OCTOBER 20004 Rudy has been in Barcelona since August 11th. I got here September 30th after he finished preparing the boat for our crossing or selling of Boundless. It was one of my smarter moves!!! The boat was repaired, our belongings out of storage, sails were put back on and Boundless was clean inside and out!!! What a guy!!!! We went to the Archery Bar again and Rudy came in 4 points behind first (254) and I came in third with a 191. I am beginning to enjoy this sport. Maybe when we get back to the states, Rudy and I will open an Archery Bar ourselves!!! We also played Bocce Balls a couple of times and my Italian blood must have influenced my Bocce Balls because they did what they were supposed to do.. I was truly amazed and so was Rudy!!! A couple arrived from the states to look at Boundless to see purchase her. We believe the "gentleman" had second thoughts of owning a boat in the Med especially after seeing Rudy Med mooring the boat so expertly. His comment was, "That is what I can't do very well!!" I believe he also wanted to find something wrong with Boundless to have the price reduced. Since he didn't find anything wrong, he wanted the broker to "dip into his pockets" (his words) for no reason. (We negotiated the price of the boat before all of us left the states.) After he left on, the same day three other people called to say they were interested in the boat. One couple came from Germany and decided on a European boat although they like Boundless very much. We said we would meet the other couple from the UK in Gibraltar since we didn't want to wait any longer to get to the Canaries. Our plan was to fly home for Thanksgiving from the Canaries and fly back after Christmas to sail across the ocean. On Monday October 25th, we left at noon to start our trip to Gibraltar with Mo and Joe on S/V Mandurah. They are Brits who we met briefly last year and who we got to know better in the last month or so. They have been the best crew we have ever had as a whole. Both do more than their share and never have to be asked!!! Later that day we had a pod of Dolphins come and join us and actually play with us for a while which is unusual for the Med. Mo and I were like 2 year olds talking to the Dolphins as they jumped and dove over the bow wake!! My shift that night was the 9 p.m.-12 midnight shift and it was peaceful and calm. As soon as I got off, all hell broke out. The seas got very confused and rough (5-8 feet), the winds picked up (35-40 knots) and everyone got seasick or wished they did!!! Almost everything that wasn't tied down went flying, crashing or slamming down below. I felt like a rubber ducky in a washing machine in the highest cycle!!! Oh what fun!!!!! That night we had three stowaways.two birds and a bat 40 miles off the coast of Spain. The birds were so exhausted that they weren't even frightened at all by us. However, Rudy found one dead bird on the deck the next morning. We didn't see the other bird or bat again. We decided to go to Denia, Ibiza just west of the main town instead of going along the Spanish coast because the winds and current was against us. We did the 70 miles plus in good time with a triple reefed main and Genoa and a full staysail. We had to bash our way there with force 5-7 winds. At 4 p.m. the next day, we got into the shelter of Ibiza and docked at a marina at about 6:30 p.m. (Marina Botamoch 50euros) We stayed at the fuel dock, had a great shower and found a Japanese Buffet a few feet away and then to bed!!! Wednesday the 27th, we left Ibiza for the Spanish Coast. We had winds 20-30 knots and gusting higher. The winds were 4-5 (11-21 knots) and then going to 6-7 (22-33 knots). The seas were getting higher, but with the sails up it wasn't bad. We were traveling between 6.5-8 knots the whole day with all sails up and the motor off!!! We got to a marina in Deni (50 Euros) at around 9 p.m., had steaks and salad and went to bed. Thursday morning at around 5 a.m. it was blowing which they forecasted and we decided to sleep in. When we woke again around 8 a.m., the winds had stopped so we decided to take a chance and move again. We left around 9:45 and we had some moderate winds until around 4:30 when they picked up and decided to go into the marina called Villajoyosa (20 Euros and 50 Euros deposit for the shower key!!!). Friday we left Villajoyosa around 9:45 after getting out deposit back. The forecast said strong winds again, but we decided to chance it again knowing we could duck into the many marinas along the coast. The winds did pick up around 5 p.m. when we had 5-7 (17-33 knots) on the nose with speed under 2 knots we went to the marina called Torrevieja. We circled around the harbor calling the marina and looking for someone official to tell us what slip to use. After a while, someone showed up and wanted us to dock in the only spot which was facing the wind on the outside pontoon with a mounting sea in the harbor. We all thought it was too dangerous to try to dock the boat there so we choose the fuel dock. Mo and I went to the office and they informed us that they had no public spaces left. I asked them if we could stay at the fuel dock until the winds died down and if they didn't we would anchor in the bay. They said we could stay where we were for 2 hours, but they closed in an hour if we wanted a docking slip. Well, we decided we needed to stay where we were!!! However, a little after 7 p.m. we got a knock on the boat and a young woman told us we couldn't stay at the fuel dock. She said she would try to get us a slip and would call her boss to find out where to go. We quickly ate and turned off all the lights and quietly watched a movie. She never came back and the security guards never bothered us. We left the next day at 5 a.m.!!! Saturday October 30th, we left Torrevieja at 5 a.m. and sailed with the motor on most of the day. However, we put the sails up and down probably 8-10 times with the winds going from 3-12 knots and the direction changing like a woman's mind!!! We did travel 85 miles and occasionally going 8 knots. When the 4 o'clock winds came, we decided to duck into Puerto Garrucha at about 7 p.m. We were hoping to use the fuel dock for the night, but we were told we couldn't. They told us to side tie to a French boat by the fishing boats. The French couple did not seem happy, since their boat was much smaller and looked brand new!!! However, Rudy invited them to see his weather forecast and they seem to change their minds. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!! We left Puerto de Garrucha at 4 a.m. Daylight Savings Time!! We had Venus and Mars rising in the east before the sun rose, the waning moon in the west, the stars were out and we had a lightning display from the south (in front of us) and all along the east. It was a beautiful sight!!!! We had the sails up and down about 12 times before lunch and that kept up for the rest of the day. The weather has been nice except for the winds. The last few days the winds have allowed some sailing but mostly motor sailing. The early afternoon seems to flatten out as a prelude to the 4 p.m. winds....generally 5-6....which cut our progress to fewer than 2 knots. We got to Club de mar in Almeria at around 4 p.m. after being turned down at Aquadulce because they were completely full. However, Club de Mar had great showers (11 Euros including water and electricity!!) and a good restaurant!! NOVEMBER On Monday November 1st the four of us cleaned the boat after inside and out after our week of sailing!!! We took many of our "stuff" off the boat and put in on the dock to show off our boat. It did look like a "Boat Jumble". Vince and Susie seemed to be very impressed by Boundless and they treated us all to dinner at the Club. We had a great dinner and they planned to meet again the next day. Today we also got good news that our 7 month plus insurance claim against Port Olympic was finally settled and we will be receiving our deductible back. Tuesday morning the "boys" put all our stuff back on the boat while the "girls" went to the laundry and went food shopping. Vince and Susie came back at around noon and went through the boat again and decided to buy Boundless if everything goes well with the survey. They want us to take the boat to Gibraltar so tomorrow we will be on our way again. On Wednesday, we left at 5 a.m. and we stopped to get diesel around 9:30 at Almerimar. Around 12:30 we receive a call from Vince saying that there is no room at Gibraltar for Boundless. Rudy suggested Almerimar since the prices were very reasonable (under 10 euros a day for a slip and a total of 2 euros a day for water and electricity.) Rudy said, "Let's turn the boat around!!!" and so back to Almerimar we went. Thursday the 4th, Vince and Susie dropped by to see us and to finalize some loose ends. They were leaving for the UK that night. Rudy and I are so happy that Vince and Susie like the boat and that they are wonderful people. I have a feeling that Boundless will be taken care of very well!!! On Sunday November 7th, Mo and Joe left to get a train back to Barcelona. We had two wonderful weeks together. They were the very best crew membersas a whole we have had so far. They are very hard workers as well as fine sailors and they both cook too!!! We could not thank them enough for all that they did for us!!! On November 9th, they lifted Boundless out of the water with no problems and tomorrow is the survey. Rudy and I moved into a hotel room and are packing all our stuff into boxes and shipping them home!!! Ten days later on the 19th, the surveyor finally decided to send the report. There were many small blisters the size of a pin prick on the hull. We offered to pay for the removal, but they wanted $50,000 to be taken off the very low price. We said no. Rudy is now waiting for a couple of crew members from Barcelona to come and help him take it to the Canary Islands. From there he will fly home for Christmas and we will return the middle of January to sail it across the Atlantic Ocean. It has been a frustrating and tiresome two months waiting for potential buyers to make up their minds. At least now, we have direction and a goal and that is to sell Boundless in the states and therefore get our lives off hold!!!