Cornered in Cadiz!
15 October 2007
Waiting for the wind to change
We are still in Cadiz a week after arriving here, which in itself is no bad thing, but we would ideally like to be pushing on to Gibraltar and the Med.
We are only 70 miles from Gib, but the problem is that this next leg involves a fairly unique bit of water - the straits of Gibraltar. In the straits, the wind blows either from the east or the west and there is almost no exception to this. The main current flows into the Med (from the west) to replenish the water lost there by (a) evaporation and (b) what the fish drink. There are also tides to take into account just to make things more interesting. For the last 10 days or so, the wind has blown from the east, and this creates a potentially very unpleasant sea in the straits as it battles against the current from the west. The wind is blowing at about 20 mph there, but this is easily doubled by local conditions, as the wind is 'squeezed' between southern Europe and North Africa - that's potentially gale force 8 and nasty waves. It's not a place to underestimate and just take some brave pills, so we are playing the waiting game and watching out for a wind from the west. This, and the current, will make for a much more pleasant passage! At the moment the forecast is for easterly winds all this week, but things change, and we shall have to see.
In the meantime we are snuggled into our marina here in Cadiz, but it feels like we are on passage, even though we are tied up to the pontoon. The boat in moving about, and the waves are slapping against her bottom (poor thing), the wind is howling through the rigging, and you actually have to hold on sometimes so as to not loose your footing! But despite all this, the skies are blue, and the sun is still really hot, and so it's not such a problem really!
Cadiz continues to impress and we are now able to navigate most of the city on our bikes without reference to maps or signs. It's a very 'outdoors' city, and everybody seems to enjoy tapas, a beer or coffee with friends in the street cafe's, or spend time in the beautiful parks with their children.
It's not a bad place to be stuck, waiting for the wind to change!