Body slammer

It's been a long time since we have had to set an alarm clock. We cast off and immediately the Police were blowing whistles at us from the marina quay. We thought it was because we had reversed too close to the King of Morocco's  pontoon berths, but no, they were warning us of a strong current in the river!  Meriva is very responsive in strong currents and winds but has a will of her own in light winds and still waters, so it was easier to just go and tie up in the river than to try and get back into a  pontoon berth.

We were boarded by sniffer dogs, customs and the Police, all very stress free, but the Police officer was concerned about my swollen eye from a 'mossie' attack during the night. 'Did he do that?', he asked, indicating my handsome Captain. 'No he's a pacifist.' was my reply, the words just slipped out!

The  pilot led us out of the Wadi Bou Regreg  in convoy, following closely, but 'not too closely', through the swell and surrounding surf. That was at high tide!

There is a shrine to Sidi Ben Achir in the seamen's cemetery. He was credited in the 16th Century with the power to calm the waves so as to allow vessels to enter the harbour safely.  Nowadays they use pilots, who are brilliant and weather forecasting......not quite so romantic but perhaps more efficacious.






In order to leave Sale you need calm conditions, no swell which usually means no wind. The options were to bob and slop around or motor or go to Maderia if the winds are building from the right direction, I was keen to get to the Canaries  mainly because the islands have played a major part in my life,  but also because its easy to get a flight home for the imminent arrival of another granddaughter.

We motored for 24 hours, the most on this trip so far before the wind started to build a little. I was pulling in the fishing line, as Tristan deployed the towing generator when the boom preventer broke. The mainsheet slammed  me over to the side of the cockpit and trapped me. Took the wind out of my sails and I whimpered in the cockpit struggling to breathe. I cut my head and had a duck egg but mainly bruised my ribs, Having broken ribs before, I am pretty sure I have two cracked ribs from the points of impact but there is nothing to be done and they will heal.  The skipper switched onto skipper mode and after I had recovered enough, got me inside, checked me out, gave me a cup of sweet tea and got us sailing again. We were both shocked and the options were to pull into Safi (reputation for baksheesh), sail to Agadir or carry onto Lanzarote. I didn't want to pull in to a Moroccan hospital to pay out lots of money to be told I had cracked ribs and needed to rest, especially to stay in a harbour where we may have to keep doling out banknotes to a dodgy harbour master (according to one of the sailing blogs).

Skipper looking 'skipperish'

 I didn't really consider the  impact of this decision on Tristan, he was worried for me and had to sail single-handed, with someone else's safety to consider too. I was wedged between bolsters and pillows, off watch for 24 hours which was hard for Tristan. Doped up with anti-inflammatories and painkillers I was able to stand  watches  on the Friday so  Tristan could sleep, but we were bobbing again and very little boat movement.

Sunrise over Africa

This trip I had my sea legs and was feeling fine. I actually enjoyed the night watch, and had to wake Tristan up to feel the warm breeze from the Sahara and so that he could get the sail up.

As soon as the wind got up Saturday night/Sunday morning to a Force 6 gusting 7.....I was horizontal in the bunk jammed between pillows again.




 The strong southern winds off Lanzarote are known as the 'Majoreros' and bring wind and harried seas according to the marina guide! We used our Atlantic Islands Pilot for the first time....thank you Julia and Paul, and Euan and Nona for the charts!

Landfall.......Lanzarote at last!

We arrived at Peurto Calero on Sunday morning after a blast of a sail, strong winds but flat seas.
Harbour staff helped Tristan with the lines as throwing a rope was not an option for me.  The marina is very smart, excellent showers, expensive clothes shops and a wealth of restaurants.






We will be here for a while so we can both rest. From my point of view its a perfect location, very close and lots of accessible hikes to volcanic craters.
                                       
 I can't wait but I will need the persuasive   power of a siren to get Tristan trampling over volcanic lava again !
                                                                 










 
                                                               
I am really looking forward to sailing around the Canaries. It was 1997 when I first came on my own to discover the natural history. I have many happy memories  of the Atlantic Whale Foundation on Tenerife,  with my daughters Lucy, Julia and Amy accompanying me for many summers of  whale watching.