| Monday, April 25, we departed Cadiz for Barbate, 33 nautical miles away. We first motored, then sailed, encountering sloppy seas much of the way. With our arrival in the Spanish fishing town of Barbate, we saw for the first time the coastline of Africa. From Barbate we were only 18 nautical miles from Tarifa, the narrowest point of the Straits, just 8 miles from North Africa.
The marina at Barbate was considered to be the best place to wait for the right winds and time to travel through the Straits of Gibraltar. As the Straits were narrow and surrounded on both sides by mountains, a wind funnel effect was often created. Winds could be two to four times stronger in the Straits than elsewhere, with gale force winds half the time. Upon our arrival in Barbate, the winds changed to gale force easterlies. We ended up staying seven days in the Barbate marina waiting for the winds to come again from the west. Each day we looked forward to receiving our daily e-mail weather forecast from Phil�s brother, Roger, in Boerne, Texas, to determine when to transit the Straits of Gibraltar. |
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| While waiting for the weather to change, we spent many enjoyable afternoons and/or evenings socializing with other cruisers. One of the joys of cruising was meeting new people and sharing information, plus running into cruising friends from previous ports. This scene took place at the marina in Barbate, and it repeated itself over and over again throughout our transit to the Balearic Islands.
Finally on Monday, May 2, the wind changed back to the west, and we were able to travel through the Straits of Gibraltar. As it was 35 nautical miles from Barbate to Gibraltar, we wished to maximize our speed through the Straits. To do so, we needed to take into account the tidal flow. As we were traveling east we didn�t need to worry about the current as there was always an easterly flow due to water lost in the Mediterranean through evaporation. But, to take advantage of the tidal flow, the best time to leave Barbate was 3 hours before high tide at Gibraltar. For us that meant departing Barbate at 8:30 am. With little wind, we first motored, then motorsailed our way through the Straits of Gibraltar, enjoying a 3 knot favorable current. During our transit, we saw 10 to 15 ships traveling the Straits. |
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| What a joy it was to finally see the Rock of Gibraltar and know that we had arrived in the Mediterranean. Around 3 pm we cleared customs in Gibraltar; about 5 pm we obtained a berth at Marina Bay. That evening we opened a bottle of champagne to celebrate our arrival in the Mediterranean. As the sun was setting, the red sunset reflected onto the white Rock causing the Rock to glow a beautiful red. This red glow occurred only on this first night during our stay, making our welcome even more special. |
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