Merry Christmas from Gibraltar

We're IN THE MED!!!

Merry Christmas and Best ThreeWishes for 2001

At last, you may be thinking.  Apologies to those of you who have logged on to Kangaloosh! expecting to see up-dates in the last seven weeks.  The truth of the matter is that we have stopped cruising for a while (winter!) and also, to be honest, I’ve got out of the habit of writing. 

We arrived in Gibraltar back in November on Guy Fawkes’ night.  The weather, I hasten to add, was not the typical English cold and frosty associated with firework night, but warm enough for shorts and t-shirt.  We had left El Puerto de Santa Maria on the 4^th, having decided to split the journey to Gibraltar into a hop to Barbate, then round Tarifa to the Rock and were hoping for a weather window to provide us with a fair north-westerly breeze. 

We were certainly in luck.  Our departure time was set for 07.30 and we were only forty minutes late.  Paul and Anita (Kasara) were still in Cadiz, having some repairs done, and we were expecting them to catch us up in about ten days.  (More on that later!)  The sails were soon set for the broad reach provided by the north wind and for a couple of hours we relaxed into sailing mode once again.  A little bird visited us around ten o’clock.  It seemed exhausted and rested on La Premiere for a while before flying off in the direction of Cadiz.  I felt quite honoured to have provided such a little creature with a safe landing post.  Both Zephyrus and Kasara have told us tales of visiting birds and this was our first.  By midday the wind had lightened to the extent that the engine had to go back on and shortly after our first sight of a whole new continent…AFRICA!

I was so amazed and excited but at the same time I had a sense of disbelief.  I kept getting Chris to show me the chart in order to convince me.  As we approached the site of Nelson’s famous victory at Trafalgar the Moroccan Pillar of Hercules became clear in the distance and wind increased so we were able to sail past the battleground!  A smiley face appears in our logbook at 1500 because we were broad reaching in a force 4 northwesterly in sunshine with flat water.  Perfect.  An hour later we were in Barbate, literally for an overnight berth because the forecast indicated a suitable wind the next day.

Some haze was lingering the following morning but we thought a successful passage would be possible and if visibility deteriorated we could turn back.  Although there was very little wind we pushed on under engine through a smooth sea as the sun burned off what was left of the mist.  As we approached one of the most significant points on the whole voyage - The Straits (the entrance to the Mediterranean) - we were treated to the sight of feasting dolphins.  Morocco became clear and we discerned the outline of Tarifa, the windiest place in Europe and famous for high suicide rates and windsurfing, the only link being the incessant winds! 

We had had virtually no wind for two hours and our usual motoring speed is around five knots.  The currents here, however, are strong (see Strait Facts) and we logged 7.1 knots without the sails up.  We stayed close in to Tarifa and the water seemed to be bubbling or “raining upwards” is how I like to describe it.  True to its reputation a westerly wind started to get up and as we said our farewells to the Atlantic Ocean and welcomed the sight of the Med we got the sails hoisted and reached 9.1 knots!  At last, after seven months of Atlantic Coast hopping we had reached our destined cruising ground and the sun was shining as if to demonstrate what lies ahead.

Strait Facts

The straits are busy; apparently 30,000 big ships per year pass through on their way to the Suez Canal or the Black Sea. The tides/currents are unusual here.  Largely because the Med is so shallow, it represents one fortieth of the surface area of the world's oceans but just one three hundred and fortieth of its volume.  The high (so we are told . . .) temperatures cause considerable evaporation, which is replaced from the Atlantic.  The water rushes in so fast that there is a 1.4 metre difference in sea level between the Atlantic (higher) and Mediterranean ends of the Straits.  (That explains our speed through - it was downhill AND wind behind).  On average just over 1,000,000 cubic metres of water flow through per second!!!  This current set is in the upper 150m of water, there is an eddy or counter current below this flowing back out to the Atlantic down to a depth of 300m.

In preparation for Gibraltar bay we decided to reef, as it is renowned for strong gusty conditions.  George was steering and in our turn to wind he somehow forgot which way was north and we ended up turning 360 degrees with two gibes before we realised what was happening and sorted it out.  Once back on course he was fine and we proceeded towards the impressive Rock.  The bay was littered with moored tankers and we dodged through to the customs reception berth where formalities were swiftly completed and we arranged a berth in Marina Bay where Zephyrus was already settled under the watchful gaze of Gibraltar’s famous inhabitants, the Barbary Apes!

As well as a spectacular view of the Rock, Marina Bay has the dubious honour of being the closest to the airport runway.  Most days have been fine, with the regular arrival and departure of a Monarch and BA flight plus one or two others.  One afternoon though, we were treated to some very noisy “touch ‘n’ go’s” by an RAF Nimrod.  Chris has OOOOOhhhed and AAAAAAhhhhhed over one or two little private jets and some French Airforce Hawkes, like the Red Arrows apparently.  The pilot books give the impression that the airport could be intrusive but we have not found it so.  The marina is well run, if a little on the rolly side in high winds, and has the added convenience of a very local Tesco Checkout store and a friendly laundrette!

The day after we arrived the weather window closed.  The wind turned to the east and the levanter cloud hung ominously over the Rock.  We had been very lucky.  Several weeks later, with all repairs completed, Paul and Anita on Kasara had attempted to leave Cadiz four times but fog, swell, winds always prevented them from doing so.  It was five weeks later that they finally moored up beside us!  Not that we hadn’t had some fantastic weather in the meantime.  We visited the locals, some say Chris is related, and I was relieved to find that they were healthy and living in little communities and breeding well.  I had been worried that they might just be a tourist attraction but they certainly seemed to be thriving.  The caves full of spectacular stalagmites and stalactites equally impressed us.  St Michael’s caves were vast and one area had been fitted out to be a concert venue.  An amazing natural backdrop and the acoustics would probably be interesting too.  Not that we have heard.

It isn’t all that easy to account for quite what we have done in the month and a half we’ve been here.  The holding tank is now plumbed in and in working order.  Chris has been on laptop callout duty for many of the boats moored here, sorting out gremlins and helping with programs and technicalities.  I made some Christmas cards, read numerous novels and briefly got into cryptic crosswords!  We have made some new friends, Ted and Jo on Falcon Quest left England fifteen years ago!  (They do go back occasionally)  We have enjoyed hearing about their adventures and hope that we enjoy this life as much as they have done.  They have a third crewmember, Podge, a large black cat that adopted them when they were in Spain ten years ago.  Seeing that they have cruised so successfully with her, we felt little hesitation in giving a home to a young, skinny, stray Siamese cat, found here in Gib.; hence her name…Giblet.  She is now much fatter and according to the local vet here between 9 and 12 months old.  She is one reason that we failed to get further because she had flu and will not have completed her rabies injections until the first week in January.  She has won the hearts of many yachties and we doubt we’ll have any trouble in finding carers for her when we want to pop home!