OCEAN CRUISING CLUB®
NEWSLETTER
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LA LINEA DE LA CONCEPCION, CADIZ, SPAIN by Kay Finley News
M
March 2026
Eight years since leaving New Zealand, the last four of which have been spent sailing in the Mediterranean, we are now ready to continue our journey home to complete this circumnavigation on our 44ft yacht Mai Tai. Once we leave the Straits of Gibraltar, we will sail to the Canary Islands, then Cape Verde Islands before crossing the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean. To do this safely we need to make sure that all systems on Mai Tai have been checked, repaired or replaced, so we decided to book a berth at Alcaidesa Marina on the south coast of Spain, until we were ready to leave. So, after spending the summer months cruising in the Mediterranean from Malta, via Sicily, the Aeolian Islands, Top: Alcaidesa Marina, Cadiz, Spain.
Sardinia, the Balearic Islands, then down the Spanish coast as far as Aguilas. Aguilas is a delightful fishing port where we stayed on anchor waiting for the weather window to sail the 230 miles to round the Rock of Gibraltar to Algeciras Bay. What a treat that passage was. At daybreak on the third day, while motoring in choppy seas and against a strong easterly current, we got a glimpse of the famous Rock of Gibraltar. It was shrouded in cloud but what an iconic and welcoming sight. We dodged our way through the dozens of boats, large and small, that were anchored in the bay east of Gibraltar, then made our way to the protected anchorage in front of La Linea, dropping our anchor in 4m, on sand, along with half a dozen other yachts. Although we had booked a berth at the Alcaidesa Marina a few weeks before our arrival, we decided to spend four days
CONTENTS 1 LA LINEA DE LA CONCEPTION Kay Finley 4 CHANGING OF THE GUARD Chris Burry 5 OCC/OSASA CRUISERS GET-TOGETHER IN CAPE TOWN John Franklin 6 THE MINI GLOBE RACE COMES TO DURBAN John Franklin 6 2025 REFLECTION Phil & Sarah Tadd 7 SUMMER DOWN-UNDER Viki Moore 8 A NEW CREW MEMBER FOR SONGSTER Camila de Conto 9 OPUA POT-LUCK Nina Kiff
10 MARINE DEBRIS Manuel Marinelli 12 FLYING YOUR OCC BURGEE Anne & Michael Hartshorn 12 MINI GLOBE RACE Brian C Wallace 13 OOSTERSCHELDE MEET UP Albert de Heer 14 DWARF SPERM WHALES Steve Brown 15 LONDON DINNER Gus & Helen Wilson 16 HERE WE GO AGAIN Simon & Kim Forth 17 THE 2025 AWARDS 19 MEMBERSHIP CHANGES & NEW OFFICERS 20 EVENTS, CLUB CONTACTS & DEADLINES