Cadiz to Gibraltar – the encounter

Let me start this by reassuring you all that we are safe and well. We tied up in Queensway Quay Marina around 11am yesterday morning (Sat 8 Jul) having spent a few hours at anchor near La Linea (Spanish side of Gibraltar) and refuelled in the morning on our way from the anchorage.

We left Rota mid afternoon on Friday, having waited for the wind to start backing round from the South and to moderate a little. After a very picturesque (if bumpy) hour of motor sailing past Cadiz, the wind did back and we altered course to follow the coast to Trafalgar. On the leg to Trafalgar we picked up part of a conversation from Tarifa Radio to a yacht that had just suffered an Orca incident. Unfortunately we could not hear the position of the yacht and at that time we were around 30 miles from Tarifa. By this time we were sailing beautifully, no engine and making good speed towards Gibraltar. Sunset found us crossing Trafalgar Bank and a discussion about Nelson and shipwrecks ensued.

Having put the girls to bed we settled down for a few hours of night time sailing, the aim being to get to Gibraltar Bay around 03:00 and anchor for a few hours. All was good until the wind died around 22:00 and we had to put the engine back on, disengage the Hydrovane (which steers the boat using the wind) and revert to motor sailing with just the mainsail up. At 22:30 the boat suddenly lurched violently off course, the wheel moved uncontrollably and then at least 3 Orcas appeared alongside us. For the next 10 minutes we were accompanied by the Orcas with them swimming alongside the cockpit and aft section of the boat. All wonderful, except for the fact it was nearly pitch black, the moon had not yet risen, and every minute or so the rudder took a big knock. We continued to motor sail and tried to get closer to land. We were approximately 10 miles West of Tarifa in the inshore traffic zone, but around 5 miles away from land. After a couple of big knocks towards the end of the encounter the Orcas left. 5 minutes later I popped below to plot a fix on the chart and radio the encounter through to Tarifa Radio.

And then they returned. A particularly violent hit to the rudder was followed by several more large whacks. The second encounter only lasted a few minutes but was far more violent. Then they were gone.

We continued on our way. The boat appeared to be OK and we could make it go in the direction we wanted. After a few miles if became apparent that maybe the autohelm was not as good as it could be, but it generally coped. We radioed in the details of our encounter to Tarifa Radio who will pass it on to the maritime agency coordinating the encounters. In the dark and wishing to make all speed to Gibraltar and away from the area we were not inclined to investigate further. The moon rose, the wind was very light and the lights of Morocco were very clear. After passing a solo sailor we were hit by a gust from nowhere – Force 1 up to Force 5 in no time. Lasted about 10 mins and then back to nothing. Around 03:00 we reached the anchorage and reduced speed. It then became apparent that the steering was not right. It was functional, but there is a nasty grating sound when turning the wheel, and the system now has a few degrees of ‘play’ before the wheel engages. One to look into.

Morning broke, and a quick look over the back end revealed immediate damage to the Hydrovane. The shaft has been bent by around 40 degrees and the rudder is jammed on at a strange angle. The locking pin is bent in-situ and well and truly jamming the rudder on.

It looks as though the Hydrovane will require a new shaft and rudder, but first it will need to be disassembled. For different reasons this looks like it is not going to be as straight forward as it should be. We also seem to have a ‘different note’ to our propeller shaft when it is engaged.

The girls woke and appeared around 07:30, refreshed and exclaiming about how well they had slept. Marvelling at the views of Spain, Gibraltar and Africa from the deck, intermingled with the masses of large anchored merchant ships, they had been oblivious to the incidents with the Orcas. Suzy is rather less oblivious but as stated earlier, the main thing is that we are all safe and sound. The incident has been logged with the Cruising Association who are one of the coordinating bodies for these incidents. Now I just need to get on with the repairs. Plenty to start investigating next week. I suspect that we might be in the vicinity of Gibraltar/La Linea/Morocco for a little longer than planned.