It’s a memorable experience to cruise
west from Gibraltar Bay, following the
Spanish shore around Punta CarneroWEST THROUGH THE STRAIT
During a spell of quiet, settled weather, it’s a memorable
experience to cruise west from Gibraltar Bay, following
the Spanish shore around Punta Carnero and close beneath
the southern slopes of Andalusia. Over on the
Moroccan side, the sun-cracked mountains
and craggy headlands look like another world,
and even huge tankers and container ships are
dwarfed by this harsh edge of Africa. Ten miles
along from Punta Carnero, a low, fl at island and
linking causeway shelter the entrance to Tarifa
Harbour, the most southerly tip of Europe.
TARIFA This ancient Moorish town is a complex
jigsaw of white and old stone houses, with here
and there, a minaret and stands of palm trees.
The harbour is not at all geared up for visiting
yachts, but it’s worth calling at Tarifa for an hour
or two, just to savour the slow, still pace of the hot
dusty quays. Fishing boats moor at the south jetty,
which is usually piled with nets. Modest-sized motor boats can
berth bow or stern to one of the piers in the north-west corner of
the harbour. Coasters and fast ferries to Tangier use the east mole.
Cruising north-west from Tarifa, keep safely inside Los Cabezos
shoal, where the sea breaks even in apparently calm weather. You
pass Punta Paloma and miles of beautiful golden beach, where
kitesurfers play the warm Atlantic breezes. Sand dunes lift
majestically behind the shore
BARBATE A dozen miles north-west of Paloma, the generously
wide harbour at Barbate has a sheltered laid-back marina at its
west end. I like Barbate, though some describe it as rather soulless.
The marina is cosy, the summer weather usually glorious and
there are no holiday apartments to mar the views. The terrain
is fl at and sandy, covered with Mediterranean pines and fragrantmaquis. On the north side of the marina, the Restaurante el
Capitán is very good, especially for lingering evenings on the
terrace. A Mercadona supermarket is a 25-minute walk to the east.
West of Barbate, the low coast runs out to legendary Cape
Trafalgar, which is actually quite a small
rocky peninsula linked to the mainland
by a sandy isthmus. The shore is attractively
wooded behind the cape − completely
unwarlike, in fact. However, a dangerous
rocky ridge stretches nearly two miles
south-west of the Cape, so if you are
cruising on towards Cadiz, make sure
you curve well outside these dangers.44TRAVELLooking across the
Strait of Gibraltar
to Morocco
Tarifa Harbour
is set in an old
Moorish townPILOTS AND GUIDES
For approaching Gibraltar from
the Atlantic, use Atlantic Spain
and Portugal by Henry Buchanan
and the RCC Pilotage Foundation,
http://www.imray.com at £42.50.
For local cruising around
Gibraltar, use the long-running
Straits Sailing Handbook,
http://www.gibraltarsailingschool.com
at £9.95 plus p&p.