After refuelling, Nessaru departed Almeria at 10:00 on Tuesday 23 April. On completion of a series of slow circles to re-calibrate the autohelm and windvane display, we set sail on a course of 215 degrees. At 14:08 we turned to 260 degrees to shape our course for the Strait of Gibraltar. With a light breeze of 5 to 6 knots, we made slow but steady progress, averaging about 2 to 3 knots, and occasionally reaching 5 knots when the wind briefly increased. The weather was clear and at night we were sailing under a full moon.

The following morning a large pod of dolphins came to play around the yacht. Their displays and antics were a joy to watch!

Unfortunately the wind did not stay with us; in the afternoon it was completely calm with sea state 0 - "sea like a mirror"- and we were going nowhere! So we furled the Genoa, lowered the Mainsail and started motoring.

There were some days at sea when it seemed as if we were the only vessel in the Mediterranean, with not another vessel in sight. But as we approached Gibraltar the shipping density increased markedly. At 22:00 on Wednesday night I counted fifteen ships, and then stopped counting. From 02:00 on Thursday morning we commenced our transit through the Straight of Gibraltar, maintaining a westerly course along the northern boundary of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) which establishes separate navigation lanes for eastbound and westbound shipping (and, yes, before anyone asks, we were in the correct, westbound lane!). It was an interesting night-time experience, with some very large ships overtaking us or even crossing the transit lanes at very close quarters. Michael and I were both "on watch" for most of the transit, with one of us steering and the other navigating and monitoring the VHF radio. We had occasional spells when we took turns at having short "cat naps" in the saloon.

At 04:00 the following morning we were directly south of the Rock of Gibraltar. At its narrowest, the Strait of Gibraltar is only about eight nautical miles, and it seemed a little bit strange to think that while we could see the lights of Gibraltar and Spain to starboard and the lights of Morocco to port, we were effectively passing between two giant continents in our little boat.

By sunrise (07:50) we were through the Strait, out of the TSS and the Mediterranean and heading into the Atlantic Ocean. Having motored for so long, we thought it would be prudent to refuel and so, after reviewing our options, we set a north-westerly course for Rota on the Spanish mainland just north of Cadiz. In addition, we were still waiting for our insurance certificate and would have been uninsured if we had ventured any further off the coasts of Spain or Portugal.

We tried sailing for a while but the wind was light and shifting unpredictably; sometimes the windvane was turning through 360 degrees! We also encountered strange swirls in the water and eddies as we approached Cape Trafalgar. It was weird, and all the while we were thinking about orcas. Fortunately, we did not see any.

Then the wind came on with a vengeance, accompanied by swell from the west that seemed determined to drive us towards Cape Trafalgar where the chart showed some nasty looking rocks and shoals well to seaward of the cape. We tacked away from the coast to gain some sea room, but when we tried to resume a north-westerly course, the wind shifted as if even more determined to drive us towards a lee shore. We were making no progress towards Rota, so at 20:00 we started motor sailing with reefed sails, on a course of 320 degrees. Some time later we furled the Genoa and lowered the Mainsail completely.

By this time Nessaru was pounding into a very choppy sea with a 2 to 3-metre swell on the port bow, with the wind at about 12 to 15 knots, gusting to maybe 20 knots. To say it was uncomfortable would be an understatement; as Michael's describe it: "It was brutal".

By now we were both very tired and looking forward to our arrival in Rota at 10:00 in the morning on Friday 26 April. As we rounded the Puerto Rota break-water we ran onto a sandbar that stretched halfway across the entrance. Unfortunately our depth sounder display is impossible to read in broad daylight and we have plans to replace it in Panama. On the plus side, we were coming in on a flood (rising) tide, and were able to get off the sandbar without too much difficulty while avoiding the breakwater, and were soon berthed at the refuelling wharf. When I checked in at the marina office, I asked about the sandbar and was told that it had built up recently and they were waiting for a dredge to clear the channel. We were allocated a berth and about half an hour later were safely secured in marina row D, berth 9.

That evening, after hot showers followed some time later by cold beers, we found a gorgeous little Italian restaurant with lots of artwork and excellent food and wine. Mandy would have loved it!

Rota is one of the most delightful Spanish villages one could possibly imagine, full of old-world charm, with narrow, paved and cobbled streets, lined with beautiful buildings with decorative facades and wrought iron balconies. The churches and chapels are just amazing, and even a little bakery window was worthy of a photo (check them out in the Photo Gallery). And no graffiti!

On Saturday morning we found our breakfast bar, La Concha, which serves coffee with delicious bread rolls with butter and marmalade; it also has WIFI which the marina does not; it is now our "local" breakfast venue and evening beer garden (which is where I am now uploading this blog).

On arrival in Rota we received an email from the insurance broker, advising us that the insurer in London has agreed to provide cover for the remainder of our voyage. I subsequently paid the premium and we are hoping to receive the insurance certificate on Monday or Tuesday at the latest, which is when we are planning to depart for Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands, 710 nautical miles to the south.

Meanwhile, we are making the most of an opportunity to clean the boat and carry out some maintenance, do some washing, and get some rest.