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| Leaving Al-Hoceima |
TUESDAY 24 JUNE 2008
We decided to leave early because we had a long sail ahead of us and went to check out with the police, together with the French couple. We had to wait until 8.30 a.m. when the police came on duty and we had to wait ages for them to deal with the passports. We said we wanted to anchor in Ras Baraket, a small bay and were told this would be Ok. We then had to wait for the customs men to arrive – four of them arrived in a car and the police took a photo of our boat. We told them that we wanted to anchor in Ras Baraket and they said it would not be permitted as the area is heavily patrolled because of drugs and immigration. We told the police we hadn’t paid the port fees, and they said if no one came to ask for it, not to worry. All the police and customs were very friendly but it seemed to take a long time to check out. We finally left about 9.15 a.m.
There was quite a swell when we left until we rounded Cabo Quilates and then the sea was completely flat with no wind. We spotted dolphins about 3 times but they weren’t very interested in us. The autohelm stopped working completely and we had to hand steer the whole way. We had to transfer diesel at sea – not the best transfer we’ve ever done as one of the cans fell on its side when the boat rolled.
We arrived in Melilla about 8.30 p.m. Moroccan time, 9.30 p.m. Spanish time and the phones went on to Spanish networks. Melilla is another Spanish enclave on the Moroccan coast. We picked up the Mediterranean mooring with the help of the Marinero and the people on the next boat, who are from Britain and have been here for four years!
Marina: 8 Euros a night including electricity, water, good showers and free wi-fi (albeit slow). The cheapest Marina yet.
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