Wishanger II in Muros
Wishanger2
Brian Bonniwell and Claudine
Sat 26 Sep 2009 17:51
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42 42.52N 009 04.33W
Muros, N Spain Sat 26 Sep
Gareth writes:
Lured on by promises from Brave Sir Brian
"Bow-wave" Bonniwell of succulent Argentinean
streaks at Gauchos Restaurant in Gibraltar, the crew of the good ship Wishanger
II battled south to the African coast in order to make Gib in a single
tack. Crossing the Straights proved "interesting" with an
all-too-close encounter at the start with a ship that clearly wasn't
keeping a lookout, or simply didn't think yachts warranted
their attention.
With the Fair Caroline, "Cats-eyes" Clarke
and Navigator Neil on lookout, BSBBB watching Radar and AIS, and Gung-ho
Gareth on the helm we made the anchorage at about 0400 on Saturday, 19th.
While working on the foredeck someone suggested an early cooked breakfast
which seemed to meet with general approval, half-an-hour or so later, we were
all tucking into fried mash and onions, ham and eggs wahed down with the
traditional arrival "wee (or not so wee) dram"! (thanks Gareth!) Thence to our
bunks.
Quite who organised it, we're not sure, but to be
woken by a Red Arrows' air display as a welcome to Gibraltar was much
appreciated - even though we were anchored only about 1/2 a mile from the end of
the runway! Having established that the first marina we tried was not able
to accommodate us (because of our air draft and its proximity to the end
of the runway!!) we went to Queensway Quay Marina surrounded by blocks of very
up-market apartments. With the promised steaks still very much in mind, Brian
set off to book the restaurant while the rest of us set to and cleaned
every last vestige of salt and grime from Wishanger so that she at
least, if not her motley crew, fitted in with the surroundings.
Then Brian returned with bad news - the restaurant was fully booked
and, despite pleadings, protestations and bribes, he had been unable
to persuade the proprietor to make room for us. Gloom and despondency all
round! Our alternative choice was the Waterfront restaurant at the
marina, were we had an enjoyable evening with "okay" food.
As provisioning was now a priority we set off on
Sunday morning, to the local Morrisons leaving Neil to await our call to
come and collect us in the RIB. While Brian, Caroline and Gareth shopped,
Peter (after a lengthy search and negotiations) found a friendly rowing club
prepared to let us use their landing stage. After what seemed like
hours, we finally left Morrisons for the short walk to the rowing club with two
overflowing trolleys and enough provisions for 10 days . Then
disaster - the rowing club was all locked up and Neil on his way with the
RIB! Peter managed to find a way through and met Neil and they
returned to the marina. The rest of us returned to the marina, with
the provisions, by taxi. With all the stores loaded and stowed
it was time to explore. First it was up in the cable car to (nearly) the
top of the rock were we had some excellent views over The Straights to
Morocco, back into the Mediterranean, across to Algecerias
(photo), and, over Gib itself. Bored with the tourist bit, we set off
to find the southern tip of the ridge. With Brian (now in explorer mode)
in the lead and the rest of us trailing at various distances, in the searing
heat, we eventually came to O'Hara's Battery Lookout only to find the gates
barred and bolted! As Caroline had already gone on sit-down strike by the
side of the road, we decided to call it a day and returned, by an easier route,
to the cable car station and down. Our somewhat disparaging view of
Gib was then changed as we walked through Main Street which, despite its
plethora of household names, still retains many old buildings of some character
and distinction. Then, purely by chance (or maybe not) we came to a
hostelry where John Smiths was on offer! Pints were ordered together with other
drinks for the non-members of the beer appreciation society. Peter's
subsequent discussion with the waitress regarding the ratio of ice to drink only
went to prove that surly young teenagers are not restricted to the UK!
What a disappointment the John Smiths proved to be; cold, weak and with a
decidedly odd taste that we could only ascribe to whatever is was that they used
to wash the glasses. At one stage I thought I heard some comments about
grumpy old men, but surely they couldn't have been describig
us!!! All in all a less than satisfactory experience.
Back on board it was time for Peter and Gareth's
first opportunity to experience one of Brian's famed BBQs. Wow! We all
agreed that they had never tasted such good supermarket steak although Brian's
secret marinade certainly helped. Lingering thoughts of rebellion at
the non-appearance of the promised Argentinean streaks were
immediately forgotten.
After some last minute purchases and topping up the
water tanks at 1p per litre, we departed the Marina and
anchored back at La Linea beside the runway. A great location
with a tremendous background of the Rock (photo, ). The rest of
the day was spent repairing a frayed leach line on the mainsail, (photo)
and the skipper checking all rigging including the very top of the mast (he
assured us he was looking DOWN on the Rock!), in preparation for any
serious Atlantic weather which we may encounter on our homeward
passage. There followed a second magnificent Brian Bar
B Q to finish the remainder of the WHOLE fillet purchased at
Morrisons!
Neil writes:
Tides in the Straits of Gibraltar are
complex. We departed 0900 Tuesday to get the
maximun favourable tidal flow. This was slightly delayed in
order to fill our tanks with bargain basement diesel at 40 pence per litre
from the newly established CEPSA (Spanish,
but in Gib) fuel berth. This compared with 65p paid in June before the
arrival of CEPSA - competition at its best!!
We had some favourable tide by playing
the streams. Off Tariffa we ran before the predicted 25
knot easterly wind and after a controlled gybe to clear the harbour groin,
difficulty with the new autopilot precipitated a crash gybe.
Fortunately damage was limitted to two bent stanchions and Brian' pride!!
Lessons learnt and a different procedure next time!
Since then we have made good progress. We
passed Cape St Vincent on Wednesday evening at 20.30 hours in front of huge
crowd lining the cliff tops. Brian thinks they were there for
us, but Gareth (who know things Portugal) says it is a tradition to watch
the sunset from Cape St Vincent - the most westerly point in Europe!!
Anyway, as well as the magnificient sunset, Wishanger will have featured
in the numerous photos being taken, as evidenced by the succession of
popping flash bulbs on the cliff top! A similar sunset the next night, but
without the crowds! This time between the Spanish mainland and
the Isle of Berlenga. The high pressure centred to the
north of us has resulted in fantastic sunshine and good visibility for the
4 days since leaving Gib. Associated with this is a light north to
north east wind and therefore the necessity to motor in the calmer
patches. Nevertheless, we have had good sailing and also managed to dine in
the cockpit each night - even in the Atlantic under full sail. As I write we
expect to be close to Bayona by day break Saturday.
Brian writes:
We passed Bayona in the early hours in a cracking
breeze and just could not stop, despite NE F7 and rough seas being forecast for
Finisterre! We have now anchored at Muros, just
before Cape Finisterre. Here, Neil is sadly leaving the boat in
order to return to commitments in the UK and Poland!
That leaves four of us! We have now
sailed 1700 miles from Sicily in some fairly difficult conditions, and
I am confident that sufficient experience has been gained in Wishanger II, to
safely complete the passage. The watch system will be altered with
slightly less sleep for all!! We now wait further forecasts and news
that the F7 has abated, before heading out into Biscay. The
high pressure will mean sunny weather but N - NE winds which will mean
making long tacks. A change from more likely SW gales and
rain!!
That just leaves me to wish Peter a Happy Birthday
- today! (photo) We are off ashore to celebrate!
It just strikes me that if we dont get back before
28 October, 4 out of 5 of us will have had birthdays since leaving
Croatia! (It's ok Claudine, should be back well before
then!!)
Brian, Caroline, Neil, Peter, Gareth
SY Wishanger II
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