Photograph: The Rock of Gibraltar viewed from Spain.

The time had come for ‘Salara’ to once more be on her way westwards and as I steered her out of the anchorage at Isla Formentera I felt quite sad to be leaving The Balearics. ‘Salara’ had an overnight passage ahead of her and according to the current weather forecast of light and variable winds she would probably have to motor sail all the way to her destination of Torrevieja on mainland Spain.
I settled down to enjoy the passage and to prepare myself for a sleepless night on watch as I was expecting to meet a fair amount of shipping as ’Salara’ approached the coast.
We did, in fact, have a very close call in the early hours of the morning when we were almost run down by a large fishing boat. I had to make a 90 degree course alteration to avoid it when it changed course and headed for us at full speed obviously not aware of us. I heaved a sigh of relief as I watched her stern light recede into the distance. I put ‘Salara’ back on course and we arrived at Torrevieja without any further incidents. I checked into the marina for a couple of days and then went for a long overdue sleep.
I did not linger in Torrevieja but left and continued, motor sailing yet again, along the coast to the ancient port city of Cartagena which is a place that I really like. I berthed ‘Salara’ alongside the esplanade quay which is very convenient being only a few minutes walk from the city centre. Berthing fees are reasonable and administered by the local sailing club from it’s very prestigious premises on the cruise ship dock.
I stayed in Cartagena for almost a week and thoroughly enjoyed myself just soaking up it’s history and sitting in the centre having beer and tapas at lunchtimes. How easy it is to wile away the days when leading this type of life.
When I finally left Cartagena it was once more necessary for ‘Salara’ to motor sail as she headed for her next port which was Garrucha a days journey along the coast. She had called there some years before and I have an guilty memory of cutting it to finely around the end of a breakwater and hitting a submerged concrete block. However when she entered the harbour this time things had all changed and there was a brand new marina in the area of the old commercial quay. It was so new that hardly any boats were in residence and there was enough space for visiting yachts to tie up alongside the pontoons rather than stern or bows to.
It was only a brief overnight stay in Garrucha and at noon the following day I steered ‘Salara’ out of the harbour and set a course for the Spanish enclave of Melilla a duty free port on the coast of Morocco. I had never heard of Melilla before talking to another British yachtsman while in Cartagena so obviously I was curious.
I sailed ’Salara’ all afternoon but as darkness approached the wind became very light and once again she had to motor sail.
There was a lot of shipping rounding Cabo de Gata and I was happy when ’Salara’ had cleared the traffic scheme into a less busy bit of sea and I could relax a little.
As dawn broke dolphins played around ‘Salara’ leaping clear of the water on many occasions to give me a display of aerobatics.
One of those scenes that will be stored for ever in my memory. Later in the morning I sighted Cabo Nuevo on the North African coast and Melilla was ten miles further on.
‘Salara’ entered the large harbour and I had a moment of panic as I could not immediately pick out the marina. I had no harbour chart and had to rely on my memory of looking at it on Google Earth while I had internet access in Cartagena. I need not have worried as I soon spotted it as ‘Salara’ got closer and by early afternoon she was safely secured bows to against the mole. I booked in for seven days and as I tidied up on deck. Steve arrived from ’Yamma’ the only other British yacht in harbour and invited me for a beer that evening after I had had a sleep. Steve was full of information about Melilla as he had been there for some weeks repairing an engine fault and he was now awaiting a crewman before travelling further east. He said that he had enjoyed his stay but was now keen to move on.
Over the next few days I explored the town and I was pleasantly surprised by the lovely buildings and open spaces full of carefully tended trees, shrubs and flowers, with fountains at strategic intervals. The funfair was in town and it seemed to be some sort of carnival with lots of late night eating, drinking and shapely traditionally dressed Spanish ladies in evidence. So I had a very enjoyable stay in Melilla of almost two weeks and it had been well worth the diversion to visit.
The day prior to leaving when I paid the marina fees I found that my stay of 12 days had cost a very reasonable 72 euros including water and electricity. Good value indeed.
From Melilla I made an overnight passage to Gibraltar and arrived next morning feeling quite tired. ’Salara’ had motor sailed all the way to maintain the passage plan speed and to catch the tidal gate at the entrance to the Straits. My intension on arrival was to anchor off the Spanish town of La Linea, have some sleep and then enter Gibraltar later. However when I arrived at the anchorage I changed my mind and instead I went into the Alcaidesa Marina, which to my surprise was half empty, and booked in for two nights. Once ‘Salara’ was safely in a berth and the sail covers on I could relax and get some rest, later I would walk across the border to visit the ‘Rock‘.
My last Mediterranean passage was behind me. I had enjoyed my years of cruising there and without doubt, for me, Greece had been by far my favourite cruising ground. The many anchorages and small village quays where there are little or no charges levied had made for very economical cruising. Beautiful scenery and historical sites added to it’s charm. The breeze tended to pipe up during the afternoon and die down in the evening making for almost ’office hours’ sailing.
Generally speaking though I feel that The Mediterranean is not really a sailor’s sea, not for a heavy yacht like ‘Salara’ anyway, she had to spend far too much time motor sailing. It made me realise why galley slaves where so sought after in this area in the past.
At the western end of the Straits of Gibraltar the North Atlantic beckons and will, no doubt, present me with a different set of problems. For us yachtsmen things are never perfect but maybe that is just part of the charm of sailing.