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May 1999 Newsletter | ||
| Underwater farming - Paul trims the boat's grass skirt! |  The Gibraltar Coast |
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| Today
was grey and cloudy with gale force winds in the Strait so looks like
we’re spending another couple of days at the dock in Marina Bay, Gibraltar. But
we’re getting lots of work done, both on our writing assignments and on the boat.
Paul dove on the hull today and scraped off a huge grass skirt that had grown on it over
the seven months Two-Step was floating here awaiting our return. The water is quite cold
so Paul went in to town to buy a neoprene hood (Paul’s brother Stephen calls them
“squid lids”) for extra warmth. The owner of the dive shop was having computer
trouble so Paul helped him and traded consulting time for his new hood. It’s still
possible to trade with the natives while sailing! The boat was in pretty good shape when we returned last week. We did, however, have trouble starting the engine, as Paul feared, and we had to get a new starter battery ($100). The engine still wouldn’t turn over and since we had interviews to conduct for our video and magazine projects, we hired a mechanic from Sheppards Marina to look into it. The mechanic was excellent. He found a leak in the fuel system, machined a part to repair it, and had the engine running in a couple of hours. ($200) Meanwhile, we were out working. Gibraltar is a great base to explore from. It is at the crossroads of continents and oceans. To the north is Spain and Europe, Africa is 14 miles across the Strait to the south, at one end of the Strait is the Mediterranean and at the other is the Atlantic Ocean. Two hundred ships a day pass through the Strait carrying goods to and from all parts of the world. It is definitely a happening place! Besides scrubbing the hull, reprovisioning, varnishing and getting the boat back in running order for our cruise to North Africa and the Spanish coast, we have gone scuba diving on a shipwreck from WW1, dined in a tapas bar in Spain that specializes in Andalucian cured ham - regarded a delicacy equal to fine wine here, and climbed along the cliff edge of the Mediterranean Steps up to the highest point of the Rock of Gibraltar. What a view when we got to the top! When the weather clears we will sail across the Strait to Ceuta in Africa. We’ll keep in touch. Hope you’re all having a great summer! Paul & Sheryl
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