Heading East on the Costa Del Sol

07/07/19

Neither of us slept much last night, so the atmosphere on OW as we set off was a little tetchy this morning, but thankfully our departure was calm and relatively easy despite the strong current flowing in in the marina basin.

You have to leave Barbate at the right time and in the right conditions if you want to make it to Gibraltar without too much stress on either yourselves or the boat, It is recommended that you leave at slack water low so that you get the tidal push all the way to Tarifa. 

We had about 30NM to run to the Bay of Gibraltar, and as there was very little wind to speak of again we were motoring at 1100rpm, but were travelling at 9.4knts SOG.  We were joined by two other boats who were heading for Gibraltar so it became a bit of a race to see who would make it there first.

We decided to stay in the Spanish marina of La Linea as it gave CA discount for one and it is  larger so more suitable for OW.  I had rang  them earlier to inform them that we would be arriving around 16.00 but at this rate it would be nearer lunch time

The sea was slight and there was a bit of a swell but the wind was only reaching 6 knts from the west so the passage was a very comfortable one so far.  By 10.30 you could clearly see Tarifa point and the light house.   We had been warned that Tarifa could be nasty, with no wind one side and gusts of 30 knots the other side so it could get less comfortable if that was to be the case today.

As we rounded the point it became clear that we were in for an easy ride, there was a bit of chop but nothing like the horror stories we had been told about.  We rounded the point at 9.2 Knots SOG still flying along.  It is very satisfying when you get it right and we had definitely got it right today.

By 11.48 we could see the rock of Gibraltar, both us were filled with excitement it is a monumental achievement for us and OW to have reached this far.  We had travelled from Bilbao to Gibraltar in three months by ourselves with the watchful eye of the Admiral spurring us on when we needed it.  We kept looking at it in disbelief really.

As we entered the bay past the cardinal mark that all craft have to observe it was a wake up call, there were ships big ships anchored everywhere, fast ferries crossing the straits to Morocco and back and loads of smaller sailing and motoring vessels trying to exit or enter the bay all at once.  

It was worse than the traffic in Trafalgar Square at rush hour, but we made our way into the Spanish corner of the bay without bumping into anything.   We were the first of the yachts that left Barbate  to make it into the bay and we called the marina for instructions on where they wanted us.  We hate the words "come to the waiting pontoon to check in" as you know OW is not easy to bring alongside.   

I asked if the pontoon had other boats tied up to it, if it had we would have circled the bay until it became empty.  We didn't want to cause damage to any other boat.  Thankfully it was empty and the marina staff were there to take our lines, we pulled up alongside easily, and a few prayers were said as the pontoon was all concrete.

Once we had checked in we were helped to move across to  a large finger berth facing the rock, our home for a week.  We have to wait for friends to arrive and use the time to get on with some maintenance work. 

We had made it safely, the evidence is right in front of us, we were both a bit emotional at this point, we had hardly dared to believe that we would get this far and now we have it was a huge relief.   We had made it to the Mediterranean. 

The other positive note on getting to Gibraltar is that I can stock up on English goods such as decent tea bags and diluting juice from the local Morrison, decent tea what bliss.

 For more about our thoughts on reaching Gibraltar please have a look at the blog

05/07/19

We decided to take on some fuel before leaving for Barbate (Pronounced Barbarty), our intention is to fill her to the brim when we get to Gibraltar.  Fuel in Spain is really expensive but there was  strong possibility that we will have to motor most of the way to Gibraltar.

We departed the harbour at 09.30, the sea was flat calm, and there was hardly a whisper of wind other than the wind we were making ourselves although the bay was had a bit of a swell which rocked and rolled us around a bit.

We only had 40NM to run so passage time should be around 7 hours, we travelled most of the way under motor at 1100 RPM with a little help from the stay sail in the afternoon.    Pot watching was constant and if I could have just one conversation with the person who laid 8 pots with white flags on white polystyrene blocks it wouldn't be a pleasant one.  They are impossible to see especially when there are  white horses on the water.

By 13.00 we had 22NM to run and were maintaining 6.4 knts SOG, there are a few boats around and thankfully not to many Tunny nets  encountered.

We could see Cabo Trafalgar  just ahead of us, and as we discussed the battle that took place on the very spot that we were sailing I messaged the Admiral to inform him of our position.    Alan and I  discussed what would be a fitting tribute to Nelson and decided that the song Drop of Nelson's Blood by the Fisherman's Friends would be fitting.  It was duly sung at the top of our voices, tribute completed we had a cup of tea to toast his victory and demise.

By Mid afternoon the wind was strong enough for us to use the Genoa for a while which gave us another knot of speed,  this helped us make up some time and by 1700 we were entering the bay.  Barbate is located in the left hand corner of the bay with the National Park leading down to Trafalgar in the background.

We unfortunately had a bit of a crash landing into Barbate, I will never understand why sailors or marina staff for that matter are able to catch a rope but feel it necessary to hold it rather than tie it onto the cleat, we cannot stop her unless she is tied and pulled tight on the stern.  

So with this in mind the kind person caught our rope and held onto it, I asked him to tie it onto the cleat tight, so he ties it loosely, we now have rope in the water at the rear and a 35 ton boat moving forward but at an angle now because Alan has set OW up to bring the bow in safe in the knowledge that the stern is securely tied in.    

We crash land into the pontoon's electric post whilst still moving slowly forward.  The Marina staff are at the pontoon by this stage and tried to push her off the pontoon whilst I have pulled the rope at the stern so that at least it is tight allowing Alan to get her under control again.

Once we were tied on we adjusted all the ropes and added more as there is a ferocious tide push that runs into the marina at every tide change. It was amazing just how much power was in that push as it held us off and then pushed us onto the pontoon with a great deal of force, enough to strain the ropes every time.

Barbate is a lovely seaside town with a vibrant atmosphere  all the way along the promenade, however the walk from the marina to the town is about 3km passed a number of fish processing plants.  The bins are located along the walk way giving off a foul rancid smell as you walk passed.  It makes you retch especially in the heat of the day.

This is just a short stop over whilst we wait for the right conditions to take us down to Gibraltar. 

27/06/19

We were both looking forward to this leg of the trip, Alan has always wanted to go to Cadiz and our next port was in the middle of the Bay of Cadiz.

We left the marina without any mishaps around 7.20am, it was a beautiful morning and although the forecast was for 18-20Knts of westerly wind we were doubtful we would see anything like that today.

By lunch time we had motor sailed our way down the coast, and were able to witness the fishing fleets pushing out their nets in wide circles, flick on their lights and encircle the Tuna, we saw six fishing boats doing the same thing, is there any surprise that the sea has no fish.

By 16.00 we had passed Chippona, 20NM left to run to Puerto Sherry, still motor sailing although the wind has picked up giving us the push to maintain 6.5 knots for the rest of the way into Cadiz bay.

As we approached the bay we could see the two warships that we had been following on the radio, There is a naval base in Rota, just as you enter the bay on the left side.   There are two USA ships, contact was made with the Admiral to ask for permission to drop the ensign if we were close enough, permission was granted but unfortunately they moved too quickly into Rota.   I would have loved to have seen them race to respond to our salute.

Cadiz looks amazing, it has a large suspension bridge that dominates the landscape, we will be exploring Cadiz for Alan's birthday.

As we neared the breakwater for Puerto Sherry the wind starts to build, we hate it when that happens as docking can be tricky.   We could see the very narrow buoyed channel and the very large tower on the mole and hoped that the wind would not cause us a problem in the channel. We had to circle around the small anchorage as a gust had pushed us round on approach.

We eventually came into the basin of the marina and could see a hammer head free, this was not meant to be our berth but it was very windy and getting in was our priority. OW did not disappoint, we came close and then as I was about to throw the stern line the wind pushed her out, we shouted to some other boat owners who were sat on a yacht nearby, they came to assist but it took several attempts to get OW close enough to get a line on.

It took another 20 mins or so to get her properly tied up, the next morning with no wind to speak off we moved onto our planned berth and settled in for a week of exploring Cadiz, Rota and Seville.

Puerto Sherry is a large marina, close to Cadiz with a vibrant sailing community.   They regularly host major regatta's and is a great staging post for seeing Cadiz and Seville.  The marina also gives you Cruising Association discount and a free courtesy car to the train and ferry station which is a nice touch. 

25/06/19

We were leaving Culatra with a touch of sadness but we had places to go, we pulled up the anchor at 8.15am on a lovely clear sunny morning. It was almost high tide and we exited the Faro race as if it wasnt there. 

There are Tunny nets everywhere, and some have been marked with flashing lights that covered around 4NM, we are in for an interesting day I think.

There was hardly any wind other than what we were making ourselves so its looking like a day of motor sailing again. The coastline was visible although we stayed 4-5NM off shore to try and avoid large concentrations of lobster pots but even in deeper water we still had Tunny nets to content with.

Alan has the fishing line out to try and catch our own Tuna, unfortunately something probably a Tuna bit right through the line and lures so no fish supper tonight.

We raised the Spanish flag as we passed the Guadiana with 10NM to run to the Isla Canela, a small marina on the entrance to the Helva river and close to Ayamonte. Isla Canela is a large fishing port and the main one for Andalusia, the fishing quay is further up the river.

We arrived and tied up on the waiting pontoon at 14.00, it was evident that they did not have space for more than 6 visiting boats at a time but luckily it was quite quiet today. 

We were only supposed to stay here for one night but when we woke up it was so foggy that you could not see the boats in the marina. This fog lasted all morning so we took the opportunity to take a local boat trip up the river. 

There were around 40-50 large fishing boats, with huge drag nests behind and all of the boats had large banks of lights around the wheel house, we were told that although the dragging does damage to the sea bed the Spanish authorities refuse to intervene. 

The lights are used to attract the tuna, they then send out a small boat to trail the net around the tuna (and other fish). Most of the fish is processed and sent abroad.

This was a nice stop over, it enabled us to recharge the batteries (anchoring had caused them to get low), fill up with water and re stock the fridge.

18/06/19

We were looking forward to leaving Lagos,  its a lovely place but we had stayed longer than we anticipated due to an ordering error by Sopromar the main chandlery in Lagos. It had rained overnight which had really cleared the hot sticky air.  There was a lot of cloud around this morning and the wind was picking up.

At 9.05am we made ready to go and as we had a couple of marina staff ready to help feed OW's bow out of the berth, myself and the owner of the boat beside us we fending off the port side , the actual exit was uneventful thankfully.   The bridge was open and ready for us to depart so we quickly manoeuvred out of the marina into the channel.   The very same channel that caused us so many problems going in was easier to us on the way out, although the strong wind was still funnelling down the channel we had no issues.

It has been unusually windy in Lagos (according to staff in the marina) so it was great to get all the sails up pretty quickly, which allowed us to sail for about 2 hours, then the wind dropped right off and we were only able to make 2Knts.  We had 30NM still to run so we had to motor sail for now.

Portugal is littered with lobster pots and its Tunny season (Tuna) now so there are Tunny nets everywhere.   The Portuguese coastline is stunning and it wasn't long before we were seeing the town of Albufeira and Villamoura come into view.   We had a couple of family holidays in Albufeira, and really liked the old town.

Alan and I were reminiscing as we traversed the coast, 10 years ago Alan and I came to Faro to do our Day Skipper and Competent crew RYA exams, we had a great week and once the course was complete we sailed up the Guadiana river.   It was nice to be sailing it again but this time in our own boat. The coastline hasn't changed much in 10 years but we had forgotten about the Faro race and how turbulent it can be if you hit it as the tide turns.

In true OW style we reached the entrance to Faro lagoon just after slack water, the race was visible but manageable.   We were pushed through it quite quickly and started to pick up the channel marker for Culatra which is in the Rio Formosa. 

As you pass the entrance of Faro's channel you have to navigate into the deep channel around Farrol I say deep but its about 6m under the keel.   The Rio Formosa is made up of Olhao, Culatra, Amona and Farrol islands and at low tide sand banks and deserted beaches appear and if your not careful you can end up drying out on one of them. Some of the channels also disappear. 

There is a natural deep water anchorage that runs along side Amona, Farrol and Culatra, it is beautiful and apart from the water taxi's and fishing boats hoping across the bay its very quiet.

We anchored and were set well into the mud at around 19.00, we took the usual transit lines and took a note of the position so that we could check the holding, it is well known here that in some places the holding is great and in others almost impossible. Thankfully we seem to be holding really well.

The wind was starting to pick up and at one point we had regular gusts of 25 - 30knts, whilst we were on anchor watch we were happy with the holding, and this proved to be the case for the week that we stayed there. However we did watch one boat come adrift, thankfully he was onboard and able to reset his anchor so the write up on holding in the bay seems to be true.

We spent a lovely week chilling out in Culatra, watching some of the most amazing sunsets and beach combing on deserted islands.   There was some moments when Alan and I lost our sense of humour though, Withies (long sticks or reeds) are used to mark the outline of the land areas, when navigating in the dinghy at low water you have to follow the withies to ensure that you don't run aground.   Not as easy as it sounds as there are withies everywhere and unless you follow a local you can easily get caught out. 

Culatra island is a protected area and one of UNESCO's sites, it is a fishing village and has around 3000 inhabitants now.    They have tried to protect the environment and their way of life, unlike the larger town of Olaho it has small houses, a few cafes/restaurants and one small supermarket. 

Formosa and Amona are largely holiday islands now but still have a vibrant local population reliant on fishing especially shell fish. It was nice to see the islands and I hope that if we visit in another 10 years it wont have changed much.