We woke to very little
wind once again, slipped our ropes from our mooring on the 14th
October at 9:18AM and headed off to Gibraltar 36:08.94N 5:21.46W
We planned our trip so
that we would catch the tide through the straights, even though we had the
smallest fraction of wind against us the tides should be a lot stronger than
the wind. Well so we thought but then again there had been a stupid storm so
all of the surface currents were out of phase, not to mention the wind
increases dramatically as you enter the final straight coming into Gib. I have attached
a picture of the tidal streams that gives you some idea of how complex this
little passage is. Anyway we were off to a great start but we could just not
seem to find the tide so we motored into wind and tide for the entire day, not
what I call fun. On top of everything else I had still not caught a fish and I we
were now supposed to be in prime fish territory.
We finally made it in to
the rock and what a view it was as we cruised into Gibraltar Bay.
There were a heap of massive ships just sitting there, waiting for something
and as we cruised in between them we made our way to the marina only to be
turned away back to Spain.
There had been a huge oil spill in the bay from this horrid storm and all the
marina’s had oil spill barriers up to prevent any contaminates from entering.
So after much huffing and puffing Fi and I anchored out in Spanish water for
the night and discussed our trip to date. All we could say was that the wind
had been crap, really crap, and it was not a lot of fun motoring. From
everything we had heard and from the people we had met all said the Med was
meant to be worse so we both new what had to be done. A big change of plane was
in order. We decided there and then that we would go to the Canaries and cross
the Atlantic for a Caribbean Christmas.
So eager as we were we
spent the next 10 day preparing Silky for the trip across the pond. There was
so much work to do on top of the already long list. I had to repair the engine,
exhaust manifold and water pump. Modify some of the running rigging so it was
suitable for Fi to handle on her own from the push pit, add on another Auto
Pilot just in case. We call the new pilot Arlean, Arties new friend. Lets
just hope I never have to use it but with out two of everything you may get
yourself in a pickle. We also added the final safety items we were in need of
specifically an EPIRB (See pic attached the EPRIB is being watched closely by
my nephew Oliver). Flares and a grab bag were also sourced and charts for our
new destination. Additional fuel and water storage was added again just in case
and the boat was provisioned for, I mean a heap of food. So much so that when
we eventually did leave it was a very weird feeling as Silky was a different
boat altogether not to mention she must of dropped an inch or 2 below the water
line. Oh I also put a window in the master cabin, a much needed window which
really helped with the ventilation.
Every thing went fairly
well, and the next leg of the journey we decided to do one big hop to give the
boat a real good shake down, not to mention our selves. We wanted to see if we
could handle it on our own or if we would be better off with some crew. Anyhow we
were all very excited.
Special comments by
Fiona: Actually
getting to Gibraltar was quite difficult. It
was not fun having wind on the nose and tide against us, which meant we were
almost going backwards making little ground! Arriving in the Bay of Gibraltar
was a good feeling as this has been one of our main destinations and meant we
were entering the Med. We were both so excited but that soon faded when we
were turned away from the marina and told to come back tomorrow when they will
open the gate at 10am. We were later to find out that the storm a few days
earlier had ruined some of the moorings and with the other mariner wiped out,
they were maxed out. So we motored 5 mins away and anchored on the border of Spain and Gibraltar,
beside the airport runway.
It was here, that night that Ben and I changed our plans
entirely to give a year sailing the Med a skip and bring our Atlantic crossing
forward a year early. To be honest, I think I was the one that bought the
topic up and highlighted to Ben the benefits of crossing the Atlantic
sooner rather than later. Hope I don’t live to regret it!
I know my family and probably Ben’s will be very mad at
this, as I was supposed to be the one to “talk” Ben out of crossing oceans!
But over the last 3 months I’ve really taken to sailing and living life on the
water. In fact, what was once Ben’s dream of sailing the world has now become
mine too. In the beginning I was doing it for Ben, which is probably the wrong
reasons, but I had in my mind that I would always “jump ship” earlier and fly
home, or encourage Ben to sell the boat some-where and fly back to Australia. But
now I’m a changed woman! I now want to do this for my own personal satisfaction
and achievement. And I can honestly say it’s the best thing (so far) that I’ve
ever done.
Our 11 days spent in Gibraltar was extremely busy with
getting the boat ready, buying all the safety equipment, modifying the boat,
stocking the boat up with food and lots of it. Even though our days were spent
with our heads down working away, our nights were spent meeting people from all
over the world doing exactly the same thing we are doing. To me, people we met
almost sound blasé about crossing the Atlantic.
We did meet some great people and now good friends whilst in Gibraltar and we
plan to cross the Atlantic at the same time,
so we are in company. Amongst those people we met were another Aussie boat
with four on board – Del,
Garry, Kath and Macca. Each night around 5:30 we’d go aboard their boat “T
Rex” and have happy hour. During the day Del,
Kath and I would cross the border and do our “provisioning” in Spain where the
food was cheaper. Other friends consist of Joe and Mercia
on their 54 foot Catamaran, “Free to Be” from South Africa who are taking 7 years
out to sail the world. I was also envious of not only their massive boat but
their crew, which consisted of 5 other people including 2 chefs, a musician, a
marine architect and her husband also a navy chef. Oh and not to forget the
fellow Aussie chick, Becky and her boyfriend Alex who had just come from the Caribbean
on a 54 foot Catamaran. Becky is about my age and from N.S.W and told me that
when you cross the Atlantic you stop counting the days and before you know it
the journey’s over and you wonder where the time went. She also gave me
recipes and books to read for our crossing. So I can spend my time making
banana bread and pizza dough….hmmmmm???
I was actually a bit sad to leave this place, having our new
friends wave us off the day we left. I was also a tad apprehensive and nervous
at the thought of 5 days out at sea, our longest so far.
Day 84
Destination – Gibraltar
Traveling Direction
–East
Wind Direction – East
Swell – Slight 1.0 mtrs
Average Speed – 4.7knots
Top Speed – 6.6 Knots
Through the water
Total distance – 37.3
Nautical Miles
Travel Time – 8.55 Hours
Temperature – 24 degrees
Crew
- Fiona (Very annoyed with wind and tide against us going through Straights of Gibraltar)
Missing Work – Not Yet
Expenses – €0
Next Destination –Canary
Islands
