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Adra (Es) 12 oct 2001.
Straight of Gibraltar and Morocco.
The narrow straight that separates Africa from Europe is only 8 miles (approx 15 km) wide at its narrowest point. It is, in many senses a fascinating place. For sailors, it can pose a serious challenge due to its high winds and strong tides and currents. At Europe's Southernmost cape, Tarifa, the wind is said to blow 300 days of the year with force 7 or more. The high mountains on both sides of the straight funnel through winds that are either West or East and have many wind parks on them (Spanish side only). Since the Mediterranean is evaporating more water than it gets from rivers flowing into it, the predominant current is eastward, 'filling' the Med from the Atlantic. That is to say, at the surface, since there is an 'under current' with heavy salty water from the Med 'falling' into the deeper Atlantic. Tides and predominant winds further influence this system of currents in the straight. The water level is said to be 1-2 meters higher on one side of the straight. And then there is the traffic. Two traffic lanes are like a highway of ships going in and out of the Med. These ships travel at speeds of 15-25 knots, which is 4 to 6 times our speed. We are are like a cyclist on busy motorway and prefer to stay out of the traffic lanes for our safety.
For locals, the straight is a rich source of fish, a source of tourism, trade and illegal activities such as people and drug smuggling. Much of Africa wants to come to Europe and the Med is the biggest physical barrier. At the straight, you can actually see the other side, which attracts a great deal of fortune seekers in Morocco. At the same time, the Rif mountains that start just South of the straight are said to produce most of Europe's hashjies. The many small fast power boats in the ports near the straight make you wonder. There are stories of people trying to cross the straight with inner tyres of a car or even swimming.
Our passage through the straight took place on Oct 1 and was very exciting. We started off from Barbate (just outside the straight at the Spanish Atlantic side) with a few hours with very little wind. We set the spinaker but even that did not work for long and we had to proceed on the motor. Impressive, mountains arose on both sides of the straight as we entered it. However, after 2 hours motoring, there was a strange sound in the engine so we stopped it to see whether we had something in the propeller. I went into the water to check, but nothing there. Then I tightened the V belt which might have caused the noise but the wind picked up. It strengthened quite fast but came from the east so we had to tack, but at least there was wind now. So we tacked around Tarifa, keeping outside the traffic lane for the big cargo ships, in a rather strong breeze, according to what was promised by the book. Fortunately, a strong tide was also helping us and we were going quite fast until the wind lessened and finally disappeared at the end of the straight and we had to motor again! By sunset, we motored into Gibraltar. A very strange day: wind, no wind, strong wind and no wind again.
In Gibraltar, that very strange mixture of Spanish and English culture and remnants of a lost glorious colonial past, we had to decide what to do with our plans to visit Morocco. We had planned to go there but we also want to meet Mira's sister, her husband and cousine and mother at Mallorca by the end of October. Secondly there was the issue of sailing to a Muslim country, where you might not be able to leave when you want, at the time of rising tensions. As Gibraltar turned out to be pleasant, rather safe place (and not too expensive) to leave the boat, we decided to take the ferry to Tanger (Morocco) and take the train to Fez for a few days.
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Morocco
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The fast sea cat took us back through the straight in precisely one hour at a cost of 30 pounds (return), a distance that had took us a complete day of hard work! It really stops to make you think about sailing as a means of transport from an economic point of view. You invest all this money to buy a boat, keep on poring money into it as you travel, repair here repair there, buy charts and pilots, a little fuel (so far we have only used 50 L of Diesel from Hoorn to Gibraltar..) etc etc. Rather capital intensive activity, that results in little savings compared to alternatives (sounds like PV solar energy?!) forms of transport.
In the train from Tanger to Fez we first met a cheat just as described in our travel guide: a well dressed, English speaking Moroccan, that started talking to us, showing us photo's of his restaurant in Spain and his brothers wedding, inviting us to his town (which happened to be just the second stop on the way to Fez) to show us the 'real' Morocco. The man soon disappeared to a different compartment after we asked about his studies international political science. The lonely planet guide does not tell what happens to you when you do go see the real Morocco with these people. Fortunately, his act was far too hasty, his english far too fluent and his remarks that we should wear a kaftan out of respect not very realistic so we were not very eager to get off our train, but we were stunned to find the situation exactly as predicted.
Later, two Moroccans in their twenties joined us and taught us the basics of the Morocan Arabic language: hello, thank you and no thanks, goodbye, 1,2,3,..25 etc. Not very easy at all, but very rewarding when you use them. People are genuinely surprised to hear you break your tongue trying to speak the language, not French.
We had a few nice days in Fez, which is an ancient city that has much to offer. The highlights where a tour with a very critical, independent thinking official tour guide through the Medina (old town), a visit to the Hamman (bath house), making new friends -Holger (H is a doctor in the middle (land locked) centre of Germany that actually took navigation classes because he wants to learn sailing, very grundlich!) and Julia (please send us your email addresses!)- and, of course, the shopping experience. Apart from the usual leather stuff that all people buy in Fez, we bought two boxes of Arabic tiles (tiles with all kinds of patterns are an ancient Arabic art form). For a future bathroom. Very heavy but very nice indeed.
It was strange to be in a hotel with a bed and a to hear a mosk (calling for prayers) at dawn, in stead of the halyards whistle at night when the wind picks up, or the sound of the water against the hull. It is awkward to go a way from the boat so far, when you know it is lying there, for any thing to happen to it when you are not there. After all, most of what we have is in there, it is our little home and you feel a bit like a snail without a shell...
Our official tour guide indeed was a special person, taking pride in telling us about political situation in the monarchy Morocco, freedom of expression and religion. He also made jokes of the military and the clergy calling everyone we met 'general', 'ímmam' or the 'next king', in this way openly criticizing the establishment in a humorous way. He led us through Fez's large old medina, a massif labyrint of small streets (sometimes only 1 meter wide, sometimes covered like a tunnel), full of shops, eateries, street vendors, beggars and other people that want you money one way or another. It is very easy to get lost there as there are no street names (and if, you would not be able to read them) and it will take you hours to find your way out.
Back in Tanger with a backpack full of weighty tiles, we spend our last Dirhams at the market, buying vegetables and fruits as much as we could carry, knowing that Safeways at Gibraltar would charge us a tenfold for it.