[10753]
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Any tips appreciated -like best departure time Gib, best route, any things to watch out for, basically any tips appreciated. Thanks
Tips for Exiting Med from Gib
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SHUG
Active member
Just study the Pilot and play the tides to best advantage.
Sybarite
Well-known member
Weight a parachute anchor and let the deep counter current pull you through. That's what sailing ships used to do!
Not quite sure which way it works though.....
chinita
Well-known member
Send a PM to Capnsensible of this parish.
jerrytug
N/A
That's an amazing story......if true! There is a deep water outflow in to the Atlantic, because the heavy water flows out in to the deeper sea. The sun shining on the Med evaporates the water, leaving it more salty, which makes it heavier, which makes it sink and pour out in to the deep Atlantic, while lighter, less salty water flows in at the surface to replace it.
I believe that the same process occurs from the Black Sea to the Med, or is my geography faulty?
Whete did you read this fabulous tale Sybarite? I don't believe it, but it would be great if I'm wrong!
30boat
N/A
Check the tides,don't do as I did,I was doing 1 knot over the ground once.
Sybarite
Well-known member
I don't remember the source, but I do remember reading it about 20 or 30 years ago.
capnsensible
Well-known member
Top tip. On the west side of Gibraltar Bay is the headland, Punta Carnero. Best time to be there is 3 to 4 hours after HW Gib. Stay on north side close to shore.
Will be there 1000 local on Monday! The fleshpots of Cadiz beckon.....
Will be there 1000 local on Monday! The fleshpots of Cadiz beckon.....
25931
Well-known member
Don't forget the forecast - the Levanter can make life exciting. If you've never been there you might find the Trafalgar overfalls interesting. If you are lucky you'll have dolphins for company. Good luck and enjoy the trip.
alant
Active member
Don't go if there is a deep low pressure system outside.
Also avoid all the merchant traffic + any submarines which may be entering Med
capnsensible
Well-known member
Weather.
The wind is nearly always east or west in the Straits. The downwind end is generally the windiest.
An east wind makes life simple but a light east at Gib can be a 6 past Tarifa. Reef early.
West wind means a hard nosed beat to Tarifa where it then generally starts to ease.
Its always an adventure!
Weather forecasts on vhf every 2 hours alternating Tarifa and Tangier Traffic. Even hour UTC plus 15 mins, not always on time.
Enjoy.
The wind is nearly always east or west in the Straits. The downwind end is generally the windiest.
An east wind makes life simple but a light east at Gib can be a 6 past Tarifa. Reef early.
West wind means a hard nosed beat to Tarifa where it then generally starts to ease.
Its always an adventure!
Weather forecasts on vhf every 2 hours alternating Tarifa and Tangier Traffic. Even hour UTC plus 15 mins, not always on time.
Enjoy.
Ehecatl
Member
alant
Active member
Which war?
sailorman
Well-known member
wasnt it the differing salinity levels they used
capnsensible
Well-known member
Submarine Captains use the properties of differing salinity in the sea to avoid sonar detection.
All you need to know about WW2 U boats in the Straits here:
http://formontana.net/uboats.html
Dived transit through the Straits? I got the t shirt!!
alant
Active member
Same thing innit?
Heavy higher salinity on way out & freshh lower salinity as 'surface' flow on way in.
jerrytug
N/A
It is in Das Boot if anyone has the paperback. The water flows in to the Med at upper levels, to replace the heavy salt water which is gushing out in to the Atlantic, at very low levels.
I don't know what the actual depths are though,or have a chart handy, I think it's quite deep in the middle of the Strait though.
The Das Boot sub (correct me if my memory is going) tried to enter on the surface, was attacked, then successfully slinked out of the Med by going deep enough to enter the W -going stream.
Captnsensible's link suggests that NO U-boats made it back out of the Med, so the film varies from history on that point.
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sailorman
Well-known member
i have the dvd
jerrytug
N/A
The best nautical war film by far, and it still contains useful pilotage tips for today's yachts!
capnsensible
Well-known member
The submarine in the film didn't make it through. Fab movie though!
Surface water flow in the Straits has a standing current component, with tide adding to or countering the flow relative to HW Gib. In stronger winds a drift current in the direction of that wind becomes temporarily established too.
The rate of evaporation over the Med is roughly twice as much as can be replenished by rivers and rainfall, hence the standing inflow.
As the evaporation occurs, the heavier remainder sinks to the seabed and causes the deep water counterflow.
Regarding tips for yachts, on Monday I will ensure my crew move about silently in their duties and resist the urge for spontaneous Tipperary outbursts....