At last we got to leave Gibraltar after a week on the rock. It felt like being at home, shopping at Morrisons and English being the language. In preparation for leaving turned on our ships radio to hear" this is British warship calling Spanish fishing vessel on our bow, you are in British territorial waters please make your intentions clear". No reply was received so a more stringent call was made and again no reply. This was followed up with " this is British warship to Spanish fishing vessel, you are in breach of international Martine regulations and I will be reporting you to higher authorities". Of course the Spanish vessel never replied. You almost felt they would be saying "bo ho to you, you can't make us". As we left the marina we were shepherded away from a submarine docking by several gun boats and men with machine guns dressed all in black. It seems tensions are still high in Gibraltar with the crossing to Spain taking up to 6 hours due to Spanish go slows.

We raised the sails and quickly found ourselves in a lively sea and winds gusting to force 6 as they funnelled round the rock. The wind was behind and we made excellent progress so decided to go further than originally planned to Marbella. We chose the Marina Bajadilla on the edge of town. The marina office closed early so we were unable to get access cards for the gate or showers. This meant every time we left climbing through the fence. We were stern to the wall and so the plank I have transported for 2,000 miles got its first usage. The picture shows Javelin in full med gear, bimini and plank in full use. There was a sandy beach with good waves near the marina and we all went swimming in warm water at last before an excellent seafood paella and bed.