Arrived Gibraltar
The Voyages of Fujin II
Stuart & Elizabeth Milne
Thu 23 Jul 2015 15:31
We arrived at Marina Bay Marina, Gibraltar this morning at 0200, moored up, celebrated with some run and lime juice and turned in around 0330. We were up at 0730 to drive over to the fuel dock to fill up, ready for midday departure tomorrow, 24th July - Katie's 18th birthday!
We had some more great sailing the last 24 hours, this time with the white sails. But by yesterday afternoon, as we passed the Bay of Cadiz, the winds died and the engine was back on for the last few hours into Gibraltar. It is very hot and since the marina shore power is insufficient to run our a/c units, I am running the on board generator for the next 24 hours. It drinks around 5 litres per hour but since fuel here is duty free, it is worth it!
Elizabeth, Katie and Clara arrive today. The two boys are out for some shore side entertainment and no doubt will be back in the early hours! We will reprovision tomorrow morning and aim to be on our way by 1400 latest. The forecast is good for the trip to Palma.
The next leg is the 500 nautical mile trip into Palma where we will rest up for 3 days before doing a final week of day sailing around Mallorca. We will run two watches at night - me with a couple of the girls on one and Patrick and Kez on the other, 3 hours on and 3 off. We should manage given weather is good and we will sail conservatively.
It's been a great trip from Ipswich - some challenging conditions but also some great sailing. Many thanks to Richard and Michelle Howell of Howell Sailing - if anyone ever needs a boat delivered, I can wholeheartedly recommend them as a very professional couple and good company too. The trip covered 1,480 nautical miles according to our log, although I think it is overreading slightly so the true distance is probably a little less - but a good test of both boat and crew and I'm delighted that both have passed with flying colours!
