Cadiz to Faro
There was a huge sigh of relief onboard the boat that we passed the main danger zone. Whilst Ocras have been known to attack boats from Tunisia to half way across the Bay of Biscay all the current activity was now behind us.
We made an early start as it is 75 miles from Cadiz to the entrance to Faro at Barra Nova. The journey was largely uneventful with only one pod of dolphins making a brief visit and your truly knocking up a loaf of bread. The journey was mainly motoring which was a disappointment all round but we took a chance and cut across the bay, if we had kept to the shallows and skirted the edge of the bay it would have added a day to the journey. We did that on the way out but the Orca situation was different then.
Our arrival at Barra Nova was an hour before low tide and as the ebb can run at 7knts it was not ideal… well that is certainly true as we entered the narrow entrance we were confronted with two or three large standing waves. "Hold on" and through we went, just like a rocking horse! As we cleared the last wave I gunned the engine to get us out of the main tide and within two minutes we were out of it almost as quickly as we came upon it.
We arrived at the anchorage with is a huge area and could accommodate a couple of hundred boats and dropped our anchor, ten minutes later the nearest boat out out fenders, we were at least ten boat lengths away from him. In the morning we had all swung 180 degrees and his fenders were now on the other side, we did consider putting fenders out just to make the point but didn't. Sometimes you do have to anchor close to other boats and but this wasn't it and we were not close.
We made an early start as it is 75 miles from Cadiz to the entrance to Faro at Barra Nova. The journey was largely uneventful with only one pod of dolphins making a brief visit and your truly knocking up a loaf of bread. The journey was mainly motoring which was a disappointment all round but we took a chance and cut across the bay, if we had kept to the shallows and skirted the edge of the bay it would have added a day to the journey. We did that on the way out but the Orca situation was different then.
Our arrival at Barra Nova was an hour before low tide and as the ebb can run at 7knts it was not ideal… well that is certainly true as we entered the narrow entrance we were confronted with two or three large standing waves. "Hold on" and through we went, just like a rocking horse! As we cleared the last wave I gunned the engine to get us out of the main tide and within two minutes we were out of it almost as quickly as we came upon it.
We arrived at the anchorage with is a huge area and could accommodate a couple of hundred boats and dropped our anchor, ten minutes later the nearest boat out out fenders, we were at least ten boat lengths away from him. In the morning we had all swung 180 degrees and his fenders were now on the other side, we did consider putting fenders out just to make the point but didn't. Sometimes you do have to anchor close to other boats and but this wasn't it and we were not close.