Each day they arrive at the port, like seabirds. It is summer and now is when you see the most sailboats on the horizon. Sailors have chosen the Mediterranean, to best enjoy their trip. They know that, at the bow of their boats, they have a wealth of man’s history and culture, as well as places, islands and bays that are still full of mystery and promise. Sights, smells and sounds: the ancient music of Greek and Latin verses. All of this will accompany them to the grave. This is the Mediterranean. Any seafarer navigating these magical azure seas will see three millennia of history and legend.
Throughout the year, they arrive at dusk and moor their boats. But, during the summer months, the number of boats that seek shelter in Cartagena and its marina swells. Hours or days later, at the first light of dawn, they will set sail again. They will start the engine or raise the sail and depart, once again just like those seabirds, maybe forever.
All of them? No, not all of them.
Many return to the marina, after a time. However others, fascinated by the calm and charm of the city and its people, by the clement climate, by the food, by the wealth services that the port and marina offer and for countless other, less easily explainable reasons, decide to stay and to put their trip on hold for months, for years or forever.
Furthermore, this doesn’t just apply to visitors and their boats. The regattas also return to Cartagena and the marina. The organisers of the Audi MedCup has chosen Cartagena for the fourth year running for the classification round of what is currently the most important regatta in the world. Only five ports have had the honour of hosting this competition. Cartagena and the marina know the reasons why.
Lastly, it is worth pointing out that more and more sailors world-wide have come to identify Cartagena with its international marina.