive atmosphere
After a thorough check of our on-board electrics, we find no fault. Even drying the plug connection on the shore cable does not provide a solution. So the cause is not our fault, which is a relief at least. Fortunately, our consumer batteries are full and we can generate our own power with our inverter. The supply at the jetty is paralysed. And as if that wasn't enough, the water supply also fails due to the strong wind.
The plug is carefully dried
Rain protection for the plug
As we don't have any water, we ‘borrow’ some from the neighbour vis-à-vis
It's a comforting feeling to know that we have enough power on board, even if neither shore power nor solar energy is available. Only our wind generator has its fun with the weather. It works tirelessly, even if the yield is moderate.
So we have no choice but to fire up the diesel heater, drink tea and wait for better times. During the dry periods, we organise appointments with the shipyard for the engine maintenance and rig check that is due. Of course, we also don't miss out on the spectacular waves on the coast.
The way to the shops leads along the Bech
Sun and clouds are constantly alternating
A little refreshment in a corner sheltered from the wind
But is our engine still running after the long winter break? After checking all the fluids and opening the seacocks, we attempt to start the engine for the first time. The starter turns and turns, the engine seems to be in hibernation. However, it finally wakes up and greets us with a small cloud of smoke. Another item on the checklist has been ticked off!
Voltage increases when starting the engine
After a few seconds it starts up and everything runs smoothly
In the meantime, the hard-working marina staff have fixed the problem with the power supply at the pontoon and the water is running again. Our reserves were already running low as we had only filled our small tank at the beginning. Perfect timing!
We prefer not to mention that we could have used the shore power half a day earlier if the main fuse on board had been in the right position. We had switched it off during our previous troubleshooting. This was because we had wrongly assumed that the ‘green’ position meant switched on. You never learn from the boat ☺️.
So ends our first week on our boat. We have quickly settled back in and are looking forward to the things to come ⛵️.
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Da wären meine Nerven blank gewesen! S0 ein Seeleben wäre nichts für mich.
Weiterhin alles Gute und besseres Wetter wünscht Mama
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