The Straits

We leave Rota at 8am in tandem with Yacht Allegrini heading for the Straits of Gibraltar. The weather suits to go through the Straits as the wind is slack and westerly. There is Easterly wind due in a few days time and that can make the passage through the straits difficult. We are leaving Rota a little sooner than we might have liked but we prefer easy passage making - especially when we are passing Tarifa - the windiest place in Europe and on going on through the strait.
It is lovely to have Yacht Allegrini for company and Helen and Steve stay in touch on VHF radio and phone during the day. The are ahead of us paving the way and alert us to any hazards- like the angling competition we have to dodge around.
It is very exciting to see the first glimpse of another continent. Africa reveals herself much earlier in our journey than we were expecting. She appears just like any other headland we have seen on the horizon, in the haze of distance. As we move closer she becomes larger and more defined and we are certain it is herself and not just another bit of Spain. I don’t know how many times I say ‘ That’s Africa’ over the hours that we have her in our sights -

We have the sails up and are motoring, the increase in wind we are expecting never comes so the engine has to stay on. It helps having the Allegrini crew to share in this disappointment. The kite-surfers of Tarifa are having a rare day off as we motor past.

I continue to say ‘that’s Africa’ as we round the corner and enter the straits proper- it is hard not to, as the Mountains of Morocco are unbelievably close. There are lots of ships in the straits but we are are unruffled as they move in a predictable straight line in the traffic separation system. We stay outside of that and hug the Spanish coast, grateful we don’t have to cross these shipping lanes.
There are several ‘Pan Pan’ calls over the VHF radio during this passage and we see a few high speed rescue vessels, we assume these are for emigrants attempting the crossing. The advice given to sailing yachts should they come across a vessel in distress is to make a ‘Pan pan’ call but not approach under any circumstances. This makes for a sobering reflection and as we eat dinner in the sunshine.
We see Yacht Allegrini ahead of us turning to port - they are entering the bay inside the rock of Gibraltar, excitement is building as we will be there soon. It is a dramatic entrance; with the British rock looming to starboard, Africa astern of us and the Spanish bay is buzzing with shipping.
The sun has nearly set by the time we are at the Spanish Marina, La Linea, just over the boarder from Gibraltar.
Steve and Helen are there to take our lines when we come into the pontoon. We are grateful to have connected with such lovely people and to have shared the experience of sailing through the straits of Gibraltar for the first time.Read more