Tangier, Morocco

Anchored in Tangier
Morocco
North African Coast
Mediterranean Sea
35'47.0N/5'47.7W

Sandpiper is currently anchored off a long row of hotels at the city of Tangier on the north coast or Morocco, Africa. We had spent the last several days hiding from the weather at Hercules Marina in Cueta, Spain, waiting for the westerly winds to die down so we can get out of the Med.

Spain drives me a bit crazy as it seems like every time we go ashore all the businesses are closed all afternoon. If we are lucky, they might open up at some random time for a few minutes, then remain closed for the remainder of the afternoon. About 9pm all the businesses open back up, and by midnight everyone is out shopping or having dinner. If you show up at a restaurant at 9pm, it is too early to have dinner. So you have to wait till later.

People seem to go out for dinner and shopping at 11pm and then stay out all night. I have no idea how Spain's economy functions. Saturday was 'All Saints Day'. So once again everything was closed, Then Sunday everything is closed again.

Anyhow, being in a marina in Spain when it is pouring rain and everything is closed all the time, we had to spend our time down below just trying to stay warm and dry. We have spent the last couple years living on the equator in shorts, and when we go ashore, maybe a shirt to look dressed up. Winter has been showing up with a vengeance and now when we leave the cabin we are wearing shoes, socks, sweatshirts, pants, and jackets. Our nice golden brown tans have faded away to a pasty white. All the Europeans here are walking around in full jackets with fur lining and boots. They stay warm by hiding in heated coffee shops.

We dug through Sandpiper and found the electric heater that we have not used since being tied up under the Golden Gate Bridge. And being in a marina, we were able to plug it in to keep the cabin warm.

This morning Amy went to the grocery store for some last minute supplies (it was closed when she arrived). We topped off Sandpiper's water tanks, then went to McDonalds to get lunch to go. We found that they too were closed. We tried to pay our bill at the marina office. That was closed. We pulled up to the fuel dock. That was closed.

By 1130 am the fuel dock opened up and we took on 100 liters of diesel, the headed west down the Straits of Gibraltar, skirting the shipping lanes and dodging fishing boats. We were hoping to be able to enter the Atlantic. As we approached Tangier the winds died down. We talked to the U.S catamaran 'Following Tides' who had just turned left outside of the Straits. They told us that winds were calming down. So we decided to drop the hook here in Tangier to see what the weather is doing tomorrow morning.

From here it is only 6 miles to the Atlantic Ocean. Once there we head south for 600 miles to the Canary Islands. We might wait here for a few days till we can be sure we are going to have good winds. If we do stay we will pull into a marina tomorrow morning. If not, then we will head out to hopefully sail.

More later, once we make a decision.

Tom and Amy

Ceuta, Africa

Med Moored at Hercules Marina

Ceuta (aka Sebta)

Spain

North African Coast

Mediterranean Sea
35'53.3N/5'18.7W

The weather has been constantly getting worse day by day. After 24 hours of 30 knot winds at anchor, with boats around us dragging anchor, and not being able to leave the boat, we decided to move somewhere safer. Another low pressure system is supposed to blow through tomorrow and we do not want to be at anchor for this one.

When we woke up yesterday the winds had dropped down to 15 knots. So we quickly got Sandpiper secured for sea and picked up the hook. As we left the anchorage we kept getting calls on the VHF from the other boats we had been anchored next to asking where we were going. They did not want to be stuck in Gibraltar any longer either. We headed south, across the Straits of Gibraltar, 15 miles of dodging all the East/West shipping traffic to where we are currently secured in Hercules Marina in Cueta, Spain, in Africa.

One thing about 'cruising' is that we get an 'in depth' education about countries along the way. I had no idea that Spain had territory in Africa. But it does! Cueta is on the North African coast. It is a small Spanish territory along the Moroccan Coast just south of Gibraltar. It has been here since 1640. It is only 20 miles square, surrounded by Morocco. Cueta is a bustling town, right on the water with its preserved old city walls and navigable walled moat. Hercules Marina is a very convenient marina with everything we could need right across the street... grocery stores, a public market, Internet. There is even a McDonald's just a feet away.

We had hoped to be here just for a few days till this next low pressure system blows through tomorrow. But the weather forecast is not looking to good for us. The next 5 days predict winds coming out of the SW,  the direction we need to go. There is a group of about 10 other boats between here and Gibraltar that we have gotten to know during the last several weeks. They are all more then ready to get moving to the Canary Islands.

If it looks like we are going to be here more then 2 days due to weather, then we are going to plan some inland travels to Morocco while the Piper stays safe and sound in Hercules Marina. 

More later!!
Tom and Amy

Notes From Ron:

• Ceuta is believed to be the location of of the African Pillars of Hercules. Hence the name of the marina.
  
• Morocco has wanted Ceuta, Millina, and the uninhabited islands of Perejil transferred to them from Spanish control. In fact, Spain and Morocco got into a shooting war over the Perejil Islands back in 2002 when some Moroccan soldiers set up a camp there.
  

Still in Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gateway to the Atlantic

Mediterranean Sea
36'09.7N/5'21.8W

A week has gone by since our last update and I am sad to report we are still at anchor at The Rock. This past week has been a constant back and forth to land where we are able to check Internet and the weather. We have been receiving weather gribs on the boat as well. But with the strong winds predicted, it is better to use more than one resource.

In the midst of all the land trips we were able to get propane with the help of Don from S/V Redwood Coast and Tom from S/V Two Extreme. Once Tom and Don signed their lives away for two propane tanks, purchased an EU valve, and borrowed Tom's fitting things, things were looking up. The rig was hooked up with the full bottle a bit higher for the liquid propane to drain into our empty tank and so we waited. We weighed the tank every 30 minutes and... nothing.

A few hours have now passed. As our last resort, we look to see if Mr. Nigel Calder has written anything about this process. For those of you who don't know who Mr. Calder is. He is a boat electrician guru. And you can guarantee that every cruising boat has his books on board. We were in luck and found a mention in his book. Mr. Calder suggests pouring hot water over the full tank to heat up the liquid so it passes faster. [From Ron: Here is a way to transfer propane without hot water]

After moving the tanks up forward, securing the full tank, upside down, to the boom for more leverage, we then poured hot water on the tank. And just like Mr. Calder promised, we could see it flow. And with one tank full, and another half full, we are happy campers. It is by far the most expensive propane we have purchased because the store decided not to return our deposit. But, we are full.

Also this week our outboard motor has been acting up again causing us to have to break out the oars and row a few times. And with the heavy rain and winds here, rowing is no cup of tea. Last night was the straw that broke the camel's back because once back in the dingy we noticed we lost a oar, and the outboard decided not to run. With only one oar, and a flip-flop for the other paddle, it was a long trip home. We decided to take her apart one last time today, Tom spliced the wire to the spark plug and first pull, she started up. She's been doing good all day. So fingers crossed we don't get stranded again because we only have one paddle and the flip-flop didn't work so well.

Our trip into town yesterday consisted of us at the Internet checking weather once again. Last we saw it wasn't looking good for us to make the Canary Islands. There is talk of a nice marina in Rabat, Morocco (Africa) just 230 nautical miles from here. So if we could make that we would try. However, what we saw yesterday was predictions for the wind picking up today and tomorrow. Maybe a break on Wednesday for us to make the trip to Africa. But if not a nasty looking front is coming in over the weekend. So we may be here for another week. Of course we will keep you posted after our weather check tomorrow.

Cheers,
Amy and Tom

Gibraltar

Gibraltar , Gateway to the Atlantic

Mediterranean Sea
36'09.7N/5'21.8W

Happy Trafalgar Day! Sandpiper is still anchored just under 'The Rock' waiting for favorable winds to blow us to the Canary Islands 700 miles south of here.

Since arriving we have been busy exploring the surrounding area and getting the 'Piper ready to leave. The only safe anchorage in Gibraltar is north of the runway that separates Spain from Gibraltar. Being on this side of the border (Spain), then crossing over to Gibraltar is a bit like crossing over to Tijuana. We go from one country where no one knows what we are saying to a country where everyone speaks English, our first English speaking country since leaving Australia.

Gibraltar is rich in maritime history. It is only two and a half miles long and barely a mile wide. Most of the country is an enormous rock that forms a peninsula. The rock drops from a hight of 1400 feet to sea level.

Gibraltar has been a part of all major wars for the last two centuries. For a little history... Gibraltar was used as a base during the battle of Trafalgar. And it is where the body of Admiral Nelson was brought ashore by HMS victory. Gibraltar was also a major base in WWII, used to block German shipping from entering or leaving the Med. And to try to trap German U-boats. You can see this in one of the greatest movies ever made about WWII called 'Das Boot'. Towards the end of the movie, after their brutal Atlantic patrol, they have to skip pass the Royal Navy at Gibraltar to try to get back to their base in France.

Since our arrival to Spain at our last stop in Almeria it was never clear where we were supposed to check in. So we never did, figuring we would do it once we got here. Now that we are here, once again no one can tell us where to go to check in. And it seems that no one really cares. When we walk across the border from Gibraltar the Spanish customs officers ask us where the stamps are in our passports.  We explain that we can't figure out where to check in. So they say "That's OK. Don't worry about it." I believe that none of the other boats here are clearing in or out either since its to confusing on the Spanish side. And it is so busy here that they are not too concerned with the visiting yachts.

Storm Update: That storm that blew through here 2 weeks ago, the one we hid from in a marina in Almeria, Spain. That storm was only forecasted to blow 30 knots. Turns out that same storm was the worst storm Gibraltar has experienced in 40 years. Most people we talked to say they have never seen anything like it. Along with the broken ship on its coast, the storm caused much damage to the harbor, with both marinas being closed due to storm damage. [Video of damage]

One of the things we have been trying to accomplish these last 4 days is trying to get Sandpiper's propane tanks refilled. While this is always an adventure in every county we have visited, we have always found someone that had the right fittings to top our tanks. Here in Europe, everyone swaps their empty bottles for full ones. And it is illegal to refill tanks in Europe. We have only recently been educated on this after the last 4 days, one of the days walking around town with our propane tank behind us on a small cart only to find out that no one could help us. Sandpiper has to large propane tanks that have lasted us since stopping in Egypt.  But are now they are almost empty. We are not sure that we want to leave on this next 700 mile passage with a chance of running out of propane en route. So we might be staying here for a few days until we can get this worked out.

We are working with another California boat to get the right propane fittings to fit the EU bottles. If  that works, then we will just connect the European bottles to ours and fill them that way. Hopefully the next entry we will be at sea cooking something.

More soon,
Tom and Amy

Gibraltar

Gibraltar, Gateway to the Atlantic

Mediterranean Sea
36'09.7N/5'21.8W

Sandpiper is securely anchored in Gibraltar, right under 'The Rock'. From where we are anchored, we are just under 'The Rock' and it looks just like in the Prudential logo "Get a piece of the rock". We made much better time from Almeria than anticipated and was able to set the hook before the sunset among about 20 other boats from all over the world.

I had said in my last update that we were not worried about a night approach to the anchorage here. But now that we are here, I take that back. I had not anticipated the amount of shipping underway and at anchor and at anchor. Gibraltar is a crossroads for mariners traveling to the Med or to the Atlantic, and most yachts stop here, along with a lot of ships.

As we have stated previously, the weather in the Med can turn bad in a very short amount of time. This is why we were quite happy to motor in windless seas. As we approached Gibraltar, right under the lighthouse were the remains of a ship that was pushed up on the rocks just last Friday in a major storm that blew through thru. The ship was at anchor and when the storm hit. They drug anchor right onto the rocks. Some of the crew was taken off by helicopter until the helicopter had to make an emergency landing due to mechanical failures. The rest of the crew was taken off by a crane that lowered a basket down to them from the cliff above. While this was going on, the ship cracked in half. When we passed yesterday there were salvors all around the remains mostly trying to pump the ship's fuel out. We passed thru some of the fuel in the water, and the main port was closed off with oil booms to protect the boats in the harbor.

When we approached the anchorage we stopped and talked to a small Canadian boat that had been here for the last week, after a transit from New York. They told us that they had been anchored there when the storm blew through, and they showed us where a section of the break wall used to be. The waves were so large that inside the bay that the waves tossed all the rocks off the middle of the break wall. This was the same storm that passed over us last Friday after our arrival to Almeria. Lucky for us we were no longer in transit from Malta when this passed over.

One note to add about this area. The border between Spain and Africa is wide open for smuggling, mostly people and cigarettes. We had one small inflatable boat with 3 persons onboard pass us, headed from Spain to Africa, when we were 20 miles offshore. These guys looked pretty suspect being so far offshore in a small inflatable.

Gibraltar is just a small piece of land that is self governed and is a territory of England. But the land just off our stern is Spain. After we got the hook dropped last night and had gone to bed we heard a small outboard and Spanish voices. I popped my head out and saw 2 young guys in a dinghy holding on to our starboard side talking into a hand held radio. I said "Hola", and they started pointing outside the anchorage and then at us saying "police". I was a bit confused. At first as I thought they were saying that THEY were the police and that we had anchored to close to the Spanish side of the border between Gibraltar and Spain, and were asking us to move.

They kept chatting into their radio. With my very broken Spanish, and a lot of pointing, they told me that they were smuggling cigarettes with their dingy between the Spanish shoreline and Gibraltar. I am not sure which way they smuggle the smokes. They told me they were hiding from the police who were out in boat looking for them, and a friend of theirs was on a radio telling them where the police were. Once the coast was clear they took off, saying 'Adios'. At least they were honest smugglers and told me everything they were doing.

Our current plans are to stay here till we get a good enough weather window to head south to the Canary Islands 700 miles from here.

More once we step ashore.
Tom and Amy

---

Notes From Ron:

• The cigarette smugglers are bringing cigarettes in to Spain, via Gibraltar. Here is an article.
  
• Technically, Tom and Amy are in Spain. They are anchored just a few yards north of the border.
  
• Gibraltar is so small that the only road in and out of the country has to cross the middle of the county's only airport runway. Take a look.

2008-Oct-16 Update

5:30am Position

36'21.3N/4'09.3W

Spanish Coast

Mediterranean Sea

• 90 nm from Almeria, Spain
  
• 60 nm to Gibraltar
  
• Winds W 5 knots
  
• Seas F.A.C. (calm)
  

After getting last minute hot showers, one last grocery run, and securing Sandpiper for sea we left Almeria, Spain at 10am for Gibraltar. The weather the next 48hrs is forecasted to be less then 10 knots from the west. So most likely we will motor the whole way to Gibraltar. For Friday the winds are forecast to go back up to 30 knots.

It is 5:30am and the sun is just about to lighten up the horizon. Since leaving Almeria we have been motoring along the coast up Spain averaging 5 knots. This is better then expected as we are supposed to have a current against us and so far we have not seen it. The seas have been flat calm with a light breeze off the bow, Right after sunset a full moon rose up right off Sandpiper's stern. It has been a perfect evening for motoring on a glassy sea with porpoises jumping around Sandpiper's sides all night long.

We are near the Spanish coast and clear of most shipping traffic with just a few ships passing us during the night. Right at sunset the Spanish Maritime Police ran down our port side at high speed out on patrol.

With only 60 miles left to go we are hoping to have the hook set before sunset tonight at Gibraltar. But if not, we are not to worried about a night arrival as there are no shoals in Gibraltar's harbor. And it is very well marked.

Hope next entry finds us with our hook set under 'The Rock'.
Tom and Amy

Almeria, Spain

Med Moored at Club de Mar Almeria
Almeria
Spain
Mediterranean Sea
36'49.8N/2'27.6W
(click on photo to enlarge)

Since our arrival we have been enjoying marina living with all we can use power, high speed WiFi Internet, and hot showers. We now have a new U.S. phone number. So if you would like, give us a call at 317-608-2844.

Almeria is a city and is quite busy during the day, and at night there are restaurants and bars full of people everywhere. Several nights ago ‘Team Sandpiper’ decided to hit the town and see what happens during the evening hours. One great thing we discovered about ordering beers in Spain is ‘tapas’. Every time we ordered a beer we got a small plate of food from the bar. We were going to go out for dinner, but figured that we would just keep going to different bars, ordering beer, and by the time we were full of beer we would be full of dinner. There are many small bars all over this city all down different small alleys.

By midnight we were full of ‘dinner’ and decided to see what else was around. One thing about being in Europe is that people do not come out till late in the evening for dinner. If one walks around at 9pm there are no people anywhere. But at midnight, every business is packed. We stopped in one bar that had a very good price for ½ liter of beer in a plastic cup. Everyone was in black Metallica t-shirts and very young. I fit right in as everyone was in his or her early 20’s and  smoking cigarettes and I am in my 40’s wearing my best white Mexican shirt. It was like drinking at somebody’s keg party back home in a dark basement.

After that, there were more stops at some very crowded bars, and one last stop at a bar that was full of hundreds of people all dancing to some very loud music. By the time we decided that is was time to head back to the boat it was 5 am and the skies were starting to lighten up. Once we stepped outside we saw a huge line of people waiting to get in... AT 5 AM!!

One reason we stayed here for the weekend was that we dropped off laundry to be washed on Friday and they were closed on Monday for a holiday. So we could not leave without our clothes. Also, we have had a few boat projects to complete before leaving.

We had a refrigeration technician visit and look at our system that has been giving us much drama. He figured the control unit was bad and that the unit needed more coolant added. Just like when we were in Turkey, this tech added too much coolant, and once he left after two hundred dollars out of our pockets the refer completely freaked out. Anyway, since I have been staring at this system for hours every day I figured out what was wrong as soon as he left. Since then we have been slowly bleeding the system back down and think that it is working once again! This means ice for our cocktails, cold beer, and food that we can keep cold on our Atlantic crossing.

I also had Amy haul me up the mast with some epoxy to secure Sandpiper’s lightning rod that had come loose on our last trip.

The weather here has been horrible since our arrival from Malta. We were very lucky that we were not a day later on our arrival as the last system that blew through last Friday was so strong it blew a ship off Gibraltar onto the rocks where it broke in half. The crew had to be rescued by helicopters.

We were going to leave this morning, but decided to put it off for one more day thankfully. Check out the video that blew through the marina on our You-Tube channel. The weather for the next 3 days is predicted to be very mild, so tomorrow morning we are heading west to Gibraltar, and we are hoping will do this all in one hop. It is 160nm to Gibraltar and seeing that the weather is going to be so mild we will probably be motoring the whole way. Check us out as we should be posting updates, Sailmail permitting.

Tom and Amy

Almeria, Spain

Med Moored at Club de Mar Almeria
Almeria
Spain
Mediterranean Sea
36'49.8N/2'27.6W


Hello all. If you are not hip to Facebook then you have probably been wondering where we are. Well, we made it to Almeria, Spain. Not our original port of call but a great score for Team Sandpiper. We are currently in a marina and loving it.

We really scored getting a berth here at this city marina run by Club de Mar. Thanks to Chris from S/V Christa and his great weather emails that we received via Sailmail. We were hip to the fact the weather was going to turn against us. We decided to pull in, and within the hour of our arrival the winds really picked up. Thanks again Chris.

We also scored with the marina since it’s late in the season. Even finding a berth can be a real challenge, which is one benefit of having a smaller boat. To top off all of this great luck the marina switched to winter rates just days before our arrival, making our stay, 9.60 Euros a night instead of the 20 Euros a night. Yippy! We are plugged in, have a fantastic wifi connection, and fresh water, which makes for happy sailors.

We had plans to travel inland, but just couldn’t fathom spending all the money. Besides, bull fighting season ended a few weeks ago. So instead we are kicking it here. It’s great being able to leave the boat and not have to worry about it at anchor.

Today we made a trip to the mall, hoping to catch a movie, but they are all in Spanish. Instead we cruised the few stores and made some unusual purchases for us. Tom bought a sweater and I bought a turtle neck and tights. Yes that’s right! It is down right cold here, and wet too. The forecast calls for more of the same for the next few days. So we figured it was a wise investment.

We were also able to have someone take a look at the iPod today and we are back in business. A free cleaning and she is running like a champ.

Just a quick "Hello" and notice to all that we are great and made it. More later about our culinary and cultural explorations.

One Love
Amy and Tom