David Colyer
Monday 1st March 1970 After finally getting all the sails back, window replaced and everything in working order and all previous cargoes sold off, funds available, we were ready to sail to Gibraltar, with one ‘paying’ passenger, Anita, a quite attractive lady, Ralph’s wife, aged about 50, who had a flat in Estepona and where Nikki sometimes went for a bath and have her hair done. ( I can’t remember If I ever went there, but it wasn’t far from Ralph’s bar, where I’d first met Nikki.) Plus John the Dog. Although I’d been living on the boat for about a month, on and off, we’d never left the marina and I was a bit taken aback with the first time we went out to sea. I’d thought I’d be used to it, but when we got out to sea and hoisted the main sail, I was shocked when the yacht heeled over at an angle of about 45 degrees and thought we were going to capsize! But John and Nikki assured me this was supposed to happen and was the ideal position for maximum speed, as most of the boat’s hull would be under water, making it lighter. Luckily, it was a smooth trip and I felt a bit more comfortable. With engine off, the Muffin glided smoothly though the water, with all 3 sails up, about 6 knots speed and I began to enjoy it. We saw a fishing boat and John wanted to go over and have a chat with them, although they looked a bit dubious as we loomed over them and we narrowly missed colliding with them. We continued on our way, on a beam reach, at a rate of knots and reached Gibraltar in 5 hours, having a bit of lunch on the way. Lowering all the sails, we switched on the motor and motored in, looking for a place to moor and it was pretty full on the moles, so we had to moor alongside some other boats, in the middle, tied up to the outside one, before dropping the anchor. We then rowed ashore on the ‘Crab’, although Nikki stayed on board.I found Gibraltar to be a strange place, with mostly English bars and shops, but with mostly Spanish workers, although I guess the bars belonged to
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