The Sun sets as ‘Salara’ heads towards Gibraltar.

After an enjoyable few days in the marina at Agua Dulce and my day out at The Alcazaba in Almeria I left to continue ‘Salara s’ interrupted trip to Almerimar. It was not far to go so I left at the civilised hour of 1000am. The wind was 15 knots or so from the east and ‘Salara’ romped off towards her destination. I was pleased at being able to sail after so many trips using the engine but in my exuberance I managed to break the kicking strap. A little bit of brisk sailing soon finds out any weaknesses.
I altered course to the west to round Point Sabinal and then ran under mainsail alone to the entrance of Almerimar Marina where I booked in for a few days as strong westerlies were forecast. It gave me a chance to repair the kicking strap and do one or two other small jobs around the boat. With liesure enough to take a couple of walks along the coast the days passed pleasantly enough until conditions were suitable for ‘Salara’ to again head westwards.
I planned to do an overnight trip all the way to Gibraltar and use Alcaidesa Marina in La Linea.
The morning ‘Salara’ left Almerimar the forecast was for very light winds from the east and northeast and with 125 miles to go to our waypoint off Europa Point the engine was going to get a lot of use. So ‘Salara’ chugged along and as the hours passed the easterly going current which was against her was getting stronger and by midnight she was down to only three knots. With 70 miles still to cover I was going to run out of stamina before we arrived.
I consulted the chart for alternatives and decided to go to Fuengirola twentytwo miles away and at an oblique angle to the current so ‘Salara’ made better speed and arrived off the port before dawn. I let her drift a couple of miles of miles off the coast while I dozed in the cockpit and waited for daylight when I motored in and tied up alongside the arrivals jetty. I checked in with security and then thankfully went to bed.
I had realised in the early hours of the morning as ‘Salara’ headed for Fuengirola that the strong current was due to the tidal effect from Gibraltar and as it was the equinox the tides were big. In fact I estimated the rise and fall against the jetty at Fuengirola as almost 3/4 of a metre. A careless mistake on my part.
The next day after a good night’s sleep I steered ‘Salara’ out to sea and she motor sailed over calm seas all the way to Gibraltar where she rounded Europa Point into Algicirus Bay then up the west side of ‘the rock’ to La Linea on the Spanish side of the border. I anchored her outside the marina for the night and went in the next morning.
Westerly winds were forecast for the next few days so I made myself comfortable and awaited some easterlies to push ‘Salara’ through the Strait and out into the Atlantic once again. While I waited I did a fair amount of walking, exploring La Linea and of course a mandatory visit to Gibraltar where I walked up the very British looking High Street complete with Marks & Spencers and Debenhams. As usual the duty free booze shops were full of tourists grabbing the makings of fine hangovers. I sucked on an icecream as I walked on, crossed the airport runway, flashed my passport at the border and returned to Spain.
Back at the marina I became involved in a discussion about sailing tactics for going west through the Straits which is a regular topic among the yachties. However until easterlies arrive we must all be patient.