GAES Centros Auditivos back in Anna's home waters!

We entered the Straits of Gibraltar at sunset with a gentle 10 to 15 knots of wind blowing. We felt blessed as we have watched all the fleet before us enter the Straits in upwind conditions and here we were enjoying gybing downwind in flat water. As it got dark we crossed the imaginary line at Tarifa which took us from the North Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. We had made it, our final stretch of the race lay before us. As we cleared the headland before Gibraltar itself the wind increased.

Now we know that a weather forecast for the Straits always has acceleration to remember to add on and with this stretch of water being very dangerous with lots of shipping and not a lot of room we were fully prepared. We did not want to risk our race here so close to the finish. With a full main and Code 3 we decided to furl before the gybe as we were in 25 knots and as we gybed the wind increased to 30 knots. Our timing couldn't have been better. The grib file said 15 knots increasing to 20 and here we were with 30 knots. This wind stayed with us for most of the night and we left the Straits with two reefs in the main and the fractional Code 3. A slightly smaller sail plan than we had anticipated but happy and safe and avoiding all the ships.

To celebrate this major landmark in this race we had some special jamon for the occasion and also enjoyed dinner of Cod and potato, one of our favourite meals that we had saved especially for this night. Today this is a tired but happy boat. Not a big change but the smiles are slightly bigger!

The Gaes Girls, back in Anna's home waters!
xx