| Sailing the Pillars of Hercules by James Manning |
The first indications that it was going to be my sort of activity holiday was when I was told that the meeting place was under a palm tree at the local bar in the marina. I met Cathy, who had organised everything efficiently by e-mail, my fellow crew mates and our skipper Peter, who immediately put me at ease with his "salty seadog" appearance.
Gibraltar is a bizarre little place, a huge limestone rock full of caves tunnels and apes. A little bit of Britain in the Med, with the strange mixture of double decker buses, English Bobbies and Spanish sunshine.
Having played around on boats for years, I thought it was about time to get some recognised qualification, and had booked myself a six-day RYA Day Skipper course. I also needed a holiday and chose Gibraltar because unlike the other schools in the Med it offers Tidal Certificates. We had a mix of abilities onboard, one person had never sailed before and a couple had just come oack for some fun. The first few days were spent in the Bay of Gibraltar getting used to the yacht and doing some practical exercises. I was surprised at how little I actually knew, particularly on navigation, and my practice of just using the GPS was beginning to tell.
After escaping a man trying to sell me his pet snake, I ended up in one of the innumerable carpet shops. The gentleman there was very polite but persuasive and after lots of cups of very sweet mint tea and plenty of haggling I bought a beautiful rug, for a bargain price of course, which he shipped home for me. We had all forgotten about the time and had to rush back to the boat for a sunset departure and night-sail. Sailing under the moonlight from Morocco to Spain was one of my best memories.
Although its something one would not normally think of doing on a day Skipper course, you learn to navigate at night. With the busy shipping lanes in the Strait it is quite exciting. After passing the spectacular sight of the Rock of Gibraltar, which is lit up at night, we arrived at the Spanish mainland marina of Sotogrande at two in the morning. Fortunately, as the Spanish have liberal hours in their bars and cafes, we were still able to go ashore for a few drinks when we got there.
In contrast to Morocco this area of Spain is chic and modern, and unlike the image of the Costa del Sol, is not overbuilt and spoilt where we went. It is an exclusive residential area for those who do not want the glitzy Marbella lifestyle, just up the coast. By this time I felt I had known everybody on board Tarik Lady for years. We were a good team and all living together on a forty foot boat was a lot easier than I had expected, helped by having my own cabin. Peters wife's supply of home-made meals were very appreciated the nights we ate onboard. Other nights we went out to dinner and there was never a shortage of good restaurants and beach bars. The best night out was in Estepona, where we found the back streets of the port jumping with life.
We arrived back in Gibraltar with the wind behind us at the end of the week and my only regret was that I could not stay longer. I learnt more than I thought possible in such a short time and although I feel much more confident about sailing I will return to the O'Hanlon family as I now consider them friends.
I'm already planning a diving holiday with them, but that's another story. For more details call Cathy and if she is not water skiing, diving or rock climbing she will be at the end of the phone.
Her contact information is-
e-mail:- cathy@trafalgarsailing.co.uk
Tel:- 00 34 699411194
Fax:- 00 350 76955
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