S/V Gudrun V

Good news: the weather forecast predicts a full week of strong easterly winds beginning on Sunday evening. Over the last days I have been frantically working on Vespina to get her ready for the next trip. It never ends to surprise me just how much there always is to do, especially after the boat has not been sailed for a few weeks. The last I want to do is run into any avoidable surprises at sea. The usual "pre-flight" check includes: Run the engine for a while. Check the fuel. Check the engine-oil. Climb the mast. Check the boom and the lines inside. Check the stays and shrouds. Check the halyards. Check the winches. Check the rudder. Check the through-hull-fittings. Check the windows. Check the spinnaker pole. Hoist the main sail and unfurl the genoa. Check the sheets. Check the mooring lines. Check the anchor & chain. Load & check the batteries. Check the navigation & masthead lights. Check the instruments. Check the VHF radio. Check the GPS. Check the gas bottle. Check the maps. Check the weather forecast, tide tables and navigational warnings. Do the laundry. Backup the hard-disks. Re-pack the grab-bag. Stock up on water, food, toilet paper, soap, suncream etc. ... And a good thing I checked: One of the stays for the equipment mast had come loose, the lamp of the position lights in the front was broken, and the rudder needed greasing. In addition I replaced the sheet for the Blister whith a thinner one (6mm instead of 12mm). That way the Blister should be more usefull in very light wind because the lighter rope doesn't drag it down so much. All of that is done, and then some. What's left to do is to plan the trip! Ideally I would leave Almerimar at daylight and approach Gibraltar well after dawn, and with enough safety margin should the trip take a little longer then planned. The distance is a little less than 140nm. All of it in a straight line with the wind of force 4-7 at about 15° from the back. That means that I should be underway for approximately 30 hours. Sunrise is at the moment at 08:00, and sunset at 20:45. So I could leave Almerimar at 08:00 in the morning and expect to arrive around 14:00 next day in Gibraltar. Which means I will be well away from the rock during the night, I will come in with the rising tide, and I will have about six hours of safety margin before the sun sets. Sounds good. However, the weather forecast predicts gusts of more than 40 knots in Gibraltar for Monday during the day. Fast sailing, but because the Marina in Gibraltar is not too sheltered I would like to avoid arriving in these conditions. I'm a chicken, I know. Tuesday afternoon looks much more promising, only about 25 knots . So here's the plan: Leave Almerimar on Monday morning at 08:00, and arrive in Gibraltar on Tuesday afternoon. Visit the caves, take pictures of the apes on the rock, and with any luck leave again on Thursday and pass through the strait and into the Atlantic. Finally!