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We finally sailed down to Gibraltar at the beginning of October. We had planned to visit the Rio Guadiana and Cadiz, but the weather interfered with our plans and we had to miss both. We had previously heard very mixed reports about Gibraltar. History is very evident everywhere still standing, but the whole peninsula is at present one big building site. Hundreds of blocks of luxury flats are being built to attract rich investors looking for a tax haven. Marina Bay marina is very run down and it will probably be demolished within a couple of years, and some would say not before time! We have experienced a very uncomfortable stay moored stern to a concrete quay with a tidal range of 1 metre and with F6 easterly winds. But we have at least had the benefit of watching England reach the rugby world cup final in a very English atmosphere, which might have been difficult in most of the rest of Europe! And the Rock of Gibraltar is a wonderful backdrop to our marina.
The view from our deck Cloud forming on the east side of the Gibraltar Rock during the Levanter
Lesley descending into the lower St Michael's Caves
A "Barbary ape" (they are really monkeys) inspecting Lesley The first rally party was held before the official start of the rally
While in Gibraltar we made several trips
Ronda - a well known beauty spot The view from Ronda
We sailed across to Smir in Morocco for a weekend shakedown cruise
Tapestry well reefed down for the trip across to Smir Dolphins on the way back from Smir
The palace in Tetuan Entertainment over a meal in Tetuan
Typical shop in Tetuan The tannery dye vats
On the way across to Smir our autopilot failed. When we returned to Gibraltar the linear drive was stripped down and the gearbox and motor were replaced. All seemed well until we attempted to reach the start of the leg to Lanzarote, when we discovered that we could only steer in circles! Needless to say we had to be towed back without even reaching the start. The autopilot was rebuilt twice more before we were finally able to leave nearly three days late. We had a magnificent first day sailing with our twin headsail in up to 30 knots of following wind achieving 161 miles in our first 24 hours, despite adverse tides in the Straits of Gibraltar. But things started to go wrong on the third day when the alternator mounting bolt sheered inside the engine casing. Not only was our alternator useless but more important we had no drive for our engine water pump. And the wind was dying which left us disabled until we were able to rig a temporary fan belt, which ultimately had to be serviceable for nearly 100 miles.
We finally arrived three days late in Lanzarote to a tumultuous welcome. We could not believe the support from a group of people that we had only known for a few weeks. The horns were blowing and the champagne was flowing freely. This was the moment we realised how privileged we were to be taking part in the rally, and how lucky we are to be with this year's participants.