Straits of Gibraltar and the gateway to the Med
So this part of our trip is a huge achievement for us. The culmination of over twelve months planning. Reaching the Straits and Gibraltar itself, the gateway to the Med, has been our goal this last year and to finally have done provided an enormous sense of satisfaction.
After our week in Cadiz, and Seville which I shall tell you about another time, we departed at sunrise on what was thankfully a calm sea and you'll be pleased to know, there was no drama or terror on this occasion. We decided to do the trip from Cadiz to Gibraltar in two legs, sailing for 10 hours on the first day down to Barbate and then the next morning, doing the last 4-5 hours through the Straits. Timing is apparently everything going through the Straits and aiming to enter the harbour on a rising tide or at high tide meant an early start on the second day. I understand that water flows continually in both an eastward and a westward direction through the Straits. There is a saltier, and therefore denser and deeper current that continually works its way westwards (the Mediterranean outflow), while the larger amount of surface waters with lower salinity and density continually work their way eastwards (the Mediterranean inflow). Therefore, Barbate was a perfect jump off point for catching the ride currents and tides.
Our first day heading down towards Barbate was really quite pleasant, we had good winds the whole way to the extent Craig was competing with a couple of other yachts that left Cadiz at the same time as us. So there was lots of sail adjustments and tweaking going on the whole way. It was good fun and he got a kick out of it. The way sailing should be in my view!
We made it into the tuna fishing village of Barbate late in the afternoon with really only enough time for a long beach walk to stretch the sea legs, a cocktail and then back on deck for an early night. Can't tell you much about Barbate other than it has a great little marina and it was a perfect stop to wait for good tides, currents and weather for the Straits. I can tell you that it is the home of tuna fishing in Spain and so consequently seafood galore on all the restaurant menus! And of course, tuna fishing vessels that head out at the crack of dawn!!
The next morning was...., well, only one word....wet. Good winds, apparently. Reasonable seas, apparently. So perfect right?!
Well, I'm here to tell you...no.
It was cold, miserable, very wet and not just from the rain but from the waves crashing over the deck. We did have favourable winds...that is true, which made for a quicker journey and reduced my discomfort by an hour. But the swell was dreadful and for about four hours it felt like a constant 'wet'n'wild' ride! I had a mild case of seasickness the whole way so Craig was lucky to get a piece of bread to chew on all day! I couldn't come at going below decks, but sitting up in that rain was no picnic neither.
But ever the optimist, my darling husband was right and the sun did come out for our arrival into the harbour. It made for a gorgeous entry which we did celebrate. What an incredible view and I had no idea that the European continent and the African continent were only separated by 8 nautical miles of water (not 15 as I said in the video)! To be able to see Morocco on the starboard and Gibraltar and Spain on the Port was quite something.
We made it!! And we were blessed by the most beautiful sunset evolution right at cocktail hour.
