W drodze.

On the road.

It's 2 Nov 2024, 4:00 AM. We’re about 100 nautical miles away from our next stop, Gibraltar. I’m not giving an estimated time of arrival because here on the Alboran Sea, as on any other body of water, time and plans are dictated by the weather. Our boat, S/Y NordStar, is sailing steadily from Torrevieja, and so far, everything’s going smoothly. At the moment of writing, we’ve already covered 310 NM and have been sailing for around 60 hours, mostly under sail. For over 95% of the time, our new “crew member” – the Autopilot – has kept us on course. The weather has been kind, with moderate winds occasionally reaching 20 knots, making the journey truly enjoyable. Nighttime temperatures are around 12–14°C, and during the day, we’re blessed with a pleasant 20°C+. The crew, despite our different personalities, is gelling perfectly – we’ve already formed a strong team. Adventure Team.

We arrived in Torrevieja around 7:00 AM on 31 Oct 2024. The Torrevieja Marina is a large, clean, and well-organized facility – my first time seeing it from the sea. Karol executed a flawless docking, we quickly secured the boat, and then it was time to get to work! We had a lot to do: picking up the rest of our gear, stocking up on supplies, and a quick reconnaissance mission led by Jacek. By 6:00 PM, we had to set sail again. In the meantime, we managed a quick trip home for showers, laundry, packing, and a few last-minute errands. By about 2:00 PM, we were ready. And that’s when lunch appeared! While still in Ibiza, I had the idea of ordering catering so that we wouldn’t need to spend time preparing meals ourselves. I found a company that delivered typical Polish food directly to the marina, right to our boat: pierogi, bigos, and other goodies to last us through the next leg of the journey. Radek and Robert completed the remaining shopping – drinking water, bread, and snacks – so we were fully stocked. We also had a few guests: Sylwester and Ewelina from FestAuto.es,  my wife, and our little dog Tiny. It was a lovely, enjoyable time. Viki took a stroll around town, explored a bit, and for once didn’t complain! We wrapped up formalities at the port office, had a quick, cold beer with Karol, and set off. Right on time at 6:00 PM, we left port, bound for Gibraltar.

It was Halloween – for you all, at least. For us, it was just another day and night with no special events. I know some complained that there were parties going on back home (it’s only once a year, "Uncle M."  ツ), but we kept moving. All day on 1 Nov 2024, we sailed along smoothly. Viki started giving us some lessons in sailing, and we hope it’s just a warm-up – we’re waiting eagerly for the main trainings! Everyone is motivated, and time is ticking. Radek is documenting the journey, and you can watch it on our YouTube. We’re keeping the Ship Log diligently, as required by the Captain – and I must say, it’s very helpful, reinforces our sense of responsibility, and has become a routine part of life on S/Y NordStar.

And with that, I’ll bring this entry to a close. In the next post, Radek has promised a video update from S/Y NordStar, and, shockingly, an interview with each crew member – Viki’s first up. 

Ahh.. and today we are going to bake bread.

My wife, parents, and coworkers (cheers Alex) keep asking about the weather: it’s ideal for sailing. No rain, no storms, no floods. We’ve only heard about the bad weather in Valencia from the news, but luckily, it hasn’t affected us at all.