Folk boat at Toulon harbor

More pictures

Ed in serious discussion with attentive audience, Francois is truly back.... and Gin 'n Tonic pushpit seat

Pictures from Toulon

To Barcelona

We are off to Barcelona this afternoon.  The mistral blew all night but things settled down in the morning.  Sea conditions in the Golfe Du Lion are forecast to be rough (Force 5 - 6, wave heights 3 metres) but Skylark should have no problems.  Expecting to arrive Barcelona on Tuesday morning.
Some final pictures from Toulon in this blog.  More when we are back in Spain.

Back to Skylark

October 4, 2009 -- we are back!  A long flight from Kuala Lumpur to Paris and the TGV from the station at Charles De Gaulle to Toulon.  Sister Maria (sibling, not a nun) had come from Lille to join Miew Ling and I at CDG with TGV tickets in hand.  It was a treat to see her but better yet, she’d splurged on first class train tickets for us.  Ronnie Tan was at the Toulon rail station with his rental car to help with luggage while his wife Idah was hard at work at some internet cafe.   Skylark was in good shape if a little dusty as it hadn’t rained since I left Toulon on September 14.

Ronnie and Idah came from Bandol to have dinner with us.  As it was Sunday, many places were closed and we ate at a so-so restaurant on the waterfront.

October 5 – a worthwhile day trip to the beautiful town of Aix-en-Provence.  The drive through the scenic foothills of the Alps with numerous “perched” villages high on the rugged hills was a treat in and of itself.  The restaurant at Aix recommended by the Lonely Planet guide was very good. Aix is a charming town and the street fair with all manner of Provence specialties made for an interesting afternoon.  Bought some gingerbread and apricot nectar from the friendly vendors.  Back at Toulon, a simple dinner on board and an early night.

October 6 – took the train to Bandol to visit with Ronnie and Idah at their holiday digs by the beach.  Ronnie’s friend from long ago, Rudy, arrived in the evening just in time for Ronnie’s famous chicken curry cooked with spices from KL. Rudy is Swiss, born in Singapore and 202 cm tall. He  made quite a contrast when he greeted Idah at 150 cm, We had a fascinating dinner conversation about how he became a major supplier of Tilapia - a fish he farms in Asia and Central America for export to North America and Europe, and about politics in Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. 

Oct 7 – Some routine maintenance and oil level checks on the boat.  Ronnie, Idah and Rudy visited with us at Skylark for lunch and some excellent Rose wine from the region. It must have been a good lunch as we broke away at around 4 pm.

Oct 8 – Miew Ling and Maria left for Lille in the afternoon after a morning of wandering around Toulon. ML will spend a few days at Lille reacquainting with nephews Frederic and Sebastien and meeting grand nieces Constance and Octavie for the first time, before returning to KL.

Oct 9 - went to Hyeres to visit with Amel and to settle bills for work done. Amel has scheduled Monday for some factory recall work on the Volvo diesel (replacement of a suspect transmission damper for the ZF gearbox).  Ed arrived in the afternoon, declaring he was glad to be "back home" on the Skylark.  We ate a nice meal on the waterfront that evening.

Oct 10 - Francois returned to Skylark just as a Mistral was predicted by the weather services.  A Mistral is a strong wind that blows through the Rhone valley, turns left and then right and hits the coastal areas of the Golfe du Lion really hard.

Oct 11 – the Mistral is blowing really hard with winds up to 40 kts in the harbor.  It must be really horrendous out beyond the bay.  The gusts threw up sprays of marina water which is probably 50 per cent toilet discharge from the boats.

Oct 12 – the Volvo technicians came to start the recall work, the mistral is still blowing but fortunately, few vessels are including the ferries are running and the chop in the harbor isn't too bad.

Oct 13 - the Mistral finally settles in afternoon – the harbor waters are unbelievably glassy in contrast to a few hours ago.

Oct 14 – the weather conditions between Toulon and Marseille and western Med are tough due to the low pressure to west and the anticyclone east of Toulon.  Very rough sea conditions.  Watching forecasts for Golfe du Lion – forecast to be not good till Sunday which is now the planned timing for the sail to Barcelona and Valencia.

September sojourn

This is Skylark at her berth at the marina Darse Vieille in Toulon, separated from the boats on either side only by fenders.  It is crowded and tight at European marinas but at Toulon, the swells from beyond the breakwater really do rock.  I wonder sometimes if masts collide when the boats' side to side  movements aren't synchronized.  Since September 4th, there have been a number of different boats alongside but with the two boats currently alongside (an Amel 53 and a Dufour 45), it has been the tightest since Skylark's arrival.
Skylark is now on its own.  I left for Kuala Lumpur on Sept 14 and will be away for a couple of weeks, returning to Toulon only on October 4th.  Francois and Ed will return a few days after that and we will start our journey to leave the Med and sail for Las Palmas in the Canaries, off the north western African coast.  All systems checked out before I left.  I have left the shore power cable attached so that the refrigerator and freezer continue to run, as well as the 40 amp battery charger.  The batteries are critical as they power the automatic bilge pump.  Will resume blogging on return to France.

Exploring Toulon

Toulon has some great attractions.  Went to the Office de Tourisme de Toulon and the English speaking staff at the counter recommended a walking tour “Through the Fountains of Toulon” .  It covers 25 fountains from the waterfront through the old town.  But short term memory must be fading and I can only remember half a dozen or so.  The ones that really stuck were the ones at Place de la Liberte and the ancient cathedral of Sainte-Marie de la Seds.  There is a statue at the port -  La Statue du Genie de la Navigation – a bronze of a supposed sailing genius by Louis Joseph Daumas in 1847.  At first, I mistook his index finger which points to the sea for his middle finger.  That would have been a gesture ahead of its time.  Some pictures to follow. 

The daily routine now is to go to MacDonalds at the  Centre Mayol mall for the wi-fi and a coke.  I have never nursed a coke for so long but for one Euro, it must be the cheapest wi-fi around.

I am planning a visit to the Musee D’Art and the Maison De La Photo (photography museum) tomorrow.  There is also the Naval Museum and the Musee Des Arts Asiatiques that may be worth a visit. 

I have found the restaurant on Avenue d'Republique recommended by Francois run by some order of Catholic nuns, whose name translates to "water of life".  Will have to give that a go.

Old Toulon

Walked around the old part of Toulon this afternoon.  It has its own charm after all.  The initial impression from the waterfront gave way to an old, charming town on the hill slope, filled with older buildings and shops.  Boutiques abound but all on the scale of individual store fronts.  There is a large Galleries Lafayette near the train station. The regional trains run through the Cote d'Azur at regular intervals and the TGV connects Toulon to Paris and the Eurostar at Lille Europe.  The trains to Marseille also run  regularly through the day.

Toulon

September 4 – visited with Phillipe at Pochon SA, the Furuno agents for France and purchased electronic charts for the Pacific, Australia and Asia.  He was  more helpful than Stephane, their man at La Rochelle.  He will download all of the 5 chart regions currently on the NavNet on to SD cards. This is going to allow us to delete the European, Med and Atlantic  charts once we’ve done the crossing and make space on the hard disk for the new charts.

Started out from Hyeres for Toulon this morning at about 10 am after checking out at the Capitainerie.  It took 3 hours through rough seas with 30+ knot winds and 3 – 4 meter seas.  We had wind on the beam on leaving Hyeres but on the nose as we turned the corner.  Hand-steered to avoid being broad-sided by the big waves.  It was very wet as waves washed over the hard dodger again and again.  Will have to wash salt off the cockpit cushions at Toulon. If the young man from Amel who accompanied me had any anxiety about my seamanship, he certainly did not show it, other than white knuckles from holding on to the grab rail. No small craft in sight but as we approached the Rade de Toulon, French navy ships were going in and out of port.  Toulon is a major naval base and the commercial harbor and marinas are at the boundaries of several restricted areas. For obvious reasons, the navy ships don’t transmit AIS signals.  It was tough trying to see them through the spray and water on the windshield.  Case to be made for wipers just like on the big ships.  Conditions behind the breakwater were not much better.  It was tough to back in between 2 boats into a space that could barely fit Skylark, in a 25 knot crosswind.  We had to apply enough throttle for steerage and anticipate the effects of the wind.  The Amel people were already at the dock and helped with the lines and fending off the boat on the windward side whose docklines were a tad too loose.  Even they admitted they under such conditions the harbornaster would have normally disallowed  docking of arriving boats.  But, marina space is very scarce and we had to show up today or lose our spot.  At the Capitainerie, I saw the staff turn away a desperate sailor who was pleading for a berth for his friend’s boat which was waiting at the harbor entrance.  The conditions out there would have made anyone grovel for a marina berth, so we feel fortunate that Amel were able to bring their influence to bear on our behalf.  Their after-sales customer-care is simply second to none.

Safely in our snug little berth with 2 bow lines and passarelle (gangplank) deployed, the Amel folks and I headed to a harborfront restaurant for lunch.  Talking to Amel's Vincent Arnaud, I learned he had previously worked in oil and gas as a project manager and traveled frequently to Houston on business.  On hearing my connection to Houston, he shook his head in sympathy, pronouncing Houston as one of the world’s most awful places.  I don’t think I managed to change his mind over lunch.  He conceded however that Toulon ran a close second for ugliness.  Toulon was flattened by Allied bombing during WW II and lack of funds for post-war reconstruction resulted in utilitarian, characterless architecture. 

I’ll have to go back to Hyeres on Thursday by train to collect the charts from Pochon.  Am planning to take the bicycle on the train.  

Saturday, Sept 5 --- the wind blew all night at the marina and continues today registering more than 20 knots at the marina.  The Capitainerie tells me it will continue through the weekend and perhaps tail off on Monday.  I am at MacDonalds for the free wi-fi and the chance to update the blog. The mall is a 5 minute walk from the marina and has a large Carrefour market.  Toulon has a small town feel to it -- seems everyone is at the mall today.  There seem to be some nicer restaurants away from the waterfront strip which I'll have to try.  Will post pictures shortly.

Leaving Hyeres, Thursday September 4

Space has been reserved at Toulon -- the marina at the old port or Darse Vieille.  Skylark will leave Hyeres mid-morning tomorrow for Toulon, about 3 hours away. The marina is right by the city which is also a major French naval base with lots of restricted areas within the harbor.

Amel has completed all of the work items.  The rear cockpit screen will be installed at Toulon around September 20 in my absence, so I've left the keys with Amel.
A few more pictures of the Hyeres waterfront for the record.

Hyeres (cont'd)

September 1 -- Ed left for London today for his flight to Houston with Jun.  He plans to rejoin Skylark in early October. I am Skylark’s lone companion for the moment – time for owner and boat to bond, our fates are joined for the thousands of miles on the oceans ahead.  Next week, I will sail her to Toulon where she will spend September at the marina there.  Amel has offered one of their people to help with the docklines.

The Amel people have completed the work on the boat.  We now have two teak seats at the pushpit.  They don’t look as bad as I’d feared – there will be a photo of them in the next post.  The air conditioning in the saloon is working much better after the wooden baffle at the air intake was removed – no more ice on the evaporator coils.  I am visiting with Pochon, the Furuno dealer tomorrow, to get electronic charts for the Pacific, Australia and Asia for the passages beyond the Panama Canal.

September 2 -- rode the bicycle into the old town.  The bookshop has a lot of familiar books but all translated into French.  The shops are small and traditional, no hypermarkets.  There are a couple of large stores outside like Carrefour on the route to St Tropez. 

The Amel demo boat berthed next to Skylark is being prepared for the Cannes Boat Show next week. They even washed masts and we have water spots all over on our boat to show for it.  Many apologies but it was too much to hope that they would wash and buff our boat. In any case, I have 2 complimentary tickets to the Cannes show from Amel.  May go if  a convenient way to get there can be found.  Pictures of Hyeres old town in the next post.

Hyeres

Hyeres-Plage

Skylark arrived at Hyeres port from Barcelona at around 2:30 pm on Friday, August 28, the last day of the August holidays in France.  The bay was rocky and winds had built, gusting to 20+ knots and waters were choppy. The entrance to the marina was a narrow channel with boats tied up on both sides, their bow lines making the navigable parts even more narrow.  Some 15 boats were crowding the fuel and reception dock.  It was mayhem and chaos with a lot of yelling.  We managed to thread our way through further into the marina and found space to turn around and exited the harbor into the bay to re-group.  We managed to contact the Amel people by phone and they were able to help us dispense with check-in formalities and directed us to the Amel pontoon.  Vincent Arnaud, who had been assigned by Amel to assist us at Hyeres was at the berth to greet us.  We berthed Skylark next to the Amel demo boat and proceeded to the Capitainerie to complete entry formalities.  Vincent showed us how to haul and tighten the heavy bow mooring line by freeing the secondary anchor windlass from the chain and using it to winch the line. Electric power for this task was most welcome. The Amel people will be coming on Monday to inspect the boat and to fix some minor items.  A rear screen has been ordered for the cockpit as well as pushpit seats which were resisted for a long time for aesthetic reasons.  The crew will be able to have their daily gin and tonics seated on the aft deck.

The port is some 4 miles from the town of Hyeres and the waterfront has the typical restaurants, a supermarket, a few chandlers and a large boat yard.  Ed and I ate a dinner of moules frite of average quality. The waterfront was alive till late as the holiday crowds had their last hurrahs. So far, no wifi connection other than a stray signal now and again.  Will be able to connect at the Amel office during their work hours on weekdays.

Saturday, August 29 – Washed down the salt accumulation from the trip. The marina is almost deserted, an abrupt change from the day before. All manner of boats from the charter companies are lined up in crowded berths.  People around are mostly older.  Dinner at a creperie owned by an older woman who tried to speak some English to us.

Sunday, August 30 – walked to Hyeres and the old town – a long walk.  Had a nice lunch at a small bistro at the old town and returned to the marina.  Took some pictures of the marina and of Skylark at the boatyard across the channel.  Dinner was pasta, with a new bottle of wine.  Turned the DVD on and watched “Babel”, a rather dark movie with convoluted links between Morocco, Tokyo and Mexico.  We are developing new skills to consume time productively while in port.


August 31 – Merdeka Day.  Nothing much new, the PM’s OneMalaysia theme dominates the Malaysian websites on both sides of the political divide.  The discussion on race and religion continues unabated, reflecting a seeming naivete or hard-edged cynicism, depending on where in the political spectrum the debate originates.
The Amel people are at the boat checking on the rudder post seal and other items.  Ed and I went to the Amel office to use their internet work station.  Unfortunately, no wi-fi there but we were able to check email.  Loading the blog is a bit of a problem since photo files and drafts are stored on the notebooks. Will do have to find a café with wi-fi. Photos in the next posting.

Will leave for Hyeres mid-day tomorrow and berth at the Amel pontoon at the marina at Hyeres-Plage on Saturday. The market in Barcelona is a great place not only for fresh produce, cheeses, meat and fish but also to have lunch at the tapas bars inside. We had a really good plate of grilled seafood, ordering made simple by asking for the "mixta". The fresh juice stalls located all over the market serve interesting mixes of fresh fruit juices, some blended with coconut. Will provision boat before leaving tomorrow with veg, fruit and bread from the market. Went for a walk this evening through Barcelona's narrow streets, dotted with restaurants, wine bars, boutques and the occasional Chinese shop selling tourist items made in the motherland. The marina is very quiet at night.  Dinner on board with one of the excellent bottles of wine Colin gave us.  Thanks, Colin, great choice!

Alicante (cont'd)

This post is not in sequence but I thought there were a couple of encounters in Alicante worth recording.

Ed and I spent the afternoon of Aug 22 washing salt of the deck and hatches. Skylark was spotless again. Amazing how much salt gets deposited on deck and on the fittings. In the evening, we went in search of the real Alicante, away from the tourist belt along the waterfront. On a side street, we saw a shop with a Malaysian flag and a sign “Malaysia House” It was one of the typical Chinese run shops selling cheap clothing and household stuff that we seem to come across in nearly every Spanish town we’d been in. Up the hill in the old town, we found much outdoor dining on narrow streets favoured by the locals. Certainly no English was spoken by the diners. Our search for gastromic authenticity was rewarded at a little restaurant on a side street – excellent gazpacho and tapas. On the way back to Skylark, we stopped for ice cream and retired for the night satisfied that we’d sampled some of the real Alicante.
With visitor and crew departures on Aug 22, the boat suddenly felt much larger. As we slept through the night, a 50 foot power boat docked alongside us in the narrow space to starboard. He must have been good, we didn’t hear or feel anything, not even the slightest bump.
Another hot and sunny day today, Sunday. Went is search of the supermarket the marina office had told us about. We found it but it was closed. Stopped for coffee where another customer told us of a mini-market by the train station five minutes away. It turned pout to be a small convenience store, not much good for our purposes. On the way down the hill, Ed was propositioned by two fat hookers (11 am on Sunday morning!). He politely refused their offers and walked quickly away.
Back at the boat, a young woman stopped by and introduced herself as Barbara from the Amel rep’s office in Alicante. She had been advised of the rudder post problem by Amel at La Rochelle. We told her we had solved the problem was since finding a wrench large enough to do the job. She did give us directions to a grocery store that was open on Sundays, a short walk from the marina. Much desired fresh bread, salad greens and frosted cornflakes were found as well as fresh fruit. Returning to the marina, we stopped by the Subway sandwich shop, ordered cokes and sat down to use the free wi-fi courtesy of the chiropractor’s office on the floor above. Email and news with a strong signal at last. A fellow came by to ask about the wi-fi. He was wearing a shirt with the logo of the boat that had docked alongside Skylark briefly in Gibraltar – Traite de Roma. He had just replaced the Belgian skipper and was headed for Barcelona as well. Returned to Skylark, lunched on spinach salad and a fresh baguette. At around 4 pm, we dropped the moorings and left the harbour in a slight swell and light breeze. Ed has quickly mastered being at the bow and stern all at the same time

Barcelona

Skylark is now berthed at the Port Vell marina at Barcelona. We managed to get in significant sailing time after leaving Alicante for the open sea part of the journey. Wind was from the starboard beam and steady at 10 kts giving us boat speeds of between 5 to 7 knots. There were the occasional shifts but the boom preventer did the trick, no more slapping sails. Being short handed, we used a conservative sail plan - genoa, main and mizzen, although tempted to try the gennaker when the wind shifted. The seas were flat to moderate until the approach to Barcelona. Shipping traffic was quite heavy which made for interesting night watches. There seemed to be a continuing exchange of profanities between Indian and Filipino merchant seamen over the calling channel 0f the VHF. It was irritating as the insults continued to be traded all through the night and we wanted to keep Channel 16 open in case there were emergency messages from the authorities.

Arriving at the marina at Barcelona, Ed struck up a conversation with the attendant, a Cuban exile who could recite the entire United States declaration of independence. My American friend was mightily impressed.

After fueling and checking in, we were directed to our berth and tied up stern to. Other than the fact the lazy lines stank of bad marina water, our first experience with just me at the wheel and Ed tending the dock lines with winds at 10 mph went without a hitch. We are again squeezed between two large power boats with very high freeboard, and learning how to position fenders in these situations.

We're off to explore the town and perhaps catch up with Robyn and Colin who drove here via Valencia a couple of days back. More when we come back.

Alicante

August 22 -- We left Fuengirola around 10 am on August 20 sans Francois who'd left for France, and arrived Alicante a little before 9 am, August 22. Wind was on the nose, mostly 3 to 7 knots. We ran on engine all of the first day. Early in the afternoon, Ed, Colin, Richard went for a swim in the warm waters. The winds were no better in the night and the following day. By mid-afternoon, it had picked up to 10 knots. Sails were set, genoa, staysail, main and mizzen and Skylark was off under sail on several long tacks. As evening came, the winds died and we sailed back to the rhumb line and motored on, arriving at Alicante this morning. Colin and Robyn were good enough to spend most of the morning trying to set up the wi-fi signal booster but without success -- the equipment is on its way back to the vendor at Sim Lim Square, Singapore. Robyn and Colin are headed for Barcelona by car this evening to continue their extended vacation. For reasons of his own, Richard left Skylark this morning. Ed and I are looking forward to sailing her to Barcelona tomorrow. The weather forecast is for more of the same, light air and moderate seas. We have a marina berth reservation at Barcelona for two nights which will allow for onshore excursions and rest before pushing on to Hyeres, near Toulon in France. Ed is leaving on September 1 to return to Houston to tend to personal business while I will remain with Skylark at Hyeres. The Amel people at Hyeres will be tending to some minor maintenance and warranty items and installing a rear cockpit screen to protect the helm station from following seas during our trans-oceanic passages.

Pictures to follow in the next blog.

Gibraltar to forgetable Fuengirola

August 18, Gibraltar --

At about 9.30 am, we left Gibraltar for Fuengirola, a substitute for Marbella which was full and couldn't accommodate us. Fuengirola is on the outskirts of Malaga. Colin was messaged, took the train from Malaga airport and met us at the pier. The marina is third worldly, packed with all manner of boats. We had a stern to mooring between 2 motor boats that essentially left only fenders to prevent boats from scrapping on each other. We barely squeezed in and settled the boat in. the wi-fi signal was inadequate, hence no blog post. Francois went to town to arrange his journey back to France to prepare for impending nuptials in Bangkok while Ed stayed back to rest. Robyn, Colin and I went in search of groceries and dinner in town. Both groceries and the meal were mediocre, reflecting the backward nature of the town with its cheesy waterfront tourist attractions. We were glad to leave the next morning (August 20) for Alicante.

more pictures from Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Aug 15/16 all night slog though heavy seas and currents, Skylark is making an unplanned stop at Gibraltar for rest and recuperation. Starting out from Puerto Sherry in the afternoon after taking on diesel, the sailing winds were good. Towards evening, winds whipped up to 25 + knots. Sea conditions with 2 to 3 metre waves required handsteering under staysail, small main and mizzen to avoid taking on the seas abeam. Quite tiring without the autopilot. Francois caught 2 tuna about 2 to 3 kg (we have pictures this time to prove it. We ate tuna sashimi and sushi for dinner in less than ideal conditions. As night fell, the seas turned rough with winds gusting to 40 knots and waves crashing over Skylark constantly. It was tough in the dark not know which direction the waves were coming from. Wave periods were 3 to 5 seconds, causing the boat to pitch and crash with an alarming bang each time. The sounds were amplified because of Skylark's strong monocoque construction (deck and hull are fused not bolted on) which worked like a giant drum. Water came over the cockpit windshield and we were thankful for Skylark's protected cockpit and steering position. Visibility in the pitch darkness was poor but we were able to keep out of the way of heavy commercial vessel traffic by monitoring their AIS positions. The weather was so bad the fishing fleets stayed in port between Cadiz and Tarifa. Reduced sail so as not to hit the Strait in the darkness but even with the smallest of triangles out, the boat still moved at 6 knots or more. As day broke, we had hardly made any way past Tarifa. The pan pan calls from Tarifa and Malaga radios for thje missing seaman continued at regular intervals. With such conditions, the search can't continue for too long. The current in the Strait together with waves, kept the boat moving but barely -- about one knot. A tedious passage for a while. The wind fell off a little and we moved inshore. Much better conditions and speed picked up considerably. Finally the "Rock" came into view in the distance. The approach to Gibraltar is quite magnificent. We pick our way around the big ships in port and made our way to the marina at Marina Bay which is right by the airport runway. The marina staff guided us to our berth where Skylark moored Med style for the first time -- stern to the quay wall and a bow line to a mooring. The passarelle (gangway from boat to shore) was deployed for the first time. It is nice to be in an English speaking environment again. Lots of British boats around us, including some big motor yachts under re-possession by banks. The food at the waterfront restaurants is mediocre at best. There is no wi-fi at the marina, so we will have to find a cafe that has it to post this blog which explains the lateness.

Sunday was spent exploring the town, the cemetery for the dead from Nelson's Battle of Trafalgar. Many fading headstones but fascinating that many of the graves marked British military and administrative personnel who died of a fever rather than the battle. Walked to the cable car station and rode up to the top or the Rock where we were greeted by some fairly aggressive apes. The view was great as the pictures show.

We are pressing on to Marbella on Tuesday and perhaps beyond if conditions are good the forecast is for weather to deteriorate towards the weekend. More when we stop next and have internet access.

Leaving Puerto Sherry (Cadiz)

August 14 – Planning to leave Puerto Sherry today and pressing on towards the Med. Puerto Sherry is in a sad state, promoted for vacation homes and time shares for affluent Europeans and Brits but dotted with incomplete, abandoned projects. There is no township near the marina. Cadiz is a 20 minute bus ride to a ferry of uncertain frequency and which stops operating at 6 pm. We called the Cadiz marina but they were adamant that they could not take boats over 15 metres. The marina at Puerto Sherry has large boats berthed but service is poor and charges are high – wi-fi doesn’t work, the access cards to the gates don’t work, the shore power requires us to re-wire our power line with one of their jumbo connectors for which a 75 Euro deposit has to be paid. Makes for a tedious process just to leave. So we will push on. The question is whether we should go to Marbella or Malaga. The Med pilot suggests the Marbella yacht harbour would be more fun as Malaga is mainly a commercial port. Gibraltar is only about 60 nautical miles away. We are planning to transit the Strait in daylight as the sights may be interesting, especially the Rock. The inshore routes are just as busy as the main shipping channels which have a traffic separation scheme. It will be best to see the see all that traffic in daylight.

We are getting wi-fi from the yacht club hotel but it is an inconvenient walk in the hot sun during the day. More from our next stop where with luck the internet connections will be better. Next blog will be from the Med (finally) where Robyn hopes to be re-united with boy friend Colin, that is, if he can find the Skylark. We hope so since he is bringing some electronic goodies like a wi-fi signal booster and a PC notebook which unlike the MacBook, will be compatible with the SSB radio email interface.

More pictures of Lagos