As we shade ourselves in the cockpit with very little wind here. I have had a quick look at the UK Met office and all English Channel areas have sever gale warnings of Storm 11. Makes me glad we aren't back in Blighty and fretting about here either dragging her mooring or blowing over ashore.
Here is an extract from the Met Office Shipping forecast
Thames, Dover
Southwest gale 8 to storm 10, increasing violent storm 11, perhaps hurricane force 12 later. Rough or very rough, becoming very rough or high later. Thundery showers, then rain. Good, becoming poor
Wight, Portland, Plymouth
Southwest 7 to severe gale 9, increasing viloent storm 11, perhaps hurricane force 12 later. Rough or very rough, becoming high. Thundery showers, then rain. Good, becoming poor
Meanwhile:
-AGUAS COSTERAS DE TENERIFE Y LA GOMERA:
NORTE FUERZA 5 AL NORTE Y OESTE DE LA GOMERA, 4 A 5 EL RESTO
SIENDO VARIABLE 3 A 4 AL SUR DE TENERIFE DESDE POR LA MANANA.
MAREJADA A FUERTE MAREJADA AL NORTE Y OESTE DE LA GOMERA Y
NOROESTE Y SURESTE DE TENERIFE, MAREJADA EL RESTO SIENDO MAREJADA
A MAREJADILLA AL SUR DE TENERIFE. MAR DE FONDO DEL NOROESTE DE 1 A
2 METROS. AGUACEROS. REGULAR A BUENA.
This translates as:
-COASTAL WATERS FOR TENERIFE AND LA GOMERA
NORTH FORCE 5 TO THE NORTH AND WEST OF LA GOMERA, 4 TO 5 IN THE REST BEING VARIABLE 3 OR 4 TO THE SOUTH OF TENERIFE FROM THE MORNING.
MODERATE TO ROUGH TO THE NORTH AND WEST OF LA GOMERA AND NORTH WEST AND SOUTHEAST OF TENERIFE. MODERATE IN THE REST BECOMING MODERATE TO SLIGHT TO THE SOUTH OF TENERIF. GROUND SWELL FROM THE NORTH WEST OF 1 TO 2 METERS. SHOWERS. MODERATE OR GOOD.
I should imagine that the ground swell will increase once the swell from the depression that is giving the UK it's wild weather finds it's way down here.
All very nerdy I know but it is interesting to compare different areas.
Sunday 27 October 2013
Saturday 26 October 2013
Visit to Darsena Pesquera
The tiller head fitting has been successfully fitted as per previous post but there was some play in the tiller owing to the new fitting being a bit narrower than the old one. I think that our cast aluminium tiller base fitting it non standard. The solution is, thankfully, quite simple and involves inserting a couple of washers inside. We therefore took ourselves to Santa Cruz and the chandlers there.
The bus ride was quite pleasant even though it was only along the main TF1 autopista from Los Cristianos. I quite enjoyed not driving. There is quite a good chandler with branches in Santa Cruz itself and also at the boatyard in the Darsena Pesquera to the north of the city. The city center branch didn't have 12mm washers so we had our sandwiches and set out to walk to the boatyard. It is actually a very long walk there and we were distinctly tired. In actuality, the head of the Darsena is right out past all the Santa Cruz port complex at a town called San Andres. Needless to say, we found and caught a bus back! At least we managed to get the washers. Nearly €40 euros on the bus to spend 60c on washers though!
We did like seeing Santa Cruz again though and one day would really like to stay in the marina in the city center. I took a couple of pictures.
This rather gray view south from the northern end of the main harbour complex:
And one of the most distinctive buildings in Santa Cruz. It looks a bit like some Dr Who monster.
The bus ride was quite pleasant even though it was only along the main TF1 autopista from Los Cristianos. I quite enjoyed not driving. There is quite a good chandler with branches in Santa Cruz itself and also at the boatyard in the Darsena Pesquera to the north of the city. The city center branch didn't have 12mm washers so we had our sandwiches and set out to walk to the boatyard. It is actually a very long walk there and we were distinctly tired. In actuality, the head of the Darsena is right out past all the Santa Cruz port complex at a town called San Andres. Needless to say, we found and caught a bus back! At least we managed to get the washers. Nearly €40 euros on the bus to spend 60c on washers though!
We did like seeing Santa Cruz again though and one day would really like to stay in the marina in the city center. I took a couple of pictures.
This rather gray view south from the northern end of the main harbour complex:
And one of the most distinctive buildings in Santa Cruz. It looks a bit like some Dr Who monster.
Tuesday 22 October 2013
Sunrise on El Teide
After our visit to Teide, Audrey and I determined to see the sunrise there. We duly set the alarm clock for six though this is very foreign to our policy when we aren't on passage. I enjoyed the drive up in the dark though dawn was breaking as we got ever higher creating a sense of time pressure. We parked at the base of the cable car and watched the sky in the east getting ever lighter until the sun popped up over the ridge. Although it was bitterly cold, the effort was definitely worth it. We also felt very smug as we drove back down and saw all the tourist coaches heading up after the really dramatic event we had witnessed!
Just before it came over the mountain:
First sight of the sun:
Coming up:
The moon was still there and just past the full:
Some of the rock formations look fantastic in the early morning light:
After that, we had a more mundane task of stocking up. There is a big supermarket half way between here and the airport so we took advantage of the car to load up with tins for the voyage south. Such food will be much more expensive and difficult to obtain once we leave the Canaries so we will be loading poor old Sarah Giddings to the limit with food. We are told that the produce market at San Sebastian de La Gomera is the best place for fresh food immediately before departure.
Perhaps one of the more surreal experiences we have had recently was finding an Iceland near the Mercadonna. Audrey has been wanting to get tinned meat such as corned beef but has not had much luck recently - in particular, Mercadonna did not have any. We therefore pounced on the Iceland. It was identical to what you would find in the UK, apart from the price though which was extortionate. We didn't fancy paying €4 for a can of corned beef but did spend €16 on some Encona chilli sauce and Reggae Reggae BBQ sauce. That should last us to the Caribbean where we can get the real thing and jerk chicken cooked on the beach! Unsurprisingly, we were able to resist buying the Hob Nobs, marmalade and marmite.
Just before it came over the mountain:
First sight of the sun:
Coming up:
The moon was still there and just past the full:
Some of the rock formations look fantastic in the early morning light:
After that, we had a more mundane task of stocking up. There is a big supermarket half way between here and the airport so we took advantage of the car to load up with tins for the voyage south. Such food will be much more expensive and difficult to obtain once we leave the Canaries so we will be loading poor old Sarah Giddings to the limit with food. We are told that the produce market at San Sebastian de La Gomera is the best place for fresh food immediately before departure.
Perhaps one of the more surreal experiences we have had recently was finding an Iceland near the Mercadonna. Audrey has been wanting to get tinned meat such as corned beef but has not had much luck recently - in particular, Mercadonna did not have any. We therefore pounced on the Iceland. It was identical to what you would find in the UK, apart from the price though which was extortionate. We didn't fancy paying €4 for a can of corned beef but did spend €16 on some Encona chilli sauce and Reggae Reggae BBQ sauce. That should last us to the Caribbean where we can get the real thing and jerk chicken cooked on the beach! Unsurprisingly, we were able to resist buying the Hob Nobs, marmalade and marmite.
Friends Visiting
Over the last few days two very old friends of Audrey have been down visiting us. It has been a lot of fun though quite busy as well. We hired a car and “did” all the sights of Tenerife including visiting Santa Cruz and also going to the Pico de Teide National Park. We enjoyed seeing Santa Cruz which is quite a nice city though quite quiet compared with Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Teide was quite an experience though.
We were a bit peeved with the car as I had intentionally booked a larger car with the intention that we would have a five door hatch back which would have been more comfortable for four people. What I got was a three door Opel Corsa with a larger, more thirsty engine and alloy wheels! I was half way out to the Autopista before it occurred to me that I really should have complained to the company and demanded a change. Still, it worked for us even if it was very cramped with all their luggage. We even managed to find their hotel in Los Cristianos.
Pat and Sally of course needed a good night's sleep to get over the flight though we did enjoy a good paella at the bar overlooking the marina. The next morning however took us to Santa Cruz in the car and then round to the west side of the island. Santa Cruz is a nice capital city though not quite as bustling as Las Palmas on Gran Canaria. We managed a bit of lunch and then found a very pretty square full of exotic (to us) plants before heading off in the car again. The west coast of Tenerife is the “wet” side and is much greener. There are fewer holiday developments and a lot more banana plantations as well as grape vines in the Oratava valley. We didn't go up the Oratava valley though we did have a quick look round the town of Orotava. Audrey and I will have to visit a bodega later on in our stay here.
Here is a view of the docks at Santa Cruz:
And the park/square mentioned above:
This island, is very mountainous and the drive back over the southern end was very twisty though also quite dramatic. The neat bit was when we got over the mountain pass at 1100 meters. We had been driving in cloud that became quite thick at times until we crossed over and suddenly we were back in brilliant sunlight! This was to be the night that they would see our boat and eat aboard. I did the best I could with some herb chicken and canary potatoes. We had first encountered Papas Arrugadas on Lanzarote and I have now got to grips with cooking them. You have to put a terrifying amount of salt in the water in which they are boiled and then pour most of the water away just as they finish cooking. The potatoes then get a coating of salt on the outside while leaving the inside very light and fluffy – almost like mashed potatoes in their skin!
Sunday was to be our day for an expedition to El Pico de Teide. This is the enormously tall volcano at the heart of Tenerife. It is famously the tallest peak in the whole of Spain – 3717 m or 12266 feet high. Of course, about three miles out to sea and the bottom goes down over 2000 meters so it is really 5700 odd meters high. There are not many places where you can climb 12000 feet from sea level and the contrast between the subtropical coast to the desert scenery in the park is dramatic in the extreme. The temperature also drops by about ten degrees or so so you have to wrap up warm – or at least take some fleeces with you in the car.
The drive up is very vertiginous again with lots of switchbacks. The roads are very well made up and I enjoyed the drive though some found the steep drops a bit disconcerting. Of course, the road only takes you most of the way up and walking up is quite a trek though there is a cable car that goes from about 2100m to just below the summit. Sally and I were all set to take this but it was closed due to high winds. In truth it was blowing quite hard – though not at all on the coast. The usual return route is to carry on north and then drop down the road to Orotava but we elected to continue along a ridge road before coming down on the east side. This gave us good views of La Palma and Gran Canaria depending on which side of the ridge the road happened to be on. It was still cloudy lower down but at the 1900m we were at they were a long way below us.
Quite a few pictures here - mostly self explanatory:
Not sure who this ugly bloke is though!
Sadly for them, Monday was to be Pat and Sally's last day here but we made sure it was a nice one though rather lazy. Essentially, we had a classic long tapas lunch in the Punto Azul bar here in Las Galletas before taking them to catch their flight back to rainy UK. It was a great visit and really nice to catch up with them. We just wish it could have been for a bit longer.
We were a bit peeved with the car as I had intentionally booked a larger car with the intention that we would have a five door hatch back which would have been more comfortable for four people. What I got was a three door Opel Corsa with a larger, more thirsty engine and alloy wheels! I was half way out to the Autopista before it occurred to me that I really should have complained to the company and demanded a change. Still, it worked for us even if it was very cramped with all their luggage. We even managed to find their hotel in Los Cristianos.
Pat and Sally of course needed a good night's sleep to get over the flight though we did enjoy a good paella at the bar overlooking the marina. The next morning however took us to Santa Cruz in the car and then round to the west side of the island. Santa Cruz is a nice capital city though not quite as bustling as Las Palmas on Gran Canaria. We managed a bit of lunch and then found a very pretty square full of exotic (to us) plants before heading off in the car again. The west coast of Tenerife is the “wet” side and is much greener. There are fewer holiday developments and a lot more banana plantations as well as grape vines in the Oratava valley. We didn't go up the Oratava valley though we did have a quick look round the town of Orotava. Audrey and I will have to visit a bodega later on in our stay here.
Here is a view of the docks at Santa Cruz:
And the park/square mentioned above:
This island, is very mountainous and the drive back over the southern end was very twisty though also quite dramatic. The neat bit was when we got over the mountain pass at 1100 meters. We had been driving in cloud that became quite thick at times until we crossed over and suddenly we were back in brilliant sunlight! This was to be the night that they would see our boat and eat aboard. I did the best I could with some herb chicken and canary potatoes. We had first encountered Papas Arrugadas on Lanzarote and I have now got to grips with cooking them. You have to put a terrifying amount of salt in the water in which they are boiled and then pour most of the water away just as they finish cooking. The potatoes then get a coating of salt on the outside while leaving the inside very light and fluffy – almost like mashed potatoes in their skin!
Sunday was to be our day for an expedition to El Pico de Teide. This is the enormously tall volcano at the heart of Tenerife. It is famously the tallest peak in the whole of Spain – 3717 m or 12266 feet high. Of course, about three miles out to sea and the bottom goes down over 2000 meters so it is really 5700 odd meters high. There are not many places where you can climb 12000 feet from sea level and the contrast between the subtropical coast to the desert scenery in the park is dramatic in the extreme. The temperature also drops by about ten degrees or so so you have to wrap up warm – or at least take some fleeces with you in the car.
The drive up is very vertiginous again with lots of switchbacks. The roads are very well made up and I enjoyed the drive though some found the steep drops a bit disconcerting. Of course, the road only takes you most of the way up and walking up is quite a trek though there is a cable car that goes from about 2100m to just below the summit. Sally and I were all set to take this but it was closed due to high winds. In truth it was blowing quite hard – though not at all on the coast. The usual return route is to carry on north and then drop down the road to Orotava but we elected to continue along a ridge road before coming down on the east side. This gave us good views of La Palma and Gran Canaria depending on which side of the ridge the road happened to be on. It was still cloudy lower down but at the 1900m we were at they were a long way below us.
Quite a few pictures here - mostly self explanatory:
Not sure who this ugly bloke is though!
Sadly for them, Monday was to be Pat and Sally's last day here but we made sure it was a nice one though rather lazy. Essentially, we had a classic long tapas lunch in the Punto Azul bar here in Las Galletas before taking them to catch their flight back to rainy UK. It was a great visit and really nice to catch up with them. We just wish it could have been for a bit longer.
Monday 21 October 2013
Bits Fitted
The new things that the lovely Sally and Pat brought down for us have now been fitted. That is to say, the wind generator regulator is now taking input from Don Quixote (or would be if there were any wind to spin him) and the tiller head fitting has now been replaced with the new one.
The tiller head fitting was a big relief in particular and although the old one is not completely fractured, it is good to know that the new one is whole and should be good for another 38 years. Boring pictures here. I promise to get some others of our trips around the island up soon.
The tiller head fitting was a big relief in particular and although the old one is not completely fractured, it is good to know that the new one is whole and should be good for another 38 years. Boring pictures here. I promise to get some others of our trips around the island up soon.
Thursday 17 October 2013
Gran Canaria to Tenerife
Well, specifically Las Palmas De Gran Canaria to Las Galletas on Tenerife. This was another of those passages that is just too long to fit into a day sail but is too short to make into a real passage. In total we logged 68 miles – a nautical mile is 1.15 stature miles or about 1.8 Km. Our original plan had been to make a 0400 start and try to get here in one “day”. The forecast winds of force five to six made us rethink that and we reverted to the strategy we used to get from Gran Tarajal with an overnight sail. This time we were better prepared though and the passage was much less boring or uncomfortable.
This strange drilling ship had been dominating our view of the port all the time we were there.
We started at 1400 and after a very bumpy motor into some steep waves to get round La Isleta which marks the north eastern extremity of Gran Canaria we were able to crack off onto a reach along the north coast of the island. The wind continued to free us so that by the time we had cleared the island we were on a near dead run. This coincided with the sunset and my handing over to Audrey. Another innovation for us was to revert to four hour watches on short overnight sails rather than our usual six hours. The bonus of this for me was that I got to see the sunset on my 1600 to 2000 watch. As forecast, the wind did freshen to a force 6 (23-27 knots) and we had to harden up to a reach as we crossed a thing called a Traffic Separation Scheme. A TSS is used in close quarters areas and works like a dual carriageway though they are only purple lines on a chart. If you are not running along them you have to cross them as quickly as possible at right angles to the flow. We did cross very quickly even with only the jib up.
We were then just under 30 miles from Las Galletas by 0130 on my watch again. With the wind we had (still a force 5) we would have got in much too early so it was another case of slowing down. This time however, I could simply reduce sail and go much more slowly which was more comfortable than heaving to.
Moving slowly is a bit boring but we did OK and reached here just before 0900. The four hour watches are a big success for overnight passages though rather than our usual six hours. We do six hour watches on long passages, which is unusual, as it gives you a much longer period to sleep and this works well for us as we are short handed and sleep is always in demand. However, on short passages, you don't really get into enough of a routine to sleep at unusual times compared with land based routines so the shorter four hour watches become more bearable.
Our last sight of Gran Canaria as the sun comes up
Apologies for the blow by blow account of a minor passage but this is the sort of thing that occupies us when we aren't ashore sampling local wines.
We were also greeted with a novel use for a jet ski which provides the powerful water pump for this sort of stunt.
This strange drilling ship had been dominating our view of the port all the time we were there.
We started at 1400 and after a very bumpy motor into some steep waves to get round La Isleta which marks the north eastern extremity of Gran Canaria we were able to crack off onto a reach along the north coast of the island. The wind continued to free us so that by the time we had cleared the island we were on a near dead run. This coincided with the sunset and my handing over to Audrey. Another innovation for us was to revert to four hour watches on short overnight sails rather than our usual six hours. The bonus of this for me was that I got to see the sunset on my 1600 to 2000 watch. As forecast, the wind did freshen to a force 6 (23-27 knots) and we had to harden up to a reach as we crossed a thing called a Traffic Separation Scheme. A TSS is used in close quarters areas and works like a dual carriageway though they are only purple lines on a chart. If you are not running along them you have to cross them as quickly as possible at right angles to the flow. We did cross very quickly even with only the jib up.
We were then just under 30 miles from Las Galletas by 0130 on my watch again. With the wind we had (still a force 5) we would have got in much too early so it was another case of slowing down. This time however, I could simply reduce sail and go much more slowly which was more comfortable than heaving to.
Moving slowly is a bit boring but we did OK and reached here just before 0900. The four hour watches are a big success for overnight passages though rather than our usual six hours. We do six hour watches on long passages, which is unusual, as it gives you a much longer period to sleep and this works well for us as we are short handed and sleep is always in demand. However, on short passages, you don't really get into enough of a routine to sleep at unusual times compared with land based routines so the shorter four hour watches become more bearable.
Our last sight of Gran Canaria as the sun comes up
Apologies for the blow by blow account of a minor passage but this is the sort of thing that occupies us when we aren't ashore sampling local wines.
We were also greeted with a novel use for a jet ski which provides the powerful water pump for this sort of stunt.
Tenerife!
More boring wordy stuff about the passage soon but this view was quite dramatic just as the sun was coming up over Gran Canaria and illuminating El Pico de Teide.
Wednesday 16 October 2013
Boats met on passage
Las Palmas is a real crossroads of the Atlantic for cruisers and we seem to have spent all our short time here meeting new people or catching up with people last met hundreds of miles away. Here is a brief list
Pampero of Down - met in Playa Blanca en route across Atlantic
Kika - Entering ARC - another Rival no less
Spirit of Penmar - met first at Playa Blanca probably en route across Atlantic
Moontide - Met first at Rabat en route across Atlantic
In addition we know that others are in the area and hope to catch up with them
Synergie - first met in Portimao
Moonstone of Aberdour - first met in Porto Santo
Others we know are also in the area in including Jen on Paikea and possibly Eva Kullgren on Olina.
We leave for Tenerife later on today so will probably not meet quite so many for a while till we gather in La Palma and elsewhere for the final departure south. Close followers of this will note that we should be half way to Tenerife by now but we decided to delay departure till this afternoon as the weather looks for propitious then. Nothing if not indecisive us!
It all feels quite exciting really.
Here is a picture of the anchorage here as well.
Pampero of Down - met in Playa Blanca en route across Atlantic
Kika - Entering ARC - another Rival no less
Spirit of Penmar - met first at Playa Blanca probably en route across Atlantic
Moontide - Met first at Rabat en route across Atlantic
In addition we know that others are in the area and hope to catch up with them
Synergie - first met in Portimao
Moonstone of Aberdour - first met in Porto Santo
Others we know are also in the area in including Jen on Paikea and possibly Eva Kullgren on Olina.
We leave for Tenerife later on today so will probably not meet quite so many for a while till we gather in La Palma and elsewhere for the final departure south. Close followers of this will note that we should be half way to Tenerife by now but we decided to delay departure till this afternoon as the weather looks for propitious then. Nothing if not indecisive us!
It all feels quite exciting really.
Here is a picture of the anchorage here as well.
Monday 14 October 2013
Las Palmas (De Gran Canaria)
You have to specify the island for towns and cities here as they often have towns of the same name on other islands. For example, you have a Santa Cruz in both Tenerife and La Palma.
Anyway, we have not been doing much apart from enjoying being anchored in a big port with lots of shipping movements to watch and trying to get the new bolt we will need for the tiller head fitting when it arrives. I have therefore got a bit "artistic" with the camera.
The sunset over the port is actually quite nice.
Sadly, theft of dinghies and outboards is a known problem here. We therefore have to take the outboard off and then hoist the dinghy out like this which makes it much more difficult to steal (we hope anyway).
Long shutter exposure of the other anchored boats.
Anyway, we have not been doing much apart from enjoying being anchored in a big port with lots of shipping movements to watch and trying to get the new bolt we will need for the tiller head fitting when it arrives. I have therefore got a bit "artistic" with the camera.
The sunset over the port is actually quite nice.
Sadly, theft of dinghies and outboards is a known problem here. We therefore have to take the outboard off and then hoist the dinghy out like this which makes it much more difficult to steal (we hope anyway).
Long shutter exposure of the other anchored boats.
Sunday 13 October 2013
Fuerteventura to Gran Canaria
We were a bit sad to leave Gran Tarajal as we felt we were starting to get to know the island and we did quite like Gran Tarajal for other reasons than the cheap marina! But, deadlines are looming as we have to be Tenerife by the seventeenth of October at the latest. We therefore planned an overnight passage to Las Palmas on Gran Canaria. The wind was forecast to be quite light so we made a ten AM departure expecting to get to Las Palmas around six the following morning. The wind had other ideas though. We had very little to no wind round the east of Fuerteventura but then met a steady force 5 in the fifty miles that separate the islands. This would have got us in around 0300 but the idea of anchoring in a probably crowded and busy commercial harbour at night didn't appeal so we hove to for four hours.
There are lots of inter island ferries and this beast passed us as we were moving along the far southern end of Fuerteventura.
Heaving to is usually used as a storm tactic. It involves sheeting the jib to the wrong side of the boat so it is aback. You then lash the tiller to leeward. This has the effect of stalling the boat. The backed jib tries to pull her off the wind but then the rudder steers her back into the wind. You have to fiddle with the main a bit but it very effectively stops the boat except for a bit of forereaching and whatever current might be at work. As a storm tactic it is one of the best so long as you have a boat that will heave to well. We do have a boat that will heave to well though full keeled boats do it even better.
Anyway, the tactic worked and after four hours we got back under way at 0500 and arrived off the breakwater at 0830 to anchor an hour or so later. We had been given to understand that the anchorage was a bit rolly but it is not really that bad. We have even cleared in with the marina and can use their showers for the princely sum of €1.50 a day. The charge is calculated on a length times beam formula. We are 30.5 meters square.
This is a very different place from the harbours we have visited so far in the Canaries. Las Palmas is quite a big city and also a large port. As we were entering we shared the entrance with four other ships including a very large oil tanker and two ferries came out. The anchorage is very crowded as berths in the marina are at a premium because of the ARC which effectively blocks out the entire marina. Still we are happy enough here though we will only be staying for four days. We will be moving onto Las Gallettas on Tenerife on Wednesday to meet some friends next weekend. Although we are really looking forward to this it has forced the pace a bit and we feel that 200 miles covered in one week is pushing it a bit for us. We should be able to slow down again though and even get back to Gran Canaria for a longer explore before heading further west to La Gomera and La Palma.
The cruising guide gives you a bit of warning about the marina and it's pests. They are described as having two, four and six legs. Outboard theft is a bit of an issue and you are advised to lock up your dinghy and engine to guard against the two legged pests. Sadly, these tend be other yotties funding their cruising with crime. The others consist of rats and cockroaches. We should be safer from these at anchor as it is easier for them to board boats tied up to a pontoon rather than swim out to here. However, we will have to be careful about packaging to ensure no cockroach eggs get smuggled aboard.
As ever, finding good wifi has been a challenge so there are only a couple of pictures here but there should be a chance to improve on that later in the marina or one of the bars around it. Also, for those of you who find my inexpert oenophile ramblings amusing there should be a chance for us to sample some Gran Canaria wine and I am looking forward to trying the wines from the Orotavia valley in Tenerife!
There are lots of inter island ferries and this beast passed us as we were moving along the far southern end of Fuerteventura.
Heaving to is usually used as a storm tactic. It involves sheeting the jib to the wrong side of the boat so it is aback. You then lash the tiller to leeward. This has the effect of stalling the boat. The backed jib tries to pull her off the wind but then the rudder steers her back into the wind. You have to fiddle with the main a bit but it very effectively stops the boat except for a bit of forereaching and whatever current might be at work. As a storm tactic it is one of the best so long as you have a boat that will heave to well. We do have a boat that will heave to well though full keeled boats do it even better.
Anyway, the tactic worked and after four hours we got back under way at 0500 and arrived off the breakwater at 0830 to anchor an hour or so later. We had been given to understand that the anchorage was a bit rolly but it is not really that bad. We have even cleared in with the marina and can use their showers for the princely sum of €1.50 a day. The charge is calculated on a length times beam formula. We are 30.5 meters square.
This is a very different place from the harbours we have visited so far in the Canaries. Las Palmas is quite a big city and also a large port. As we were entering we shared the entrance with four other ships including a very large oil tanker and two ferries came out. The anchorage is very crowded as berths in the marina are at a premium because of the ARC which effectively blocks out the entire marina. Still we are happy enough here though we will only be staying for four days. We will be moving onto Las Gallettas on Tenerife on Wednesday to meet some friends next weekend. Although we are really looking forward to this it has forced the pace a bit and we feel that 200 miles covered in one week is pushing it a bit for us. We should be able to slow down again though and even get back to Gran Canaria for a longer explore before heading further west to La Gomera and La Palma.
The cruising guide gives you a bit of warning about the marina and it's pests. They are described as having two, four and six legs. Outboard theft is a bit of an issue and you are advised to lock up your dinghy and engine to guard against the two legged pests. Sadly, these tend be other yotties funding their cruising with crime. The others consist of rats and cockroaches. We should be safer from these at anchor as it is easier for them to board boats tied up to a pontoon rather than swim out to here. However, we will have to be careful about packaging to ensure no cockroach eggs get smuggled aboard.
As ever, finding good wifi has been a challenge so there are only a couple of pictures here but there should be a chance to improve on that later in the marina or one of the bars around it. Also, for those of you who find my inexpert oenophile ramblings amusing there should be a chance for us to sample some Gran Canaria wine and I am looking forward to trying the wines from the Orotavia valley in Tenerife!
Wednesday 9 October 2013
Broken Stuff
We had been aware that the windmill was not being totally enthusiastic about pushing charge into the batteries and after a bit of investigation we found that it did not have a perfect connection between the regulator and the batteries. Unfortunately, during my fiddling I must have managed to short the leads and the current spike has both blown the fuse but more seriously seems to have killed the regulator. We are trying to see if we can resuscitate it before ordering a new one.
Then, to cap it off: we have the tiller tied up at the moment as we do in marinas and when I glanced at the head fitting I saw this!
This is the top of the rudder shaft where the tiller joins onto it. The crack is where one side of the tiller is bolted on.
Thankfully, this is a known problem with the Rival Owners Association and there is a foundry in the midlands who have the template. We have friends coming down the week after next so just have to get ourselves to Tenerife with the damaged rudder head fitting.
All a bit frustrating but at least we have found out now rather than half way across the Atlantic! Boats are of course very complicated things and bits of it will need repairing from time to time.
Then, to cap it off: we have the tiller tied up at the moment as we do in marinas and when I glanced at the head fitting I saw this!
Thankfully, this is a known problem with the Rival Owners Association and there is a foundry in the midlands who have the template. We have friends coming down the week after next so just have to get ourselves to Tenerife with the damaged rudder head fitting.
All a bit frustrating but at least we have found out now rather than half way across the Atlantic! Boats are of course very complicated things and bits of it will need repairing from time to time.
Tuesday 8 October 2013
Day Sailing
In the past nearly all of our coastal cruising involved day sails. Frequently, a weekend would involve heading to somewhere like Fowey on Saturday and then back to our mooring on Sunday. We were of course perfectly accustomed to this. Now, of course, we tend to sail much further at a time and then sit still for a while before moving on. However, the Canary Islands have so far given us much more day sailing – albeit not returning to a home base of course. We have found this slightly strange and also quite tiring. When you are in home waters, all is familiar and we frequently didn't even need to consult a chart though it was always there should weather conditions change. Here, we have to plan the sail and there is all the excitement of arriving in a new port.
We are almost grateful that our next trip will be nearly a hundred miles rather than the twenty or less that has brought us from Puerto Calero on Lanzarote to Gran Tarajal here on Fuerteventura. Yesterday's sail in particular from Puerto de Rosario to here was quite tiring. The wind was a steady-ish force 5 but this end of the island is in a so called acceleration zone which increases the wind strength by about ten knots. This made for great sailing but we were hesitant to leave the helm to Henry the Navigator (aka wind vane self steering) as he doesn't like it much when you have the main up and the wind is from abaft the beam. On a long passage, we would most likely not have the main up at all and a few degrees of deviation from the course would not really matter much anyway. The coast of the island is steep to and there are no of flying rocks along here but you still want to keep a more precise course than when the destination is some hundreds of miles away.
We are however pleased to be here in Gran Tarajal and have also elected to go into the marina rather than anchoring outside. All the usual attractions of a marina such as showers and still water with no rolling conspired to persuade us to come in here. Pampero is however putting us to shame at anchor out there. We really can't call ourselves proper hard core cruisers. Never mind, at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria we shall have to anchor as the marina will be full of ARC (Atlantic Race for Cruisers) boats.
There is a good wifi spot here so I will try and increase the quota of photos soon.
We are almost grateful that our next trip will be nearly a hundred miles rather than the twenty or less that has brought us from Puerto Calero on Lanzarote to Gran Tarajal here on Fuerteventura. Yesterday's sail in particular from Puerto de Rosario to here was quite tiring. The wind was a steady-ish force 5 but this end of the island is in a so called acceleration zone which increases the wind strength by about ten knots. This made for great sailing but we were hesitant to leave the helm to Henry the Navigator (aka wind vane self steering) as he doesn't like it much when you have the main up and the wind is from abaft the beam. On a long passage, we would most likely not have the main up at all and a few degrees of deviation from the course would not really matter much anyway. The coast of the island is steep to and there are no of flying rocks along here but you still want to keep a more precise course than when the destination is some hundreds of miles away.
We are however pleased to be here in Gran Tarajal and have also elected to go into the marina rather than anchoring outside. All the usual attractions of a marina such as showers and still water with no rolling conspired to persuade us to come in here. Pampero is however putting us to shame at anchor out there. We really can't call ourselves proper hard core cruisers. Never mind, at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria we shall have to anchor as the marina will be full of ARC (Atlantic Race for Cruisers) boats.
There is a good wifi spot here so I will try and increase the quota of photos soon.
Saturday 5 October 2013
Fuerteventura
After a lovely few days at Isla de Lobos it was time to move on again. This cruising lifestyle involves a constant series of departures from just discovered harbours for new ones. Usually, we feel ready to move on but it would, in many respects, have been nice to stay at Isla de Lobos for a bit longer. However, we have a looming deadline to be in Las Galletas, Tenerife in just over two weeks and we want to make the most of Fuerteventura. Also, the ground swell had increased which, while not causing us to roll at all, was breaking impressively on the reefs. I tried photographing it but waves always look less impressive through the lens than they do in life.
The sail down to Puerto de Rosario, the capital of Fuerteventura was mostly quite pleasant except for the unexpected wind shift into the south-east as documented before. We were treated to a small school of dolphins at one point but they seemed to be busy fishing and didn't have time to play with any passing boats.
We were initially rather cagey about the anchorage here as the brisk south easterly we had been beating into was pushing a nice slop into the harbour but it dropped with the setting of the sun and we are very comfortable now.
Socialising has been very full of wine as Stuart and Karen from Pampero are also anchored here. It has been very enjoyable comparing notes with someone in a similar boat and with similar plans.
The town itself is not very prepossessing. That sad, we have not done a great deal of exploring but you can see that this is a much poorer island than Lanzarote. The contrast with the mainland is also quite striking even in the poorest parts of Andalucia. We will not spend all the rest of our time here but will move onto either the only real marina here called Gran Tarajal or to an anchorage just to the east of there called Las Playitas.
This afternoon was enlivened when they held a race for the local class of lateen rigged boat. These are based on a traditional local design which used to be used for fishing and whaling. Now, they race them. The finish line was just past our stern and the people on the committee boat invited us round for "paella" later on.
Stuart and Karen from Pampero were also quite keen to go and I was able to act as interpreter though I never cease to get depressed at how bad my Spanish has become. The boats are fascinating being strip planked double enders which a huge lateen rig.
They have a website here
For the non yottie geek, a double ender is one where the stern is the same shape as the bow and a lateen rig is one where the sail is set on a long pole along it's leading edge which is supported by a short mast. The wifi here is not really up to uploading photos so there is only the one picture for now but I will put some more up soon.
The sail down to Puerto de Rosario, the capital of Fuerteventura was mostly quite pleasant except for the unexpected wind shift into the south-east as documented before. We were treated to a small school of dolphins at one point but they seemed to be busy fishing and didn't have time to play with any passing boats.
We were initially rather cagey about the anchorage here as the brisk south easterly we had been beating into was pushing a nice slop into the harbour but it dropped with the setting of the sun and we are very comfortable now.
Socialising has been very full of wine as Stuart and Karen from Pampero are also anchored here. It has been very enjoyable comparing notes with someone in a similar boat and with similar plans.
The town itself is not very prepossessing. That sad, we have not done a great deal of exploring but you can see that this is a much poorer island than Lanzarote. The contrast with the mainland is also quite striking even in the poorest parts of Andalucia. We will not spend all the rest of our time here but will move onto either the only real marina here called Gran Tarajal or to an anchorage just to the east of there called Las Playitas.
This afternoon was enlivened when they held a race for the local class of lateen rigged boat. These are based on a traditional local design which used to be used for fishing and whaling. Now, they race them. The finish line was just past our stern and the people on the committee boat invited us round for "paella" later on.
Stuart and Karen from Pampero were also quite keen to go and I was able to act as interpreter though I never cease to get depressed at how bad my Spanish has become. The boats are fascinating being strip planked double enders which a huge lateen rig.
They have a website here
For the non yottie geek, a double ender is one where the stern is the same shape as the bow and a lateen rig is one where the sail is set on a long pole along it's leading edge which is supported by a short mast. The wifi here is not really up to uploading photos so there is only the one picture for now but I will put some more up soon.
Thursday 3 October 2013
First Picture of Sarah Giddings Under Sail
Well, in our ownership anyway. Thanks to Stuart Regan of Pampero of Down for this. We started out "racing" from the anchorage at Isla de Lobos as we were reaching fast and they could not catch us up. However, the wind then did an unexpected shift to the south east and we were promptly left behind by Pampero so we were cruising again.
Puerto de Rosario is a rather more prosaic place than Isla de Lobos but so long as the south easterlies do not persist (they dropped in the evening) it will be a nice enough spot with the capital of Fuerteventura and all it's shops at the top of the slip way so to speak.
Puerto de Rosario is a rather more prosaic place than Isla de Lobos but so long as the south easterlies do not persist (they dropped in the evening) it will be a nice enough spot with the capital of Fuerteventura and all it's shops at the top of the slip way so to speak.
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