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| 'Lively Lady' leaving Ceuta |
TUESDAY 17 JUNE 2008
I was woken to the cries of ‘Oh no!’ from the crew of Lively Lady who had got the lazy line wrapped around their prop as they tried to leave and the skipper had to go into the water to release it.
Barbara and Tudor are joining us on their boat Yooannmee for our trip along the Moroccan coast, but we left earlier at about 11.30 a.m. after filling with cheap (relatively) diesel at 95 cents a litre. There was a strong wind as we left Ceuta and a forecast of 5 – 7 in the Straits of Gibraltar, but Roger didn’t tell me that until we’d already left the harbour! However, with one reef in the main and a partially rolled up genoa we were comfortable enough, making about 8 knots over the ground with both tide and current in our favour. Gibraltar looked majestic against the blue sky. Once we rounded the headland of Ceuta, one of the Pillars of Hercules, the sea was flat and the wind dropped to a gentle 2 – 3 breeze on the beam in warm sunshine. This is our first sail in Susannah in the Med and if it stays like this it will be wonderful! Roger tried fishing by trailing a paravane, but despite a couple of false alarms, caught nothing.
When we took the taxi from Ceuta to Tetuan we had noticed that there is an immense construction project going on with new apartments and hotels being built all along the coast, which we could now see from the sea. The worry is that they may turn Morocco into the next Costa del Sol.
Nearing Smir we took down our Spanish courtesy flag and hoisted the “Q” flag (which means “my vessel is healthy and I request clearance”). I have always had some doubts about the correct “Q” flag procedure, but having looked it up it seems to be that it should be flown from the starboard spreader without flying any courtesy flag. Once clearance is completed the “Q” flag comes down and the courtesy flag goes up.
We sailed the whole way; only turning on the engine in the harbour entrance. Once we had checked in with the marina staff we were allocated a berth (a Mediterranean mooring) and given to understand that we should proceed to it. No sooner than we had tied up – not easy with Sheila having to lasso the mooring bollard – a policeman arrived and ordered us to return to the welcome pontoon to complete clearance procedures. Having some doubts about Sheila’s ability to repeat the lassoing trick we successfully persuaded him to let us leave the boat in the berth and walked back to his office to complete the formalities.
We realized we are definitely in Africa because as we approached Marina Smir we saw camels on the beach. Indeed, once berthed, camels were often led along the harbour walls inside the marina. Barbara and Tudor arrived about 5 p.m. and after a drink we went for a walk and a paddle along the beautiful beach next to the marina, and back for a BBQ on Susannah.
Marina Smir is a large attractive Marina with restaurants and cafes, but nearly empty at only about 10% capacity. A lot of people are put off visiting Morocco itself by boat because of the stories about having to bribe officials and hassle from the locals. This is a shame as we have loved our visits to Tangier and inland and they have made us want to see more of the country. So far we have not had to bribe or pay baksheesh and have hardly had any hassle at all; most Moroccans proving to be charming, friendly and extremely helpful. Barbara has got some cigarettes in case we need to bribe anyone further along the coast, as a precaution. After Roger’s 3 week upset tummy we’ve got an excess of Imodium which we’re going to swap for some of her cigarettes!
MARINA: £50 for 3 nights, electricity, water, good showers – no internet.
When we took the taxi from Ceuta to Tetuan we had noticed that there is an immense construction project going on with new apartments and hotels being built all along the coast, which we could now see from the sea. The worry is that they may turn Morocco into the next Costa del Sol.
Nearing Smir we took down our Spanish courtesy flag and hoisted the “Q” flag (which means “my vessel is healthy and I request clearance”). I have always had some doubts about the correct “Q” flag procedure, but having looked it up it seems to be that it should be flown from the starboard spreader without flying any courtesy flag. Once clearance is completed the “Q” flag comes down and the courtesy flag goes up.
We sailed the whole way; only turning on the engine in the harbour entrance. Once we had checked in with the marina staff we were allocated a berth (a Mediterranean mooring) and given to understand that we should proceed to it. No sooner than we had tied up – not easy with Sheila having to lasso the mooring bollard – a policeman arrived and ordered us to return to the welcome pontoon to complete clearance procedures. Having some doubts about Sheila’s ability to repeat the lassoing trick we successfully persuaded him to let us leave the boat in the berth and walked back to his office to complete the formalities.
We realized we are definitely in Africa because as we approached Marina Smir we saw camels on the beach. Indeed, once berthed, camels were often led along the harbour walls inside the marina. Barbara and Tudor arrived about 5 p.m. and after a drink we went for a walk and a paddle along the beautiful beach next to the marina, and back for a BBQ on Susannah.
Marina Smir is a large attractive Marina with restaurants and cafes, but nearly empty at only about 10% capacity. A lot of people are put off visiting Morocco itself by boat because of the stories about having to bribe officials and hassle from the locals. This is a shame as we have loved our visits to Tangier and inland and they have made us want to see more of the country. So far we have not had to bribe or pay baksheesh and have hardly had any hassle at all; most Moroccans proving to be charming, friendly and extremely helpful. Barbara has got some cigarettes in case we need to bribe anyone further along the coast, as a precaution. After Roger’s 3 week upset tummy we’ve got an excess of Imodium which we’re going to swap for some of her cigarettes!
MARINA: £50 for 3 nights, electricity, water, good showers – no internet.
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