Autumn Cruise October 2007 - homeward bound 

<<Previous | Back to Log page >>

Marina Smir to Ceuta
11th October 2007

We wake to a foggy morning and relocate to the berth by the marina office to settle up when they open at 10am BST.  The visibility is improving as we motored out of Smir at 10.25 and set our course north to Punta Almina.  Variable light wind. Again off Almina point we meet an uncomfortable popple and alter course to go outside the worst of it.  It's a short hop from the point round to the entrance to Ceuta marina, where we moor bows-to alongside a sleek yacht with a Norwich terrier on board, and a songbird singing in its cage slung under the boom.


Ceuta is a Spanish enclave in north Africa, much like Gibraltar is a British enclave in Spain.  It's on a promontory connected to the mainland by a narrow isthmus. The marina staff were not very friendly, and it has the reputation of being very full in the height of the season. There's apparently a good anchorage in the bay on the south side of the isthmus, around Punta Almina to the south of the town. The marina is busy with ARC competitors, preparing to join the rest of the fleet in Gran Canaria. A couple of yachts have small children on board. One skipper said the worst weather he'd ever seen was coming down-Channel in July. There's a good market at the entrance to the marina. It's a longish walk to the showers. Marion, Cathy & Leighton
Ceuta to Barbate
12th October
A rain shower just clears as we slip our mooring at first light - 08.20. As we leave the harbour a huge cruise liner Norwegian Dream goes alongside the dock opposite. We've got a fair easterly, and we plan to cross the Strait to just west of Punta Carnero and hope to pick up a section of west-going tide towards late morning on the far side.  Out of the lee of Punta Almina, the wind picks up and before long we've put two reefs in the main and several rolls in the genoa. Where the current is eastbound, we get big wind over tide waves. The tide is slipping us sideways on our transit, and we wonder if we'll actually fetch up nearer the Rock. It is rough and slow going for two long hours to get across the Strait, enlivened by the fact that we're crossing the track of all the ships that pass through in a steady stream. Even close to the north shore, we still haven't found a west-bound tide. We turn downwind anyway, but our progress slows to 3 knots over the ground.  At least the sun's out now.  At midday, our speed has increased to 5.2 and rising.  Finally!  We're goosewinging with Tarifa coming up fast in what is now a calm and sparkling sea.  Our speed is 7.3 knots over the ground at Tarifa - we had read the tides right after all.  Just before 13.00 we alter course northwest to Punta Caraminal, the wind obligingly following us round so we could keep goose-winging.
Tarifa approach
Approaching Tarifa
 Leaving Tarifa behind
Leaving Tarifa behind
It's an afternoon of sitting on deck in the sunshine with a good book, finally arriving in Barbate at 16.25 to tie up and put the kettle on for a cuppa. Marion and Brian walk the two miles into Barbate town only to find all the shops and bars were closed because today is Spanish National Day!

Barbate to Chipiona
13th October
We slip after breakfast in sunshine with the wind still easterly, F4. Quite a rough swell out of the Strait, which increases as we get nearer Cape Trafalgar. When she starts lurching in the gusts, and our speed reaches 8 knots, we agree it's time to reduce sail, and play safe with two reefs in the main and a heavily rolled jib.  The wind increases to F7 with a steep broadside sea so we abandon plans to take the narrow inshore channel under the cape and instead maintain our course to a new waypoint well offshore to keep clear of the shallows. At 1010 we gybe round our waypoint, and with our stern to the waves, it immediately feels more comfortable.  Once past the Cape, the wind eases to a F5-6 and we romp along towards Cabo Roche, making over 8 knots in the gusts.  By lunchtime, the bay of Cadiz is unrolling to the right of us, the sea is calmer and the wind has eased. We take out the reefs, and finally have to donk the last stretch to clear the Salmedina cardinal to enter the Guadalquivir estuary. We find a bit more wind here, which makes it hard to stow the mainsail. By 17.45 we're tied up in Chipiona marina, ready for a meal ashore at the Girasol.
We spend Sunday pottering about and seeing the sights of Chipiona.  It's a damp kind of day.  The marina expansion we saw in the summer is now finished, and the pontoons are already full of small craft.  The landscaping is done too, making the place much more attractive.  Brian and Marion visit a bodega and come back with a welcome bottle of manzanilla for the ship's stores. There's great excitement onboard that evening as we listen to the rugby semi-final when against all expectations, England beat France.  YES! bodega in Chipiona
Chipiona to Ayamonte
15th October
HW Ayamonte is 18.23, and our target is to reach the bar at HW-1. The forecast is for the easterly wind to drop by midday.  So we decide on an early start, leaving in the dark at 07.00.  We find calm conditions and good visibility with the wind on the starboard quarter.  I'm glad of the easy sail, as I'm suffering from the effects of a stomach bug - contracted we think from handling ropes that have been in polluted marina water. By 11.45 we're almost half way to Ayamonte, but the wind is dropping as predicted, and by midday we've got the engine on.  We're glad we left as early as we did. Five hours of motoring later brings us over the bar in a rain shower and coming in on the flood, we tie up in Ayamonte at 17.45. Trip distance on the GPS is 327 miles.
Supper onboard
 It's still warm enough to eat our last meal onboard in the cockpit
<<Previous | Back to Log page >>