Friday 21 April 2017

Sailing around the Canary Islands

I was surprised how long it had been since we posted. I guess,we slipped into a comfortable zone repairing the boat and enjoying life on the beautiful island of Lanzarote.. I flew back to the UK for the arrival of our grandson, Luke and to see all my girls.....bar Amy who is still on distant shores in Australia..


We left Lanzarote  and headed down the coast of Fuerteventura to test our new anchor which was brilliant. There are so many places to anchor it made a real change.
We anchored off Puerto del Rosaria and woke up to the sound of drummers welcoming a German  cruise ship, Mein Schiff II dressed as red coats with a tricolour, waving a union jack......not sure how that went down!



The sailing was easy with flat seas and variable winds. We had the spinnaker up then reefed the main and half furled the jib, and shortly afterwards full sail again.





 On the trip downFuerteventura we had sheet and fork lightening infront of the boat with the fork going into the sea. You could smell the ozone. We anchored off Gran Tarahal for two nights while the sea turned from blue to a muddy colour from the overflowing baranco. It became painful on the hips as our calm anchorage turned into a surfing beach overnight, so we reckoned it was cheaper to pay for a marina than hip replacement surgery.








We spent a couple of nights in the marina  exploring around Gran Tarahal before sailing down the acceleration zone before Morro Jable.

















After a nights anchor off Morro Jable,  we sailed to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. It was a fantastic sail beam on but gentle Atlantic swell. We spent two nights on the reception pontoon until space was available in the Marina.......but the space was too restricted. We didn't have enough turning room without taking out several boats so we made a hasty retreat. We were told 'no room', so we said, keep the money, we're off to anchor. They then found us 'room' in between two big boats. That was fine, we had blow up fenders but getting on and off the bow was only possible with a shove from Tristan!.

We walked miles around the town, to the Atlantic beach then into the old town with a customly visit to Corte Ingles. We also caught up with friends we'd met in Marina Lanzarote which was fun.








Tristan needed to get a medical done by an English doctor so after a lot of searching, we found the flights were cheaper in Lanzarote and didn't involve a  long stop over ( mainly due to Easter), so we headed back.

The trip between Las Palmas and Fuerteventura was very unpleasant. Beam on seas, short chop and not enough wind to plough through. We were like a bucking bronco but fortunately it was only for a few hours until we got into the lee of Fuerteventura. Tristan saw a water spout...moving incredibly fast in front of us out to sea while I hugged a bucket.We anchored again all the way up Fuerteventura doing day sails......it was easy and fun.

Off Puerto del Rosario there is a goats cheese factory.......you can smell the goats.  I had to tie Tristan on the boat.


The power station or desalination plant  was pumping out smoke but the gulls were diving into it, catching a thermal then soaring away.......don't they know how bad the pollution is for them?


We had  plenty of wind and flat seas, then no wind and a Calima. All in all a lovely few days sailing.

We ended up back in the same spot in Marina Lanzarote....it was like coming home. Tristan flew back to the UK and I was left on the boat on my own .....for the first time. It was so quiet but three days was not enough time to get everything done I'd planned.

We have our bikes out again and keep nipping off for a cycle ride but because its so hot, we take our swim wear. The sea is lovely and warm This time of the year is perfect. Hot but not to hot, not too much wind, and gentle seas.

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