Day 4 Where do we go?
17 September 2011 | Under way
Rodney
If you have been watching our track you will see a drastic change in course. So far we have made 500 miles toward Gibraltar - about half way. The weather is changing quickly and we can see our first rain clouds in many months. We are trying to go west for the most part and so far the winds have been blowing mainly from the east. The weather file I downloaded yesterday showed westerlies starting on Sunday and then switching back to strong northeasterly winds. The westerlies were really bothering me so Algeria would have been a good stop for a day until things settled down. A quick email from my lovely wife reminded me that Algeria is in a state of unrest with known terrorist activity, kidnappings and killings......hmmm does not sound like a happy place. But we still need to find shelter for 24 hours.
So now we have some tough decisions. Cartagena is too far away to avoid the 15 knot westerlies followed by 30 knot north easterlies. Ibiza is about 140 miles north of us. Going there will add 100 miles and one day to our trip to Gibraltar. Ibiza is also known for its beautiful beaches full of naked tourists. So we put it up to a vote. Algers with AK47 wheeling terrorists or Ibiza with naked tourists. The vote was unanimous.
We are now 140 miles south of Ibiza. The weird thing is there is no one out here. We have been plagued with avoiding ships and fishing boats since we left Malta. Now there are none!