The following morning after a quiet start the wind suddenly intensified just as predicted. David called Pinta on the VHF to check on their ETA. They could see the breakwater and were motoring with full engine revs hard against a wind of up to 47 knots, sometimes only managing as little as 0.9knots of speed over the ground. Such painfully slow progress but at last we saw their mast come into view at the marina entrance and went to help with their lines. Lying beam on to the wind it took full throttle and bow thrusters to push the boat in. They were still so upbeat in spite of their last few difficult hours but obviously very tired and thankful to be here.

We spent the morning doing laundry but everybody else had the same idea and with too few machines and driers I ended up doing two loads back on the boat. Typically as it came time to hang it all out to dry the rain came pouring down. But that was not going to stop us from walking into the town centre where we indulged ourselves in a tapas style lunch. David and I went off in search of a supermarket for a few provisions while Donald walked all around the headland of the Torres of Hercules. When we returned to the boat a brief dry spell enabled us to hang some laundry out, the inside of the boat and cockpit now festooned with damp washing but not for long before another dismal squall swept over us. Too wet to walk into town we took a taxi and dined in a fish restaurant in the old quarter. Soon it was coming down in sheets and on our way back to the marina, the streets were now rivers of rain. It was nearly midnight when we turned in later than we had intended with an early start in the morning, but they don’t start serving dinner here till around 9pm. This is Spain.