Gibraltar
Well here we
are, GS raising a sweat just doing the dishes. But we just don’t care. Were in Gibraltar. Yes indeed, nestled under the World's most famous rock in a tidy marina
berth.
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| Portimao fishing fleet heads home plus a cloud of greedy gulls |
After a
rocky ride from Lagos, we set WJ3’s hook (after remembering to switch the
windlass on…whoops!) in Portimao in time to celebrate his Captainship’s
birthday. Pleas to Immigration officials
to have our stay in Portugal extended early fell on deaf ears. So, wagon ho, let’s gets this show on the
road. Gibraltar here we come!
We had a
pleasant motor sail to Faro, dodging our first tunny net – a large and complex
maze of heavy nets buoyed by masses of high-viz orange buoys. Not good form to have it wrapped in our new
prop on day one! We then slid through the boiling currents and upwellings at Cabo de Santa Maria to a nice little
anchorage in the tidal lagoons inside Culatra Island. Culatra is a barrier island protecting a vast
swampy area; a haven for shellfish, fish and birds of all kinds. And giant mosquitoes too! The Cap’n, scented faintly of flyspray, was a nervous wreck the next
morning….
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| Dodging fishing boats off Cadiz, Spain too! |
The weather
was good; the current was right and distance now do-able in a (long) day. Let’s
head for Cadiz. I think we even sailed
for a bit. A string of deep water fish
traps showed us the way and kept us on watch.
Spain put on its finest off-shore fog about 10 miles out. We should have taken this as a sign of things
to come but sailed on happily (ignorant) into an anchorage in Cadiz Bay near
Puerto Sherry. An energetic Sunday crowd
cleared not long after we anchored, leaving us to swim peacefully in warm bay
waters. The Atlantic is still quite cold for this time of year.
 |
| Spanish sunset and the fishing fleet is off on the hunt |
Grumpy wind
gods seemed to follow us south along the coast until at last, our Cap’n could
set a decent sail. And so it was for
some several hours. We were lulled into
a false sense of hope and as we neared Barbate decided to join a couple of
other yachts who were clearly making a run through the Gibraltar Strait. Bye
bye Barbate…
Somehow we
missed the bit in the Pilot that said Tarifa has 30-40kt winds 300 days of the
year. We could see a clear wind line
ahead in the distance toward Tarifa. Not
only that, it was blowing east and the tide was running west. Sigh!
We’re in for a rough ride. No
turning back! We closed in to Tarifa’s
point, still hurtling along at 7kts, and then were dragged on 2½kts more of
current, through into the MED!!
Yessssss!
 |
| Trying to find a Rock in a fog.... |
No sooner had we turned
the corner than the winds eased, leaving us to admire a boiling, bubbling, swelling
waterway. Of course, as winds eased and
the sun set, a nice fog settled in. We
strained to keep sight of freighters, ferries, and large fishing boats as we
picked our way to a northern anchorage in Gibraltar Bay.
The usual
recriminations of course – don’t sleep late; make a plan; don’t sail into an
unknown port at night…blah blah blah!
Still, we made it. And as we set
anchor, a well-lit Rock face revealed itself, just a little, just enough. We were so
excited!
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| Here it is! Take down that yellow flag. WJ3's cleared in at Marina Bay! |
To: Gibraltar Lat/Long: 36:08.2089630N 05:31.2270W Date/Time: 24/07/12: 1245
Time
Taken: 211.5nm (34hrs) Distance (this year): 221nm (34hrs)
Distance
Total (since 2008): 10448.5nm Weather: Wind around the dial, up to
28kts at Tarifa.
Fastest
Speed: Riding the torrent through the Straits of Gibraltar 7.5kts
SOG 9.5kts
(Blogger
seems to hate tables. WJ3’s Log format
has been changed so as not to upset the vagaries of html.) 
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