Atlantic Crossing 4 of 4 - Lagos to Gibraltar, the Mediterranean, & Rome!

Part four of the story of our crossing of the North Atlantic Ocean and the Western Mediterranean on our 37 foot sailboat, Windrush. In this episode, we sail 1,200 nautical miles from Lagos, Portugal, via Spain and France to our destination -- Rome. We begin along the notorious "orca coast" of Spain, hugging the 20m depth contour to avoid orca encounters, to the ancient Phoenician port city of Cádiz, Andalucía, where we discover and repair a major mechanical problem. We press on to Gibraltar, the end of the ancient world, where we meet up with our new Mediterranean crew mates, Mark and Pam, and discover and repair a leak before getting back underway to Cartagena, an ancient Carthaginian city on the coast of Murcia. We then head offshore to the Balearic Islands, first stopping at Formentera, then Isla Cabrera, briefly touching Mallorca, and finally Menorca, where we pause in the protected harbor of Ciutadella. We make the offshore passage to the stunning natural harbor of Bonifacio, a city on the French island Corsica built on cliffs surrounded by water on three sides, before a final overnight crossing to Rome. In all, we have come more than 5,300 nautical miles from Annapolis over two months, spent 40 nights and 49 days at sea, made lifelong friends with our crew, and will always treasure the memories of this family adventure.