In case you haven’t heard, the Spanish Association Against Cancer in Marbella has two major fundraising events lined up this summer.

Firstly, a charity golf tournament takes place on 31st July at Las Brisas Golf Club, followed by the Association’s annual Summer Gala on 1st August at Finca La Concepción. The funds raised, particularly at the gala, are vital in helping the charity continue providing its free support services to cancer patients and their families.

Last year’s Summer Gala raised an impressive 200,000 euros and this year the charity hopes to exceed both that figure and last year’s attendance of 600 guests.

The funds are essential in allowing the Association to continue offering its services free of charge. Over the past year, the Marbella branch has supported 462 patients and 135 family members, providing emotional support, physiotherapy, psychological counselling, nutritional advice and companion services.

The charity also uses the evening to recognise people who have helped raise awareness of cancer through their own experiences, presenting its annual ‘The Fighter’ award.

The gala will once again feature live entertainment, with Málaga bands Efecto Mariposa and The Vintage Experience is already confirmed.

Guests can also take part in the traditional charity auction and the annual jewellery raffle, with the prize once again generously donated by Gómez y Molina Jewellers.

Marbella Town Hall has once again pledged its full support and this year marks the beginning of a three-year principal sponsorship by Marbella businessman Francisco Gómez, inspired by personal family experience.

If you’d like to participate, here are the contact details: AECC Charity Golf Tournament & Summer Gala – Reservations: 952 776 800.  Email: marbella@contraelcancer.es #bettertogether

English Edition every Saturday at 1pm on RTV Marbella for local news updates.

Ask the Officer: Your cruise questions answered by a former senior ship’s officer

“I really want to try cruising but I’m terrified of getting seasick. Am I being silly, or is it a real risk I should plan around?”

You’re not being silly. It’s one of the most common concerns I heard in fifteen years at sea, and one of the least honestly answered.

I remember Rachel. She was a theater kid grown up, full of warmth and ambition, who came to seafaring the way some people do: as a second chance, a calling, a life that felt more alive than the one she’d left behind. Her first contract took her to New Zealand and Australia. It was, as luck would have it, one of the worst regions in the world to discover that your body and the ocean have different ideas about motion. She spent much of that assignment in and out of the ship’s doctor’s surgery, trying every remedy available, until she eventually found her way to my office. I helped arrange a transfer to a calmer itinerary, one where the only waves she had to face were the ones from guests at the end of a show. She went on to thrive. But it took time, and it cost her more than it should have.

Rachel’s story wasn’t unusual. What was unusual was that someone had been honest with her about the risk before she signed her contract. No one had been.

Sales copy rarely admits this. Brochures don’t come with sea state warnings. And yet the water your ship crosses will shape your experience more fundamentally than the cabin category, the dining options, or the itinerary highlights. Some routes are genuinely testing, for passengers and crew alike. I have sailed crossings where even I, someone who loves rough weather and considers herself a seasoned sailor, could not look at a screen without feeling the room tilt.

The good news is that the ship’s team works hard to soften the blow. Captains route around bad weather wherever the schedule, fuel, and maritime rules allow. Stabilizers, gigantic plane-like wings that extend from the sides of the hull, reduce the roll significantly. Speed adjustments help find a friendlier rhythm between waves. The bridge is not indifferent to your comfort. But some itineraries cross waters that cannot be routed around, and on those days the sea has the final word.

So here is the honest answer: seasickness is a real risk, it varies enormously by route and ship size, and your tolerance is not a character flaw or a badge of honor. It is simply a setting. The smartest thing you can do is pick your first cruise with that setting in mind.

Ship size matters more than most people realize. On a modern mega-ship, you would be surprised how often you have to remind yourself you are even at sea. In calm waters especially, these vessels barely move. If anxiety is your main concern, a large ship on a sheltered route is about as gentle an introduction to ocean travel as you will find.

If you want to remove the variable entirely, river cruising is worth considering. No open water, no swell, and some of Europe’s most beautiful scenery passing at eye level. It is a different experience from ocean cruising, but for someone who wants to test their appetite for life on the water without the motion question hanging over the trip, it is a genuinely good starting point.

For ocean cruising, start with sheltered waters. The Mediterranean, the Norwegian fjords, the Caribbean in calm season, Southeast Asia: these are forgiving places to find your sea legs. Build confidence there. The wilder crossings will still be waiting when you’re ready, and New Zealand, I promise you, is worth the planning it takes to get there well.

Come prepared too. Whatever remedies work for you, buy them before you board. The ship will have options, but the choice is wider ashore and you’ll know what your body responds to.

The sea doesn’t need to test you in order to welcome you. Choose the right water first, and you may find it cradles you instead.

Have a cruise question? Write to contact@theofficersdesk.com. Selected questions will be featured in upcoming columns.

Vega Mare is the author of Inside the Floating City and The Discerning Voyager.

Floating between 50 and 190 miles off Spain’s east coast, the Balearic Islands are less a cluster and more a well-rehearsed ensemble. This archipelago divides neatly into two troupes: the Balearics proper – Majorca, Minorca and Cabrera – and the Pitiusas, starring Ibiza and Formentera.

Palma, the capital of the autonomous community since 1983, conducts proceedings with Mediterranean flair. The islands became a Spanish province in 1833, though a parade of earlier visitors had already left their calling cards. Hills, plateaus and lowlands provide the scenery, while tourism delivers the applause – and most of the income.

History here is not so much taught as performed. The prehistoric Talayotic civilisation erected stout stone towers, the talayots, which still look as if they might audition for a fortress role. Successive rulers – the Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Moors and, finally, the Spanish – added their own lines to the script, creating a notably eclectic heritage.

There are curious set pieces, too: the naveta, a collective tomb shaped like an upturned boat and Minorca’s taula, a hefty T-shaped monument. In Mahón, a splendid natural harbour hints at strategic ambition, while Palma offers a Gothic cathedral and the round, watchful Bellver Castle.

Altogether, it is history with sunshine, served generously and best enjoyed slowly. So, looking for a rewarding place to visit this summer? Head to the Balearic Islands!

Finally, many thanks for your continued emails to my website below. Delighted you enjoy my column – and novels!

Nora Johnson’s 14 critically acclaimed psychological suspense crime thrillers, including the latest ‘The House of Secrets’ (www.nora-johnson.net), all available online at Amazon etc. Profits to Cudeca cancer charity.