A BUSY WEEK AND A NOISY SEND-OFF

As ever, Departure Week has been a busy one, with yacht crews completing last-minute preparations and final briefings and a social programme. 

The Governor's Reception

A major highlight of Departure Week was the Reception given by the Governor, Sir Francis and Lady Richards at The Convent.  For many years the official Residence of the Governor of Gibraltar, the Convent is a beautiful historic building in the centre of Gibraltar.  Owners and their crews enjoyed cocktails in the impressive surroundings of the ballroom and had the opportunity to discuss the voyage not only with their host and hostess, but with other members of the Gibraltar community.  The next day the Rally was able to reciprocate with a visit by the Governor and Lady Richards to Gipsy Moth at Marina Bay.

Over and Under the Rock!

The Departure Week has also seen a number of tourism outings with a day trip to Ronda and its famous bullring and local trips around the Rock and plenty of photo opportunities with the other local residents - the Apes. There was also the chance for a second group of intrepid Ralliers to visit the Lower Caves and explore the subterranean world under the Rock itself.  We were delighted to be given a set of photographs by the Jahren family of "Blackbird", which we put here on the site.

For the unadventurous the early evening was spent at Albor's enjoying a wine-tasting as a prelude to placing duty-free orders and purchasing excellent Spanish wines.  

Thanks to Christoph Rassy

On Wednesday Rally crews and the Support Team were welcomed by Christoph and Mai Rassy and their crew to a splendid buffet supper at Bianca's Restaurant.  There was an opportunity for crews to sit down together and to enjoy each other's company as a prelude to many such evenings to come.  There was even "live entertainment" when Hans, newly arrived crew member on Christoph's yacht "Bamsen", serenaded us with his special version of "My Way"!

A fantastic evening was had by all - thanks you so much, Christoph and Mai.

A Raffle for the Rally Charity

During the preceding 10 days Christine Diment had been selling tickets for the 2005-7 Rally Charity - the fisherman of Galle in Sri Lanka, which had been so badly hit by the tsunami on 28 December.  Thanks to the generosity of many local traders many wonderful prizes were won in the draw held during Christoph's party and a substantial sum of money was collected for the charity fund. 

The Government Reception

Always the highlight of a Blue Water Rally at Gibraltar is the Government Reception hosted by the Minister of Tourism, The Honorable Joe Holliday.  It was held at The Mount, a beautiful colonial-style building high up on The Rock overlooking Gibraltar Bay and the Bay of Algeciras.  Crews were presented with a souvenir book marking the tercentenary of British Gibraltar and there were special gifts for the 3 Coulson children of "Clarabella".  They were delighted to receive toy apes, although their parents, Gerard and Monica, were slightly apprehensive about the realistic screeches that these produced and the prospect of some sleepless nights! 

The Stephen Thomas Sailing Bursary and the Youth of Gibraltar

The Government Reception provided the opportunity for the Minister to announce that a crew place on Gipsy Moth IV will be given to a deserving young person during the Blue Water Rally.  The crew place will be funded by the Stephen Thomas Sailing Bursary, created to commemorate the life of Stephen Thomas, a founder Director of Blue Water Rallies, who sailed on the original Rally from Gibraltar to Gibraltar 1995-7.

Stephen made the first public donation to the restoration of Gipsy Moth, but tragically was killed a few weeks later during an Antarctic cruise on his own yacht.  A central aim of the Gipsy Moth circumnavigation with the Blue Water Rally is to provide the opportunity for young people to sail on her during her second voyage around the world.  For those young people it is a chance for them to sail on a unique part of our maritime heritage and to meet local peoples and learn more about our planet.

The Blue Water Rally is the sixth such event to leave Gibraltar and it is ten years since the first one that started here in 1995.  The directors of Blue Water Rallies and trustees of the Sailing Bursary feel that it would be particularly appropriate to mark this anniversary by offering a place to a young Gibraltarian - probably on the leg from Cairns to Darwin in Australia in September 2006.

In his announcement the Minister said, "I am sure that many of our youngsters will be keen to secure this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sail in one of the 20th century's most famous sailing carft.  Gibraltar has always had a long tradition of sea-based activity and this announcement is a recognition of this.  I hope that applications will be received from a wide range of young people."

Mount Gay Rum and a Gipsy Moth "Red Hat Party"

After a long day of final preparations crews were delighted to wind down as the guests of the Gipsy Moth and UKSA Project Team at a Mount Gay Red Hat Party at the Royal Gibraltar Yacht Club.  Bowls of rum punch and a fantastic range of tapas made the party go with a swing to the background sounds of Caribbean music.  CEO of the UKSA, David Green, hosted the event in person and introduced the regional representative of Mount Gay thanking them for their generosity.  Some presentations were made in Very Special liquid form and the partying went on till LATE.....

The Last Day before we leave...

Normally there is an embargo on partying on the last day.  However, everyone is delighted to be the guests of GH Insurance, who have provided insurance cover for so many of the yachts and their crew members.  Robert Stevens, a director of GH, is hosting a cocktail party at Marina Bay as the sun sets and a local band provides background music.

A Noisy Send-off

Our next report will be written after Departure Day, Sunday 30th October.  The "weather gods" are promising very reasonable conditions and light winds later from a northerly direction sending the yachts on their way to Tenerife.  There'll be plenty of pyrotechnics and noise at Europa Point at 10 o'clock........

On Saturday 22nd October 22 yachts set sail from Gibraltar in a gentle Force 3 westerly breeze and a flat sea. As the rally yachts reached across the Straits of Gibraltar, it proved to be ideal conditions for a shake-down cruise and testing all the SSB radios prior to the departure for Teneriffe on Sunday 30th October.

Once everyone had checked in to Marina Smir, it was a short coach journey to Tetuan where there was an opportunity to wander through the souk and experience all the different aromas and colours of the fruit and vegetables on sale. This was followed by a demonstration in the famous carpet "hall" and an chance for some of the ralliers to purchase rugs and carpets. After this, there was a visit to the tannery and a spice and herb shop with an introduction to some of the benefits and healing qualities of these different powders and ointments and, once again, a chance to purchase some.

The day was rounded off by a meal in a Moroccan restaurant with traditional kebabs and cous-cous. A fire-dancer displayed his skills and was very willing to perform for the cameras. On Sunday the fleet of yachts returned to Gibraltar with a spanking sail in a westerly force 5, enabling a fast reach back to Marina Bay in time for sun-downers. It was a most successful week-end with the opportunity for the rally yachts to sail together for the first time and to get to know each other in relaxed circumstances.