We had just decided to leave Lagos (pronounced “Largsh” it seems) and anchor for a few days to wait for some wind when Lindsay met an Aussie couple who were just leaving for Morocco on Saturday.  Being such strong-minded types, we decided to follow them out!  Good decision it turns out, as we had a great run down to the African coast in almost perfect conditions.  We did have quite a few hours when the wind was so light we had to motor, but only ½ a day in total, so we were able to sail for nearly 1½ days in all.  The winds were mostly light, giving us a great chance to explore how to keep Goldcrest moving at various points of sail.  She sailed very well again, helped by the fact that the seas were pretty flat, if a little roly at times.  The entry to Rabat has only recently been made possible for yachts and only then in calm conditions and at high tide.  The perfect tide was a dawn on Monday so we were in no hurry and had to keep the boat speed down at times. 

A misty & mysterious new continent awaits…

We had two perfect nights accompanied by an immense star-scape as well as a friendly half-moon and arrived off Rabat exactly on-time at dawn.  I found the last hour or so immensely exciting, approaching a new continent with its very different smells and habits (I know we were in Africa a couple of years ago in Tunisia, but that felt very European compared to this).  We crossed in company with the Aussies and were joined by two Dutch yachts whilst we waited for the marina pilot to escort us in.  So we led quite a little convoy through the heaving entrance, past the ancient fort and walled city and up-river to the new marina.  Then we had an hour’s officialdom to deal with, but it was all quite jolly and straightforward.

Ando now we are in hot and humid Africa, quite unprepared really as we have done minimal research on what to expect or do.  At least they have good wi-fi here so we can now relax and plan what we are going to do for the next week or so.