RAOC Gazette - page 142
Image details
| Corps | RAOC |
|---|---|
| Material type | Journals |
| Book page | |
| Chapter head | |
| Chapter key | |
| Chapter number | |
| Full title | RAOC Gazette |
| Page number | |
| Publication date | 1981 |
| Real page | |
| Colour | Yes |
| Grey | No |
| Early date | 1981 |
| Late date | 1981 |
| Transcription |
Gibraltar, and had been beaten back by forty two knot winds to Cadiz. Well, he was there to prove it. We picked our time early the next morning and motored South to Tangier in a dead calm. Foolishly we decided to stay a night in Tangier in spite of perfect sea conditions. This cost us three days, and three attempts to get eastwards to Gibraltar. After each attempt the trivial Moroccan authorities insisted we booked in again. Our papers were held making it impossible to leave until the following morning. On 23rd July in desperation we set out and had a very bumpy time motoring out of the harbour for ten miles. After this the seas became less short and gradually smoothed out as we progressed eastwards. Window shopping in La Corinna. The curious shaped cheeses caught our eye. our passports and practique which were on board. After much talking an interpreter was found by my wife. But not before, being fed up with the nonsense, she found that we had been locked in the Police Station, just as a precaution, you see . . . . ? On arrival of the interpreter all was then suddenly clear. We were given beer, and sent on our way, the pilot boat having been arranged by the comic policeman. As if this was not enough when we had been put aboard Laughing Water, the pilots demanded salvage for our rubber dinghy which we had carried out with us. It was quickly de- flated and stowed and I offered them one hundred, (Escudos) about seventy five pence, for the ' taxi ride.' This they accepted, cursing us as they left First thing the next morning we cleared customs and were glad to leave the scene behind. Two short day trips took us to the charming anchorage of Sesimbra and Sines, both a little exposed to the South, but worth visiting in settled con- ditions. In Sines we were the only yacht under any flag. We would have liked to have stayed longer in this village with its attractive streets, castle, and market to explore. On the 15th July we left Sines and made for the Cabo de San Vicente. We had a good spinnaker run until we reached the Cabo. Dark clouds had been gathering behind us and overtook us as we rounded the Cabo. We quickly reefed down, two slabs in the main, dropped the jib and motored in- to the tranquillity of Bajo de Sagres. Here we anchored for the night close inshore. At 02.00 hours the next day we awoke to the terrifying sound of surf in our ears. The anchor had . dragged and we were practically on shore. After re-anchoring we kept an anchor watch till we were sure we had found good holding ground. The following day the wind persisted to gust thirty knots or more, but by 16.00 hours we had had enough, and set sail in the lee of the land for Villamore. We reached all the way with spray everywhere. Midnight saw us tied up at Villamore and the passport ritual was once more performed by the Portuguese Officials whose dreadful habit of spitting was difficult to get used to. We jokingly agreed amongst our- selves that it was best to keep moving when making enquiries, especially when clad in light footwear like sandals. On the 16th we continued hoping to sail the last one hundred and seventy miles to Gibraltar in thirty six hours non stop. The weather forecast predicted North to North East winds, which sounded ideal, but when off Cadiz these changed to South to South East, impossible winds for where we were bound. Cadiz became our next stop. As we entered the outer harbour a furious Levanter almost took us : out to sea again. The strongest winds of the trip of thirty seven knots were experienced. The seas were very short and our motor was only just able to cope. The Levanter stayed with us the following day. We were disappointed at having to abort the first attempt to get through the Straits of Gibraltar. MOD PAT 2 had insisted that another intermediate, non-Spanish port must be visited before putting into Gibraltar. This meant Tangier now had to be visited, adding another twenty to thirty miles to our journey. The forecasts were not good and we met a Swiss who claimed that he had been within three miles of — 359 Joe and Ingrid Johnston relaxing with some of the local gin. All of a sudden there was Gibraltar, a very satisfying land fall, shrouded in cloud. Gradually the Rock became clearer and all were impressed by its size and stature. Some time later a well earned shower, cool beers and a meal ashore were followed by enquiries regarding return flights for the crew. They were quite disappointed to find that they all had seats on the Flight to Gatwick the next day. There it all ended, a successful voyage which had been very enjoyable, and I am sure satisfied the adventurous sides of our characters for the time being. Laughing Water stood up to all the weather that was thrown at her, and is now being raced regularly by members of the Fortress Headquarters at Gibraltar. Anyone for the Canaries this year? W H Y NOT WRITE F O R THE GAZETTE ? THE EDITOR welcomes new contributors, it is your Journal so why not contribute to it? Articles on any subject will be welcomed: sport, adventure, work, experience, humour, fiction—even fantasy. While articles of any length will be considered, the ideal is in the region of 2,000 words. Scripts should be double-spaced type written, though manuscript will be accepted. Pictures should preferably, be black and white but colour prints will do—some slight loss of quality occurs. A reasonable level of controversy is the life-blood of any Journal—it promotes thought and discussion. Security however, is always a consideration and, though the ultimate responsibility rests with the Editor, it should be borne in mind when touching upon possible sensitive subjects. As THE GAZETTE is principally a magazine the purely technical article should be avoided, though no hard and fast boundary exists. Why not use THE GAZETTE if you have previously written for publication, why not try your hand if you have not. |
| Book number | R0404a |