Monday 30^th, Tuesday 31^st August,  Wednesday 1^st & Thursday 2^nd September.

Firstly I have to say that we have changed our views about Gibraltar since we were last here in 2008. I suspect that when we first came here, we were new to this way of life and we had found Gib to be a bit tired, faded and faintly grubby. Nothing has really changed here, but in the light of our travels we would say that Gibraltar has grown on us considerably and we have very much enjoyed our extended stay here.

Now about the extended stay.... As reported in the last posting, we have bought a fleet Broadband Sat phone and internet system which has been despatched using the tried and tested overland services of TNT. This was expected to arrive on Tuesday according to TNT in the UK, but locally they rather scoffed at that idea giving a more realistic suggestion of Friday at the earliest. Well it is Thursday and their tracking system on the web revealed this morning that the box was being held in Seville, so Friday is looking doubtful  but fingers are crossed. However then we have to fit the dome and all the bits and pieces which will require wiring, drilling and even some stainless steel welding possibly so we are going to be here a few days more for sure. Finally the weather turns against us next Tuesday according to the latest forecasts which will hold us up for even longer.

The time has not been wasted though and Sarah has been spending a lot of time exploring the duty free shopping and taking advantage of the opportunity to buy some replacement electrical goods while we can still get 240 volt stuff at good prices. She has also spend a huge amount of time cleaning and polishing the gantry on the stern and she has done a wonderful job, but now no one is allowed to touch it!

Our American neighbours ’EdE’ Bunny and Tim left on Thursday morning bound for Mallorca and Barcelona, however they are based in the Virgin Islands and are planning to cross the Atlantic at the same time as us, so we may yet meet up with them again.

Students of meteorology and cloud formations would have enjoyed the view over the last few days of the top of the rock of Gibraltar towering above us. The conditions are such that clouds are forming as the air rushes over the top and it is quite spectacular as they build rapidly and stream off westwards.

The swell in the marina reached epic proportions on Tuesday and Wednesday with the very worst reserved for the night time. There have been quite strong winds blowing in the bay and it seems that the easterlies cause this surge. It is very disconcerting to hear the ropes straining under the weight of 16 tons of yacht as it tries alternately to pull the bollards off the quay and then the fixed mooring lines off the sea bed. It also means that we have to moor a little way off the pontoon to allow for this movement and so getting on and off has its moments! Scott Free unearthed some heavy duty steel spring mooring compensators that they used last winter in Turkey and were astonished to see the springs compressed fully under the loads here, whereas they had hardly moved at all in the fiercest winter gales in Marmaris.