Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Ahoy from the Atlantic

After nearly four weeks on the hard we finally made it back into the water, the bow repaired and with a new forestay and furler
 

We celebrated with a few other Aussies and kiwis
 
 
before setting sail for Gibraltar- again - past the now familiar hothouses along the coast and later, guess what, more thick fog.
 
 
An unscheduled stop in Fuengirola for repairs to the alternator proved pleasant as we found it a lovely, though touristy, town
 
 
fuengirola scene
 
 
 
Then on to Gib. This shot shows JT wending our way amongst only a few of the hundreds of ships lying idle at anchor or just drifting awaiting orders.  A sign of the financial times?
 
 
Fist we anchored again at La linea to await delivery of our new genoa.
 
 
Organised the dinghy lifting rig
 
 
Out of sequence, but a monument in Rota to one of Columbus`s skippers.
 
 
Our local boat clubhouse at La linea
 
 
Then into the marina at Gib next to the runway to pick up the sail.
 
 
On west, only to find more bloody fog.  By now we are a bit paranoid about fog.  Here we are rounding Tarifa point, the southernmost point of Europe only eight miles from Morocco.  The point is about 500 mtrs away and fast ferries to and from Tangier are passing inshore.  Thank goodness for AIS and radar.  But, finally, we are in the Atlantic Ocean!
 
Later we rounded C. Trafalgar, near which Nelson destroyed the combined French/Spanish fleet all those years ago.
 
 
Passage planning.
 
 
To arrive at Rota, a lovely town across the bay north of Cadiz.
 
 
Good fresh market
 
However the season has changed, the tourists have gone home and the weather has turned cool and changeable.
 
Visiting Cadiz.  Protesting Spanish unemployment etc.
 
Cathedral
 
Wonderful fresh market
 
market
 
And lunch
 
in the rain.

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