I left Gibralta after having my mainsail altered as the battens kept working lose and the reefing lines kept fraying through due to metal crinkles causing chafe. I bought some frictionless plastic rings which the sail maker fastened to the metal crinkles.
The sail maker recommended these and I must admit they work perfectly with no further frayed reefing Ropes. Sailmaker stitched the end of batten pockets up permanently. I can remove the battens from luff or mast end.
I left Alcaidesa marina La Linea on 19 June 2022. Bound for Cartagena up the southern coast line of Spain around the corner from Cabo de Gata. The bay of Algeciras is crowded with vessels mainly oil tankers awaiting to off load at the oil terminal storage facility.
The sea conditions were lively and there were lots of fast boats moving about which made sorting out the boat on my own tricky.
Coming around into the final section of the straits conditions were very rolly. The seaward face of Gibralta is impressive with its Sheer size and steep slopes in fact there’s a saddle between the two separate hight points of the rock. Certainly impregnable from the sea side.
Overall I had good downwind sail to Cabo di Gata with the Gib poled out for downwind sailing turning to port after I dropped the pole or placed back to the mast the winds were more on a port tack.
I was surprised how mountainous the southern Spanish coastline is especially by Cabo di Gata and in towards Cartagena
Cartagena Harbour is surrounded by high rocks hills even today it has fortification overlooking the entrance. The original occupiers were the Phoenicians. Made famous by Hannibal Barca the son of Hamilcar Barca.
He was one of the greatest general of Antiquity. In the second Punic war Hannibal invaded Sagunto Spain. Sagunto were allied with Rome.
Hannibal invaded Italy by crossing the Alps with North African war elephants. In his first few years in Italy, he won a succession of victories at the Battle of the Trebia, Lake Trasimene, and Cannae, inflicting heavy losses on the Romans.
Hannibal was distinguished for his ability to determine both his and his opponent’s respective strengths and weaknesses, and to plan battles accordingly. His well-planned strategies allowed him to conquer and ally with several Italian cities that were previously allied to Rome.
Hannibal occupied most of southern Italy for 15 years. The Romans, led by Fabius Maximus, avoided heavy confrontation with him, instead waging a war of attrition. Carthaginian defeats in Hispania prevented Hannibal from being reinforced, and he was unable to win a decisive victory.
A counter-invasion of North Africa, led by Roman General Scipio Africanus, forced him to return to Carthage. Hannibal was eventually defeated at the Battle of Zama, ending the war in Roman victory.
There are remains of part of the original Punic wall that protected the city. The Spanish navy still has a presents in Cartagena . I did look around the naval museum and visited few other Roman remains a theatre and villa.
Carthage still has walls around the city and it was well fortified from Barbary pirates of Algeria. They were a scourge until the early 1800’s until the US navy got involved to eradicate these marauders.
The participation of the United States was due to pirates from the Barbary States seizing American merchant ships and holding the crews for ransom, demanding that the United States pay tribute to the Barbary rulers. United States President Thomas Jefferson refused to pay this tribute. Sweden had been at war with the Tripolitans since 1800.
Carthagena is a compact city certainly well worth a visit if you interested in antiquity and Roman remains. Carthage has nice city centre with plenty of fine restaurants. Carthagena have a similar festival as Tarragona which is Spanish coastal city south of Barcelona which has many Roman remains.
