Gibraltar to Fuengirola
21 July 2014
Stu & Shar

Gibraltar is the stepping off point in and out of the Mediterranean, we set off for Fuengirola where we were picking up Ole & Annie who are joining us for the long haul to Kefallinia in Greece. This section of the holiday over the next 4-5 weeks is mainly a 'delivery' sector to push us across to Greece and Turkey where we will spend the rest of the season. We will come back through this way again when we leave the Mediterranean to cross the Atlantic. This section of coast from Gibraltar through to the Balearic Islands, from what I have previously seen, is a 'Little Britain' in the sun. Long sections of coastline packed with hotels, bars and nightclubs and a big change from what we have experienced so far of Spain...I think this will be pushed through quickly. As we left Gibraltar we went around and motored up the eastern side of the rock before bearing away to set a course for Fuengirola sailing for a couple of hours on a close hauled beat in light winds before is swung to the NE right on the nose, this is becoming a very familiar !!. On went the engine and we motor sailed the rest of the way. We tied up contacted Annie and Ole to let them know we had arrived and organised to catch up the following morning, so we could head off to a large shopping centre and reprovision for the next couple of legs along the coast. Later in the day they brought their bags down to the boat and I nearly had a heart attack as they walked up the pontoon with their bags. I didn't think they would have this amount of gear with them, being seasoned cruisers....where the hell was I going to put it I thought...anyhow we shoved it in all the holes we could find, including the pipes area behind the rear bulkhead and got it stored away. We spent an extra day in Fuengirola as it was Ole's birthday and he wasn't sure when he would see his sister Ellen again, it was a special day for Ole and Ellen.