Sunrise in Gibraltar saw us up and about, first order of business was to head out to the fuel dock on our departure. We pulled up alongside the fuel jetty and got out our fuel cans. Fuel here is really, really cheap – for boats – this means they must be filled up aboard so skipper Nigel had to re-fill the cans rather awkwardly on the side of the boat, still, well worth the effort at 43p a litre and we had over 50 litres to buy !
We took a couple of photos while we were waiting then said goodbye to the rock (for now). We headed out round Europa point in much clearer weather than the way here, we could easily see the African coastline this time. We were in between 5 and 8 knot winds and although we had slightly misjudged the tides the wind and swell pushed us nicely round the rock with no problems. We saw more jumping tuna which really are quite a sight and we got the sail out too 🙂
The winds were gusty, gustier than we have experienced so far on this trip – at one point (thankfully when Skipper Nigel was at the helm) we had a sudden gust of over 30 knots ! Which is quite a thing when you’re bobbing along in 8 knots at the time !! It was handled excellently and after reefing the sails (making them smaller) we continued. We saw a regatta coming out from Sotogrande marina and it was fun to watch the boats all headed for Gibraltar. We also saw dolphins and had a fantastic couple of hours sailing back to marina la Duquesa. We arrived in time for a late lunch at the beach restaurant which wasn’t over crowded and spent the rest of the day relaxing.
The following morning it was sunrise walk time and there is a lovely promenade walk between the marina and a place called Castillo Duquesa which has a real castle too ! It is like a really small traditional fishing village and is completely different from all the urbanisations that surround it.
It was a very, very calm day and we motored out towards Marbella after breakfast. We did manage to motor sail in about 8 knots of wind for a while but around midday we dropped to 1 knot of wind so we had to motor the rest of the way. We watched the rock and the coastline of Africa disappearing into the far distance as we continued on. One of us was particularly bored and spent the journey making amusing videos for friends and trying to fix the autohelm which is still not fully functional. The solution today was a bit of bungee elastic clipped to the wheel. It worked an absolute treat all day and before we knew it we were in Marbella marina (the other marina here – last time we were in the Puerto deportivo). We came alongside on the waiting quay and moved onto a berth where we were the only boat on the jetty, although the rest of the marina seemed busy. We spent the evening watching the comings and goings of the port and hoping for a little more wind the next day……
The Adventures of Gemini J 