We were warned the bay of Gibraltar was very busy with commercial shipping, when the bay opened we were amazed how many ships were there. Some were at anchor but many were moving slowly and they were all really big! On top of this there were ferries darting about too so we concentrated on our route across to Ocean Village marina. As our mast was above a certain height and we were heading towards the airport runway, the pilot book states that we must call ahead on the vhf to request clearance to transit the area. This proved to be a bit of a joke as shipping we’re calling non stop. Eventually we got through and the reply was spoken so quickly we actually had no idea what they said!!! In the end we just followed 2 yachts who looked like they knew what they were doing 🤷🏻♂️
We were allocated our winter berth at Ocean Village which was attached to the new super yacht pontoons…. All very very smart and a great location under the bow of the Sunborn a 5 star yacht hotel!
First impressions are that this is a wonderful place to spend the winter with good warm weather and plenty to do. Jeremy on Right Turn started this trip with us and was due to winter in the other marina at Queensway but quickly changed his mind and managed to secure a winter berth literally next to us.
When we left the U.K. this time we had a plan to spend the next 2 years or so cruising the Mediterranean before making any further decisions. Well, planning on a cruising yacht are written in sand at low water, this is certainly true for us.
Silhouette for sale
After 7 years of live aboard cruising taking us thousands of miles including crossing the Atlantic to the wonderful waters of the Caribbean, we have decided it’s time for us to return to land permanently. Silhouette is now for sale here in Gibraltar which is the perfect place for her as she’s ready to sail east into the Mediterranean or west across the Atlantic again.
In the meantime, we have much exploring to do here & will share with you in the next post including our land plans…
yachtsilhouette.com 