The bay of Cadiz

We spent 10 days in Gibraltar waiting for the easterly winds to take us out to the Atlantic. The wind came after 7 days but very strong, so we waited another 3 days before we left. The winds in the strait outside Gibraltar always give strong winds. You must follow them and even the current. Our trip through the strait was pleasant with a wind from the behind 11-14 m/s and a current going westerly with 2 knots. Outside Tarifa we change course to NW and planed to Culatra on the Algarve coast. After 26 hours and 160 nm later, we dropped our anchor outside Culatra. We stayed in this beautiful place for a couple of days before we sailed to Lagos to meet some friends. In the marina we met a Swedish sailing boat also heading for Sweden. We planed together the trip on Portugal’s west coast. The problem on this coast line is the northerly winds are prevailing, but we were very lucky because two days later there would be winds from the south. We planed to take off early to days later and our schedule was to reach Baiona, in Spain, after 50 hours.

Gibraltar

We left Ibiza a early morning in the middle of May. It took us three days and nights to sail to Gibraltar. We saw the Rock in the far distanse in the early morning. The Rock of Gibraltar is 430 metres high and a narrow coastal lowland surrounding it. Gibraltar is located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula and at the entrance of the Atlantic, if you are coming from the east.The climate is subtropical with mild winters and warm summers. There are two main prevailing winds, an easterly one known as the Levante coming from the Sahara in Africa which brings humid weather and warmer sea and the other as Poniente which is westerly and brings fresher air in and colder sea. Our expiriens are that the wind direction change every 7 – 9 days. Rain occurs mainly in winter, the summers are generally dry. Tourism is also a significant industry. Gibraltar is a popular stop for cruise ships and attracts day visitors from resorts in Spain. The Rock is a popular tourist attraction. It is also a popular shopping destination, and all goods and services are vat free, tax free. The population of Gibraltar are 28 000 and the main religion is Christianity. There is also a big Jewish community and you could see the tipical calotte on many people there. As a British territory, the official language of Gibraltar is English, and it is used by the Government and in schools. Most locals also speaking Spanish, due to Gibraltar’s proximity to Spain. They use the English pound but if you get a note with the text THE BANK OF GIBRALTAR, you can´t use this note outside Gibraltar. Look for the text THE BANK OF ENGLAND, and you could use it everywere in the Commonwealth.Gibraltar is tipical english but the climat is very warm and it is not raining every second day and you drive on the right side of the road!