Order of the Rock Strait of Gibraltar Patch

At its narrowest the Strait of Gibraltar is about 14.2 kilometers across, 7.7 nautical miles of water between Europe and Africa, and every ship bound into or out of the Mediterranean has to pass through it. Spain and the British territory of Gibraltar line the north shore. Morocco and the Spanish city of Ceuta hold the south. The Rock rises over the northern side, and the ancients counted it as one of the Pillars of Hercules. Sailors who make the transit call it joining the Order of the Rock, and plenty of ships have printed a certificate to mark it.

The Order of the Rock is a ship's tradition rather than a Navy award, in the same family as the certificates crews collect for a Panama Canal transit. USS Little Rock, the cruiser that served as CL-92 and later as CLG-4, logged Gibraltar transits from 1946 through 1976, and her crews carried home Straits of Gibraltar Transit certificates. The strait is deep water, about 900 meters at the narrows, and the current there runs in layers. Lighter Atlantic water flows east into the Mediterranean on the surface while saltier Mediterranean water slides west underneath it. For a Sixth Fleet sailor the passage means the deployment has started, or that home is finally on the other side.

The patch is a 4 inch round with a black merrowed edge and a gray-green outer ring. "ORDER OF THE ROCK" arcs across the top in white letters and "STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR" runs along the bottom. Inside, the strait is laid out like a chart. Spain sits along the top in the red and gold of its flag with its coat of arms, and Morocco fills the bottom in red with a green star. A three-masted sailing ship flying two red pennants rides the blue water on the left, and the Rock climbs out of the sea on the right.

Plenty of sailors keep the transit certificate long after the cruise book has gone to the attic. The passage is short, but it comes with a view nobody forgets, the Rock off one side and the mountains of Africa off the other. It is also busy water, with ferries running between Spain and Morocco every day and merchant traffic moving through the middle. Taking a warship through that traffic is a real watch for the bridge team and the lookouts. Joining the Order of the Rock is a small thing on paper and a big thing to a crew that has the date in its logbook.

It fits a shadow box with a transit certificate and a cruise book, or a jacket worn to a ship's reunion. It is also a good gift for a shipmate who made the passage with you, or for a son or daughter headed out on a Mediterranean deployment. Measures 4 x 4 inches with a merrowed edge and iron-on backing, and it can also be sewn on.