Looking up from the marina with a tram going past and full moon
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I intend heading for the island of Graciosa part of the Canaries during the first week of February. The passage is about 458 nautical miles which equates to 518 road miles and at an estimated speed of 3.5 knots (3.5 nm per hour) should take Warrior about 5 ½ days + or -. Each triangle on the chart represents a days sailing. This volcanic island is north of Lanzarote and one of the 12 islands that make up the Canary Islands
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There is a great deal of manpower still being used here
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The wall that surrounds the old town of Salé
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You come across this a great deal
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Looking across Rabat's cemetery with Atlantic in the background
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Some areas in both Rabat & Salé are somewhat smelly they don't seem to clear up very often
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One of the shop fronts in Rabat - not sure what the wool is, could be camel
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A women's gathering outside the suk (bazaar)
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I don't think they could get much more on board
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I had a walk into Rabat today - this is part of the suk
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A very picturesque corner in the old town - Kasbah des Oudaias. The lower part of the buildings are painted blue to discourage mosquito's, I gather it gets to hot for them
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Another unique door in the old town
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One of the many picturesque doors in the old town there are no two the same
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This is the entrance to the river Bouregreg that I will be leaving through shortly. The Atlantic swell sometimes builds up and when over 2 meters the entrance is closed, the breakers really come rolling in - fantastic for surfing.
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Ferry's that work between Rabat & Salé with Rabat in the background
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Looking towards Salé from the Rabat side of the river with the marina on the left just behind the last white building
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It's now coming up for the second week in Morocco and I am considering when I should start my next leg to the Canneries however its a similar scenario to leaving Portugal little or no wind. From what I hear on the world service I think the UK has been hogging it all you've certainly been battered by it. Still Sale is not a bad place to be as the marina is relatively cheap this time of year, I certainly couldn't afford it in the high season. It works out at £37 per week that includes electricity, water and wifi what also makes it affordable is that food is cheaper than Europe. The other major reason I don't mind staying is that I am saving up my shekels to fill up with as much diesel as possible as its only .55p per litre (7.21 Dirhams), I was paying £1.21 in Portugal - some saving!
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The beach as Salé looking towards Rabat - there's a mist over Rabat so I think we might be in for some fog coming
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Children playing football and city wall
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Salé sometimes translated as Salli or Sallee is situated in the north-west of Morocco, on the right bank of the Bou Regreg river, opposite the national capital Rabat. Most of its influential and wealthy inhabitants have departed to live in Rabat on the other side of the river however it is now starting to be developed with a new bridge over the river, a new Salé-Rabat tram system, marina and coastal property development but by the look of it work has been slowed down possibly because of the word financial situation. Apparently the film Black Hawk Down was partially filmed in Salé.
I am going to explore Rabat next week
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Some of Salé is a highly polluted and very poor
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I celebrated the New Year with friends a meal and drinks - Happy New Year to you all
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I visited a crafts center in Rabat and came across this rather surreal scene
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It was a sizable craft village with numerous potters, furniture makers and basket makers
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Hassan Tower is the minaret of an incomplete mosque in Rabat. Begun in 1195 AD, the tower was intended to be the largest minaret in the world with mosque. In 1199, The architect Sultan Yacoub al-Mansour died and construction on the mosque stopped.
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For those who are interested in how I navigate this is my navigation setup. The chartplotter enables me to set a course to my intended destination and plots my progress on a moving digital chart. The computer does the same thing but on a larger screen. The GPS (Global Positioning System) does essentially the same but without the chart, it gives me a heading and tells me if I am on course and if I have to make some changes, it also provides other information such as speed, distances & ETA. To save electrical power when doing long passages I only have this on and then when nearing land switch on one of the plotters. The VHF radio enables me to talk and listen to the emergency services, other yachts/ships coastguard, marinas etc. The SSB receiver enables me to listen to the BBC world service (very important) weather forecasts, listen to yachts using this system and other world services. Just out of the picture to the right is a NAVTEX receiver that provides weather forecasts, navigational information and warnings of things like buoys that have been moved and any dangerous objects may have gone adrift.
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A very Merry Christmas to one and all
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Well here we are it's Christmas day and tucked into Bouregreg Marina located at the mouth of the river Bouregreg which lies between Rabat and Salé strictly speaking the marina is in Salé
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Life raft returned so ready to go but one major problem - no bleeding wind - it's been like that for weeks! Waited till December 21 watching the forecast and there seemed to be a possible window from the 22nd so decided to have a go as I was bored with Portimao & Faragudo. Left at 9 am and had to motor-sail hoping to catch some wind off shore which arrived at 12ish. It is a 200 mile passage which should have taken me just over 2 days - it took 3 long days and 3 nights at sea. The winds were so fluky, up and down - down and up. The first night I slept in the cockpit to keep watch as it's the main traffic zone to and from the straight of Gibraltar.
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