Gibraltar

View from our mooring

 

Wednesday 29^th August. Well, we finally made it to the Med! We left Cadiz yesterday, rounded Cape Trafalgar (site of the famous battle) and spent last night in Barbate. We set off early this morning to catch the tide through the Gibraltar Straits. The narrow gap between Spain and Africa (less than 8 nautical miles at its narrowest) creates fast currents and high winds, so it’s important to choose the right weather to sail through it. The Almanac told us that the wind off Tarifa blows at 30 knots or more for 300 days each year, so we were expecting a challenging sail. 

Luckily for us, both wind and tide were in the same direction (behind us) and the wind was moderate for most of the day. But as we turned into Gibraltar Bay the windspeed doubled to 22 knots and we had an interesting time dodging the oil tankers lining up to go into Algeciras. We finally made it safely into Marina Bay, remembering to keep well clear of the airport runway that lies right next to the marina entrance.

We had a good view of the planes taking off and landing

Thursday 30^th August. Our mooring has an excellent view of the Rock…and also of the airport! The latter has turned out to be less of an issue than I expected, as there are only a handful of flights each day and none at night. The marina is popular with liveaboards and is very friendly. We walked into town today and found it strange to see BHS, M&S and other British shops in a Mediterranean environment.

Friday 31^st August. We went to Morrisons today and Cliff was in seventh heaven as he stocked up with Peanut Butter, Marmite and Cheddar Cheese! He also stopped at M&S to pick up some shorts and shirts in a smaller size – he has lost so much weight over the last three months that his clothes are falling off him.

Saturday 1 September. The ‘Levanter’ wind set in today – a strong easterly wind that also brings cloudy weather. We’re grateful for a bit of cloud after so much heat, but our mooring is exposed to the east and the boat is surging back and forth and then moving wildly from side to side – it’s a bit like being on a Bucking Bronco. We’re moored stern to with a passerelle (gangplank) from the stern to the quay. There’s a metre plus drop at low tide and the passerelle sits at an alarming angle. This and boat movement has made it interesting getting on and off the boat. At the lowest tide we decided to dispense with the passerelle altogether and opt for a wild leap to shore instead.

Sunday 2 September. We got the bikes out today to do a circuit of the Rock. The city sits on the west side of the rock and is an odd mixture of austere concrete military fortifications, modern high rise flats, multi-story  car parks and older houses with pretty shutters and ornate iron balconies. The east side is sheer rock edged by beaches – the most attractive is at Catalan Bay, a fishing village originally populated by Genoese fishermen, and with a very different feel to the rest of the area.

Monday 3 September. We’ve decided to get a few things fixed on the boat while we’re near an English speaking boatyard. The riggers were first to arrive this morning to re-rig our Lazyjacks and look at the problem with furling the genoa. They stood on the quay for some time before chancing a leap onto the boat (the wind is still blowing a hooley) and weren’t keen to go up the mast, but this is the only day they could fit us in, so it had to be done.

Later on the plumber arrived to try and solve the problem of a permanent dribble from our hot water system. He thinks he’s found the answer and is coming back tomorrow.

I’m flying back to UK tomorrow for a hospital appointment about the cataracts in my eyes (yes, I didn’t know people my age got them either). I’m back again on Friday and bringing my Mum out with me for a week’s holiday. Mum is 90 and bright as a button, but is unsteady on her feet, and we’ve been worrying about how we will be able to get her on and off the boat on this mooring. We’ve checked, and there aren’t any other moorings available in Gibraltar just now, though the situation may change by the end of the week.

Wednesday 5th September. I waited three hours at the hospital to be told what I already knew – that I need an operation on both eyes. At least I’ll be on the waiting list now. It was lovely to spend last night back in Worplesdon (thanks Tricia!) and to see Mum today.

Arriving with Mum at Gibraltar

Friday 7^th September. We flew back today. While I’ve been away Cliff has managed to find us a calmer mooring in Ocean Bay, at the more upmarket end of the marina. We are now surrounded by super-yachts! Cliff has been busy cleaning the boat inside and out, and there’s good and bad news about our plumbing. The good news is that it’s now all working properly. The bad news is that as soon as the plumber fixed the pressure problems, the pump failed, so we’ve had to replace that too.

Mum and I at the top of the Rock

Saturday 8^th September. We woke to heavy cloud again but it cleared by early afternoon so we decided to take the cable car up to the top of the rock. It was worth the effort – there was a good view down over the town and across to Spain on one side and Africa on the other.

Ape with the stolen Fanta

The rock is famous for its Barbary apes which roam freely at the top. The apes are quick to spot food and drink, and when we got to the viewing platform a young ape grabbed a can of Fanta from the woman next to us, poured it onto the ground and licked it up! The adult apes generally looked listless and bored with life, but the youngsters were more lively, and we managed to video two very sweet infants playing together.

Video of baby apes playing

There’s a big concert tonight in the sports arena featuring Jessie J and UB40. As we sipped our sundowners on deck we watched a wedding party celebrating on a super-yacht opposite. Then there were yelps of excitement from the bridesmaids as another super-yacht pulled in behind them and Jessie J and her entourage appeared briefly on the back, before being whisked from the yacht to a waiting black limo.

If the weather’s good tomorrow we’ll head out of Gibraltar and up to La Duquesa on the Costa del Sol.