36:09.2N 5:21.3W

Rounding Cape St.Vincent - the south western tip of Portugal - was a dramatic event in big seas and strong winds. The lighthouse on the Cape is set high on the cliff edge, marking the most western point of mainland Europe. What followed afterwards was a glorious beam reach east towards Gibraltar, as the sun set behind us. Dinner followed, and we pressed on in to the night past Faro and Villamoura. The wind eased, then came back again, then eased again, seemingly endlessly! This prompted a cycle of sail changes through the night, from the larger genoa to the smaller jib and back again, with the occasional use of the engine when the wind died completely towards dawn. A busy night! 

An unexpected flock of 20 to 30 seabirds seemed very attracted to the bright green of our starboard light in the night. They hovered just above the water, and some were dipping into it. Squid are attracted to green light, so we deduced that the birds were hoping for an early breakfast!

The morning after a night at sea is punctuated by crew gradually rising from their bunks after having caught up on some sleep at the end of their own watch. Typically, the person who finishes a watch at 0300 appears again at about 0800, whereas the person who goes to bed at 0700 may not appear again until gone 1100. Consequently, breakfast seems to go on for hours, as people traipse through the galley in dribs and drabs throughout the morning. Julia was the exception today, as she no sooner had emerged from her bunk and taken breakfast than immediately decided it was time for a mid morning nap. She resurfaced for lunch at about 1300. 

Calm waters gave way to approaching waves as we drew closer to the busy Straights of Gibraltar. The breeze built, and although the direction was against us, we had a massive 4 knots of current working in our favour at times. It was exciting to see Africa to our starboard and Europe to our port side, with the gap between the two only stretching for about 8 miles at its narrowest. Those 8 miles are filled with everything from yachts and fishing boats to enormous tankers and container ships, the latter often heading to the US or Northern Europe. For “Knotty Girl”, the transit marks a very happy return to the Med, so Tanya is content.

This evening, we are berthed in La Linea - the Spanish border post next to Gibraltar itself - with an impressive view of the Rock, We enjoyed a bottle of red wine with our meal as we planned the next stage of our adventure. This prompted a lengthy discussion, as the weather for the next few days is not going to co-operate quite as readily as it has over the last few days. More on this to follow soon…