A southeasterly F5 to F6 was forecasted for today backing to an easterly F5 after rounding Tarifa. The levanter is actually blowing from the Mediterranean through the strait into the Atlantic but veering close to the coast and following the Spanish coastline all along the way to Cadiz. We left Barbate at about 07:30 and prepared for a rough passage. Staying in Barbate and waiting for better conditions as some other sailors we spoke to decided to do, was not an option because the weather forecast was even worse for Sunday. After one hour of motoring close to the coast where the waves were smaller and the boat faster, we had to change course and go further offshore in a big loop in order to avoid a field with tuna nets which we fortunately saw early enough before running into it. The waves were quite big and steep and the water was permanently coming over spraying all along to the stern. We had calculated the passage to around 7 hours. We passed north of Bajo de Los Cabezos a dangerous shoals area (where is said that the waves break even in calm weather) and rounded Tarifa. The conditions went better and the wind dropped to an F4 to F5 but still blowing exactly from the direction we wanted to go. About 4NM before Gibraltar, when I was writing an entry in my logbook I noticed that the floor carpet was wet. We had noticed some water that came in from a leakage at the starboard chain plate but that was not enough to explain the wet carpet. I jumped to the companionway, took away the steps and opened the bilge cover. The water had reached the floor level. I opened the door to the engine room in order to check the seal at the propeller shaft and got a horizontal salt water shower. The propeller shaft was already under water and the flexible coupling was squirting the salt water all over the engine and all other installations whilst rotating. I switched on the emergency bilge pump and observed the water level dropping. At the same time I checked all through hulls but couldn’t see where the water was coming in. With a great relief I realized that there was no more water entering the boat, but how did it get in and when? I had checked the bilge before leaving Barbate. Being safe, we continued to Gibraltar and made fast in the Marina Bay. To keep the long story short, the water came in from a hole in the back locker on the aft deck which was used as a cable feed through. The locker filled up with water because of the overcoming seas and the water found its way into the boat through that hole. It is amazing how fast you can get 150LT of water into the boat through a small hole. Unfortunately, the way to the bilge was through the lockers and over the mattresses in the aft cabin. Everything was wet. Next thing to do was getting the water and salt out of the boat which was our activity for the afternoon and evening.
Approaching Gibraltar
The Rock with the levanter cloud on top
Ships in the Gibraltar harbour
Drying mattresses and other stuff