We had quite a rough trip in the end but arrived safely in Mindelo yesterday afternoon and are enjoying the sensation of not being in the Canary Islands any more. I'll do a full posting and such like soon as the wifi is a bit flaky out here in the anchorage.
Sunday, 22 December 2013
Friday, 13 December 2013
Last Days in the Canaries
The time for our departure is coming very close at last. The weather has been frustrating our plans for leaving but the north east trades have finally re-established themselves and Saturday 14 December is looking like the day! We have had some extraordinary weather recently though.
First, there has been a long period of light southerly winds which are the worst possible as there would have been insufficient wind to move us very fast and there would still have been an ocean swell to contend with and no wind to steady the boat. Then it blew a southerly gale for three days which made the harbour here in Tazacorte a bit exciting though the breakwater is very good and we didn't surge around too much. We were also treated to a spectacular thunder storm with lightning bolts cracking and rumbling all over the place. There has also been a huge ground swell from the west for a couple of days which must have been generated by a storm off in the north Atlantic. Anyway, all this looks to be settling down at last and we, along with others, are now looking to get south as quick as possible.
Not many photos I am afraid but here are a couple of the waves on the beach and the swathe the flood waters cut over the beach.
Our other energies have been devoted to provisioning. This has to be done quite carefully as obtaining good cheap food will be more difficult in the places where we are heading. There are two elements to provisioning. Firstly, there are the non perishables, mostly tins. Then there are the perishables for the passage to come. The local supermarket chain has the fantastic name of Hiper Dino and we have become regular visitors to them. The boat feels like it must be another inch down on her marks with all the tins of tomato we have got. We effectively have enough to get us across to the Caribbean now. The next stage is to get the perishables for the passage to come. This takes planning of a different kind as we need to ensure that they will keep without a fridge. Fresh unrefrigerated stuff stored carefully is the trick here.
As ever, there are always loads of last minute things that you feel have to be done before you can even think of casting off. The truth however is that there comes a point when you just tidy up what is not stowed properly and go. Once at sea it all ceases to matter and you can relax a bit. In between though you can build up a good state of nerves about it all.
The passage to Mindelo is a bit over 800 miles so we should take eight days to complete it. We always budget on doing one hundred miles a day when on passage but if we are lucky we will go a bit faster than that and we may be lucky and get a favourable current as well.
First, there has been a long period of light southerly winds which are the worst possible as there would have been insufficient wind to move us very fast and there would still have been an ocean swell to contend with and no wind to steady the boat. Then it blew a southerly gale for three days which made the harbour here in Tazacorte a bit exciting though the breakwater is very good and we didn't surge around too much. We were also treated to a spectacular thunder storm with lightning bolts cracking and rumbling all over the place. There has also been a huge ground swell from the west for a couple of days which must have been generated by a storm off in the north Atlantic. Anyway, all this looks to be settling down at last and we, along with others, are now looking to get south as quick as possible.
Not many photos I am afraid but here are a couple of the waves on the beach and the swathe the flood waters cut over the beach.
As ever, there are always loads of last minute things that you feel have to be done before you can even think of casting off. The truth however is that there comes a point when you just tidy up what is not stowed properly and go. Once at sea it all ceases to matter and you can relax a bit. In between though you can build up a good state of nerves about it all.
The passage to Mindelo is a bit over 800 miles so we should take eight days to complete it. We always budget on doing one hundred miles a day when on passage but if we are lucky we will go a bit faster than that and we may be lucky and get a favourable current as well.
Tuesday, 10 December 2013
Technical issues
In the process of trying to organise all the pictures I have in Google, I succeeded in deleting a whole swath of pictures on the blog. It appears that when you delete photos from one "album" it actually goes and deletes them from the whole of your Google area!! I will work to get them back but this will take a little time.
Please bear with us - all you myriad readers.
Please bear with us - all you myriad readers.
Monday, 9 December 2013
A Different View Of Sarah Giddings
As Matthew, my Brother, is an avowed mast monkey we lost no time in sending him up the mast to fit our shiny new LED tricolour navigation light. After having done that successfully, he took this picture of us.
Saturday, 7 December 2013
La Palma, Tazacorte and Getting Ready
We have been in Santa Cruz for quite a while and look like being stuck in La Palma for a bit longer till the weather sorts itself out for passages south. Still, this is at least giving us chances to sort stuff out and do some more sight seeing.
Amongst stuff that has been sorted out, we have fitted a new starter motor to the engine as it appears that the old one is not working. Matthew has also brought his carpentry skills to bear on the cockpit grating. As the photos shows, we had started a garden growing in the bits that had broken up. Well, we now have cut away all the broken bits and substituted two lengths of pine. This is not ideal of course, but is much better than having it disintegrate under our feet and start to rot.
We even had a bit of something sprouting in it!!
We were also getting very fed up with the surge in the marina though. This surge was not a thing we could understand as the outer break water is very long, the marina is up the top of the harbour with another inner break water separating it from the main harbour. However, somehow the north westerly swell was curving round the south facing entrance of the harbour and then working into the totally enclosed inner harbour. It makes you wonder what it would be like in a heavy blow from the south which does happen sometimes in these islands.
Still, on Thursday, we took off for Tazacorte on the other side of the island. The wind, as well as being in the south was very light and we only managed a brief bit of sailing round the southern tip of the island but we are very pleased to be here. It is an excellent marina and also very social with lots of other transatlantic types waiting for the same weather change we are waiting for.
Highlight of the trip was being passed, very close, by a couple of what we think were Bottlenosed Whales. The were too big to be dolphins.
So far, we have only explored a bit round here and done a walk from Fuencaliente down past the two most recent volcanoes to the lighthouse of Fuencaliente (El Faro de Fuencaliente). The southern end is the newest part of the island and was subject to a volcanic eruption as recently as 1971. They have built a visitor centre outside El Volcan de San Antonio where you can walk round the rim of the crater. Audrey and I had visited it before by car but everything was fog enshrouded then. This time, we had clear skies and great views. The walk through the lava and ash fields of the Tenequise volcano was also fascinating though we didn't get time to explore the lighthouse at the bottom much as buses were waiting to be caught.
Being on the exposed west side of the island, the harbour has a massive breakwater and I am slightly proud of this picture of the northern end of it.
Although sunny yesterday - 06 December or St. Nicholas' day a dramatic rain shower pushed through leaving this dramatic view to the south.
Here are the long awaited views of the marks of the vulcanism to the south of the islands.
If the weather continues to hold we may try a more ambitious walk to El Pico de los Muchachos. There is a long ridge walk up round the rim of the Caldera de Taburiente and if it is not cloudy, we would get great views compared with the cloud and rain we met when driving up there the other day.
Looking ahead, the run of southerly wind looks like it might be ending by the end of next week which would allow us to take our departure for the Cabo Verde islands at last! Watch this space!
Amongst stuff that has been sorted out, we have fitted a new starter motor to the engine as it appears that the old one is not working. Matthew has also brought his carpentry skills to bear on the cockpit grating. As the photos shows, we had started a garden growing in the bits that had broken up. Well, we now have cut away all the broken bits and substituted two lengths of pine. This is not ideal of course, but is much better than having it disintegrate under our feet and start to rot.
We even had a bit of something sprouting in it!!
We were also getting very fed up with the surge in the marina though. This surge was not a thing we could understand as the outer break water is very long, the marina is up the top of the harbour with another inner break water separating it from the main harbour. However, somehow the north westerly swell was curving round the south facing entrance of the harbour and then working into the totally enclosed inner harbour. It makes you wonder what it would be like in a heavy blow from the south which does happen sometimes in these islands.
Still, on Thursday, we took off for Tazacorte on the other side of the island. The wind, as well as being in the south was very light and we only managed a brief bit of sailing round the southern tip of the island but we are very pleased to be here. It is an excellent marina and also very social with lots of other transatlantic types waiting for the same weather change we are waiting for.
Highlight of the trip was being passed, very close, by a couple of what we think were Bottlenosed Whales. The were too big to be dolphins.
So far, we have only explored a bit round here and done a walk from Fuencaliente down past the two most recent volcanoes to the lighthouse of Fuencaliente (El Faro de Fuencaliente). The southern end is the newest part of the island and was subject to a volcanic eruption as recently as 1971. They have built a visitor centre outside El Volcan de San Antonio where you can walk round the rim of the crater. Audrey and I had visited it before by car but everything was fog enshrouded then. This time, we had clear skies and great views. The walk through the lava and ash fields of the Tenequise volcano was also fascinating though we didn't get time to explore the lighthouse at the bottom much as buses were waiting to be caught.
Being on the exposed west side of the island, the harbour has a massive breakwater and I am slightly proud of this picture of the northern end of it.
Although sunny yesterday - 06 December or St. Nicholas' day a dramatic rain shower pushed through leaving this dramatic view to the south.
Here are the long awaited views of the marks of the vulcanism to the south of the islands.
If the weather continues to hold we may try a more ambitious walk to El Pico de los Muchachos. There is a long ridge walk up round the rim of the Caldera de Taburiente and if it is not cloudy, we would get great views compared with the cloud and rain we met when driving up there the other day.
Looking ahead, the run of southerly wind looks like it might be ending by the end of next week which would allow us to take our departure for the Cabo Verde islands at last! Watch this space!
Tuesday, 3 December 2013
Brothers Arriving and Fair Transport
We welcomed Matthew, my Brother, on Sunday and are now just waiting for good winds to take us away from the Canary Islands to the Cabo Verde archipelago. More on the weather shortly.
There are also a couple of tall ships tied up here in Santa Cruz which are very interesting. The first is an old Swedish Baltic trading vessel now converted to a floating school. They take a range of children who spend a few months sailing round on this 250 ton schooner.
The other smaller brigantine is part of the fair transport. They are not linked to the fair trade movement but are seeking to reduce the amount of fossil fuels used in transporting goods around the world by reverting to sail. Of course, it is a tiny movement but one that is intriguing to say the least. As well as traditional vessels they are also looking to promote development of sail assisted cargo ships using modern technology. It would, I believe fit very well into the philosophy of fair trade as well.
The website for the brigantine Tres Hombres is here
The Fair Transport site is here
Meanwhile, we are getting very frustrated with the weather. The normal pattern has a high pressure out in the middle of the Atlantic and a low pressure over the Sahara which generates the so called north east trade winds. The problem is that the Azores high, as it is called, has been replaced with a depression. We are therefore getting light westerlies or southerlies. The depression is giving gale force winds to the north of here though. We have also experienced very heavy rains for a couple of days. The runoff made the marina look like a vast cauldron of tea!
We are hopeful that the wind will change in time but we look to be stuck here for a few days more.
There are also a couple of tall ships tied up here in Santa Cruz which are very interesting. The first is an old Swedish Baltic trading vessel now converted to a floating school. They take a range of children who spend a few months sailing round on this 250 ton schooner.
The other smaller brigantine is part of the fair transport. They are not linked to the fair trade movement but are seeking to reduce the amount of fossil fuels used in transporting goods around the world by reverting to sail. Of course, it is a tiny movement but one that is intriguing to say the least. As well as traditional vessels they are also looking to promote development of sail assisted cargo ships using modern technology. It would, I believe fit very well into the philosophy of fair trade as well.
The website for the brigantine Tres Hombres is here
The Fair Transport site is here
Meanwhile, we are getting very frustrated with the weather. The normal pattern has a high pressure out in the middle of the Atlantic and a low pressure over the Sahara which generates the so called north east trade winds. The problem is that the Azores high, as it is called, has been replaced with a depression. We are therefore getting light westerlies or southerlies. The depression is giving gale force winds to the north of here though. We have also experienced very heavy rains for a couple of days. The runoff made the marina look like a vast cauldron of tea!
Sunday, 1 December 2013
The Green (and wet) Island
Well, this island is known as the greenest of the Canary islands and this is of course for a reason. We have had more rain in the last few days than since we left the UK in April. For our last day with the hire car we drove up to the top of the island - El Alto de Muchachos which is over 2400 meters high. You also get to drive past the observatories which was a bit exciting. The trouble was that everything was in thick cloud and when we got to the top (you can drive all the way) the rain had started. Jen Butter had come along and she, Pico and myself walked along a bit to try and look down in the Caldera de Taburiente but all we say were a few rock outcrops and fog. Still, it was dramatic and we all enjoyed ourselves except for poor Pico the dog who got carsick on the way up.
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