Gibraltar
22 September 2011 | 20 Miles out
Rodney
We have 20 miles to go! I just got up, and was greeted with overcast skies and 69 degree weather - kind of reminds me of home. What a strange night we had. About 8 last night we started getting an adverse current. It built steadily until midnight where it peaked at 3.5 knots. I knew that the currents can get strong as you approach Gibraltar, but we were still 60 miles away. Our ETA dropped from this morning to about 6 pm. We were kind of bummed for a while, but such is life. We will get there eventually. The current finally went slack at about 3 in the morning so now we should get in around 10am. The other strange thing that happened last night was the drifting ships. We have seen lots of ships, big ones, small ones, red ones, blues ones, ones anchored in the middle of the Med - but never just drifting. So far we have counted 10 of them. Their AIS info says "Not Under Command" that is really assuring. Anyway we are winding our way through them.
After 8 days underway we are really looking forward to staying put for a while. John and Jim will fly out on the 25th. Remember Ted - he's got coffee - is arriving today. My old friends Cliff and Carrie Fischer are flying in from Kasakhstan - remember the movie Borat. Cliff works for Chevron and is on assignment there. He heard about some of the great delectibles that other crew have brought along. Instead of Trader Joes Maple Syrup he is bringing a jug of fermented mare's milk, camel milk and some boiled horsemeat. Too bad Jamie is not here - he would get really excited.