Morocco and back to Spain
08 June 2013 | Cala de San Pedro
Jane
Although we had only spent a day in Smir we decided to leave as it was all a bit too sanitised/westernised for us and after being in Marrakesh a few years ago this just didn't feel like Morocco or Africa. A few camels and pointless paperwork just weren't enough. The plan was to leave quite early and head down the coast towards Algeria but this was thwarted by the time consuming filling in of the leaving forms so it was well after 10 am when we finally slipped the lines and headed out of the marina.
The wind was blowing quite hard and we flew down the coast actually in the direction we wanted to go. The coastline was very different from Spain - far more dramatic, rugged, beautiful and isolated. It was a great sail and although the wind was picking up all the time we were distracted by the scenery but eventually decided we had to change course and head across towards Spain as we were getting too close to Algerian waters and we were being shadowed by the Algerian navy. Still probably better than being shadowed by pirates.
It was getting dark and we settled in for another night sail although the weather conditions were still deteriorating. There was no real choice as we couldn't land in Algeria and there was no where else to go. With 2 reefs in the sails we pushed on and the wind and seas steadily built. It was quite a tough night as the waves were too big for our auto pilot to cope with so we had to helm all night and we were often both on deck either helming or reducing sails. It always seems worse at night and it was definitely best not to look at size of the waves behind us. It didn't get any better in the morning and we certainly know now what is meant by a Mediterranean `short steep sea`.
We carried on in the absence of any better idea or anywhere else to head for and hoped for calmer waters. Fat chance! By five o'clock we had dropped the main sail and were sailing on head alone to try to reduce our speed (and maximise our chance of survival). Martyn helpfully remarked that by the next morning we would either be in Spain or at the bottom of the sea.. I went for the Spain option...
The wind picked up to a constant 30+ knots and was an official force 7 although Beaufort wind classification numbers seemed a little irrelevant by then. The sea with its 4 metre waves was actually causing us more problem than the wind. Also our tiredness from the constant helming and lack of sleep wasn't helping. This was definitely the biggest sea we had ever sailed in but little Gemini did us proud and coped better than her crew! By 3 o'clock in the morning we were in sight of the lights of Spain and heading for land. The wind dropped as we closed the coast and as ever with sailing the trials of the last two days were forgotten as we looked for a suitable anchorage along the coast. We were heading almost due east as the sun rose and we saw the most amazing sunrise (picture in gallery) and we started saying to each other `that wasn't so bad was it?`. Mainly we were both so impressed with how well our little boat had handled the huge seas and conditions. It is so true that that most crews give up long before the boat will. We dropped anchor in Cala de San Pedro which was such a beautiful spot that it was worth everything to get there. Then we collapsed in to bed....