Meltem Arikan

Gibraltar is a very interesting place… It is a big guardian rock protecting the whole peninsular. It doesn’t matter which part of the peninsular you are living in; you can see the guardian rock. I feel like Gibraltar has male energy… I couldn’t feel here is a place you can come and relax… Maybe because of the big Casino, maybe because of all the big ships… It is not a quiet place even in these COVİD days…

We did it... We sail from Barcelona to Gibraltar. We are tired but happy. I think it was easy to than what I expected. 
We anchored for a few nights in a bay (Puerto Genoves) near Cabo de Gata. The winds came in the night reaching 45 knots and like many sailors before I wondered if our anchor would hold. If it didn’t, we would be on the rocks or the beach if lucky. In the morning all was calm except the force of the wind had bent our snubber hook made from 1cm thick steel. We left in the morning in a rough sea drinking tea whilst pounding into the huge waves and swell. The wind was behind us, but I had not yet used the poles to hold the sails out in such a situation, so we sailed when we could and motored the rest. We motored through the night, on our port (left side) were huge ships all squeezed around the Spanish coast to the Alboran Sea and heading to the Straights of Gibraltar into the Atlantic and the rest of the world. 

I love to be anchored. When you wake up, you don't need t…