GIBRALTER APRIL 1, 2011

We have finally arrived on the "Rock", Gibralter after a spectacular sail from Barbarte, the gathering place for all who are headed into the Med. via the Strait of Gibraltar.   After much planning, the determined time of departure was 8:30 am.  The only problem was that nobody had anticipated the fog which kept us from heading out until 10 am.  When we finally pulled out, we used our radar avoiding possible fishing boats out for their daily catch.

The Strait is an important shipping route from the Med to the Atlantic and separates Europe and Africa by about 15 km at the narrowest point.  Ferries cross between the two continents every day in as little as 35 minutes.   This direct link creates certain unique flow and wave patterns.  Thru the strait, water generally flows more or less continually both east and west.  In order to pass thru the strait at optimal time, it is important to calculate wind direction and water direction.  Our calculation was fairly accurate and our journey turned out to be one of the most memorable so far.


 The Rock of Gibraltar is a 1400 ft high giant slab of jagged Jurassic limestone formed around 200 million years ago, and dominates a unique geographical position connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Gibraltar itself is a land mass of some three miles in length, and one mile wide, overlooking the twenty-mile stretch of water known as the Straits which divides the two continents of Europe and Africa. The separating line between Gibraltar and Spain is a half-mile wide isthmus, which doubles as an international airport runway, along with the local traffic and pedestrians. It must be one of the few places, if not the only place, in the world where you get off the plane and walk across the runway you have just landed on to get to your destination.
The above description is courtesy noonsite.com

The last hour was spent navigating our way into the heavily congested commercial harbour where ferries, tankers, cruise ships, rescue vessels, tugs & pilot boat plus pleasure yachts of all sizes must yield to another in order to arrive at a their destination safely; ours was the Queensway Quay Marina, the entrance, a hole in the wall, sheltered by a mole and a housing complex that hid any sign of the marina.  This pic, courtesy of Gaby Neubauer shows all vessel traffic in our immediate vicinity.
Once in the safety of the marina we noticed there were no finger docks and this was going to be our first experience with Med-docking; backing in and hooking up to a mooring line.
Wolfgang's navigational abilities shone brightly as he backed in without a problem.  Another proud moment which was celebrated an hour later with a bottle of Jumbo's finest.

 Main Street: Tourist Town! Whao, everything on "sale" and duty free. Well, the only deals one could get are on alcohol and cigarettes. Both items we don't consume "too" much.

The chandlery that was praised highly; "Sheppard's"; was disappointing.  Maybe one can get everything there, but for people that are used to see everything on display it was a let-down. The charts were at least the same price as in England. The government chart outlet wanted 30£ per chart, no matter what size, at least the Imray charts at Sheppard's were 16£ for the same chart and on waxed paper! So we will order any additional charts directly from England if needed.











It is warm, at least during the day!!!!
Marvellous!