2021 Sailing voyage from Portugal into the Mediterranean – Part 2

2021 Sailing voyage from Portugal into the Mediterranean – Part 2

In my last video I talked about how we sailed from the Algave to Gibraltar, but I didn’t say anything about the passage through the Strait of Gibraltar, and I wanted to do that now. So, the Strait of Gibraltar is not that easy.

This is because the sea level of the Atlantic is higher than the sea level of the Mediterranean. As a result, water flows from the Atlantic into the Mediterranean almost constantly, and because the Mediterranean is so hot, a lot of water evaporates and is almost constantly refilled from the Atlantic.

When the tide is high in the Atlantic there is of course a stronger current and when the tide is low the current can sometimes reverse and the water level can come below the level of the Mediterranean,

And as a result water flows from east to west for a short time and then it goes back into the Mediterranean. A current that can be relatively strong: weaker near the coast, and strongest in the middle of the Strait of Gibraltar. What you also need to know is that the wind increases strongly

From around Tarifa. That’s where it really starts and then it blows all the way into the Bay of Gibraltar and in the bay itself it slowly decreases again and when you get to La Linea the wind is back to normal. What does it mean that the wind is strongly increasing?

It may be that wind force zero is forecast – i.e. no wind – and that there is still 20 knots of wind at Tarifa. The first time I went into the Mediterranean was in 1987, at night without anything, back then there was no GPS and nothing at all, so at night

And with poor visibility and all sorts of things, and when we set off we had wind force 2 or 3 and I went in with the wind from behind to Gibraltar and didn’t know that the wind was picking up so much and we had such a strong wind from aft,

Wing-to-wing boomed out, both sails up, a 10 m ship, so not very big. Both sails up and we had an incredible wind and speed and literally raced into the Mediterranean or into the Bay of Gibraltar. So you have to know: even if there is little wind forecast, wind speeds of 30 knots or

More near Tarifa or even after Tarifa are not unusual. It is therefore advisable that you take a reef beforehand. There are several ways to visit the Rock of Gibraltar and what we did: we booked a driver. They’re just behind the border. You walk from Spain, i.e. from La Linea, across the runway

And on the other side you are in Gibraltar and there are minibuses that can fit 5, 6, 7 people. We did that. It cost around €35 ​​per person and everything was included in that price, including all the entrance fees you

Pay for the sights. If you add all that up, it will be cheaper with a driver than if you take the cable car up yourself and then spend the whole day on the road looking at everything yourself and paying entrance fees everywhere. That was a good thing.

I would do it again like that and can only recommend it to everyone. We are now present what we discovered there. So we hired a driver. He takes us up to a viewing platform. From there you have a very good view of the Bay of Gibraltar

With many anchored cargo ships, which you can see from up here, and then we enter the caves… Back outside: view over the Bay of Gibraltar, which is huge and everywhere the cargo ships are at anchor. The Skywalk is a platform made of bulletproof glass from which you can see both sides,

Both the Mediterranean on the right and the Bay of Gibraltar and the Atlantic on the left. Great! Super nicely done. There are even steps up to the top here. We shouldn’t go there. Okay. So, there the driver is waiting again. That was really the best thing about driving with the him.

We are here at the viewpoint, as I said, where you can see the Bay of Gibraltar on the left and the Mediterranean on the right. That’s great! They like to jump on the car. They are fed three times a day. Look at this one: injuries from the last fight. Oh yeah!

Great views from here. The Gibraltar tunnel system was built primarily by the British Army over the course of almost 200 years. Within a land area of ​​just 6.7 km2, Gibraltar has around 55 km of tunnels. Almost twice as long as its entire road network. The first tunnels,

Dug from 1782 using the simplest tools, served as a communication route between artillery positions and guns in embrasures in the north face of the rock. Further tunnels were built in the 19th century to facilitate access to remote areas of Gibraltar and to accommodate reservoirs, thereby ensuring Gibraltar’s water supply.

The 20th century saw by far the greatest scale of tunneling, as the Rock was transformed into a massive underground fortress capable of holding 16,000 people along with all the supplies, ammunition and equipment needed to withstand a prolonged occupation. Tunnel building only ceased in 1968, when the

British Army’s last specialist tunneling unit was disbanded. Since then, the tunnels have been gradually handed over to the civilian government of Gibraltar, although some are still owned by the Ministry of Defense and some have been completely sealed off as they are now too dangerous to enter.

Back there you can clearly see our marina in La Linea with a few boats anchored in front of it. Today is Friday May 21st, 2021 around noon and we are leaving soon. Unfortunately we have an easterly wind, but it should change to a westerly wind during the day.

Christine checked us out so we basically have to be good to go now. If you leave Gibraltar again and head to the Mediterranean, you will notice that there is a relatively strong current from the stern. This is logical because as I explained earlier the water from the Atlantic essentially flows into the Mediterranean

And of course you also have this current in the Alboran Sea. The Alboran Sea is the first area in the Mediterranean that you sail through and the Alboran Sea is characterized by either an easterly wind, the Levant, or a westerly wind, the Poniente.

There are practically no other winds, east or west, and of course in Gibraltar you wait until there is a westerly wind so that you can get through. Then you also have currents that can reach two knots or more, and that pushes you really

Nicely into the Mediterranean. However, this is also something to keep in mind when you go out again, but more on that a little later. What you also need to know is that when we have a westerly wind and we go to the Mediterranean, and especially a stronger westerly wind,

Then the wind increases again after the Strait of Gibraltar. You can see this very clearly in these weather apps that are out there, Windy or something like that, where you can clearly see that the wind picks up again after the Strait of Gibraltar and also blows you into the Mediterranean.

So if you stay more or less in the middle, you have very good conditions both from the wind and the current and you can move very quickly towards the Balearic Islands, or wherever you want to go. I’m sorry, what..? Yes, FM works too, no problem. So, the rock again from the other side

And here we go to the end of the bay and then out into the Mediterranean. Here we are now sailing around Europe Point, which is practically the southernmost point of Europe and the entry into the Mediterranean. From La Linea we continue to La Azohia with a stopover in Almerimar.

There is usually a lot of wind at Cabo de Gata, but we are lucky. We sail around the cape with relatively little wind. After the cape we have wonderful conditions. The wind is from behind, we are traveling along the coast at about seven knots.

By the way, you can anchor very well on the cape. To the east of the cape there is a bay where you are very protected and to the west it is advisable to anchor on the beach a little north of the cape. The winds aren’t that strong there either.

What do we have now? Delphine! Of course that’s great! Dolphins are always great as company. We are now anchored in Azohia Bay. The bay is extremely well protected against easterly winds. It’s very quiet there. Of course, if there are westerly winds you have to leave there.

You can walk to the top of this tower and you have a great view from there. Crystal clear water. And down here you can see the fish farm, which you have to avoid a lot, but in the fall it’s gone again.

So, the anchor has totally gabed in. We have to sail it out. We have now arrived on the island of Taparka. We only sailed a total of three miles today, motoring the rest. It was a total of around 60 nautical miles. It was completely crowded. It has now become a bit emptier.

The little motor boats all left. Now we can enjoy it . On the way to Denia we sail past the coast that we like most. It’s very green here, it has an incredible number of houses, great houses in the hinterland

And of course also great houses directly on the coast. Some of them are extremely impressive, for example the ones that can now be seen here with these huge columns. Above the columns is the terrace with the swimming pool. So it’s unbelievable what they’ve built there.

Here we are now at Cabo Negro. There are houses there again right on the slope. These locations are unbelievable – these houses are built right on the cliffs. Next is Cabo San Antonio. Then turn left a little further and then to Denia.

On May 30th we arrive in Denia shortly before 5 p.m. We reserved a place there, not in the marina on the left, but there is another club on the right, and it is cheaper and also closer to the old town. So that’s where we’ll stay for the next few days.

We have now taken a rental car and are at Cap San Antonio. There we take another look at the area from land. Totally interesting. Below is the Javea marina. Just a beautiful area. We are now in El Portet, as I said, the port of Denia on the right

After the entrance. It is also a ferry port. From here the ferries go to the Balearic Islands. It has to be said that the harbor is relatively well protected. But it’s pretty tight here. The boats are really close together. I like to dock in forward because we don’t have a gangway,

But it’s pretty quiet here. It’s still early season and we’re staying here for a few days. In the next part I drive with my friends Matthias and Robert from Denia to the Balearic Islands – first to Formentera, but then the next day on to Cabrera,

Then Andratx in Mallorca and Palma de Mallorca, where we are opposite the super yacht harbor. This is a short film – a week of sailing. I hope you stay tuned and see you next time. Ciao!

This video describes the second part of the journey from Portugal to the Mediterranean, from Gibraltar to Denia. I also describe the Strait of Gibraltar, which has some pecularities that I explain in this video.
The destination in this video is Denia, from where you have the shortest distance to the Balearic Islands.
I hope you enjoy the video and look forward to your comments or questions.