Gibraltar

Current Position: 36° 09.45N 005.21.76W, La Linear anchorage, north of Gibraltar

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It was gloomy beneath the cloud as we headed up the west side of the Rock, picking our way between the anchored ships. We sailed on past the docks and marinas to drop anchor in La Linea anchorage, just across the Spanish/Gibraltar border in Spain. Ice Maiden also lay at anchor; Vic and Marge had been waiting for us to arrive and declared the next day to be ‘Friday’ and therefore curry night on Ice Maiden! (….despite it being Sunday really!). What a welcome! We spent a few days with them before they left, heading for their winter berth in Lagos. Another sad farewell - we’ve had fun together this summer on our journey west and will miss their company.

We’d been in the anchorage a couple of days when we received an email from Gerard and Josje on Mermaid. They were in La Linea Marina and had seen on our blog post that we were in the anchorage only a few hundred yards away - what a coincidence! Next time we went ashore we popped over to Mermaid for a coffee and chat. They were very well and still planning to head down to the Canaries and across the Atlantic so we hope to meet up with them along the way.

Another email told us that more old friends were nearby - one evening we heard a dinghy approaching and were delighted to see Lin and Paul off yacht ‘Sareda’. We’d met in an anchorage in northern Spain during 2007, our first summer afloat, and subsequently sailed off in different directions; Quilcene into the Med and Sareda west to the Caribbean. Although enjoying an occasional lunch together when we happened to be in the UK at the same time, we haven’t seen them afloat since 2007! … now our paths were crossing and again headed in opposite directions; Quilcene west and Sareda east into the Med! It was so good to see them and we had such a lot to catch up on – not to mention exchanging cruising tips and advice on our respective destinations! Lin and Paul invited us for a curry aboard Sareda - delicious! ..and they didn’t even know of our ‘Friday Curry’ tradition!

After five days on anchor at La Linea it was time to head into Gibraltar and a marina; we were booked to fly to the UK and we still had a few things to attend to on the boat. We took up a berth in Marina Bay just a few hundred yards from the end of the airport runway (thankfully there are very few night arrivals or departures!) and got to work. First and most important was to arrange a liferaft service. Steve at ‘Marine Safety Gibraltar’ was very helpful and took the liferaft and us to his premises where we watched it being inflated. This is the first time we’ve seen the liferaft out of its case and it’s good to know what it looks like – and that it stays inflated! Lets hope we don’t see it again until its next service!!! Kit bought various engine spares and washed ropes, and I washed everything in sight, cleaned out cupboards and generally prepared the boat to be left for a few weeks.

In between tasks we fitted in a walk across the border to meet Paul and Lin and to visit Gerard on Josje on Mermaid. The runway is basically the border between Gibraltar and Spain and the main road crosses it. Every time a plane lands or takes off the traffic stops, just like a level crossing on the railway. It seems strange to be allowed to walk across a runway so I stopped to take a picture of the unusual view along it. We also took time to visit Morrisons in Gibraltar - a weird experience; the goods are the same and laid out the same way as Morrisons in England so we felt as tho’ we could walk out and be in Plymouth or Coventry! The only difference is that there is a licensed bar in the in-store café!

From the moment we’d rounded Europa Point the weather had been cooler, we even had a drop of rain one day! ...and the water temperature had dropped from 30C to 17C in just a few miles!!! However when the wind shifted to the west things improved somewhat and the cloud over the Rock disappeared. Once again we were looking for shade from the hot sun so it was a warm 15-minute walk to the airport to catch our flight – this must be the shortest trip to an airport we’ve ever made!

Our UK trip coincided with the start of the Southampton Boat Show – too good an opportunity to miss! We had a great day out wandering around the show and spent far too much! With an Atlantic crossing imminent we wanted to update and improve our safety and communications equipment so we had to dig deep!

From then on it was a whirl of visits to family in Coventry, Plymouth and London, and we even managed a couple of days with friends in Malvern! We returned to Quilcene our cases bulging with boat ‘bits’ and arrived in warm sunshine. Flying right around the Rock to approach the runway from the west we had a great view of the whole of Gibraltar – it really is a ‘tiny’ British foothold!

We soon settled in and Kit began the onerous task of fitting and wiring in all the new equipment! I was kept busy with yet more shopping and finding inventive new ways of packing it all in! I reckon we could survive a 2-year siege on Quilcene and still have food left over! …..tuna and baked beans might feature prominently on the menu but we’d survive!!!

Our new dinghy (Quill Too) arrived and we cleared it at customs without too much bother – amazing! A cover to protect it from the sun and prevent it going the way of the Quill I is under way and at the fitting stage.

We are now anchored at La Linea, just north of Gibraltar. All the new electronic ‘toys’ are fitted and tested (we spoke on the new SSB radio to fellow cruisers in Gran Canaria, 800 miles away - Gold Star to Kit!!), waypoints have been entered into the GPS, routes planned and water tanks filled.

So why are we still here??

Well - a series of depressions and storms have been marching across the North Atlantic sending a huge swell down the Moroccan coast. We’re hoping to call in to Rabat, the capital of Morocco, en route to the Canaries but the entrance is tricky and cannot be attempted in any significant swell. Also, significant swell means an uncomfortable rolly passage – so we wait!

It looks as if things may finally settle down by the weekend so hopefully we can leave on Saturday/Sunday 27/28th October – watch this space!!!