at last on our way!
Off again
Mark+Barbara
Thu 10 Apr 2008 13:08
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29:13.817N 13:29.989w
Today was the worst weather yet, howling winds and
unbelievable currents, the pontoon we were on, which faced the entrance to the
harbour and was susceptible to swells, was lifted a couple of feet into the air
and on viewing looked like one can only describe as a Mini
earthquake.SWELLS we got, winds in excess of 50 knts were making it
difficult for us to keep an even keel.The harbour master could only say that
'THIS WAS NOT NORMAL.our friends from the Glass bottom boat helped to tie
in extra lines it was getting quite unbelievable! At last in the
early afternoon the winds began to abate and we decided to make a run for it as
we had been told that away from this local region the weather was flat
clam. Touché also came to the same decision so at around 3pm we all made a
quick dash out of there like a 'bat out of hell'.Once out of range of Graciosa
our trip up into the med was quite unexpected
especially as we had heard horror stories of why not to go North!The Cruising
Guide is an exceptional resource and well worth reading! True to form April to
May are the best months for travel from the Canaries back into the Med.We had a
delightful sail up into the med with only one night giving us a bit of grief
with large sea swells which makes passage uncomfortable.
Even the birds were confused with their flight
passages and seemed to be indecisive in which way to head.A couple of house
martins and some finches sought refuge with us for a couple of hours and even
took passage on Mark and my hands!
 Our trip only took 3.5 days as we had the added
bonus of the current being with us.We arrived Gibraltar @ 12
midday.
With time to reflect we are glad that we are no
longer in the region of Graciosa but we had become accustomed to its quirky
lifestyle.
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