Mediterranean Transit

The Oceanus left the canal on the 8th to transit across the Mediterranean to Gibraltar.

The transit was excellent. The weather was good , temperatures were cool and fresh, and Jeddah and the canal were further and further behind us with each day.

Time seemed to go by much more quickly during the transit, I think because the days were so similar. I programmed during the days and then read or played guitar at night.  The ship passed by Crete and went through the straits of Sicily. Before I knew it we were skirting along the coast of Algeria.

A chart on the bridge

An island near Sicily

There was quite a lot of traffic in the Med. It seemed like there was always a ship near us. On the bridge radio I heard Italian, Greek, Turkish, and Arabic.

A passing ship near North Africa

Time slowed down for only one day. We were about a day East of Gibraltar and it was stormy. Stormy days always seem to pass slowly. The waves had picked up and horizontal sheets of rain were pounding the ship. It felt and looked like we were in a washing machine. At one point a box of batteries tumbled over. Another meaning to ‘charging batteries?’ I found rogue double-A’s throughout the ship over the next few days.

Rain near North Africa

We were out of the weather by the next morning. I awoke to see the sunrise light up the hills of Spain. We were just a few hours outside of Gibraltar. I could see both Africa and Europe. The rock of Gibraltar lay before us.