Thursday, July 24, 2014 –
It had been years of planning and waiting for this day. Today we were going to sail across the southern end of Spain and through the Strait of Gibraltar, which would put us officially in the Mediterranean!! We had waited for the correct winds and seas for an uneventful passage through the Strait of Gibraltar. It is necessary to have both the wind and seas coming from the same direction–the west.
The 
Strait of Gibraltar connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Africa from Europe. There is only 9 miles between the continents at the closest point. Towering over The Straights like an ancient sentinel is the Rock of Gibraltar. It is no wonder this has been such a strategic prize of the various military powers over the ages. On the other side, the day was slightly overcast so when the mountains of Morocco finally peaked through the mist it was wildly dramatic. At one point we could see the peaks of both continents, called the pillars of Hercules, simultaneously.
The sea level in the Atlantic is actually several feet higher than in the Med (due to the massive amount of evaporation in the saltier water of the Med) the transition taking place in the Strait of Gibraltar, about a 10 mile long passage. Even with calm winds and seas the water has a washing machine effect in parts. With almost no wind we motored most of the 12 hour day, just enjoying about an hour of sailing within the Strait. Somehow after a day of complaining of no wind we made up for it with over 45 kts as we entered the harbor outside Gibraltar. That was to the other extreme! The winds managed to calm to closer to 20 knots for our entry into Queensway Quay Marina.