All At Sea

Malta to Gibraltar

Leo and Bob in Malta

Please go to the bottom of Part 7 for the final report.

Our stop-over in Malta was only partially successful!   Our faulty radar was examined and the problem diagnosed.   Simple job – if the parts were available.   Of course, they were not and we were quoted a three weeks delay to get them!   If you read the language, this is the same as saying “it’s a messy job and we would rather you took it elsewhere”.

Our engine starting problem was put down to a faulty starter motor so that was removed and taken away for rebuild.   When it came back to the yacht and was installed again, the engine refused to turn over……….   The electricians were convinced that the re-built starter motor was not to blame (they were right) so it was a case of bringing in a marine engineer who diagnosed a hydraulic blockage, partially stripped the engine and found one cylinder full of water!   Since this had obviously not been the case when we arrived, it was a new problem to add to those we already knew about.

A detailed examination of everything between the engine and the sea (because it was salt water in the engine, not from the fresh water cooling side of the system which we had initially suspected) revealed a jammed non-return valve in a system designed to cool and lubricate the propeller shaft gland.   Even the engineer admitted that he had never seen such a failure before.   We just took it in our stride.   We are now accepting the fact that Sod’s Law – if it can go wrong, it will – certainly applies to this delivery.

Three days later, after several changes of oil and oil filters etc., the engine was it’s usual self again, or so we thought. Our other major problem with the autopilot was attended to by a technician with a manual in one hand and screwdriver in the other.   He pronounced himself satisfied that the system was now fully functional, although we were not able to do sea trials on it because the weather was ‘too rough’ for him.

Came the great day when as much work as was going to be done, was done.   Our agent came down with his account, which took my breath away. I gave him one of my precious credit cards in the hope that there was enough to cover it, signed my life away and we were off to sea again.   (Much later, in Gibraltar, I was to discover that one £200.00 item had been billed twice!).

The rush to get away was due to a weather forecast, which promised light conditions for the next couple of days, and I wanted to take advantage of these to get past the island of Pantellaria and into the western Mediterranean proper.   Of course, the first thing we discovered was that the autopilot didn’t work! All we got were flashing red and green screens and an error message saying ‘Pilot Failure’   I guess we knew that before we went to Malta.   Still, the weather was kind to us for those two days, we made good progress with our re-built engine and life was good.   Then it all went horribly wrong!

Still with 850 miles to go to Gibraltar, the Italian and then the Spanish weather stations started to forecast Westerly Gales Force 7. (The English start their gales at Force 8 – most Mediterranean Countries start at 7. Whatever, it still means ‘Nasty’). The wind strength would not really be a problem for a yacht of our size, but the direction – right from where we wanted to go – certainly was. One of the peculiarities of the Mediterranean is that surface currents develop very quickly, so not only do you have to contend with a contrary wind but you also get an adverse current.

The weather experts developed a little more confidence in their predictions.   ‘Gale 7 increasing Strong Gale 8’, and then ‘Warning, All Areas, Strong Gale 8 becoming Westerly Storm Force 9, Sea State Rough to Very Rough’   This was not what we wanted to hear!

I have a daily amateur radio contact (my call-sign is G4LJX/MM) with the UK Maritime Mobile Net. This is a specialist Net for those interested in yachting and it provides a link between yachts at sea and the shore-side control station.   Bill – G4FRN – the regular controller confirmed the weather reports.   No good news and little prospect of any change in the near future.

I will not bore you with details of the Storm.   If you are a yachtsman you probably wouldn’t believe me and if you are not, you wouldn’t understand!   Sufficient to say that we had winds of 50 knots plus and such severe conditions that we were forced to hove too for three days, making no progress and continually at risk of collision from merchant ships having difficulty seeing us in the rough seas.

In the midst of all this, the alternator we had ‘re-built’ in Suez, failed. That should not have been a problem but when we started the auxiliary generator to charge the batteries, there was a ‘bang’ from the charger unit and no charge.   This was a serious problem because without electricity for lighting and instruments we were as helpless as a dead log in the water.   Leo to the rescue again!   He took the small alternator off the auxiliary and swapped it with the faulty unit on the main engine.   This is not the easiest of jobs in harbour.   At sea it was a major achievement. The smile on his face when we started the main engine and actually got a charge indication was like the sun coming out!

As it always does – eventually – the wind moderated and we were able to get into a small Spanish marina for more fuel and a much-needed night’s sleep.   We pushed on in the morning, with the wind and seas dying away, and got into Gibraltar after fourteen days on passage.   That for a trip, which should have taken us eight days maximum!

Even here, our problems were not over because the engine died on us on the final approach.   Leo bled the fuel system, bled it again, and again – you get the message? And eventually we got the yacht secured in the marina with the help of a service launch and several willing helpers.   What a relief!

So.   Here we are on ‘The Rock’.   We are getting the boat dried out. The technicians have fixed our VHF radio, which had stopped transmitting. Leo, with some advice from the Perkins agent here has stripped the entire fuel system down for cleaning and checking.   Our main alternator has again been re-built and is working again. Our radar should be fixed (at a cost of £800.00!) early next week

What to say about Gibraltar?   A lot of money is being spent here with lots of new development going on.   Lots of new offshore banks, and a general ‘tarting up’ including a very impressive re-furbishment of Main Street (with EC Money) to reflect this new wealth. Unfortunately, these improvements clash with long held and extremely casual beliefs about litter disposal and the rights of dogs to foul everything.   It will be a cold day in Hell before Gibraltar ever wins a ‘cleanest city’ award!   For all that, cheap booze and cigarettes, food on the expensive side but well worth a visit.   Just don’t plan on staying.

All other things being equal, we should be on the final? Leg towards Falmouth by the time you read this.   Just give us a thought as we work up the Portuguese and Spanish coasts and across the Bay of Biscay.   All we ask is a fair wind – or even no wind at all.

Editor

All at Sea - the final leg

Gibraltar to Falmouth

It is always a pleasure to arrive in Gibraltar and just as pleasing to leave it again! As a delivery skipper I have to keep moving if I am to keep earning and time lost in harbour costs money. Gibraltar is an ideal place to get yacht repairs done, but I quickly get claustrophobia there and I want to head out to sea again. A new circuit board was needed for the radar set and we were assured that this could be obtained from the UK at very short notice.

Perhaps it could, but it wasn't! Gibraltar airport was closed for a while due to downdraft from high winds and all flights were diverted to nearby Malaga. It seems 'our' circuit board was twice flown to Malaga and twice returned to the UK before finally reaching us. The radar technician fitted it and tuned the set in an hour, but the delay cost us a week in harbour.

While we were waiting, Leo & I did all the routine maintenance. He stripped the entire fuel system and cleaned it. We changed the oil and oil filters again, had the alternator re-built, cleaned the hull, polished the stainless steel, spent hours at the local Internet café (I am critical of Gibraltar but the Cyber Café there is the smartest cocktail bar and computer café I have found anywhere). And generally, we tried to use the time to good advantage. One highlight was the discovery of the 'Quarterdeck Tavern' where Happy Hour is three hours long and pints of San Miguel larger or spirit doubles were on offer at One Pound! Even better value - if that is possible - was the English food. Bubble & Squeek with roast beef. Bangers & Mash and a really excellent Toad in the Hole, all at £1.95. Try beating that! But for the cigarette smoke which is endemic to most bars, I think Leo & I might have moved in there permanently………..

Still, the attractions of the Quarterdeck Tavern apart, the moment the radar technician had finished, we were away, with a forecast of light headwinds through the Straight of Gibraltar, gradually increasing through the night. After all the trouble we had experienced getting to Gibraltar, we were really expecting more bad weather. I had thought that we would push on as far as Lagos in Portugal and wait for the next weather window, but the expected headwinds didn't materialise. Great. We pushed on around the dramatic Cabo de Sao Vincente (Cape St. Vincent) and planned to try and make Lisbon.

Still no wind so we re-fueled at sea from our spare containers and motored on to try and reach Bayona, just south of Finisterre. Despite adverse weather forecasts (from France, from Spain, even the UK ones relayed from Bill - G4FRN's - Amateur Maritime Mobile Net, all of which threatened stronger head winds, it just didn't happen. Instead, we got the occasional couple of hours of favourable wind, allowing us to conserve our fuel stocks. The opportunity to - perhaps - make a quick passage, was just too tempting. Off Finisterre, I did my sums and calculated that we probably had enough fuel left to get us across the Bay of Biscay if there was no wind. If the predicted winds did head us, then we would have to take our chances.

Almost as if to mock us - or the forecasters - the wind picked up from the South East, a perfect direction for us, and we had about eighteen glorious hours of sailing in smooth water. Of course, nothing good lasts for long, although on this occasion it wasn't followed by anything bad! The wind failed and it was back to using 'The Iron Topsail' in other words, our Perkins diesel. Those few hours of sailing were just what we needed. They extended our range just sufficiently for us to motor the rest of the way across Biscay. A few more hours of favourable wind, followed by more calms and just eight days out of Gibraltar and in glorious sunshine, we motored into Falmouth at the end of our 10,500 mile journey from Darwin.

When we entered British territorial waters we had hoisted our yellow code 'Q' flag, which strictly means 'my vessel is healthy and I require free pratique' but which is now more generally read to mean 'I have come from foreign parts'. In other words, from outside the European Community. This usually results in the gentlemen (and now the ladies as well) from Her Majesties Customs & Excise, meeting the yacht and carrying out an inspection of ship's papers etc. It seems they were busy because it was only after a 'phone call and a wait of several hours that they came to the boat.

These days, Customs take a fairly relaxed view of personal imports and you can normally bring in as much alcohol (from the EC) as you can reasonably claim is for personal consumption. Of course, Gibraltar, despite receiving substantial financial aid from the EC is not a part of it! The four customs officers - yes, two men & two women - were very friendly, but nevertheless read us our rights, searched the yacht and all our personal effects, and then calculated the amount of duty due on the two cases of spirits we had, over and above our allowable one litre bottle each. Spanish gin which cost us £3.30 attracted additional duty of £10.00 a bottle and it would have cost over £200 in excess duty to clear the lot! It just wasn't economic so I told them to take it all to the Queen's Warehouse. Welcome Home Bob!

What now? Well, Leo has spent a few days with us at our home near Plymouth. He has seen his first frost and his first snow and he didn't like either! We took him along to the Emigration Office where he was granted a six months visitors visa, so he is free to have a look at England before going back to the sunshine - probably to Palma de Mallorca where most of the really big 'Super Yachts' are based. He sees his future as a professional yachtsman and we will do everything we can to help him with that ambition. Me? Being away for the last four months on this delivery has resulted in my coming home to a mountain of paperwork. Everything from a failure to submit my tax returns in time, to Christmas cards from old friends. It does look as though the only bad weather I will be seeing for the next week or so is through my office window! I do want to make some changes to Age-Net to give it more 'immediacy' and I am very keen to get input from our site visitors about what they really want so that we can re-shape it into the UK's best. We also need some financial or commercial support so that's another problem which will need facing.

More sailing? The 'phone keeps ringing and already I have put out quotations for deliveries from the West Indies to Europe, from Northern Europe to Turkey and one to Israel. Beryl (my wife) says it's nice to have me home for a while, but I doubt if it will be for long. So, my thanks for sharing our journey. If there was anything you didn't understand or you would like more information about, please don't hesitate to write in. While the anchor is down the keyboard is easy to use!

Thanks for joining us on our voyage. If you have questions about any aspect of it, please don't hesitate to email us or post something in the forum.

Back to Site Map

home | help | contact | e-mail