Sailing School

We have traveled enough that we now seek travel that adds more than simply sights and museums. Now we try to combine trips to interesting locations with an event or purpose; cultural festivals, learning experiences or an event the locale is famous for. Running with the bulls in Pamplona, or Il Palio in Siena Italy are two of those we have never done. The Feria in Jerez was an example we did last year, and want to do again. 

Our latest trip to Gibraltar was a perfect combination of an interesting location and a purpose. Gibraltar is a really interesting place with a rich military history over the centuries. I mean if you look at the geography it is no wonder; it is just about the most strategic fort location in the whole world. And did you know that rock is nearly hollow? Natural caves and man-made ones have riddled the rock like swiss cheese. We have been to Gibraltar several times (it is 45 minutes from our favorite Andalucian village, Jimena de la Frontera, and a great place to shop. It also used to be a shelter from the Schengen when we needed to get out of dodge, but no longer (politics). I used Gibraltar to recuperate from unexpected surgery whan I could not fly, but we were out of Schengen tourist time. For more about this see the post about this medical experience; and an explanation about “Schengen Time”  I now realize I have never posted about Gibraltar as a tourist location and it deserves this. It is a great place to be a tourist. I promise a Gibraltar post in the near future, first let me tell you about our sailing school experience. 

My desire to learn to sail started about four years ago when we saw how easy it looked to charter a sailboat and hop from island to island off the Croatian coast. Right away we picked out Gibraltar as the place to take this school. Why? Because sailing the Strait of Gibraltar would be a great learning opportunity and a fun sail. And over the five day course we could (provided the wind gods cooperated) visit three countries and two continents.

The itinerary is to go from Gibraltar (UK) to Morocco one night, Back across the Mediterranean to Spain for a couple nights and back to Gibraltar. We found a sailing school, Trafalgar Sailing, to teach us the ropes…I mean “lines”, there are no ropes on boats! We wanted a school that follows the RYA (Royal Yachting Association) curriculum that seems to be recognized in the areas where we want to sail. 

First piece of wisdom I want to impart: chartering a boat and island hopping is not quite as easy as it looked four years ago. There is a lot to know and learn to be a competent sailor, let alone skipper. And the terms, geez it is like a whole new language. Since we are learning from a British school there is that language barrier: those British, or in our case we had a Scottish instructor, have different words for everything! Then the sailing terms, different, and who knows if the terms we have learned would be the same in the USA. Just get this through your head: nothing is a “rope”

Cathy, the owner/manager of Trafalgar Sailing told us we would have no need for a second pair of shoes. We are experienced enough travelers to recognize tour operators always want to encourage guests to limit luggage, especially on a sailboat. But Cathy, have you ever been on a sailboat? Because there is ample opportunity to get your shoes wet and they won’t dry. We only had one pair each! Kept them dry until the storm hit on day five, and ironically, it was not on the boat that the shoes got soaked but walking around Gib. 

Our class consisted of Mark and I, a single gal, Jillian, from Australia on a six month trip (Australians know how to live), and our Scottish instructor Drew. Three cabins (bedrooms) on the boat and one head (bathroom). Every marina had shower facilities, some luxurious (Gibraltar) and some pretty basic. Speaking of the head, another piece of wisdom to impart: never ever swim in a marina. I will let you figure that one out yourself. Handling the ropes in the marinas was just about the grossest thing I’ve done in a while. Okay in truth I did not do it; Mark did! The first time the rope got caught on the boat rudder and he had to redo the tying three times. He was covered in sh#&t. I considered throwing is pants away. 

Sailing involves a lot of knot tying. We practiced endlessly over bottles of wine at the ends of the days. We are all experts now. 

The first day included all the necessary safety information, and a spin around the bay so Drew could gauge our abilities and we could get a feel. Walking on a sailboat is not easy; getting off sometimes is not either. It usually requires a BIG step. One night after dinner and some beers we found that the tide had gone out and the jump was bigger than when we left. Mark had to jump back after he made it across to get my phone in case I missed, then go back and be prepared to haul me in. I made it on the first try luckily, once I got my nerve up. Less beers on following nights, 

Next morning we headed across the Strait to Ceuta (Pronounced “Suit – ah”)which is actually Spanish territory in Africa surrounded by Morocco. The wind was brisk and the Strait dotted with freighters. The current situation in the Red Sea is causing freighters to detour so we may have had more to contend with. Ships like to come to Gib for fuel anyway, it is cheaper there. Those ships are huge! Luckily we had clear skies without fog, fog would have been terrifying. The crossing was a straight shot and uneventful. I got to do a lot of driving! Wrong lingo; I was at the helm steering; getting a feel for the current and the wind. Just outstanding. Upon docking we hit a nearby bar and found tables of other sailing school people and instructors. All the instructors ribbed each other and told us students stories about our instructors. Good times. 

Next morning we left very early to get some hours of night sailing. We probably should have sighted by stars, but we kept finding lights that turned out to be boats. So this pass was not as straight as the way over. Something to keep in mind night sailing, you cannot see your stuff. By the time we reached the next port we found a few pieces of equipment were missing. Lucky for our instructor (or maybe not), the other instructors picked up our gear and got it back to us at the next port. Drew will get some ribbing unfortunately.

Huge bonus was the sunrise over the mediterranean. Anyone who knows me knows how fond I am about a sunrise; I was in heaven. A few hours after that, herds of dolphins escorted us most of the rest of the way. At least 5 different experiences of pods of dolphins (a dozen to about 30 or more) racing our boat for about 20-30 minute bouts.  They were mesmerizing. Some petral and ganet sightings rounded out the wildlife.

Our port for the third night was a small marina in Spain called Puerto de la Duquesa. It is in Spain but clearly an expat enclave. Cute marina surrounded by bars and restaurants; at least five Irish pubs within 100 meters. We had some Guinness and Mark learned a new Guinness drinking game. He is pretty bad at it and means drinking more and more pints. This is the marina where the tide decreased and required a big jump to get back aboard. 

Next morning the weather we had been watching all week looked to be materializing. We headed back to Gib skipping another port in Spain. I was disappointed but better safe than sorry. We still got some sailing in and lots of extra instruction since our group was small and sharp. As Drew kept reminding us, we got a lot more than the usual school. We learned how to chart a course by hand. Hey Drew, there’s and app for that. No really, I am glad to know, and look at me using the word “chart”! 

Since we had some time, so we all took a bus out to the lighthouse in Gibraltar to see the waves that we dodged. We got soaked in the wind driven rain. But for Southern Californians the waves were not that impressive, Windansea Beach on a usual day has bigger rollers. Of course my view may have been different from a sailboat. 

At this point our course was complete, we all passed. Everyone promises to keep in touch and trade pictures. That is the mark of a great time. We have more school before we are qualified skippers, but we are ahead of the curve according to Drew.