at last on our way!

Off again
Mark+Barbara
Thu 10 Apr 2008 13:08
29:13.817N 13:29.989w
Today was the worst weather yet, howling winds and unbelievable currents, the pontoon we were on, which faced the entrance to the harbour and was susceptible to swells, was lifted a couple of feet into the air and on viewing looked like one can only describe as a Mini earthquake.SWELLS we got, winds in excess of 50 knts  were making it difficult for us to keep an even keel.The harbour master could only say that 'THIS WAS NOT NORMAL.our friends from the Glass  bottom boat helped to tie in extra lines it was  getting quite unbelievable! At last in the early afternoon the winds began to abate and we decided to make a run for it as we had been told that away from this local region the weather was flat clam. Touché also came to the same decision so at around 3pm we all made a quick dash out of there like a 'bat out of hell'.Once out of range of Graciosa our trip up into the med was quite unexpected especially as we had heard horror stories of why not to go North!The Cruising Guide is an exceptional resource and well worth reading! True to form April to May are the best months for travel from the Canaries back into the Med.We had a delightful sail up into the med with only one night giving us a bit of grief with large sea swells which makes passage uncomfortable.
Even the birds were confused with their flight passages and seemed to be indecisive in which way to head.A couple of house martins and some finches sought refuge with us for a couple of hours and even took passage on Mark and my hands!
               
Our trip only took 3.5 days as we had the added bonus of the current being with us.We arrived Gibraltar @ 12 midday.
With time to reflect we are glad that we are no longer in the region of Graciosa but we had become accustomed to its quirky lifestyle.