Mexican Government deny Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. rights to examine 17th Century shipwreck

On the 14th October 1631 the annual fleet of Phillip IV sailed from Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz to Spain. The 19 ships, incluing the Nuestra Senora del Juncal, were transporting a precious cargo collected in the New Spain. The Nuestra Señora del Juncal, capitana of the fleet, had become separated from the other ships due to a broken mainmast. Caught in a Norte (strong northerly wind), the crew attempted to reach the safety of Campeche when the ship was overcome and foundered. She was reputed to have sunk approximately 150 kilometers west of Campeche. Most of the ships were wrecked taking the lives of hundreds of sailors. This accident left a mark on Mexican history as one of the worst tragedies in Mexican waters.

In 1995 Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) began an investigation in Mexican, Cuban and Spanish archives regarding strategic points in colonial navigation systems, named "La Flota de Nueva Espana: Vicisitudes y naufragios 1630-1631". A book, coordinated by ethnohistorian Flor Trejo, was published in 2003 setting out the trials and tribulations of this 17th Century voyage to Spain.

Mexico ratified the U.N.E.S.C.O. Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage 0n the 5th July 2006. The Mexican Government through its National Institute of Anthropology and History clearly wish to enforce the sentiment and regulations of the 2001 Convention which came into force on 2nd January 2009.

Underwater Cultural Heritage is defined in Article 1 of the 2001 Convention as follows:

"all traces of human existence having a cultural, historical or archaeological character which have been partially or totally under water, periodically or continuously, for at least 100 years such as:
(i) sites, structures, buildings, artefacts and human remains, together with their archaeological and natural context;
(ii) vessels, aircraft, other vehicles or any part thereof, their cargo or other contents, together with their archaeological and natural context; and
(iii) objects of prehistoric character.
(b) Pipelines and cables placed on the seabed shall not be considered as underwater cultural heritage.
(c) Installations other than pipelines and cables, placed on the seabed and still in use, shall not be considered as underwater cultural heritage."

In New Mexico on the 18th February, the requests of the North American company Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. to examine a shipwreck near the Mexican coast were finally officially rejected by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), as part of its mission of safeguarding submerged heritage.

Maria Villarreal, INAH Legal Affairs national coordinator, explained that requests presented in 2006 and 2008 to Navy Ministry and Public Education Ministry by Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. were rejected since the beginning. “Presented projects do not fulfill Mexican archaeological research normativity”, she stated.

"Both Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. requests are related to the Nuestra Señora del Juncal Admiral ship, which was part of the New Spain fleet, and wrecked in 1631 in Campeche Sound; this ship has always being target of bounty hunters.

The project sent to the Public Education Ministry by the company based in Tampa, Florida, does not have investigation objectives nor counts with archaeological or academic institutions’ support; and without fulfilling these conditions, it is not possible to authorize it."

Archaeologist Pilar Luna Erreguerena, INAH Submerged Archaeology Sub Direction officer declared that Mexico has international prestige regarding the care of submerged cultural heritage, besides counting on legal instruments to protect it.“Since the 1970’s decade the Institute has denied several national and foreign requests (more than 30) to explore shipwrecks in Mexican waters. These requests pretend to recover important cargo consisting on gold, silver and precious stones for their economic value, arguing it is not historical. This is a misconception”.

The archaeologist went on to state, “A ship is a time machine: all the material is historical and archaeological. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (U.N.E.S.C.O.) Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage defines which goods fall into this category. The Federal Law on Archaeological, Artistic and Historical Monuments and Zones regulates related investigations in Mexico, including those conducted in Mexican waters, up to 200 nautical miles from the coast.

Associated Press have reported INAH's view of the proposal by Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. "is not intended to conduct research and does not have the approval of archaeologists or an academic institution of recognized prestige," the Institute said. Odyssey Marine chairman Greg Stemm said in a statement that "the proposal presented to Mexico for archaeological services is in compliance with the U.N.E.S.C.O. Convention and would keep all cultural artifacts together in a collection."

In concluding, Ms Pilar Luna stated "these rules [U.N.E.S.C.O. Convention 2001] ban commercial use of submerged cultural heritage, preventing negotiations between nations and bounty hunters”. The thrust of the Mexican archaeologist's latter comment is echoed in Article 2 (7) of the 2001 Convention which declares "Underwater cultural heritage shall not be commercially exploited".

This statement is a clear signal to commercial wreck hunters and the unambiguous nature of the INAH and Mexican Government's policy does not dwell or refer to the potential gain involved in the investigation and plundering of such a wreck. Their approach represents one which is in stark contrast to the uncertainty and lack of clarity associated with the recent discovery of the H.M.S. Victory by Odyssey Marine Exploration.

H.M.S. Victory: Discovery of the 18th Century shipwreck - Intrigue surfaces

From a navigation, weather and planning standpoint, any passage made between the Cherbourg peninsula and the northern French Coast will rank among the most interesting any sailor will make. Extreme tides, islands, vast archipelagos of low lying rocks, and swift unforgiving changes in the weather mark this area as one where great caution should be exercised.

The stretch of water and islands surrounding the Casquet rocks is notorious. It is a fact of life that dense fog develops in this region in a most disorientating manner. The modern yacht is equipped with radar, GPS, and a host of instrumentation to aid navigation and the ability to forecast the weather. Despite this, on the water the sense of danger is palpable and inescapable. In such areas you can never relax, and you must rigorously recheck your tidal calculations and your charts as you proceed. Every time the windspeed alters, your speed is effected, and the direction the vessel is travelling in may not be reflected in the compass.

Loss of H.M.S. Victory on the 4th October 1744 by Peter Monamy (1681-1749).

1744 was not a good year for the Royal Navy due to significant losses to the French and "through the stress of weather". On 28th July 1744 H.M.S. Victory, under the command of Admiral Sir John Balchin, left the English Channel to relieve a French blockade of English vessels in the mouth of the Tagus. Once the much needed transports and store-ships were liberated, H.M.S. Victory escorted them onwards securing a safe passage to Gibraltar. The Admiral intending to return to the Channel with his ship encountered a severe storm on the 3rd October parting with other ships in company.

On or about the 4th and 5th October the inhabitants of Alderney, and the people in charge of the Casquet Light reported hearing the thundering boom of H.M.S. Victory's guns, being fired to signal her distress and call for assistance. These calls went unanswered due to the severity of the storm. Estimates of the human loss vary and conservative estimates suggest 1150 men perished leaving no survivors and wreckage from the ship washed up on shores throughout the Channel Islands over the following days. On 19th October the Daily Advertiser published a letter of a Guernsey merchant named Nicholas Dobree reporting the following:

"This last week there has been... Pieces of Wreck found upon our Coast; among others, two Topmasts, one 74, the other 64 Feet Long, mar'd in white lead VICT; and also a Topsail -Yard, 64 Feet long, mark'd also in white lead Victy, upon the head of the Naile to the Masts and Yard is the Arrow; to that we greatly fear the Victory has been lost upon our Coasts"

The H.M.S. Victory was reported generally as not handling very well and had been damaged in a storm within the previous year. In the October storm she lost at least two of her topmasts and sustained other significant damage to spars, which would have restricted her ability to maneuver in these conditions. This type of damage would not necessarily mean she was going to sink with the loss of all hands on board unless there were a number of other factors involved. The storm conditions would add further to the confusion and chaos on board because it must have been impossible to pinpoint the ships position given the navigational aids available at the time.

The H.M.S. Victory that sank in October 1744 predates the ship of the same name now permanently dry docked in Portsmouth Naval Dockyard. She was launched on 23rd February 1737, after having spent a very long period of 11 years on the stocks. The construction may have suffered from a combination of poor funding, poor supplies, and indecision. It has been suggested that her design was completed in compliance with the 1733 Navy Board proposals, and when launched was one of the largest warships of her day being armed with 100 bronze guns. The 1733 proposals attempted to update the design of new ships to be constructed for the Royal Navy. In essence, the breadth of the ships was increased and holds were made deeper in an attempt to keep in step with new developments in French naval architecture, brought about under the supervision of Jean-Frederique Phelypeaux, Comte de Maurepas.

In an intriguing twist, the Comte de Maurepas had placed shipwrights in a number of the naval dockyards in an attempt to spy on work, design and construction methods in the English dockyards. This appears to have occurred more frequently than one would anticipate at this period but that is another story! One such shipwright, Blaise Ollivier, who in time became Master Shipwright to the King and worked in the French Dockyard at Brest, had an opportunity to examine the Victory in 1737 and reported as follows:

"The ship of 100 guns called Victory which they are building in one of the dry-docks at Portsmouth, has the same length, the same breadth, and the same depth in the hold as the Royal Sovereign. She has 14 ports on either side of the gundeck, 15 ports on either side of middle deck and on the upper deck, 3 on the forecastle, 7 on the quarterdeck and 2 on the poop... The midship bend of this ship is rounded; her floors are full and have a fair run; she has a great fullness at her height of breadth; her capacity is very great, yet her upper works are scarce suitable for her lower body, for she is deep waisted with much sheer."

On the 29th May 2008, Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. in an effort to protect its legal interests filed papers relating to two wrecks in the English Channel. The papers related to an Admiralty Arrest Complaints filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida and inter alia they state that the wreck is outside of territorial waters and seek exclusive salvage rights. On the 2nd February at a press conference in London, Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. released a more detailed report on a wreck they identified as H.M.S. Victory. This report detailed finds, the ships construction, and history of the wreck site. The wreck is reported to be in 330 feet of water, 62 miles from the Casquet rocks in an area which is heavily fished, a factor cited for the deterioration of the wreck site. The report also goes on to speculate and investigate the possibility of gold bullion, silver and other precious objects at the site. These are primarily based upon the engagements and duties undertaken by H.M.S. Victory in the three months prior to its loss.

Mr Greg Stemm, CEO of Odyssey Marine Exploration was reported in the Telegraph to say: "The money is not as important as the cultural and historical significance of the discovery. It is a monumental event, not only for Odyssey but for the world. It is probably the most significant shipwreck find to date. HMS Victory was the mightiest vessel of the 18th century and the eclectic mix of guns we found on the site will prove essential in further refining our understanding of naval weaponry used during the era."

Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. stated they were negotiating with the British Government to establish some basis for collaboration in the project. Separately, the British Ministry of Defence were reported to state "Assuming the wreck is indeed that of a British warship, her remains are sovereign immune... This means that no intrusive action may be taken without the express consent of the United Kingdom". The Ministry of Defence statement may not be up to date, because Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. has released further information by way of a press release announcing a partnership agreement has been put in place for the H.M.S. Sussex, and a similar agreement has been put in place for the H.M.S. Victory. This appears to be either confirmed or referred to on the 3rd February, when the Telegraph reported that a deal has been struck between the Ministry of Defence and Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. Despite the public announcements by both sides, the fact remains two bronze cannon have been raised to date [a 12 pounder and a 42 pounder] and this strongly suggests permissions have been obtained and negotiations have been ongoing for some time.

A bronze cannon bearing the crest of George I - Photo: Associated Press

There is obviously some history between the parties, and precedent to these discussions. Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. has had similar negotiations with the British government in connection with the wreck of H.M.S. Sussex, which sank near Gibraltar in 1694. The agreement concerning the H.M.S. Sussex negotiations is the subject of an official objection by Spain, which involves a dispute over the source of a significant amount of coin on board.

The Spanish government and Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. have met before, and their representatives continue to meet on a regular basis at a Court house in Tampa, Florida.
Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. identified the site of a wreck they called "Black Swan" in or about May 2007, then raised and exported the cargo to an undisclosed location in Florida. Odyssey claimed the identity and nationality of the ship has not yet been determined. Meanwhile, the gold and silver coin recovered was reported to have a value of $500M. Spain argues this ship was actually the Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, a Spanish navy frigate which sank in 1804 and claim that that the wreck was never abandoned. In August 2008, Peru also filed papers arguing for a claim on the valuable haul. This probably relates to the origin of the coins among the hoard, identified as pieces of eight minted in Peru in 1803; the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes left the port of El Callao near Lima in April 1804.

The identity of the ship and principle of "abandonment" are key to the matter disputed in the Florida Court and all ship wrecks. The law of abandonment is behind the right, title, or ownership of sovereign property and the concept that it is not lost to a government due to the passage of time, or by neglect or inaction, and applies to wrecks lost in territorial, foreign and international waters. The principle is preserved in American Law, the English Common Law and Articles 95 and 96 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982). Article 95 states, "Warships on the high seas have complete immunity from the jurisdiction of any state other than the flag states," and Article 96 continues, "Ships owned or operated by a state and used only on government noncommercial service shall, on the high seas have complete immunity from the jurisdiction of any state other than the flag state."

Hence, if the Florida Court finds that Spain and/or Peru have title to the wreck, and did not abandon the wreck, the proceeds of the artifacts recovered from the wreck called "Black Swan" will be returned to the rightful flag state(s), and not distributed under the International Convention on Salvage (1989) yielding the salvors up to 90% of the proceeds.

Much debate has taken place in recent years arising from the right of a sovereign state to claim a shipwreck. This debate has been applied to a framework in recent years by UNESCO's adoption of the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Heritage (2001) which came into force on the 2nd January 2009. This Convention is based on four main principles: the obligation to preserve underwater cultural heritage; in situ preservation, i.e. underwater, as a preferred option; no commercial exploitation of this heritage; and cooperation among States to protect this precious legacy, to promote training in underwater archeology, and to raise public awareness of the importance of sunken cultural property. The Convention does not arbitrate ownership claims nor prejudice the jurisdiction or sovereignty of States. The Convention’s Annex establishes rules for activities directed at underwater sites and these rules are widely recognized by archaeologists.

To date 20 States have ratified the treaty including Spain. Notably the United States Government and British Government do not appear on the list of States, however the British Government expressed an interest in ratifying the treaty as far back as 2005. The United States Government has strict laws dealing with the treatment of its Navy's shipwrecks, preservation of the sites, and treatment of the sites as war graves. As a matter of policy, the United States Government does not grant permission to salvage sunken warships that contain the remains of deceased servicemen. One cannot but feel that the passage of time has removed some of the reverence that should be applied to the H.M.S. Victory site. In comparison, today we still shiver at the thought of the loss of a liner on her maiden voyage, which sank in the north Atlantic on the 14th April 1912. The intrusion of remote controlled equipment on that wreck site and the removal of artifacts did spark a controversy at the time, but we were seduced by the images and artifacts of a lost world which returned to the surface.

The Telegraph reports Mike Williams, an expert on maritime law at the University of Wolverhampton and secretary of the Nautical Archaeology Society, is among those who have deep concerns about an unregulated industry trawling the oceans for hidden riches. He stated as follows:

"There are some horrendous examples of commercial archaeological salvage companies destroying valuable finds because they are driven by a commercial imperative... Perhaps the most notorious involved a Chinese wreck with a cargo of Ming pottery in south-east Asia. The salvage company discovered a complete packing case full of china, which was covered with Chinese symbols and would have been invaluable to any historian studying the period. But the diver who found it simply jemmied it open with a crowbar to get to the pottery inside, and the crate was fragmented and disappeared on the current."

The discussion of a possible fortune in silver and gold lying at the wreck site appears to be the primary motive for the investigation of the H.M.S. Victory site; the investigation and excavation of a Georgian ship a lesser one. Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. argue that it is unlikely the British Government could undertake such an investigation due to the cost involved and as a result they are best placed and have the expertise to carry out the work.

Carrying out an archaeological survey and investigation of a site necessitates its destruction and the removal of artifacts. It is difficult to reconcile the desire of the British Government, (whose predecessors excavated and raised the Mary Rose in an open and ethical manner), to sign up to the UNESCO Convention and at the same time enter into contracts with a publicly quoted commercial company, which can do little to disguise it's chequered history. One can only hope that whatever happens, the job will be carried out in a correct and ethical manner. The coming months will no doubt open up this debate further, because it is difficult to cover up the hypocrisy, double standards, and the flagrantly cheap attitude of cashing in on cultural heritage involved.

Four safe Mediterranean ports; June, July August and Mahon

Fenix reaching at 11 knots boat speed in 22 knots wind towards Menorca

Having caught my flight from Rome to Sardinia, I was collected at Olbia by Jonna, the Swedish chef, and ferried up to Porto Cervo. During the Summer months this glamorous village on the north east corner of Sardinia is full of fashionable and wealthy tourists. However, during early November it is all but deserted. Even the port, and the nearby Cala de Volpe, were practically empty; all the big yachts and motor yachts having moved on to winter elsewhere.

We set out early in morning departing Porto Cervo and making our way up through the islands emerging out into the Straits of Bonafacio. For the remainder of the day, with Corsica not too distant on our starboard side we sailed west towards Isola Asinara, passing this the furthest north western point of Sardinia just after midnight.

After sunrise the wind began to build again and swing around into the north west. This certainly made the passage quicker but the sea was beginning to become lumpy. The forecast was also changing rapidly and the detailed projected forecasts left us with a bit of a dilemma, as we were due to meet a strong south westerly wind around midnight. The wind was forecasted to rise to 35 knots, and this would have made our passage from Menorca to Mallorca very uncomfortable and the added possibility of damage would have been unavoidable.

A view of Mahon approaching Pinto Island

We quickly scanned the charts for a safe haven and decided to make our way to the port of Mahon on the south east corner of Menorca. I had learned about Mahon and the historical significance of this safe natural harbour during the 18th and 19th centuries over the years, but had never actually entered the harbour or landed on Menorca. In the last few years I had been reading the Aubrey Maturin series of novels written by Patrick O'Brian, and had often wondered what the port was like; the Balearic islands and in particular Mahon feature in a number of the novels. It has been difficult to visualise this port and its unique ability to have a large number of line of battle ships and smaller vessels at anchor.

Pinto island and part of the naval dockyard in port Mahon

The house where Admiral Lord Collingwood based himself following the battle of Trafalgar

We arrived at the entrance to Mahon around midnight. The dark menacing shores did not seem as close as they actually were, but the entrance lights were well positioned and we easily worked our way into the narrow port, which is almost three nautical miles long. We passed a number of small bays before passing Quarantine Island on our starboard side, and shortly after we were at anchor. The night and next day proved to be as windy as forecasted and Fenix swung around as the gusts met her after descending the cliff and accelerating along the water. Outside the narrow entrance to the port the agitated sea was crashing against the rocks and we knew we had made the right decision.

A view across the terracing to the old town of Mahon

A day ashore meant that I could explore and wander about the town, which is situated at the top of the port on an escarpment that runs along the full length of the harbour. From the modern ferry terminal, Mahon can still be accessed by the pigtail steps. A narrow network of streets linking small squares are a feature of the town as are the distinctive English sash windows. Some of the largest buildings in the town are of course the churches and they dominate the squares and punctuate the skyline.

A distinctive door knocker in the old town of Mahon

local confectionery

The fish market at the top of the pigtail steps built in 1927

Unfortunately the fish market was not open in the time we were in Mahon and it would have been interesting to get into this purpose built market and view the local catch. Given the weather there was not going to be much of a catch to view so we contented ourselves with peering in through the gates.

The English took possession of Port Mahon in the early 18th century and thereby obtained one of the most sought after harbours in the entire Mediterranean. From this safe haven the Royal Navy could hold up, reprovision, and manage blockades and attacks throughout the Mediterranean. Admiral Lord Collingwood assumed the leadership of the Mediterranean fleet upon the death of Nelson at the battle of Trafalgar and remained in the Mediterranean, was based at Mahon until his departure on the Ville de Paris on the 3rd March 1810. Shortly after leaving Mahon he died at sea.

Under British control an extensive complex of dockyards and wharfs were built which still exist today. Fortifications were strenghtened at the entrance of Port Mahon; the construction of a series of five martello towers protecting the entrance, along with other defences on either shore just inside the entrance, made the port impregnable rendering a naval attack on Mahon virtually impossible.

Martello towers at the entrance of the port of Mahon

We were due in Palma da Mallorca on the 5th for works to be caried out in the modern and busy yard there. On the morning of the 3rd November we slowly worked out way out of Port Mahon passing the Isabella fortress and martello towers as we went. By sunset we were approaching Isla de L'Aire and thunder storms illuminated black clouds on the horizon. Rain was not far off and a number of showers came and went through the night as we approached the east coast of Mallorca.

Lighthouse on Isla de L'Aire just after sunset

Port Mahon was an invaluable port to the English during the Napoleonic period and quickly earned the the popular praise that there were only four safe ports in the Mediterranean; June, July, August and Mahon. Without doubt we were very happy to exploit the sheltered anchorage just below Collingwood's House, where the Ville de Paris was anchored once upon a time.

18th June - Toulon

Arriving at Toulon by sea is for me almost akin to sailing through a history lesson. You enter the outer bay or Rade, and then proceed northwestwards passing between the defencive walls and towers before entering the inner harbour. The city gradually comes into view and opens up seated on the shore below Mount Faron. I last visited Toulon in 1990, and to be honest I did not explore the town much then but what I saw of it then had not changed greatly in the interim. There are not many places that you can say that about, and certainly coastal towns nearby have been developed and enhanced greatly over the same period, but unfortunately Toulon has escaped this attention.

The port and town was very well fortified over the centuries, primarily due to its significance as a naval base, having an arsenal and dockyard since 1599; these fortifications pay testament to a great maritime and military past. Significantly, it was the location of Napoleon Bonaparte's first victory, where he strategically breached the defences compelling the withdrawal from the bay of the combined British and Spanish fleets, and in turn dislodging the 13,000 British, Spanish and Neapolitan occupying force.

There is a great daily street market in Toulon, which was a great source of fresh seasonal and local produce. Smells of freshly cut watermelon and vine peaches sweetened the warm air and enriched vast selection of fruit and vegetables available on the colourful stalls.

The day was spent washing and cleaning in an attempt to thoroughly clean off the grime and salt that had collected on Fenix over the previous weeks. Some time was also spent hatching a plan for the next few days, because I wanted to make some time for a little exploration before my return to Dublin. Before leaving on the trip, I had intended visiting Arles and Nimes because of their proximity to Port Camargue, and still now wanted to see the Roman sites in these towns despite my current location.

10th & 11th June - Cabo da Gato and onwards

I was on deck just before 2 a.m. and Fenix was sailing along under full main and a single reef in the headsail. Malaga was clearly in view to the North. We were beating to windward in 15 knots of wind and the barometer was stable again at 1019 millibars, but our course was gradually taking us away from our destination or waypoint. This situation did not last long and the wind dropped off again whereby we were back under engine and full main by 5.15 a.m.

The outline of high mountains were visible prior to dawn this morning and by the afternoon they were graduallly replaced by more gentle slopes intensively farmed judging by the acres of polythene covering the land as we approached Punta de Sabrinal.

There were also reports and chatter aboard of fish striking our line this morning at about 9 a.m. However, just after noon and as we crossed the Banco el Seco de los Olivos, a seamount where the sea rises quite steeply from 500 meters to 72 meters another fish hit the line, causing a lot of line to run out. At this time of year the bonito and tuna are running into the Mediterranean and given our average speed of 8 knots, only the bigger and fast fish were going to be capable of taking our lure. We had a tactical change of fishing line in Gibraltar and were now using an immensely strong man made vectran fibre; there was a general reluctance to touch the rod and line for fear a finger might get snagged and lost! In any event we were slow throttling down and the fish made away with our valuable and "best" lure.


Despite persistent attempts to catch fish, which included having two lines out the back almost 24 hours a day and using an assortment of lines and lures, there was an ominous feeling developing aboard that we would not land a catch on the trip. So much so, the odd wager was being made and as the barren hours and miles passed the beliefs became stronger because not even the trusty wayward, and smelly, flying fish was to be found stranded on deck. I add the above image because at around this time I found a few small fry on the deck early in the morning and they indeed turned out to be the only species landed.



After passing the Golfo de Almeria and rounding Cabo da Gato the coastline changes dramatically. Most notably it is quite sparsely populated with little or no development for miles and from the shores the land rose again steeply to pointed hilltops with ranges of mountains behind them. This portion of the south eastern coast, despite its distant and difficult terrain, is quite distinctive for its system of hilltop forts or lookout towers located intermittently along the coast just within sight of each other. A closer inspection of the the charts on board confirmed this and the extent of the fort system as it extended northwards towards Barcelona.


Similar structures that would be familiar are the Napoleonic Martello towers along the coastlines of Ireland, England, and the Channel Islands. While taller and narrower in form the Spanish hilltop towers were probably used for a similar purpose. The Royal Naval vessels certainly targeted the Spanish coastline for a period during the early 19th century, but the necessity of these forts probably arose in reaction to a more persistent and long term threat; the Barbary Pirates raided this coastline sacking villages and enslaving the people from the 17th to the early 19th century
causing havoc, and these towers would have served well as an early warning system against such seaborn attacks.

Light winds and calm seas dominated Wednesday 11th June as our passage took us north eastwards towards Cabo de la Nao, passing Cartagena and the Murcian shore, and later past Alicante and the Costa Blanca. We rounded Cabo de la Nao under engine and full main in the evening around sunset knowing that by sunrise we would be somewhere due east of Valencia and closing in on the Catalan city of Barcelona.

9th June - Gibraltar

Gibraltar has been a British dominion since 1713 when it was ceded by Spain to England in the Treaty of Utrecht. Its important strategic, and desirable, position has led Gibraltar to having many masters down through history and was most notably controlled by the Moors for up to 750 years. Today Gibraltar remains a stronghold of sorts and is primarily an army and naval base. Its duty free status attracts many day trippers from the Spanish costas with reported cheap purchases. Unfortunately this latter highly visible trait dilutes the rich historical character of Gibraltar. Modern high rise housing developments dominate some areas of the Rock and traffic congestion is commonplace.

What seems to have suffered most is the history of the Rock, and while there is much evidence of the current military and naval use, very little of the underlying history and the neglected but proudly named bastions and ramparts, unfortunately lack significance and are lost among the high streets and modern featureless developments. It appears that Gibraltar, probably for the purpose of financial survival, has made a choice and only time will tell whether the Rock will be a better place in the future.

There are still places of interest to be found and the Trafalgar cemetery is noted as the last resting place for two victims of the engagement at Trafalgar. The tombstones pay testament to Gibraltar as a military and naval stronghold and many inscriptions record the battles in which the deceased were wounded, and the ships they served in.


Another location of interest are the botanic gardens where bronze cannon, statues of historical Gibraltarians, and exotic plant life are mixed with interesting results. I had an ulterior motive for visiting the gardens as my nose and face were quite raw from the sun, salt and wind from the day before. Among the many beautiful flowerbeds, shrubs and trees was a large quantity of aloe vera and pealing back the skin of a leaf reveals a gel like centre, which is a great restorative for weathered skin.




There was a larger queue for the cable car to the top of the Rock and we debated walking to the top. Unfortunately, time was not on our side because we needed to refuel and get some fresh provisions, so we contented ourselves with a walk around the town and the sight of many toy Barbary Macaque monkeys being sold to tourists on the high street.

Europe had been in the grip of a transport strike over the past few days and we were to find that fresh food was only beginning to arrive into Gibraltar. The large supermarket was obviously short of stock but the food market had just received its delivery and I purchased a wooden crate of fresh Spanish strawberries, peppers and some swordfish. With everything stowed we departed the marina and proceeded to the fuel berth which is beside the runway for Gibraltar airport. Again the transport strike had an effect here and fuel would not be available for another two days. With enough fuel to get to Barcelona we decided to set off again.

Departing Gibraltar you are required to pass Point Europa and its lighthouse reaching out into the Mediterranean. Modern development is spreading its way down to the point and spoiling some magnificent vantage points. The Macaque monkeys must gaze down at their fellow inhabitants and the occupied areas below them in mixture of amazement and amusement, but are unfortunately confined to and contented with stealing from tourists. Despite this, Gibraltar had one last and unexpected surprise for me, and as we passed Point Europa in glorious sunshine, clearly audible from a mosque set just in behind the lighthouse was the call to prayer. It echoed out along the narrow tip of land and over the water to Fenix as she passed by.


With a slight breeze we ate down below savouring the swordfish followed by the fresh Spanish strawberries with creme caramel as we motored away from the Rock on a course of 76 set for Cabo de Gata and Almeria. We were quickly chased and surrounded by dolphin and a stream of ships made their way down our starboard side and later during the night ships were visible inside our line making for the port of Malaga. The Spanish coast would remain a source of interest on our port side for the next few days as we made our way to Barcelona.