Wednesday 22 August 2012 - Wednesday 29 August 2012 Gibraltar to Lagos Portugal

Spellbinder
Tue 13 Nov 2012 21:28
Spellbinder left the Alcaidesa marina at La Linea on Wenesday 22 August bound for Barbate beyond the Strait of Gibraltar and on the Atlantic coast of southern Spain. Onboard were Martin and Henry on what was essentially a delivery trip to Lagos to lay up Spellbinder for the winter. Slipping at 0900 provided the best tidal window for transitting the Strait and we needed to get going as the wind was going to turn into the west the next day. There is a surface current running all the time into the Mediterranean to replace the water lost by evaporation in this vast pond. There is denser salty water flowing out at depth but the net inflow is large. Having spent 4 years in the Mediterranean it was a shock to have to consult tidal charts again. The tides modify the incoming current and we had to pick a window when it was offset to our maximum advantage. The plan worked well and by 1230 Spellbinder was off Tarifa Point and officially out of the Mediterranean. Staying inshore on the north side of the Strait provided a good shove to the west and watching for the surface indications of tidal shear, an alteration of course of a few hundred meters only, east of Tarifa, resulted in a marked increase of speed over the ground. A yacht further out in the Strait was left standing. Barbate was reached at 1630 giving an average speed over the ground of almost 5 knots - not bad, but the motor had been on all the way except for 30 minutes when a sailing breeze set in from the southwest! A quiet meal onboard and the first game of cribbage in the Atlantic series saw out the day that Spellbinder re-entered the Atlantic.
There was a thick mist the next morning that delayed departure until 1100. There was a breeze from the south southwest, however, and although almost right astern on the port quarter allowed some enjoyable sailing up the coast to Rota across the bay of Cadiz. The wind veered into the west across the entrance to the bay and a most enjoyable sail was had in the evening light. Rota was welcoming and we had time the following morning to explore the old town before setting sail for Chipiona at the entrance to the Rio Guadalquivir. This was a good sail on the wind under a clear blue sky and fast enough to clear some of the weed off Spellbinder's bottom. This we think had attached in the waters of the Spanish Mediterranean coast where agricultural run-off is significant - a two month period afloat but stationary in the heat of the summer at La Linea did the rest.
The opportunity was taken to visit Sanlucar by bus from Chipiona and savour the fishy delights of the Rio Guadalquivir. Chipiona town itself was most pleasant on a summer evening thronged with young Spanish families enjoying themselves in the balmy warmth. We considered a night sail across to Cabo de Santa Maria from here but decided it was unwise given the number of floating fish farms in the area ready to trap the unwary. So Spellbinder set sail for Mazagon where she berthed for the night before heading west to Cabo de Santa Maria. It was a pity that tides approaching springs made it difficult to visit Huelva and the Rio Guadiana when the currents swept out from late morning for 6 hours. We anchored east of the east breakwater at Cabo de Santa Maria and had a comfortable night after motor sailing all the way from Mazagon. It had clouded over and some spots of rain fell. The anchor was weighed on 28 August on a calm sunny morning with some haze and after avoiding a new floating fish farm off the Cape set sail for Portimao in a rising wind from the SW. Four hours of enjoyable sailing followed on a beam reach along the western Algarve. After anchoring in Portimao harbour, the dinghy was lowered and taken to Ferragudo on the east of the river for a good seafood supper. The last short leg to Lagos was spent ghosting along in light airs but on proceeding to the west of the harbour towards Ponta de Baleeira the wind shifted dramatically and increased in strength in a remarkably short distance. We stayed with Plan A and put in to Lagos where Spellbinder was to spend the winter ashore in the Soprama boatyard. After a day spent visiting Cape St Vincent and its excellent new museum followed by lunch at the Pousada at Sagres, a day was spent striking down and stowing the sails and other deck equipment before motoring round to the Soprama boat lift. After some waiting around until the spring tide gave sufficient depth and the forestay was disconnected to fit the boat on the lift(!) Spellbinder was lifted out and the weed jetwashed off the copper-based hull coating. A further day and a half was spent preparing the boat for the winter and doing all those chores like clothes washing, heads cleaning, fridge emptying, upholstery cleaning etc. We left the boat on Monday 3 September.