Thought I might as well add some maps here for those who aren't UK West Country savy!!!! Also in case anyone is in the area - do please do give us a call or drop us an email so we can let you know the address.
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We've been back for 2 months now but it still feels really strange! My daughter asked me the other day if it was odd not to be moving but funnily the problem is that although we have LOADS more space (see below) we keep bumping into each other!!
Unfortunately, Chris's Dad (Ken) passed away at the beginning of February; it was obviously very sad but he was 91, had been driving up until September last year, had spent many, many afternoons on the computer scanning , copying and 'playing with' photos (putting two separate photos together on yet another background for example!!) and had had a good life. Chris, Bill (brother) and Lorraine (sister) and partners have all been busy clearing the house getting it ready to be sold. Ken and Nell (his wife) moved in when Chris was about 18 months old so as you can imagine there has been quite a bit of clearing to do which has been pretty sad (nearly 65 years of memories etc!!!) but there have been many good moments remembering the good times. Chris and I have moved into my flat just down the road. My tenants had decided to give up the flat from the end of February so it all fitted in quite well. Of course, all our belongings are on the boat but we have been able to take some cooking utensils and crockery from the house together with a few bits of furniture and a bed!!!! This will all have to go when we leave the UK as we just don't have the storage. We've heard from a number of our friends who have crossed the Atlantic this year and whilst being delighted to hear that all has gone well for them, we are a little sad not to be there. Ah for next year! So long for now, take care and I'll update again during our time here. Hi Everyone
This is just to let you know that we are back in the UK for a while. We have left Moontide in the marina in Mindelo as Chris's dad is pretty poorly and we wanted to make a visit back. Unfortunately this means we will miss our weather window to cross the Atlantic and therefore will delay our trip for a bit. It could well mean, however, that we actually meet up with some friends who hope to start their travels this year! i will update the site every now and then and also in the meantime try to rationalise the photos as I promised awhile ago. Don't forget us and those who do not get a nudge through my Facebook (Keren Norbury), do please check back in later on in the year if not before!!!! There was a little confusion over the time the ferry left but to make sure we left the boat at 7.00 to dingy ashore and walk down to the terminal. It’s quite a big car ferry that crosses – I was expecting something much smaller! Inevitably Chris had been told the correct time, 8.00am and we could have had an extra 30 minutes in bed; but we were not the only ones, a German couple holidaying on the island had been told 7.00am! From there we were taken to look down from the edge of the crater- down on to a patchwork of fields (almost like Devon!) Apparently they can grow just about anything there and in fact we were told that most of the fruit and veg sold in Mindelo comes from the island. We had got there just in time as while we were looking the clouds rolled in and we could not see the bottom! We went to the capital of the island – Ribeiro Grande - where there was a small fair selling locally made jams and drinks etc and we were treated to some local grogue made from sugar cane with honey and lemon. We had tasted it before as we’d bought a bottle (bottled in Santo Antao so probably from the same place) in the supermarket but I think it will probably remain in the medicine cabinet as a cure for coughs or sore throats! The nearby stall was pressing sugar cane and we tried the juice – oh boy was it sweet!!!!
The next stop was a traditional grogue distillery. It was a very simple affair but with the goats, chickens and cow all wandering around munching whatever was left lying around, I’m afraid we backed out of buying anything. After all this we just missed the 5.00pm ferry but Ronnie took us round Porto Novo a little – proudly showing off the hotel – and then to a meeting area that had been laid out in traditional fashion with small huts around a large area for music and dancing etc at festival time. Back on the ferry and back to Moontide by about 7.30pm fairly worn out although all we had been doing was sitting down in the van. It was a thoroughly enjoyable and informative day and well worth doing – we would recommend it to anyone! Staying here has been quite an experience. The culture is very different and although it is not nearly as poor as it was 6 years ago when Chris came here before, it is still obviously quite underdeveloped. Mindelo, itself, is a fairly old town that developed due to foreign interests using it as a re-coaling station for steamers crossing the Atlantic. It was also used by the communications industry when cable-laying. Since those times it has declined until recently and although kept fairly clean it is still run-down. In the last 6 years since the marina was built, it has had a big impact on the town and has brought a lot of money in. However, things do not change that quickly and perhaps it never will. I find it quite strange that the shops are more like the front rooms of houses or the store rooms beside. They’re pretty dark and you can’t quite see what’s being sold until you go inside! There are a number of markets but in the main fruit & veg one their wares are displayed but with no prices of course! The quality is quite poor – probably reflecting the fact that there is not much water around and also my standards coming from sanitised supermarkets in Europe. One does get the feeling that as a tourist you pay more than the locals. There are also many street traders trying to sell cheap bracelets and clothes etc but generally a “no” is quite sufficient and they don’t bother you further. And, of course, you do have hands being held out for a few coins from the street beggars but again, not aggressively and there are far fewer than before. There are three very good supermarkets – small by European standards but we have used them to re-stock the boat as they carry most of the commodities you need. We find the cost of living here to be slightly more than in the Canaries.
One of the fantastic things about cruising is meeting up with old friends. Sitting drinking our morning tea on Tuesday (we were a bit late as we were pretty knackered even though Chris was asleep by 9.15 and me by 10.00pm – very early for us), knock knock knock on the hull. Chris popped his head out and I heard him say “oh hello – I’ll just put some shorts on and get Keren to put her top on then come aboard” I thought I recognised the voice but C would not say So when I went up on deck, it was a lovely surprise to see Roger (from Sarah Giddings with wife Audrey) in his dinghy waiting to be tied on. We had first met up very briefly in the River Guadiana and then spent a few evenings with them in Rabat, where we were all bemoaning the fact that we couldn’t get any wine and sharing our last beers. I had last seen them very briefly – just to say hello - in Las Palmas when we got back from England so there was lots of catching up to be done. Audrey and Roger were in the marina but had seen us arrive on Monday. Roger stayed a while but we needed to pump up the dinghy to get ashore and book in so we agreed to meet up again later and possibly go ashore for the New Year celebrations.
About 7.30 we dinghied over to the marina, tied up alongside Sarah Giddings and were invited on board for a glass or two! We had a smashing evening catching up and talking about plans. At around 10.30 we were thinking about going into the town but could no longer hear any music and it seemed as if nothing was happening after all! By then we were beginning to feel too tired to be good company anyway so we went back to Moontide, where we lazed around until midnight. Suddenly around 12.00 all h**l broke loose and ships in the harbour, marina and at anchor all started blowing their horns and making a real racket! Chris got out our foghorn and joined in with gusto! There was a short but quite good, fire work display - we had a good view out in the anchorage and afterwards a load of, presumably out-of-date, red parachute flares were let off to fly out to sea – it was great and very shortly after it was all over we again collapsed in bed. Sorry Ive not posted before but we could not any wifi and I an currently in an internet cafe, very reasonable rates but not always available. Also on the keyboard i am using at the mo the punctuation keys are odd to say the least so forgive me for any oddities! Well, we finally set off at 2.15pm on Sunday, 22nd December; the total trip once logged into the GPS being 871 miles and we arrived in Mindelo at 5.30 Monday 29th, 8 days 3x¼ hours later, an average speed of 4.66 knots. All in all it was a really good trip (apart from the very rolly sea) and for us, pretty uneventful. We had hoped to leave on the Saturday and went to the marina office on Friday afternoon to get the exit paper for the boat which one of the guys there in September had said he could issue - only to be told that we had to go tot the port police right round the other side of the commercial harbour!! A no.1 bus or taxi trip. It was too late to go then so we went Saturday morning and once we found the correct place it was easy and the officials very pleasant but it did mean we didn’t leave that day. Anyway Sunday was lovely so off we went. We motored to our first two waypoints as there was not much wind but all the wind we had been having meant the sea was really rolly – AGAIN. Shortly before dusk we let out the headsail and shut down the engine – we can’t motor 800 odd miles! It was going quite slowly which meant the wind vane steering was having difficulty keeping us on course but over night we tacked and with wind over our port side we began to make some good progress, although still not nearly as fast as Chris had done it before We settled into our watch system really well (we do 5 hours on, 5 hours off which means we see different parts of the day - not always one of us having the rotten 12-5 watch with no sun, sunrise or sunset to cheer us up!!!)) and although I did have to call him early on a couple of occasions quite often he nearly got his allocated 5 hours!. I had the very early watch on Christmas Day (about 01.30) – it was a lovely moonlit night and I was listening to a recording of Amahl and the Night Visitors (a Christmas mini-opera a story of the first miracle) – quite magical. During the watch, the wind came up and Chris had to come up and reef the headsail but by mid-day we had done nearly 300 miles. When we changed watches around 2.00pm and we had a glass of wine and some nibbles to celebrate Christmas Day. A very very different type of day to usual!!! We were really sailing well now and the days were lovely and sunny although of course clear skies did mean it got a little chilly sometimes at night. On the 27th we changed the clocks as the Cape Verde Islands are an hour behind GMT and its quite useful to get into the correct time frame while at sea. On Sunday we began to realise that if we didn’t push it would arrive in the Cape Verdes at night – never a good thing to do if you are not familiar with a place- so we had to start working the boat to make sure we stayed on course but at a reasonable speed. We needed to average 5 knots to be fairly confident of making it. It was good fun really (and a bit competitive!) and by cutting off a corner around our waypoint we managed to get within 16 miles by mid-day on Tuesday and by about 2.00 we could see one of the islands appearing out of the haze. Between the islands there is a “wind acceleration zone” – which is roughly what it sound like – the wind speeds up! We found that it did indeed pickup and made it necessary for Chris to hand-steer Moontide as the self-steering could not cope. In fact it was pretty hard work for him and he suffered an aching back the next day!
Past the rock the seas calmed a little until we came out of it’s shelter when the waves were pretty strong again and one did give me a bit of a scare as I think we buried the nose and heeled over a lot more than usual! Chris says not and he does have just a little more experience than me. LOL
Thats enough for now folks. I must go and deliver my laundry to the laundry van. I do have more to say about our stay so far and will come back as soon as I can.
Well the first few days here were a taste of things to come and again we have had to mark time a bit in Las Palmas. For the first 10 days, it seemed to work out that every 2 days the wind would really blow up, making it very bouncy – meaning that not only was it tricky getting ashore but also that it was very difficult to do anything on board!! Finally things began to be calmer and by the end of the following week we could start stocking up on the supplies needed for the next stage – gas, water, food etc. Unfortunately we had not realised that Friday (6th) was a bank holiday so walked down to the supermarket only to find it closed!! We stopped at a nearby street café for a beer in consolation! Saturday was great and we did a large shop with our two wheelie trolleys!
Yesterday (Tuesday 17th) was better and I managed to get an I/net connection on board as it was so much calmer and therefore could update the site – realising the last post had not actually posted. We were ashore (shopping again!!) and bumped into one of friends from the River Guadiana, Hugh, Eagle Ray, who we had last seen in July in Ayamonte. We went for a coffee at the street café we’d been to before and had a great time catching up with all the RG news as he had only left that area about a month ago. Hugh is also looking to cross to Brazil via the Cape Verdes but not leaving for another month but hopefully we will meet him “on the other side”! Over the weekend we had decided that we did not really have enough time to make a visit to La Gomera worthwhile so we will set off from here very shortly (weather permitting ho-ho-ho) and go direct to the Cape Verde Islands. This is a trip of just about 800 miles (my longest one yet!) and when Chris went before, he had a really good sail and it only took him 7 days but based on our “average” though it could easily be longer. We hope to get there by the end of December, after spending Christmas at sea!!
The pointer shows the Cape Verde Islands and the little white dots by the dotted line between Morocco and Western Sahara are the Canaries. Sorry for the delay in posting- I thought this had been posted on Friday 29th but the connection was very bad and obviously it did not get through!!! Well, the title just about says it all!! We set off on Friday afternoon 22nd November to try to get to La Graciosa. We knew it would be close-hauled (for non-sailors this means we were going the wrong way – sailing into the wind!! Very noisy and bouncy bashing into the sea with the boat heeling to the point where the toe-rail is nearly in the water) all the way but decide to try for it. Moontide sails well to windward but not as close to the wind as we would like so we had to take a chance and see what the wind was actually doing. After about 3 hours we had got exactly 3 miles towards our destination. At this rate it would take us several days of fairly unpleasant and tiring sailing to get there when if the wind was in the “right” direction it would take less than a day!! We felt that this was rather a waste of time and effort and on the promise of flying out to see the island when “we’re old and grey” we decide to turn round and run down back to Las Palmas. Turning round made such a difference!! Suddenly we were sailing along very peacefully and it was great. I took watch for a couple of hours but unfortunately the winds died and shortly after Chris came up he started the motor up and we motor-sailed to Las Palmas.
As soon as the ARC boats left, other boats went in to take up the berths that they had booked. What a busy day for the marina staff!!!! This left the anchorage a bit less crowded and on Monday we re-anchored a little closer in with hopefully a little more protection. We were in no hurry to go ashore so sat in the cockpit with our usual cup of tea (and then maybe a beer!) and waited to check the anchor was well dug in. On Tuesday, we pumped up the dinghy and went ashore for some shopping. Chris was really pleased as the outboard – which had been fixed to the rail and not used whilst we have travelled around for the last 41/2 months started very easily. It was a lovely evening but during the night the winds really picked up and Tuesday was pretty uncomfortable and a bit worrying with the dinghy in the water behind us. Wednesday was not much better and it did not calm down until the evening but at least we got a peaceful night! We went ashore yesterday, booked in so we could have a shower and use the marina facilities but I nearly lost my memory sticks so could not update the site! Luckily I found them in the ladies showers, so here's the update!! Well, we’ve finally taken the plunge and hired a car!!!! It was something I wanted to do (as we will almost certainly want to later on) but I was rather scared as I’ve never driven on the “wrong” side of the road. Chris had done so once before but really not enjoyed it. (It had been a necessity to get to an airport as he had been told that he could get there easily by public transport but no, it wasn’t possible, so he was under pressure!) Graeme & Camille (Dreamtime Wanderer) and Cath & Bear (Claudia B) had all said that here was the ideal place to start as the roads are pretty good and there is not much traffic; and they were right; apart from almost putting us in the ditch a couple of times (I did find it hard to keep to the left – but then I do in England!!) and nearly giving Chris whiplash by hitting the brakes too hard, I got on fairly well and Chris became really confident so thanks guys!
Ray and Carol had been speaking to Cath & Bear as we left their boat on Wednesday and I had bumped into them on the way back from shopping on Tuesday and we had had a glass of wine together on board Moontide. We left about 7.00 and it was quite dark so Chris drove back – another good lesson.
PS I understand that it's forecast to turn really cold in the next week or so. I can really sympathise - I've had to put a denim shirt on over my T-shirt today!!!!!!
A very quick update to add some photos of the wall drawings in the town and the BBQ I mentioned before!! We took a bus trip to Morro Jable (where we MAY have anchored on the way here)and where we believed some old friends of Chris were in the marina. After a lunch in the newer part of the town we wandered round to the harbour/marina and we were delighted to find the boat AND call over and find that Cath & Bear (Steve) were there and we went over and spent a really lovely time catching up on board Claudia B. Inevitably I forgot to take any photos until we had left and JUST managed to get a shot from the quayside!
As we lwft there were clouds over the tops of the nearby hills - looking a little like rain. We have had some in the last week, some quite heavy but having said that we walked home from the bus just before 8.00 o'clock in shirt-sleeves!! We're having a great time here. Quite a lot of boats have come in since we arrived - perhaps because high winds were forecast and did, indeed, arrive!! It's calmed down today and boats are slowly drifting away. Well, not drifting exactly more like sailing, hopefully!!!
Last Sunday a large group of us, of all nationalities, met up for beers and tapas at lunchtime; as we got back to our boat at about 10.30 pm I'm sure you can imagine we had a very good time! Mind you, our first mistake may have been forgetting to change the clocks and we arrived an hour early and were just about to leave as we thought we were in the wrong place - luckily others started arriving! We were invited by a French couple to "aperitifs" at about 6.00 pm the next evening on the pontoon by their boat but by 4.00 pm on Monday this had morphed into a BBQ! I did take a photo but I've not transferred it to my stick yet and, inevitably, not got my camera with me now!! Having said that I don't think you can see anything as it was getting quite dark so I will take a 'daylight' pic of the area as well. Chris's ribs are now much improved and he has been making and fitting a rubbish bin in the galley which is now complete but needs painting - my job I think! We will probably be here for another week or so as we want to take a bus trip to Puero Rosario, the capital, so I'll be in touch again. Finally we left Las Palmas on Saturday. It has certainly been getting crowded with "ARC" boats, you can just see the blue and white flags in the photo. We have had a good time there but obviously it has not been the best!! As the winds were quite light we could not decide where to go until we had got outside the bay. At that stage, the best bet was to go to Morro Jable on the south of Fuerteventura, so off we set for an overnight sail - trying not to go too fast so we would arrive after it was light!
GT is about 20 miles further on and with no wind we had to motor quite hard to ensure we got there in daylight. When we did arrive we decided to drop anchor in the lovely bay. It was a bit rolly but wonderfully peaceful after the busy port of Las Palmas. We stayed at anchor for two nights (lovely!) and on Tuesday decided to try the marina. We were fairly certain we could see the mast of Dream Wanderer (with Graeme, Cam and Alex from LP) and indeed they were there and helped us in by taking our lines. Having got in we were asked to move to a smaller pontoon by the security guard but luckily there was plenty of room and Chris was able to put Moon tide against the pontoon easily. Cam & Graeme invited us on board for a cup of tea (and then a beer) and over for diner later. We had a really great time and it was so good to catch up with them again. GT is lovely - quiet & uncommercialised but with the facilities (supermarkets, gas and wifi!) that we need. There are a number of buses that go through the town so we hope to take a trip or two as we probably stay a couple of weeks to ensure Chris's ribs are ok. They stood up to the journey well but they did ache a bit.
All being well off tomorrow but....................... In this life things change VERY easily. We'll keep you updated but just not sure when!! Realised I've not put up a map of the Canaries; so the top one shows all the islands from right to left, stating at top right; Lanzarote; Fuerteventura; Gran Canaria; Tenerife; La Gomera; La Palma and unmarked El Hierro. The mainland shown is Morocco. The second one shows Gran Canaria with Las Palmas at the top and the marina is just about where the "M" is!! Below shows Morro Jable on Fuerteventura and the island (un-named) of La Graciosa at the north of Lanzarote, near Orzola.. Hi everyone.
I've not got a lot to say at the moment (do I hear "thank goodness" from some of you?). Chris's ribs have been quite sore and luckily we have managed to extend our stay in the marina. It has meant though that we have not done a great deal as one of the problems is getting up the ladder and I don't like to leave him to sleep on the pontoon!!! They are much improved and it looks as if we may leave on Saturday. We're not quite sure where or rather how far we are heading next. It may be that we just go to the south-east coat of Fuerteventura - about 60 - 80 miles away (the island just to the north and east of GC) but we may go on to La Graciosa (the slightly greenish island due north of Arrecife) top island showing!) our original planned destination. As we may well be anchoring when we get to wherever we're going, don't be surprised if I don't update for a while!! I've added a few pictures of our time in the UK in the gallery. I've not got pics of everyone we saw - as usual I kept forgetting to get my camera out!! Sorry!!!! {with apologies to the Beatles!!} Well, in fact we are now back in the Canaries but our time in the UK was pretty hectic so I did not get a chance to update the blog! This is rather wordy but I will add some pics to the gallery next time! We had a really great trip back home. Unfortunately Chris’s dad was pretty poorly for some of the time which did dampen our spirits whilst in Exeter, but he did improve a lot by the time we left. However, we have now received the news that he had to be taken into hospital and has had a minor op. Fingers crossed that this solves the problem. We were in the UK for 3 weeks and spent 11 days touring round the country to see my family and being treated so well by everyone. We even got to see water and boats everywhere we went, that was treat for us as we don’t see much of that sort of thing with our lifestyle!!! There were high spots to all our visits; From Beaulieu, my brother, Steve, took us to Lymington whilst Carol (my sister-in-law) was baby-sitting their grandchildren near Salisbury, and we spent loads of money buying things for the boat - especially a “Cobb BBQ”. We had a delightful drink with Steve in the Royal Lymington Yacht Club watching all the activity on the water. In Leicester, George and Pauline, my sister, picked up their daughter, Anna and took us to Rutland water where George keeps his corribee (a design of boat Chris sailed on for many years!). We rounded off the visit with bacon sandwiches in the club-house - overlooking the water!! From there we went to Lincoln to visit my daughter and her partner, Sarah and Danny, and following a rather heavy night, Sarah and I wandered round Lincoln whilst Danny was working and Chris lazing about with their new dog, Jack. Yes, we saw boats!! It was raining so on this occasion we didn’t hang about. Our next stop was Milton Keynes, where with my bother, Peter and Gwen took us out for lunch and then we had a typical English walk along a canal, picking blackberries!! Yes, more boats!!! Chris dropped me off in Bristol as he wanted to get back to see his dad and spend some time with his family, and I stayed with my son, Rob, and his girlfriend, Emily Breeze, (Chris insists I use her full name as he thinks its REALLY good!!). I went to their gig on Friday night and then on Saturday Rob and I (Emily was working) took a stroll in to Bristol, walked round the cathedral and ended up at the Mud Dock Café overlooking the river. Yes, even more boats!! I got back down to Exeter on Sunday to find that Chris’s bother-in-law Colin had been taken to hospital that morning with a suspected heart attack. His dad was still unwell, it seemed to come and go. Obviously, Chris’s sister, Lorraine, and her daughters were having a hard time of it. Lorraine had spent a lot of time at her dads but in typical Lorraine-fashion she was coping. Chris felt he’d done the right thing dropping me in Bristol as he was able to give a little bit of support to Lorraine and his brother, Bill and his wife, Jane, (nurse - very handy!), who were shouldering the responsibility. As Chris says, he was able to spend a lot of time with his brother and his sister which he enjoyed. On our final day, we went over to see Chris’s oldest son, Paul. Unfortunately we missed his youngest son J who was out - better luck next time!! Maybe next time we can also get up to Manchester to see Mark, his middle son! Prior to our travels we had already visited some other friends: we had called in to Turf at the start of the Exeter canal - more boats! (where Chris had spent 2 winters before we left) and caught up with Lyn and Steve who are desperately trying to catch us up in their boat, Daydream. The last we heard was that Steve had taken her down to Falmouth and was waiting for a weather window to get across Biscay. We also went down to Plymouth to catch up with another “old” friend, Mac; who has also sailed across the Atlantic but is now super-ace Latin-American dancer. We had a great afternoon and evening and met his new absolutely charming girl-friend Sam. Whilst I was in Bristol, Chris also called into to see his friends Kevin & Mo but unfortunately Kevin was away working in Africa. On leaving their boat, a converted fishing boat, he tripped over a cleat and ended up cracking his ribs on the side of the boat. I had been up to Taunton on Monday to see my ex-colleagues and my Cropredy friends and on Tuesday I was sorting out a minor problem with my flat so all in all the final few days flew past!! As you can see we have had a rather exhausting but thoroughly enjoyable trip back and should now be leaving as the marina is beginning to fill up with the ARC boats! (I think I’ve mentioned them but will check and explain if not!)
Due to the incident above, we’re here for another week; although Chris could sail the boat at the mo, my concern is that the rolling and any sudden movement could send him flying and bash his ribs again! Oh a sailors life!!!! As we are likely to be moving on to another island when we return from the UK, here’s a bit about our time here. Here are some photos of us getting on board as mentioned before – good for a laugh!!! The weather here for the first 10 days was fairly cloudy but has now brightened up – which is just as well; as what with covering up in Morocco and generally NOT sitting in the sun, I will probably have less tan than most of you- if rumours about the weather in the UK are anything to go by!! We have got quite friendly with the family on the next boat, Dream Wanderer, with Graeme, Camille and their son Alex (age 5) and we spent a smashing day with Graeme and Alex (Camille was off learning to scuba dive) in a nearby town called Arucas. A really lovely place – very pretty and laid-back without the hustle of Las Palmas.
Graeme had been before so he took Alex to the nearby park while we went round and then we stopped at a friendly café for coffee and tapas getting back at about 3.00pm – A thoroughly delightful day Two days later they left to take their boat about 8 miles to a fishing harbour where they were having her lifted out so that they could scrape and paint the bottom. We are hoping to catch with them again briefly when we return but all non-ARC boats have to leave the marina at the end of September and whilst we are hoping to get to La Gaciosa I think they are heading in a different direction – maybe to actually set off for the Cape Verdes – a journey we will do probably in December.
Think that’s all for now – hope to see lots of you shortly.
As we'll be back here on 26th and have to set off 2/3 days later but are not quite sure where in the Canaries we end up or what sort of access to communications we will have, it could be a while before I'm back in touch. Hasta Luego!! Our next hop was to the Canaries and we had planned to go to La Graciosa – a small sand island at the very north of Lanzarote. This is about 450 miles but with a small dog-leg to get out of shallow waters makes it a little further and we expected it to take about 4 - 6 days depending on wind etc. Chris had spent quite a bit of time there on both trips even leaving Moontide there while he flew home so it seemed ideal. Unfortunately, we heard and read in the pilot book that the island was now a national park and you had to have a permit to anchor in the bay and the marina was getting full and you needed to book so we were in two minds a little about it.
We started our watch rota and I was able to get a couple of hours rest (although I didn’t really sleep) but within minutes of Chris going below for his rest I saw a large boat that appeared to be coming straight for us and called him up. We were using the electronic auto-helm at this stage which holds the boat on course; we got past the ship eventually and he then did get some rest. We managed a few hours on and off after that although he was up and on watch by far the greater time. Tuesday was another lovely day – great sun rise – and the sailing was brilliant; definitely the best I had experienced with Moontide whizzing along at about 6 knots still using the electronic steering. The pattern continued throughout Wednesday and by now we were sailing virtually down wind so Chris had set up the wind-vane steering. This uses the wind to move the tiller and steer the boat so we do not need to. The seas were pretty big by now and we were rolling like mad and as the seas got bigger and bigger, I found it pretty scary and I really did begin to wonder if I was doing the right thing. Mind you, even Chris was not enjoying the rolling and we started discussing getting a narrow boat instead!!!! We were, however, flying along and in fact trying to slow ourselves down as it was almost stressing the boat and we did not want to arrive in the dark I was off watch on Thursday morning when I heard a loud strange bang. The waves breaking on the boat can be very loud but this did seem different and I called up and asked if all was ok. NO, he said! What?!! Apparently the tiller broke and part of it just fell off! It was dark and very rolly so it was definitely time for just an emergency fix and C was able to fix a broom handle into the part left and even tie on the self-steering!! This worked for Thursday and Chris had devised a better plan but when the handle broke for second time we could not get the remnants out and Plan B came into action. Chris dug out the spare wooden tiller carried and as by now the seas had calmed down a little he was able to unbolt the broken end and bolt on the new tiller!! Again he was able to attach the wind vane and off we went. BRILLIANT!
To Gran Canaria we had to pass through the shipping lanes between the port at Las Palmas and the island to the north and east - Fuerteventura but this was not a great problem and we saw very few ships. In fact it was worse trying to get into the anchorage near the marina as we had to cross the big ship route into the anchorage or marina!! Still we got in safely, dropped the hook and had a cup of tea, and a whiskey. We then had something to eat – neither of us had eaten much on the way across and spent our first peaceful night for week We anchored top left of the picture It was too good to be true though and early in the morning we were woken up and told that we could not anchor in the bay during the summer and had to go into the marina – with a temporary tiller - GREAT!!!! So up with the anchor and onto the reception/fuelling pontoon. No problem there as it was a long pontoon and there was plenty of space. We booked and were allocated our berth. It’s huge marina – its been developed as the ARC (Atlantic Rally Cruise ) sets off from here every November and there can be around 300 boats just coming into Las Palmas for that. The problem is that in this marina it is all “Mediterranean moor” which means that the boats are all moored stern or bow to the pontoon right next to each other – there are no finger pontoons to actually moor alongside. This gives us two problems: firstly getting in is EXTREMELY difficult as there is very little room and secondly getting off the boat! We went in bow first as we have the wind vane steering on the stern and a member of the marina staff was out in a big rib to help push us into place and all went well. We were also helped by Graham off the boat next to us (also looking after his own boat) to tie up and they showed us how to pick up the “slime lines” that lead to the heavy mooring ropes that hold the stern in place. Different Photo to follow!! It can be quite a sociable way of mooring as generally all cockpits are together but we are unusual by being bow-to and unfortunately both the boats on either are much higher than us so I do feel a little trapped. I also feel it’s a bit like a car park as it's such a vast marina. Getting off as I said is a bit of a problem as we have to climb over the pulpit on the bow!! Luckily we were carrying a ladder and we put this down to the pontoon and climb over!! I’m getting used to it but it’s certainly not my favourite way of getting off the boat!
PS
As we are in a marina and the boat quite safe and secure (it is our home after all!!) we have booked tickets back to the UK and will be there from 6th to 25th September so hope to see you soon!!! Hi Folks
We have finally arrived in the Canaries and I am able to update the blog. To try to continue the usual pattern I will do it in 3 sections: 1) River Guadiana to Rabat, 2) Morocco and 3) Rabat to the Canary Islands (Gran Canaria). So here are the first two installments and hopefully I'll add the last one in the next day or so - that way there's not TOO much to read at a time!!
We had known that alcohol was expensive in Morocco and thought that was a good reason to not drink much while we were there! What I had not realised was that in fact it’s illegal to sell alcohol during Ramadan unless it’s to non-Moroccans! The shops in Rabat and Sale just did not sell it at all but it was more relaxed in Marrakech where you could buy it on production of your passport and then half crawled under a barrier!!! And the Old As I said we would not be in a hurry to rush back - you had to be on your guard against anyone offering you any type of help. When we arrived in Marrakech, we were followed out of our taxi and when we missed the turning to our riad, a chap immediately, unasked, gave us directions and showed us the way (a matter of 200 yards!). Very nice we thought but he was unhappy with our tip and became quite abusive when we would not give him more – he was asking for the equivalent of a days labour. It did become obvious that he was known to the staff of the hotel and to other guests who gave him a very short answer! Having said that it was an amazing place.
Hi Folks
Sorry it's been so long since I last posted. We've arrived safely in Morocco after a fairly uneventful sail/motor-sail. It's brilliant here but unfortunately it has been quite difficult to get inter-active internet access so this is just a very brief message to say we're OK!! I will update properly ASAP. It is likely that we will be off again at the end of the week; on our way towards the Canaries. The trip is likely to take about 6/7days so as we don't know exactly when we will leave and what sort of access we will have when we arrive it may be a little while before I can post! Finally, just as we are about to leave I have worked out how to add a map!!!! Typical.Any way above shows where we have been all winter and HOPEFULLY you can zoom in etc
I will try to put some maps in a gallery too to explain our route so far. We've had a bit of fun here: the other we heard great shouts across from the marina when Chris was sitting in the cockpit. He looked up and one of the (unofficial) car parking attendants was gesticulating madly at him. It took a few minutes but eventually we realised he was saying that something jhad fallen in the water and as we did I saw a tiny bird floundering beside the boat next to us. I took my eyes off it for a moment to tell C and when I looked back it was gone. Luckily C had seen it go round the transom (back) of the boat and he rushed off with the boat hook, imagining that he would have to try to hook and drag it out. In fact he put the hook in the water and the little thing scrambled up ti at a rate of knots and right into C's hand!! The phrase "drowning man" sprang to mind! I got a old towel tea-towel and we wrapped it up realising it was in fact a little parrot. The gesticulating man came haring round on a bicycle and I think C had a friend for life! Some friends from up river (Gabriella, Martin, Tara and Mark) came down the other week to do some shopping so we met up and shared a few beers, tapas and gossip and it was great to see them and not feel out of touch. Some less good news was that C was having tooth trouble and yesterday went to the dentist. The service was EXCELLENT. HE was recommended this dentist by the nearby chemist who phoned to check what time they closed. He walked -straight into the chair and "best dentist he's ever had" took time and trouble to extract his tooth easily and painlessly. He then had to grit the rest of his teeth and pay - but it only cost him 40 euros!! Amazing! If anyone needs a dentist in Ayamonte he was in Rua Isla Christina just behind the ferry!! As I say we are likely to be leaving the marina tomorrow (if it's not too windy - the wind has come up today and it that can make manoeuvring very difficult. We are heading towards Rabat on the Atlantic Coast of Morocco but will probably stop en route at a couple of places on the Spanish coast on the way, so don't expect to reach there for a week or so. We may well then have a few days travelling around Rabat as buses are meant to be plentiful but................ It is also possible that if the conditions are not right to enter Rabat, we will turn right and go direct to the Canaries which is usually about a 5 day sail. All in all this means that we are very likely to be out of touch for a little while - especially as we do not know how good I/net access will be or if our phones will work and at what cost!! Have fun everyone - take good care and we'll be back in touch with some new adventures soon. The last few days have been really hot and still; so I’ve dug out the “Windscoop” my family gave us as a leaving present. This funnels any breeze in through one of the hatches to provide movement of air down below. In addition to the awning that Chris made up river it really helps keeps thing reasonably OK!!! Typically, the first day I put it up the wind came up and forced me to take it down as it was getting almost chilly and then (surprise surprise) within a short time the wind died away!! Hey ho that’s life!!!
It was Chris’s birthday last week so we had a day off and went out for a lovely Chinese meal at lunchtime – just as well we’d decided not to do anything! The restaurant came highly recommended and lived up to it’s reputation – a set meal for 7.50E and it was really plenty; even for us! It’s getting a bit too hot to work in the afternoons now and you all know how good we are at mornings!!! Still, we are moving on slowly. The life raft is currently being serviced – we were boarded up river by the GNR (Portugese river police) and they put us in their little black book as the certificate for the life raft had expired and we have to show a new one before we leave. I’m not quite sure what they could do if we don’t but it’s worth doing anyway! It was quite an experience – they come up river in what looks like a small warship and then visit the boats in a large rib (big enough for about 10 people!) looking at the ships papers and our passports and checking that the flares, fire extinguishers and life raft are still in date. They can fine on the spot but luckily, I think that as everything else was OK, they did not fine us. They were very pleasant but certainly looked intimidating with guns and very military-style uniforms! I have finally discovered how to compress & resize photos!! Recently, I have found the site very slow to update and I think it could be that the galleries have got sa bit too large so I am going to rationalise and compress the pictures of the old ones. The signal is not always brilliant and my small laptop is not that fast anyway so while we are in the marina I can take advantage of the local cyber café and use their computers which enable me to manipulate things more easily. From now on I hope to load the pics in the galleries at full size and after a while I’ll then compress & rationalise them. This hopefully will help the speed without too much difference to how it all looks!! All this, of course, this leaves Chris free to do all the hard work on the boat!!!
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Keren & ChrisFollows us here on you journey, we will keep you posted on how were doing. Archives
March 2014
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