Date 19th October 2014

Local Time 0830 (GMT +2)

Position 36:08.97N   05:21.23W

First Mate Tony Cooper (TC); flew in on Friday arrival time 2000hrs, Gib was enveloped in Fog, so he was diverted to Malaga, 85 miles away, oh dear!

We spent Saturday preparing  Dolce Vita and provisioning for 4 days at sea. We both have healthy appetites, so gave the local supermarkets much custom.

The forecast is for favourable winds, to take us to Lanzarote 618 miles away, but just in case, we wanted to fill some Jerry Cans with diesel, and took Dolce Vita round to the fuel quay. After waiting an hour for a Multi Million pound motor cruiser to fill up (56,000 litres), we landed with said Jerry Cans only to be told that there is a law against filling Jerry Cans in Gib.

Off we go over the border to fill up in Spain, just a mile away. I radio to inform the Marina, in case they think we are doing a runner. “If you are mooring in Spain, you will have to clear customs again on return” they tell me, “We’ve decided not to and are just going for a pleasure cruise” I tell them. They accept this and save reams of paper, and hours of time!

Last night we enjoyed the Company of 3 Kiwis from the boat next door, so….  much alcohol and jollification !

We are recovering well, and shall cast off in a couple of hours, for our first long voyage!

Cap’n Greg