Unfortunately, I was unable to send out this message until now (Sunday, 24 Oct, pm)- severe problems with LSU's computing services (again, sigh)
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Greetings! I just got this email message from Jim.... (with a few words of explanation added in for the non-sailors)
We're still in Gibraltar. We arrived in the Bay at dusk on Tues. Checked in at Customs reporting station just before they closed at 2100 local time. They reported no room at one marina and the other nearby was closed. Couldn't raise the third on the radio; so we went to the anchorage "north of the RAF runway". Weather was deteriorating with increasing wind from the West. We set the anchor hard with a lot of scope [i.e. they put out lots of line between the anchor and the boat to make the anchor hold better] behind a group of about 6-8 boats. By afternoon of the 20th we had Force 6 winds with driving rain but the single anchor was holding well. We were in radio contact with the closest neighbor who was alone aboard a larger boat and constantly working on the bow with engine running. Wind continued to build and we observed the highest numbers ever on our wind meter i.e. 34 knots. Needless to say the waves were breaking with spindrift [spray coming off the tops of the waves] blowing off the tops with sheets of rain mixed in the air, pounding the dodger and we were scared. Libelle started swinging more than the other boats and we came closer to the neighbor whose anchors were probably dragging toward us, but he was watching and not nervous about collision. As it let up a bit we offered to let the sentinal that Matt built for Paddy's down our rode. [Matt and Rosi found an extra weight - a sentinal- in Pensacola, Florida. Jim and Rosi put this extra weight on the anchor line at some point between the boat and the anchor] This helped our side to side motion some but the boat continued to rock quite violently through the next night. Life below was a challenge; Eating required careful attention and the playing cards flew off the nonskid on the table. Thurs. AM after no Marina answered our calls, I rowed the dinghy ashore and talked to two dock masters who were cleaning up their own damages, but one had half a dockspace for us at the end of the visitors pier. Now we're at Sheppards Marina where everybody is waiting for a weather window to the canary islands. we are now able to talk with people who have been hanging out here for weeks for repairs and weather, and meeting up with people we have formerly met. Once we reach the Canaries, we will be at Tenerife ... we will probably call before we leave here. Current weather keeps us here locked in until after the weekend.
Sounds like things have been really "exciting". I hope the weather calms down for the next leg to the Canaries.
We wish them "Alles Gouda",
Yvonne
