We are now finishing off our jobs list and still planning to leave on Wednesday afternoon to the Cape Verdes, Spanish postal system permitting.
Octavia arrived at the boat this morning at 8:30, explaining that the parts we need to complete our fit out, which in his words should have arrived yesterday, were still in the hands of the postal system. Here we go, best laid plans and all that!
Octavia had contacted them to find out when they would be dropped off at the shop and all being well, they would be with him by one o’clock in the afternoon, Hmmmm, this is highly unlikely as this time is very close to siesta (people vanish and everything stops and I mean everything), but we shall see, maybe this is the equivalent to the cheque is in the post.
So, the plan is still to leave tomorrow afternoon all being well, fingers crossed.
The ARC boats are now arriving thick and fast from countries far and wide, I can see it becoming incredibly busy over the next six weeks. So the decision we had taken previously to cut short our visit to the Island of Las Palma by us was the right one.
Tuesday 30 September 2008
Monday 29 September 2008
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Sunday night Malcolm treated us to a Chinese meal, after both Jo and I had spent an hour or two trying to improve matters with is PC, which hopefully now is running a little faster and the PC fan being identified as the grinding noise coming from inside the computer, which luckily is still under warranty so should be an easy fix.
Monday morning was spent going through our stores working out our meal itinerary, with the pilot guides advising on stocking up here in the Canaries when planning an Atlantic crossing via the Verdes as food prices tend to be more expensive.
This is quite an interesting exercise and you would not believe how long these things can take!
Later that afternoon Tina called to arrange to meet for a coffee at the Real Club Nautico with the family, we arranged to meet at 5-30, with little Tina and Rafa junior having lessons in Karate at the club followed by a swim in the pool. Tina was aware that my birthday was looming and had baked a cake to celebrate the occasion the kids duly sang happy birthday to me in both Spanish and English, which was very touching. The cake was fabulous all concerned tucked into the cake after blowing out the candles of course.
Both Jo and I agree that both Christina and Rafael have a great family and are examples for others follow on being parents!
We then came back to the boat after saying our goodbyes to Tina and the kids and made some excuse being back at the boat to use the internet (translates to going to the bar, being the only place we can communicate to you good people)
Monday morning was spent going through our stores working out our meal itinerary, with the pilot guides advising on stocking up here in the Canaries when planning an Atlantic crossing via the Verdes as food prices tend to be more expensive.
This is quite an interesting exercise and you would not believe how long these things can take!
Later that afternoon Tina called to arrange to meet for a coffee at the Real Club Nautico with the family, we arranged to meet at 5-30, with little Tina and Rafa junior having lessons in Karate at the club followed by a swim in the pool. Tina was aware that my birthday was looming and had baked a cake to celebrate the occasion the kids duly sang happy birthday to me in both Spanish and English, which was very touching. The cake was fabulous all concerned tucked into the cake after blowing out the candles of course.
Both Jo and I agree that both Christina and Rafael have a great family and are examples for others follow on being parents!
We then came back to the boat after saying our goodbyes to Tina and the kids and made some excuse being back at the boat to use the internet (translates to going to the bar, being the only place we can communicate to you good people)
Sunday 28 September 2008
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
A quiet day again, the sun is out and I have settled in to my now usual routine of trying to remember what we have been up to all week to do the blog. We have downloaded the Raymarine Chart planning software so are looking at trying to do the Where We Are, Where We Have Been pages for the blog more graphically. Malcolm has also just walked past with his flying friends to borrow a 24V charger from the dayboat, as they weren’t able to fly on Saturday due to flat batteries. Kevin is going to have a look at his computer for him later, so off we go again!
Stray kittens at the marina
Stray kittens at the marina
Saturday 27 September 2008
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
In the morning when we woke up it was clear that the reason for the odd weather had been tropical winds from the Sahara because the boat was covered in red sand. We spent the rest of the day washing the boat of sand, disinfecting surfaces, washing up again every piece of kitchen equipment and replacing the galley. Still no signs of cockroaches and according to the marketing on Zum we should be protected for the year.
On the way to the showers we saw that the skipper had arrived on Swan Dancer, a lovely wooden cruiser at the end of the pontoon. He was out on deck, so we introduced ourselves. Malcolm is predominantly a solo sailor and we’d seen him arrive when we were at anchor here in July under sail, now we understood that was because he’d lost his engine on the way from Madeira not just that he was an enthusiast as we’d thought. He said he was in the ARC and would be around, so we said we’d see him about.
Sure enough we headed out with our intention of a couple of quick beers before dinner onboard to the Sailor Bar. We bumped into Malcolm and in the way that these things seem to go now another late night ensued with a late dinner at the Italian restaurant on the waterfront and rather too much wine. Apparently Swan Dancer is one of the last of the original wooden yachts made by Moody still around and he has sailed her thousands of miles with or without crew. Malcolm is currently heading to Sydney for 2010 to fulfil a bet made in Argentina a couple of years ago! It was a really good evening and we exchanged contact details as Malcolm was flying the next day for lunch on one of the other islands on his plane which he had also brought across to the Canaries. He’d hoped to be able to invite us too, but wasn’t sure if a third person was already joining so said he’d try and contact him first thing and give us a call.
Red sand on board after tropical wind
On the way to the showers we saw that the skipper had arrived on Swan Dancer, a lovely wooden cruiser at the end of the pontoon. He was out on deck, so we introduced ourselves. Malcolm is predominantly a solo sailor and we’d seen him arrive when we were at anchor here in July under sail, now we understood that was because he’d lost his engine on the way from Madeira not just that he was an enthusiast as we’d thought. He said he was in the ARC and would be around, so we said we’d see him about.
Sure enough we headed out with our intention of a couple of quick beers before dinner onboard to the Sailor Bar. We bumped into Malcolm and in the way that these things seem to go now another late night ensued with a late dinner at the Italian restaurant on the waterfront and rather too much wine. Apparently Swan Dancer is one of the last of the original wooden yachts made by Moody still around and he has sailed her thousands of miles with or without crew. Malcolm is currently heading to Sydney for 2010 to fulfil a bet made in Argentina a couple of years ago! It was a really good evening and we exchanged contact details as Malcolm was flying the next day for lunch on one of the other islands on his plane which he had also brought across to the Canaries. He’d hoped to be able to invite us too, but wasn’t sure if a third person was already joining so said he’d try and contact him first thing and give us a call.
Red sand on board after tropical wind
Friday 26 September 2008
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
We didn’t get a call from Malcolm in the morning, so decided to have a lie in after a little too much wine the night before. We went for a coffee in the Sailor Bar later though and did pick up and email from Malcolm, to confirm that he’d not had space and had come past the boat but obviously found we were not up and about.
Thursday 25 September 2008
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Thursday we were back to work restoring the boat to some sort of order. The Pikorua crew left mid-morning so we said our goodbyes to them, hoping to meet again somewhere in the Caribbean or perhaps the Panama canal. Just as we said goodbye to them Tina dropped by to say hello and see how we were getting on with our preparations. We had a good chat with her, albeit outside in the cool wind that had started up due to the eau d’Zum onboard, from a second belt and braces spray that morning.
Not long after we’d said goodbye to Tina arranging to meet again on Monday before we leave, it was starting to rain quite heavily. It also was rather oddly for here gusting thirty knots westerly in the usually very sheltered marina. We tightened our lines and were fine, but it was obviously an unusual event because there were headsails unfurling on one side of the marina, the large Glass bottomed dayboat moored three spaces up from us, underneath the pontoon ramp which never goes out but seems to have a permanent staff of boat sitters started to ram the pontoon. They didn’t seem to be doing a great deal to stop it and very soon their boarding ramp was pulled off the bow and wedged under the pontoon ramp. They had butted the electric point two or three times and it was looking rather lopsided when the port police and one of the marina attendants arrived and appeared to suggest in forceful terms that they should perhaps think of tightening up their stern lines. This they did and the boat was now safe from hitting the pontoon, the boat immediately beside us on the other side was yawing over towards us with each gust but seemed safe enough. We hoped that the Pikorua crew weren’t hit with this as they were due to be heading west along the north coast of Gran Canaria, as this had not been in the forecasts. However after about an hour the gusts had died down again, leaving behind a warm but lighter wind and rain.
Having fumigated ourselves off the boat, we decided to head to the Sailor bar for a leisurely afternoon on the internet with some of their lovely coffee. After several years of fruit/herbal teas whilst working and resisting Starbucks, thanks to our present of an Expresso pot from my parents and Angelo and Michelle I now cannot operate without my daily 11.30am expresso! So we had a leisurely afternoon, Kevin ever encourageable already planning our next boat and me with my book. We watched the rain pouring outside through the open front of the café and for the first time was reminded of long weekends at home planning this trip and watching the rain outside. Obviously the other bonus is that apparently cockroaches don’t like the rain.
We headed back to the boat in the late afternoon and finally got to eat our prawns with a salad now that the smell had subsided on the boat. After we’d eaten the rain had finally stopped, but there was now a very warm breeze and the boat had dried off completely, at 10pm our little weather station was reading 25 degrees.
Pikorua departs for Puerto Mogan
Not long after we’d said goodbye to Tina arranging to meet again on Monday before we leave, it was starting to rain quite heavily. It also was rather oddly for here gusting thirty knots westerly in the usually very sheltered marina. We tightened our lines and were fine, but it was obviously an unusual event because there were headsails unfurling on one side of the marina, the large Glass bottomed dayboat moored three spaces up from us, underneath the pontoon ramp which never goes out but seems to have a permanent staff of boat sitters started to ram the pontoon. They didn’t seem to be doing a great deal to stop it and very soon their boarding ramp was pulled off the bow and wedged under the pontoon ramp. They had butted the electric point two or three times and it was looking rather lopsided when the port police and one of the marina attendants arrived and appeared to suggest in forceful terms that they should perhaps think of tightening up their stern lines. This they did and the boat was now safe from hitting the pontoon, the boat immediately beside us on the other side was yawing over towards us with each gust but seemed safe enough. We hoped that the Pikorua crew weren’t hit with this as they were due to be heading west along the north coast of Gran Canaria, as this had not been in the forecasts. However after about an hour the gusts had died down again, leaving behind a warm but lighter wind and rain.
Having fumigated ourselves off the boat, we decided to head to the Sailor bar for a leisurely afternoon on the internet with some of their lovely coffee. After several years of fruit/herbal teas whilst working and resisting Starbucks, thanks to our present of an Expresso pot from my parents and Angelo and Michelle I now cannot operate without my daily 11.30am expresso! So we had a leisurely afternoon, Kevin ever encourageable already planning our next boat and me with my book. We watched the rain pouring outside through the open front of the café and for the first time was reminded of long weekends at home planning this trip and watching the rain outside. Obviously the other bonus is that apparently cockroaches don’t like the rain.
We headed back to the boat in the late afternoon and finally got to eat our prawns with a salad now that the smell had subsided on the boat. After we’d eaten the rain had finally stopped, but there was now a very warm breeze and the boat had dried off completely, at 10pm our little weather station was reading 25 degrees.
Pikorua departs for Puerto Mogan
Wednesday 24 September 2008
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
So Wednesday we set off on our new mission to make our boat as unappealing for cockroaches as possible. We bumped into Barry on the way to buy our plastic boxes who recommended Zum spray to be used on lines to prevent them walking across and as a general deterrent, it seems everyone was having the same concerns. He also recommended seeing Florence at Rolnautic about some special poison which is left in the corner of cupboards and apparently is very effective that had been recommended to him by some Italians who’d had a previous infestation.
So off we went and stocked up at El Cote Ingles with an industrial sized tin of Zum, about 12 plastic boxes in various sizes, some fresh prawns for lunch. However, when we got back our zeal for the job meant we worked straight through lunch, I emptied out the galley and sprayed all the cupboards with Zum. All part used bags of pasta etc resealed with tags were transferred to plastic boxes or if not sufficiently sealed then thrown out. Kevin emptied out the cockpit locker which is one of our areas of vulnerability as the exit for the shore power is not insect proof. So he reorganised that space with the help of plastic boxes, cleaned it all out and sprayed liberally. Kevin then sprayed the lines. I hoovered and disinfected and we decided to leave the galley contents in the guest cabin overnight so as not to risk the contamination with the poisonous Zum. Therefore we decided to head up the Sailor Bar for some food and a beer after our exertions and to save trying to cook as the boat had a very strong odour of Zum!
Luckily our last flyscreen arrived in the post from Karen which had been on back order, sent 10 days before, even though Karen had been told 3 days to deliver, we’d begun to think it would not make it. So now we can at least leave one hatch open in the saloon without threat of invasion.
So off we went and stocked up at El Cote Ingles with an industrial sized tin of Zum, about 12 plastic boxes in various sizes, some fresh prawns for lunch. However, when we got back our zeal for the job meant we worked straight through lunch, I emptied out the galley and sprayed all the cupboards with Zum. All part used bags of pasta etc resealed with tags were transferred to plastic boxes or if not sufficiently sealed then thrown out. Kevin emptied out the cockpit locker which is one of our areas of vulnerability as the exit for the shore power is not insect proof. So he reorganised that space with the help of plastic boxes, cleaned it all out and sprayed liberally. Kevin then sprayed the lines. I hoovered and disinfected and we decided to leave the galley contents in the guest cabin overnight so as not to risk the contamination with the poisonous Zum. Therefore we decided to head up the Sailor Bar for some food and a beer after our exertions and to save trying to cook as the boat had a very strong odour of Zum!
Luckily our last flyscreen arrived in the post from Karen which had been on back order, sent 10 days before, even though Karen had been told 3 days to deliver, we’d begun to think it would not make it. So now we can at least leave one hatch open in the saloon without threat of invasion.
Tuesday 23 September 2008
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Tuesday we visited the Supermarket to top up supplies in the rain which had set in. We had a fairly quiet day a couple of beers in the Sailor Bar early on then back to the boat. As we sat in the saloon that evening a large cockroach landed on the table between us and we realised that we had left the hatch open. The cockroaches on the pontoon are rife, possibly exacerbated by the fumigation of the sewers the week before. Kevin quickly disposed of our unwanted guest but we realised we were going to have to get tougher to make sure we don’t get infested. We have very large stocks on board now ready for the next leg through the Cape Verdes which are apparently rather expensive and not well stocked then the Atlantic crossing. We decided that although most is in tins that we would go out and buy a load of plastic storage boxes to store all the packets in. We would also need to go through the entire boat to remove cardboard in which cockroaches can lay eggs. Finally yet another more thorough spring clean to make sure there is nothing for them to eat by removing any crumbs etc. It was the first time that I had ever seen a live cockroach and I really didn’t want to be living alongside them. We already have the boat moored 3-4ft off the pontoon, in order to make sure that it is not too easy for them to jump onboard, which is certainly making me a lot better at jumping ashore too, though is a little off putting for our guests who generally have to be helped aboard!
Monday 22 September 2008
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
After another late night on Sunday sat out on the cockpit of Pikorua with Barry, Marie-Jeanne, Jennifer and Marie-Jeanne’s parents talking about the cruising life and our plans for the future until the early hours. We had an early-ish start with Octavio due to arrive at 9am to collect our main sail for repair, well hopefully anyway.
Octavio and his colleague did arrive at 9.30am and wasted no time in getting straight up on deck to remove the sail and battens. The sail was neatly in its bag and on its way to the shop within about 20 minutes. We are not sure yet exactly when they will fit in the repair, but we understood later that they are having to make a larger ring for the head of the sail in the workshop and it will be about a week as they are very busy at the moment.
Another quiet day other than that, battling with iTunes and starting the loading of my audio books ready for the next long passage.
Octavio and his colleague did arrive at 9.30am and wasted no time in getting straight up on deck to remove the sail and battens. The sail was neatly in its bag and on its way to the shop within about 20 minutes. We are not sure yet exactly when they will fit in the repair, but we understood later that they are having to make a larger ring for the head of the sail in the workshop and it will be about a week as they are very busy at the moment.
Another quiet day other than that, battling with iTunes and starting the loading of my audio books ready for the next long passage.
Sunday 21 September 2008
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Today we have just been doing a bit of reading and blog updating, followed later with some Spanish for me (some free Podcasts I have downloaded). We have been invited for some drinks with Barry and Marie-Jeanne and Marie-Jeanne’s parents who have now arrived from Luxembourg this evening on their boat.
Saturday 20 September 2008
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Having had not a day off from boat jobs all week we felt we had earned a weekend today and so Kevin set about dusting off his sextant in order to get in practice for the next crossing. He has also got some software called Nav32 which he wanted to try, so I left his revising his notes and taking sun-sights whilst I went off on a shopping quest.
Ever since I joined the boat in June carrying a lovely print of a turtle which I bought some years ago in Hawaii we have been looking for an appropriate way to hang it. We’d agreed with Alex that it would go in her cabin, but we’d only found the standard hooks so far on each island and so I continued the quest to El Corte Ingles. Finally, I had found what we wanted on the 6th floor, a small oval shaped plate with two holes on one end, through which you screw into the back frame and a slot at the other end which protrudes to the side of the picture and is used to secure to the wall. Kevin is meticulous about doing the job right and waiting for the right solution, so finally we can hang the picture. Except you’ve guessed it the screws we had were too small for the slot so Monday will be another trip, but finally we will be there!
We went back to the Sailor Bar to answer some eBay questions and tell them we would not tell them the reserve price and to authorise the new laptop to play our iTunes purchases (another unexpected difficulty). We returned to the boat for our dinner, curried lentils, another cruising recipe before heading down the other side of the breakwater to take Kevin’s star sights and 8.24pm which is apparently Civil twilight. It is not exactly ideal, due to the light pollution and the limited horizon available which mean that only a two point fix was possible on Altair and Jupiter. However, he was very pleased in the circumstances to get a fix of 28°16’.0N, 15°17’.6W (Actual 28°07’.5N, 15°25’.5W)
Ever since I joined the boat in June carrying a lovely print of a turtle which I bought some years ago in Hawaii we have been looking for an appropriate way to hang it. We’d agreed with Alex that it would go in her cabin, but we’d only found the standard hooks so far on each island and so I continued the quest to El Corte Ingles. Finally, I had found what we wanted on the 6th floor, a small oval shaped plate with two holes on one end, through which you screw into the back frame and a slot at the other end which protrudes to the side of the picture and is used to secure to the wall. Kevin is meticulous about doing the job right and waiting for the right solution, so finally we can hang the picture. Except you’ve guessed it the screws we had were too small for the slot so Monday will be another trip, but finally we will be there!
We went back to the Sailor Bar to answer some eBay questions and tell them we would not tell them the reserve price and to authorise the new laptop to play our iTunes purchases (another unexpected difficulty). We returned to the boat for our dinner, curried lentils, another cruising recipe before heading down the other side of the breakwater to take Kevin’s star sights and 8.24pm which is apparently Civil twilight. It is not exactly ideal, due to the light pollution and the limited horizon available which mean that only a two point fix was possible on Altair and Jupiter. However, he was very pleased in the circumstances to get a fix of 28°16’.0N, 15°17’.6W (Actual 28°07’.5N, 15°25’.5W)
Friday 19 September 2008
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
More boat jobs continued on our now dwindling list today, Kevin was cleaning and moving the tender to lie face down on the trampoline for the next passage. We also store the outboard in the anchor locker to better distribute weight and prevent chafe on the davits or catching from following waves, which meant a clean up and reorganisation of that space.
I had bought some specialist vinyl cleaning solution to clean the salon sofa cushions, which came up really well. One thing we have not objected to paying yacht tax for is the specialist cleaning solutions, you can tell the difference instantly when you use them and it does seem to afford some protection afterwards too.
We also received approval for the quote today for the sail repair, so we went to the sail shop to book the work. In what is become the usual ritual we ended up going twice, the first to receive an indefinite answer, the second to speak to Octavio, who was still not back, but they rang his mobile to ask (I know why they did not do this the first time is a mystery). We were booked in for the work on Wednesday next week and someone would come that afternoon before 2pm to remove the sail and transport it to the shop plus deliver our rope to the boat. Obviously, 2pm came and went with no sign of anyone and by 5.30pm when we were heading to the Sailor Bar for WiFi and a beer I thought I’d better drop by and check no one would go to the boat in our absence. Third time lucky, saw Octavio, who apologised and said he’d collect the sail 9am on Monday.
I have finally re-established our iTunes library on the new computer and even found some tracks which because they were poorly labelled had been removed before. All laptops are now backed up, another overdue job ticked off. Although, we now do not have space on the new laptop for my 45 CDs of 6 Audio books (Penguin Classic collection) I had been saving for the Atlantic passage and part of the reason for embarking on this mission. So, another job has been created to sort through some of the 80Gb of data we have accumulated and find some space.
I had bought some specialist vinyl cleaning solution to clean the salon sofa cushions, which came up really well. One thing we have not objected to paying yacht tax for is the specialist cleaning solutions, you can tell the difference instantly when you use them and it does seem to afford some protection afterwards too.
We also received approval for the quote today for the sail repair, so we went to the sail shop to book the work. In what is become the usual ritual we ended up going twice, the first to receive an indefinite answer, the second to speak to Octavio, who was still not back, but they rang his mobile to ask (I know why they did not do this the first time is a mystery). We were booked in for the work on Wednesday next week and someone would come that afternoon before 2pm to remove the sail and transport it to the shop plus deliver our rope to the boat. Obviously, 2pm came and went with no sign of anyone and by 5.30pm when we were heading to the Sailor Bar for WiFi and a beer I thought I’d better drop by and check no one would go to the boat in our absence. Third time lucky, saw Octavio, who apologised and said he’d collect the sail 9am on Monday.
I have finally re-established our iTunes library on the new computer and even found some tracks which because they were poorly labelled had been removed before. All laptops are now backed up, another overdue job ticked off. Although, we now do not have space on the new laptop for my 45 CDs of 6 Audio books (Penguin Classic collection) I had been saving for the Atlantic passage and part of the reason for embarking on this mission. So, another job has been created to sort through some of the 80Gb of data we have accumulated and find some space.
Thursday 18 September 2008
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
On Thursday we went in search of some new fishing tackle for Kevin as we had hooked into a couple of fish lately which had gotten away due the barbs having rusted off the current gear. Also, the silver appearance of his favourite lure was now extremely patchy and probably not going to fool any fish. After walking miles to the places listed in the pilot book for fishing tackle and finding not a single shop, we went to El Corte Ingles, the department store, expecting to find only a scant and expensive selection. However, quite the reverse was true and Kevin was like a kid in a sweet shop trying to decide which to get. He has gone for some jigging lures (for those with any understanding at all what that might be) for use on passage.
We also managed to find a new boat brush at the nearby hardware store for €6.82, which seemed quite a bargain, as the special brush heads sold in the chandlery (made from exactly the same brushed polypropylene) were €53 (with the addition of yacht tax). So, another external wash of the boat was commenced, as soon as Kevin had finished with his fishing tackle, as we are moored under palm trees which shed some sort of spores all over the deck everyday that looks like ash.
The evening we invited Barry, Marie-Jeanne and Barry’s daughter Jennifer over for a few drinks, they had recently arrived in their Beneteau 57 and are moored just up the pontoon from us. They are taking part in the ARC, but will spend sometime cruising the islands before, with Marie-Jan’s parents arriving on Saturday. They came over about 7pm for sundowners, but as often seems to happen the drinking went on until the early hours, though Barry and Marie-Jan did sensibly stop for some dinner before midnight (though this may have been partly due to their big night out the night before!).
We also managed to find a new boat brush at the nearby hardware store for €6.82, which seemed quite a bargain, as the special brush heads sold in the chandlery (made from exactly the same brushed polypropylene) were €53 (with the addition of yacht tax). So, another external wash of the boat was commenced, as soon as Kevin had finished with his fishing tackle, as we are moored under palm trees which shed some sort of spores all over the deck everyday that looks like ash.
The evening we invited Barry, Marie-Jeanne and Barry’s daughter Jennifer over for a few drinks, they had recently arrived in their Beneteau 57 and are moored just up the pontoon from us. They are taking part in the ARC, but will spend sometime cruising the islands before, with Marie-Jan’s parents arriving on Saturday. They came over about 7pm for sundowners, but as often seems to happen the drinking went on until the early hours, though Barry and Marie-Jan did sensibly stop for some dinner before midnight (though this may have been partly due to their big night out the night before!).
Wednesday 17 September 2008
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Wednesday continued with more computer back-up work and another boat spring clean. Kevin has contracted man-flu and hasn’t been feeling too well, it seems odd to have a cold in a warm climate although actually there was some fairly heavy rain overnight on Wednesday and more mud coming down off the rigging, though hopefully it should now all be clean.
Tuesday 16 September 2008
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Tuesday morning, Octavio arrived with the quote for the sail repairs as arranged. We then scanned it using the printer / scanner / copier we had brought from home and which has earned its keep multiple times already in our trip to send to our brokers, MI Cats. MI Cats, currently at the Southampton Boat Show were to send the quote for approval to Fountaine Pajot who have just got back from the August shutdown in France and have the Grand Pavious Boat Show going on in La Rochelle. Hence, we were keen to get the ball in motion straight away to reduce delays.
I finally having cracked the computer backup problem with the use of xcopy and the Wi-Fi link spent the day copying files from my old laptop to our new laptop, step one of the process. I also had to get my car back on eBay following the previous lack of success and my parents kindly arranging the MOT which it has luckily passed straight through – thanks Dad for changing the brake pads. Hopefully, this will do the trick.
I finally having cracked the computer backup problem with the use of xcopy and the Wi-Fi link spent the day copying files from my old laptop to our new laptop, step one of the process. I also had to get my car back on eBay following the previous lack of success and my parents kindly arranging the MOT which it has luckily passed straight through – thanks Dad for changing the brake pads. Hopefully, this will do the trick.
Monday 15 September 2008
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Monday morning we woke up full of enthusiasm to get our final jobs done so we can be underway on 1st Oct (weather permitting). We had heard from MI Cats that we needed to get a quote for the repair of the wear on the main sail, so we headed off to the sail shop at the marina to try and arrange it. The remainder of spare sheets (rope) that we had ordered from them was on the counter when we entered, so things were looking up. We spoke to the lady that we had been dealing with for sometime and showed her some pictures on the laptop of the wear to the sail. Her response was that they would book us an appointment for 22nd September but she wasn’t sure that they had a machine big enough to repair the head of the main sail. We would need to bring the main sail to the shop and remove the battens ourselves for them to determine this. We asked if they might be able to give us a lift round as the sail is rather big and heavy to carry about a mile between the two of us, when it was a 2 minute drive from their shop and they had a van. Reluctantly she said they had a car but didn’t seem too keen to offer it, presumably we were expected to hire a car to drive a mile?
We continued the day in a rather less upbeat mood now feeling that our departure date was in jeopardy. I was busy trying to get our laptops to talk to each other via a crossover cable to back up the data between them, however, with the might of Windows Vista against me I was struggling. The only thing it seemed happy to let me do was set up a wireless network between the two computers sat side by side on the chart table, however, despite their proximity the network kept dropping out and stopping the file transfer. Arrgghh, definitely not something we miss about our previous occupations, still the struggle goes on and we need to make sure that all of our precious photos and music is backed up.
We also went to the supermarket to stock up the boat as the local supermarket had their own label beer at 18 cents a can, which made it less than a round of 2 drinks at the Sailor Bar for a slab of 24. We understand that supplies could be limited and expensive in the Cape Verdes and in a general push to keep to our budget we went with our trolley and stocked up on the beer plus the cartoned wine we are already converts to at only 75 cents a litre. We are also looking into canning, which misleading actually means storing food in jars, using the pressure cooker to create a vacuum seal. The plan would be to pre-prepare food for longer passages which can be stored without the need for refridgeration or freezing which takes too much electrical power when away from shore power for long durations. It is the same process as is used to make homemade jams etc, but we understand it to be useable for other food types as well so we will be trying it for soups, pasta sauces and bean casseroles having brought a slab of tomato puree in suitable jars.
We decided to go back to the Sail shop to try and get a better progress when they opened again after siesta. Take 2: I went into the shop and was queuing behind a customer being served, another Spanish guy walked in and past me to stand at the counter alongside the guy being served. He said Buenas Tardes (Good Afternoon) as he did it, obviously he holds to the maxim that only the British queue. Luckily the guy behind the counter, when he had served the first customer came directly to me. I asked if he spoke English, he said a little, so I managed in my faltering Spanish to say our boat name that we needed the sail repair and that we would need a quote that week in order to get approval. He understood and responded in actually very good English, he said he didn’t know the details as the ladies who worked the morning were dealing with it but understood the urgency. He said he would be at the boat in 20minutes to do an estimate. What a different experience! Sure enough we went back to the boat and Octavia arrived and looked over the repairs and agreed they could do this no problem and would have the quote for us in the morning. I asked if we should go to the shop to collect, he said, no problem he would drop it off at our boat. Excellent, we could not believe the difference in service, but now we were much more confident that the work would be done in the timeframe we had planned.
We continued the day in a rather less upbeat mood now feeling that our departure date was in jeopardy. I was busy trying to get our laptops to talk to each other via a crossover cable to back up the data between them, however, with the might of Windows Vista against me I was struggling. The only thing it seemed happy to let me do was set up a wireless network between the two computers sat side by side on the chart table, however, despite their proximity the network kept dropping out and stopping the file transfer. Arrgghh, definitely not something we miss about our previous occupations, still the struggle goes on and we need to make sure that all of our precious photos and music is backed up.
We also went to the supermarket to stock up the boat as the local supermarket had their own label beer at 18 cents a can, which made it less than a round of 2 drinks at the Sailor Bar for a slab of 24. We understand that supplies could be limited and expensive in the Cape Verdes and in a general push to keep to our budget we went with our trolley and stocked up on the beer plus the cartoned wine we are already converts to at only 75 cents a litre. We are also looking into canning, which misleading actually means storing food in jars, using the pressure cooker to create a vacuum seal. The plan would be to pre-prepare food for longer passages which can be stored without the need for refridgeration or freezing which takes too much electrical power when away from shore power for long durations. It is the same process as is used to make homemade jams etc, but we understand it to be useable for other food types as well so we will be trying it for soups, pasta sauces and bean casseroles having brought a slab of tomato puree in suitable jars.
We decided to go back to the Sail shop to try and get a better progress when they opened again after siesta. Take 2: I went into the shop and was queuing behind a customer being served, another Spanish guy walked in and past me to stand at the counter alongside the guy being served. He said Buenas Tardes (Good Afternoon) as he did it, obviously he holds to the maxim that only the British queue. Luckily the guy behind the counter, when he had served the first customer came directly to me. I asked if he spoke English, he said a little, so I managed in my faltering Spanish to say our boat name that we needed the sail repair and that we would need a quote that week in order to get approval. He understood and responded in actually very good English, he said he didn’t know the details as the ladies who worked the morning were dealing with it but understood the urgency. He said he would be at the boat in 20minutes to do an estimate. What a different experience! Sure enough we went back to the boat and Octavia arrived and looked over the repairs and agreed they could do this no problem and would have the quote for us in the morning. I asked if we should go to the shop to collect, he said, no problem he would drop it off at our boat. Excellent, we could not believe the difference in service, but now we were much more confident that the work would be done in the timeframe we had planned.
Sunday 14 September 2008
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
After the stresses of the day before where for a while it looked like we would have to rearrange our wedding for a fourth time, we decided to preserve our Sunday day of rest. I did a small amount of laptop back-up tasks I am trying to complete to make sure we have at least two copies of everything and restore disks for each.
We then decided to head to the Catalina Park which is 5 minutes walk from the boat and which Rafael had suggested had live music on Sundays at noon. We headed through the tunnel under the main road beside the marina and followed our ears until we came across a small square opposite the Nestor museum holding a large gathering of people. At the front of the crowd was a group of singers and musicians all in colourful local dress. We managed to find a spot at the side and enjoyed an hour of singing and local dancing. It reminded me a little of a Ceidhls we’d been to at New Year’s / Hogmanay on the Isle of Skye a few years before, there were definitely some similarities in the dancing. The music however was guitar based and quite different. I suppose the nearest I have seen in England would be Morris men, although this took place in the middle of a city you could certainly imagine it occurring in town square somewhere and there were more locals watching than tourists. It was all very good natured and the performers definitely seemed to be enjoying themselves, they even got members of the audience up to dance for the last song.
When the show was over we wondered around the park, it was full of locals with their children and was a little oasis with lots of fountains into a big pond full of the most enormous koy carp I have seen. There was lots of greenery and butterflies and people wandering on this pleasant Sunday afternoon. We had learned from Rafael the importance of leisure time to the Spanish and we have certainly witnessed how they seem to make the most of it whilst we have been in the Canaries. I suppose the climate probably helps, but every evening wherever we have been there is always many people out walking as a family or busy with watersports etc.
We then decided to head to the Catalina Park which is 5 minutes walk from the boat and which Rafael had suggested had live music on Sundays at noon. We headed through the tunnel under the main road beside the marina and followed our ears until we came across a small square opposite the Nestor museum holding a large gathering of people. At the front of the crowd was a group of singers and musicians all in colourful local dress. We managed to find a spot at the side and enjoyed an hour of singing and local dancing. It reminded me a little of a Ceidhls we’d been to at New Year’s / Hogmanay on the Isle of Skye a few years before, there were definitely some similarities in the dancing. The music however was guitar based and quite different. I suppose the nearest I have seen in England would be Morris men, although this took place in the middle of a city you could certainly imagine it occurring in town square somewhere and there were more locals watching than tourists. It was all very good natured and the performers definitely seemed to be enjoying themselves, they even got members of the audience up to dance for the last song.
When the show was over we wondered around the park, it was full of locals with their children and was a little oasis with lots of fountains into a big pond full of the most enormous koy carp I have seen. There was lots of greenery and butterflies and people wandering on this pleasant Sunday afternoon. We had learned from Rafael the importance of leisure time to the Spanish and we have certainly witnessed how they seem to make the most of it whilst we have been in the Canaries. I suppose the climate probably helps, but every evening wherever we have been there is always many people out walking as a family or busy with watersports etc.
Saturday 13 September 2008
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Our day on Saturday was somewhat disrupted by the recent XL airline bankruptcy which has caused problems with family and friends booking flights out to Grenada for our wedding which has now been confirmed for 14th February. Therefore, much of the day was spent in the internet café looking for flights and thankfully resulted in flights booked for one of my sisters and brother-in-law, my parents and Alex. Sean, Kevin’s nephew has also booked a flight. So we are lucky to have close family with us on our big day, though I think that the lack of flights remaining now following the clamour will mean that few others of our friends will be able to make it, but we hope that they will perhaps be able to visit at a later date. We have a few cruising friends who we hope will join us by boat though and are very pleased to have finally got the plans settled.
Friday 12 September 2008
Google Earth Image
passage to keep people updated with our progress.
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Friday started wet and rainy day in Las Palmas and so boat jobs were confined to the indoor list. There were small mounds of mud and sand at the bottom of all of the rigging by the time it finished raining though, suggesting 4 months of dust from our rigging had finally been washed off. Kevin was straight out as soon as the rain stopped to wash the decks, he’d also planned to wash the rust stains which appear below the exhaust at the waterline. He had intended to do this from the deck, however after a bit of over enthusiastic scrubbing he ended up over the side dangling by one leg to one of the mooring lines and decided to concede to the inevitable and do the job from the water!
Meanwhile, I was in the saloon catching up on some emails none the wiser, assuming he’d just decided to just strip off and jump in. Anyway, after his confession and passing the necessary implements to him, we now have very clean topsides.
Next job was a quick trip to the supermarket and to check again on whether our orders were in. Our mission was partly successful, with collection of the electronic charts for the Caribbean. Also a quick trip to the supermarket for some fresh supplies and a bottle of wine to take round to the dinner we had been invited to that night.
Invincible is moored against the wall in Las Palmas immediately in front of the breakwater. This means we are a little away from all the other cruisers but under constant scrutiny from local people who enjoy walking along the promenade behind us all day and evening. Kevin got chatting to one couple who were asking where we were from. Rafael is in the marines and is stationed in Las Palmas with Christina his American wife and three children. They came aboard and we gave them a look around the boat, Tina was also in the Navy, so they were both interested in life aboard our small boat. Anyway, the next day they dropped by with their children to invite us to have dinner with them. They have been very kind and offered to help with laundry, use of the car etc and we were more than keen to spend an evening with them and find out more about life on the island from them.
Rafael came to collect us at 8pm and drove us to their apartment where Tina had prepared a fantastic Spanish tapas. We were also joined by one of Rafael’s classmates from military academy who had recently been stationed on the island. We had a really pleasant evening that continued on to the early hours. We were especially grateful for their invitation when we understood that Rafael was leaving on Sunday for 3 months. We hope to see Tina and the children though whilst we are still in port.
Meanwhile, I was in the saloon catching up on some emails none the wiser, assuming he’d just decided to just strip off and jump in. Anyway, after his confession and passing the necessary implements to him, we now have very clean topsides.
Next job was a quick trip to the supermarket and to check again on whether our orders were in. Our mission was partly successful, with collection of the electronic charts for the Caribbean. Also a quick trip to the supermarket for some fresh supplies and a bottle of wine to take round to the dinner we had been invited to that night.
Invincible is moored against the wall in Las Palmas immediately in front of the breakwater. This means we are a little away from all the other cruisers but under constant scrutiny from local people who enjoy walking along the promenade behind us all day and evening. Kevin got chatting to one couple who were asking where we were from. Rafael is in the marines and is stationed in Las Palmas with Christina his American wife and three children. They came aboard and we gave them a look around the boat, Tina was also in the Navy, so they were both interested in life aboard our small boat. Anyway, the next day they dropped by with their children to invite us to have dinner with them. They have been very kind and offered to help with laundry, use of the car etc and we were more than keen to spend an evening with them and find out more about life on the island from them.
Rafael came to collect us at 8pm and drove us to their apartment where Tina had prepared a fantastic Spanish tapas. We were also joined by one of Rafael’s classmates from military academy who had recently been stationed on the island. We had a really pleasant evening that continued on to the early hours. We were especially grateful for their invitation when we understood that Rafael was leaving on Sunday for 3 months. We hope to see Tina and the children though whilst we are still in port.
Thursday 11 September 2008
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
I have spent the day getting up to date on the blog after a bit of an absence, and a few none too subtle hints and outright complaints from family and friends.
Kevin has had another busy day, firstly cleaning the water filter, then replacing the anodes on the stern drives which involved a dive in the marina. He has also given the hull a bit of a scrub, it had got quite a bit of growth during our prolonged stay in San Miguel, which had reduced on passage but benefited from a bit of assistance, the advantage of being a diver and sailor I think.
The sailing-diving skipper
Stern drive anode wear after only 4 months
The only aspect of timing which is not ideal is that it is the Southampton Boat Show (is it really only a year since we were there with my parents and Alex looking at a demo boat?!), which means our brokers are rather busy and Karen is struggling to be as prompt as usual on responding to our warranty queries. However, she is trying her best, as I suspect FP are also flat out with the La Rochelle Boat Show which runs at the same time. We are awaiting for Furuno to provide the replacement units for our wind indicator and multi-display unit, both of which are faulty. We also detected cracks in the t-pieces on our shrouds, which although not thought to be dangerous by Z-Spars the manufacturer are to be replaced just in case, so we are expecting a rigger too. This is definitely the right place in the Canaries to get all these jobs done and it appears our timing is right to get fitted in, we just need the replacement parts to arrive.
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
The tradition of painting the harbour wall with your boat logo which originated in Horta, Azores and has been spread by the ARC to Las Palmas
Some of you will also be pleased to hear we have had some rain this week (for the first time since I arrived in early June), the showers generally last about five minutes and are rather light. The first was in La Gomera, so we are blaming Jill and Phil, it is actually good news for us as it is washing the dust down from all the rigging and mast mounted instruments which are difficult to clean.
Kevin has had another busy day, firstly cleaning the water filter, then replacing the anodes on the stern drives which involved a dive in the marina. He has also given the hull a bit of a scrub, it had got quite a bit of growth during our prolonged stay in San Miguel, which had reduced on passage but benefited from a bit of assistance, the advantage of being a diver and sailor I think.
The sailing-diving skipper
Stern drive anode wear after only 4 months
The only aspect of timing which is not ideal is that it is the Southampton Boat Show (is it really only a year since we were there with my parents and Alex looking at a demo boat?!), which means our brokers are rather busy and Karen is struggling to be as prompt as usual on responding to our warranty queries. However, she is trying her best, as I suspect FP are also flat out with the La Rochelle Boat Show which runs at the same time. We are awaiting for Furuno to provide the replacement units for our wind indicator and multi-display unit, both of which are faulty. We also detected cracks in the t-pieces on our shrouds, which although not thought to be dangerous by Z-Spars the manufacturer are to be replaced just in case, so we are expecting a rigger too. This is definitely the right place in the Canaries to get all these jobs done and it appears our timing is right to get fitted in, we just need the replacement parts to arrive.
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
The tradition of painting the harbour wall with your boat logo which originated in Horta, Azores and has been spread by the ARC to Las Palmas
Some of you will also be pleased to hear we have had some rain this week (for the first time since I arrived in early June), the showers generally last about five minutes and are rather light. The first was in La Gomera, so we are blaming Jill and Phil, it is actually good news for us as it is washing the dust down from all the rigging and mast mounted instruments which are difficult to clean.
Wednesday 10 September 2008
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Our jobs list started in earnest today, I have to make sure that all our bills and accounts are up to date and able to run themselves for the next 2 months at least, so spent the day on my various budget and accounts spreadsheets. We’d also had our latest post delivery via Jill, so I was sorting through that.
Kevin meanwhile serviced both engines with new oil and fuel filters and an oil change and our compressor and generator. This was not an easy job in the full heat of the day, but was determined to get ahead in our list in anticipation of later delays. The engines are located in their own bays or lazarette in the sugar scoops, which although makes them more accessible than most, still involves a fair amount of contortion and especially heat.
Kevin meanwhile serviced both engines with new oil and fuel filters and an oil change and our compressor and generator. This was not an easy job in the full heat of the day, but was determined to get ahead in our list in anticipation of later delays. The engines are located in their own bays or lazarette in the sugar scoops, which although makes them more accessible than most, still involves a fair amount of contortion and especially heat.
Tuesday 9 September 2008
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
I was on 06:00 to 09:00 watch and had the job of bringing us in the last stretch which is very confusing with about 6 large ships anchored in the bay outside the harbour. Quite alarming when they first appear until you work out the only one which is moving is the Armas ferry, which nonetheless seems intent on coming as close as possible despite a 90 degree change of course from myself to avoid it. I woke Kevin as we rounded the port entrance and he took the helm as I prepared us to take the reception pontoon.
Entering the port of Las Palmas
When we got in the marina, the reception pontoon had a yacht moored alongside, as did the fuel berth, both of which had obviously been in for the night. However, after a short discussion on the VHF we were directed to a short side pontoon near the fuel dock at 09:00, where the very polite marina attendant took our lines, apologised for the berth and asked us to check in to receive our final berth.
There was a queue at the marina office as a couple of ARC skippers were ahead of me receiving their welcome packs and berths. When I checked us in, we at least got a chart of the marina, the very friendly and helpful girl in the office tried to allocate us a berth as her colleague had not arrived back from assisting the ARC boats. I double checked that it was a wide berth, having played this game before, she then faltered and asked us to await the return of her colleague. Eventually we were assisted to a berth along the outer wall of the marina at 10:30, stern to a pontoon, probably one of the best spots in the marina and usually reserved for the large superyachts, one of the perks of a catamaran. We were only allowed to book in until the end of September however and may then be able to extend dependent on the number of ARC boats in. We were both relieved by our change of plan and the timing of our visit.
We gave the boat and ourselves a through clean after our passage and guests, stripped the bunks and then rushed round to the chandleries we’d placed orders at in mid July in the not too expectant hope that our goods would have arrived. We managed to catch Rolnautic before siesta who did not yet have our Seagull water filter replacements (for drinking water) and had ordered the wrong electronic chart cartridge for our plotter, both of which they promised to get in again within the week. The rope shop recognised us straight away (good start) and pointed to the drum of 12mm red sheets we’d ordered but didn’t yet have the blue 8mm or 12mm in the shop, though they were apparently on the island and would be available within the week. We enquired about a minor sail repair which was required on the head of our main sail where it is chafing on the D ring which attaches the main sheet halyard and a second area over one of the battens which Kevin had detected during the cleaning of them the day before. They would be able to fit us in the following week, after that it would be very busy. We congratulated ourselves again on our timing, as nice as La Palma would have been, getting across the Cape Verdes and the Caribbean rates higher on our priorities.
We had lunch at the Sailor Bar followed by a walk to the supermarket and a quiet night in with a book as we were both shattered. It had been a very long hot day (apparently September is the best month for Las Palmas) the reading on a street side sign was 30 degrees at 19:00.
Entering the port of Las Palmas
When we got in the marina, the reception pontoon had a yacht moored alongside, as did the fuel berth, both of which had obviously been in for the night. However, after a short discussion on the VHF we were directed to a short side pontoon near the fuel dock at 09:00, where the very polite marina attendant took our lines, apologised for the berth and asked us to check in to receive our final berth.
There was a queue at the marina office as a couple of ARC skippers were ahead of me receiving their welcome packs and berths. When I checked us in, we at least got a chart of the marina, the very friendly and helpful girl in the office tried to allocate us a berth as her colleague had not arrived back from assisting the ARC boats. I double checked that it was a wide berth, having played this game before, she then faltered and asked us to await the return of her colleague. Eventually we were assisted to a berth along the outer wall of the marina at 10:30, stern to a pontoon, probably one of the best spots in the marina and usually reserved for the large superyachts, one of the perks of a catamaran. We were only allowed to book in until the end of September however and may then be able to extend dependent on the number of ARC boats in. We were both relieved by our change of plan and the timing of our visit.
We gave the boat and ourselves a through clean after our passage and guests, stripped the bunks and then rushed round to the chandleries we’d placed orders at in mid July in the not too expectant hope that our goods would have arrived. We managed to catch Rolnautic before siesta who did not yet have our Seagull water filter replacements (for drinking water) and had ordered the wrong electronic chart cartridge for our plotter, both of which they promised to get in again within the week. The rope shop recognised us straight away (good start) and pointed to the drum of 12mm red sheets we’d ordered but didn’t yet have the blue 8mm or 12mm in the shop, though they were apparently on the island and would be available within the week. We enquired about a minor sail repair which was required on the head of our main sail where it is chafing on the D ring which attaches the main sheet halyard and a second area over one of the battens which Kevin had detected during the cleaning of them the day before. They would be able to fit us in the following week, after that it would be very busy. We congratulated ourselves again on our timing, as nice as La Palma would have been, getting across the Cape Verdes and the Caribbean rates higher on our priorities.
We had lunch at the Sailor Bar followed by a walk to the supermarket and a quiet night in with a book as we were both shattered. It had been a very long hot day (apparently September is the best month for Las Palmas) the reading on a street side sign was 30 degrees at 19:00.
Monday 8 September 2008
Passage to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Monday morning started with a cooked English breakfast at the Bistro as we had exhausted the boat stocks of bacon. Kevin and I had decided to take advantage of the good weather window to get to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and miss out La Palma as the jobs list was beginning to mount up and we wanted to make sure we arrived in good time before the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers) took over the marina for their departure in November (with around 250 boats).
Therefore, Jill and Phil headed off for their hotel when we got back to the boat and we prepared the boat for a night passage. Kevin also spent the day washing our sails which were thick with dust after all this time in the Canaries. I tried all day to contact the marina office to book us in after our change of plan and despite having 5 different phone numbers in 3 different books and two email addresses I could not contact them. We decided to adopt a plan B of anchoring in the bay within the harbour we’d stayed in before if necessary and leave tonight still. Otherwise, we would be looking to get a berth for 1 month within the marina to allow us to complete our final preparations before departing from there to the Cape Verdes.
Goose-winged in unusual light southerly breeze
We were ready to depart by 4pm as we saw that the planes coming into Tenerife South had started to approach from the north as the wind had very unusually turned to the south. We didn’t need any further invitation and set off goose-winged for north Gran Canaria in about 12 knots of wind. It was a beautiful evening and it was great to be back out on a night watch as we watched the sunset over Tenerife and the large half moon rise to give us a great sail in a very slight swell until about midnight when the wind died completely and we started to motor sail. We had to turn across the TSS at 20:30 and divert again at 23:00 to pass the one ship that passed which would otherwise have been on a collision course. A quiet night was passed on our usual watch system along the north coast of Gran Canaria and round La Isleta into the port of Las Palmas.
Sunset over Tenerife
Therefore, Jill and Phil headed off for their hotel when we got back to the boat and we prepared the boat for a night passage. Kevin also spent the day washing our sails which were thick with dust after all this time in the Canaries. I tried all day to contact the marina office to book us in after our change of plan and despite having 5 different phone numbers in 3 different books and two email addresses I could not contact them. We decided to adopt a plan B of anchoring in the bay within the harbour we’d stayed in before if necessary and leave tonight still. Otherwise, we would be looking to get a berth for 1 month within the marina to allow us to complete our final preparations before departing from there to the Cape Verdes.
Goose-winged in unusual light southerly breeze
We were ready to depart by 4pm as we saw that the planes coming into Tenerife South had started to approach from the north as the wind had very unusually turned to the south. We didn’t need any further invitation and set off goose-winged for north Gran Canaria in about 12 knots of wind. It was a beautiful evening and it was great to be back out on a night watch as we watched the sunset over Tenerife and the large half moon rise to give us a great sail in a very slight swell until about midnight when the wind died completely and we started to motor sail. We had to turn across the TSS at 20:30 and divert again at 23:00 to pass the one ship that passed which would otherwise have been on a collision course. A quiet night was passed on our usual watch system along the north coast of Gran Canaria and round La Isleta into the port of Las Palmas.
Sunset over Tenerife
Sunday 7 September 2008
San Miguel, Tenerife
We had hoped on Sunday to spend the day and night at anchor at Playa de la Guancha, so paid up at San Sebastian and head out. The wind was very light in the marina but touched 20 knots going round the headland. I think though that this must have been a local wind affect of the high land because it was we think coming down from altitude and running along the coast. All this contrived to mean that our anchorage was now a lee shore, albeit with fairly light winds. We decided that we were not happy to anchor in those conditions as the holding wasn’t that good there. We decided to sail back and had a great sail in about 15 knots and again very little swell, our first relaxing sail in the Canaries for weeks, excellent. The evening was spent at the marina bar then back to the boat for chicken risotto made with the stock from the ginger chicken. This was our last evening with Jill and Phil as they were having the last couple of days for some time together and some golf for Phil as it was a little too taunting to bring him to the Golf del Sur resort and not let him have a game.
Saturday 6 September 2008
San Sebastian , La Gomera
The following day Kevin and I opted to have an admin day on the boat as we had got the best Wifi access in weeks and now we had received a confirmed date for our wedding 2 days before, we had a lot to catch up on. We let Jill and Phil explore San Sebastian themselves after having given a few recommendations. They managed to see the award ceremony for the yacht race in the town square and all the usual sites such as the Church of Our Lady of Assumption (where Cristobal Colon was reputed to have said his last mass) and the Torre del Conde. They also managed to make the steep climb to the Parador hotel that overlooks the town and marina and also has views out to Teide and Tenerife (which we photographed previously).
They arrived back after their exertions ready for a siesta, whilst we carried on with our work. That evening we enjoyed a few beers at the Tropical bar followed by Kevin’s new ginger chicken and Canarian potatoes recipe perfected by use of the new pressure cooker which was well received by our guests (as I don’t eat chicken, despite some gentle persuasion from Jill!). The evening ended at about 1am, after a mammoth Gin Rummy game won by Kevin, which we had warned can become addictive plus perhaps a little too much wine. This time the back drop was music from the Andes apparently, also with a large firework display (we like to do our best for our guests!) which we watch off the back of the boat.
Fireworks over the marina
They arrived back after their exertions ready for a siesta, whilst we carried on with our work. That evening we enjoyed a few beers at the Tropical bar followed by Kevin’s new ginger chicken and Canarian potatoes recipe perfected by use of the new pressure cooker which was well received by our guests (as I don’t eat chicken, despite some gentle persuasion from Jill!). The evening ended at about 1am, after a mammoth Gin Rummy game won by Kevin, which we had warned can become addictive plus perhaps a little too much wine. This time the back drop was music from the Andes apparently, also with a large firework display (we like to do our best for our guests!) which we watch off the back of the boat.
Fireworks over the marina
Friday 5 September 2008
San Sebastian , La Gomera
Friday started relatively early for me as we dropped lines straight after breakfast to depart for La Gomera to show Jill & Phil the more Spanish side of the Canary Islands. In the usual way of things, we had gone from constant 25 knot winds for the last three weeks to 6.5 knots (apparent) as we left the marina, the log had become fouled by our extended stay in San Miguel. We were however in no hurry and decided to sail it out as much as we could. So full main and jib, goose-winged to sail down the south east side of Tenerife, followed by a beam reach rounding the south point, degenerating into the use of the Spifurl then finally motoring as the wind reduced to less than 5 knots. It was a very leisurely sail with a beautiful blue sky and very little swell, so we all just enjoyed the ride. Phil did some helming and Jill enjoyed a relaxing day in the sun.
Phil at the helm
Spifurl in action
We had been pleased to realise the day before that we were arriving in time for Semana Colombina festival which occurs at the beginning of September every year to celebrate the departure of Cristobal Colon (Christopher Colombus) from the port of San Sebastian to discover the New World on 6th September 1492. The festival includes a yacht race from Huelva on mainland Spain and a week of activities around the town. I had previously been confused on the dates that Jill and Phil had been arriving so was thinking that we would miss the festival and would just turn up as usual at the marina for a berth. When I’d realised the day before that we would now make it, I’d tried to book us in, only to find they had no space. So we had prepared for a few days at anchor along the coast of La Gomera, hopefully if the weather was settled enough making it in to San Sebastian from Playa de la Guancha. However, I made a final attempt to call them as the office opened at 4pm when we were about an hour away and they said they could find us a spot.
So we pulled into the harbour and called on the VHF channel 9 and were told to wait at the fuel berth. The harbour was full and there were several large race boats rafted up in the usual visitor’s berths. There was lots of bunting and flags everywhere and music playing somewhere, we’d definitely arrived to the party. Unfortunately that seemed to mean that the usual helpful marina staff were also on holiday as we were greeted eventually at the fuel berth by an older guy who looked at us blankly when we asked which berth to move to. Next one of the big race boats starts circling to get onto the fuel berth, he throws a line to come alongside us, then decides against it as circles away. Then he comes back for another go, we are not really sure what he is trying to do, one of the crew is holding out a small jerry can. Surely they didn’t bring the boat out to fill a small jerry can from a berth 10m away. My Spanish is not really advanced enough for such situations and besides it then became clear that the skipper speaks perfect English, which he does whilst driving away and looking away from us so no one hears a word. He does another pass and speaks to the fuel attendant, my Spanish is not good but I understand the word English and the tone said the rest. He would apparently prefer that we circled the marina rather than he did and was trying to get us to move.
We had been told not 5 minutes ago to wait here by the marina and that they had a berth available for us, so I was frantically trying to raise them by phone and VHF to find out where to go. There were boats being launched to one side of us and impatient racing skippers to the other. Finally I get the office on the phone. She says to go to pontoon E inside the marina, so we motor off the fuel berth and approach the inner marina looking for signs to tell us where E is, but clearly none of the pontoons are labelled. We manage to grab an alongside berth and I leap off to run into the office as again no one is answering the phone. I get directions and an attendant simultaneous hails Kevin as I am in the office and is most annoyed we are not now ready to come across! Anyway, we eventually moor into a relatively tight spot at the end of the pontoon. Phew, Beer o’clock shout the crew and we secure the lines and grab a cool beer out of the fridge. I doesn’t often take three attempts to moor before you can get settled thank goodness.
Anyway, after a shower and change we head out to see the Cave Bar (Club Nautico de la Gomera) followed by a meal. Kevin rates the beer there as the best in the Canaries and the barman recognises us and immediately pulls glasses out of the freezer which I think our guests were either impressed or concerned by! The boys are taken in by the sight of the new Tapas counter on the bar and tuck into Tuna and Octopus rejecting any suggestion this might cheat them out of a starter later. We wondered into the town from there and found a nice little restaurant, all seemed to be empty though and it was 9pm, but obviously we’d got out of Spanish time being in Tenerife as twenty minutes after we sat down the place was full.
Drinks at the Cave Bar (Club Nautico de la Gomera)
We enjoyed a lovely meal of steak for the men and pasta for the girls before a final drink in the town square under the beautiful large trees which I think look old enough to have seen Cristobal on his way. The stage was set in the town square and we could here the music playing whilst we enjoyed our drinks. The music was apparently Columbian; we went round to have a look on our way back to the boat. There was a reasonable crowd gathered with some dancing at the front of the stage and a group of small girls actually sat on the front of the stage for the best view. To our untrained ears many of the tracks sounded rather similar, certainly by 4am in the morning when the music finally stopped, we felt we had heard enough Colombian music for the time being.
Columbian music in the town square
Phil at the helm
Spifurl in action
We had been pleased to realise the day before that we were arriving in time for Semana Colombina festival which occurs at the beginning of September every year to celebrate the departure of Cristobal Colon (Christopher Colombus) from the port of San Sebastian to discover the New World on 6th September 1492. The festival includes a yacht race from Huelva on mainland Spain and a week of activities around the town. I had previously been confused on the dates that Jill and Phil had been arriving so was thinking that we would miss the festival and would just turn up as usual at the marina for a berth. When I’d realised the day before that we would now make it, I’d tried to book us in, only to find they had no space. So we had prepared for a few days at anchor along the coast of La Gomera, hopefully if the weather was settled enough making it in to San Sebastian from Playa de la Guancha. However, I made a final attempt to call them as the office opened at 4pm when we were about an hour away and they said they could find us a spot.
So we pulled into the harbour and called on the VHF channel 9 and were told to wait at the fuel berth. The harbour was full and there were several large race boats rafted up in the usual visitor’s berths. There was lots of bunting and flags everywhere and music playing somewhere, we’d definitely arrived to the party. Unfortunately that seemed to mean that the usual helpful marina staff were also on holiday as we were greeted eventually at the fuel berth by an older guy who looked at us blankly when we asked which berth to move to. Next one of the big race boats starts circling to get onto the fuel berth, he throws a line to come alongside us, then decides against it as circles away. Then he comes back for another go, we are not really sure what he is trying to do, one of the crew is holding out a small jerry can. Surely they didn’t bring the boat out to fill a small jerry can from a berth 10m away. My Spanish is not really advanced enough for such situations and besides it then became clear that the skipper speaks perfect English, which he does whilst driving away and looking away from us so no one hears a word. He does another pass and speaks to the fuel attendant, my Spanish is not good but I understand the word English and the tone said the rest. He would apparently prefer that we circled the marina rather than he did and was trying to get us to move.
We had been told not 5 minutes ago to wait here by the marina and that they had a berth available for us, so I was frantically trying to raise them by phone and VHF to find out where to go. There were boats being launched to one side of us and impatient racing skippers to the other. Finally I get the office on the phone. She says to go to pontoon E inside the marina, so we motor off the fuel berth and approach the inner marina looking for signs to tell us where E is, but clearly none of the pontoons are labelled. We manage to grab an alongside berth and I leap off to run into the office as again no one is answering the phone. I get directions and an attendant simultaneous hails Kevin as I am in the office and is most annoyed we are not now ready to come across! Anyway, we eventually moor into a relatively tight spot at the end of the pontoon. Phew, Beer o’clock shout the crew and we secure the lines and grab a cool beer out of the fridge. I doesn’t often take three attempts to moor before you can get settled thank goodness.
Anyway, after a shower and change we head out to see the Cave Bar (Club Nautico de la Gomera) followed by a meal. Kevin rates the beer there as the best in the Canaries and the barman recognises us and immediately pulls glasses out of the freezer which I think our guests were either impressed or concerned by! The boys are taken in by the sight of the new Tapas counter on the bar and tuck into Tuna and Octopus rejecting any suggestion this might cheat them out of a starter later. We wondered into the town from there and found a nice little restaurant, all seemed to be empty though and it was 9pm, but obviously we’d got out of Spanish time being in Tenerife as twenty minutes after we sat down the place was full.
Drinks at the Cave Bar (Club Nautico de la Gomera)
We enjoyed a lovely meal of steak for the men and pasta for the girls before a final drink in the town square under the beautiful large trees which I think look old enough to have seen Cristobal on his way. The stage was set in the town square and we could here the music playing whilst we enjoyed our drinks. The music was apparently Columbian; we went round to have a look on our way back to the boat. There was a reasonable crowd gathered with some dancing at the front of the stage and a group of small girls actually sat on the front of the stage for the best view. To our untrained ears many of the tracks sounded rather similar, certainly by 4am in the morning when the music finally stopped, we felt we had heard enough Colombian music for the time being.
Columbian music in the town square
Thursday 4 September 2008
San Miguel, Tenerife
Phil and Jill arrived a little late on their Easyjet flight on Wednesday but well despite their early start, enjoying stepping out into the sunshine of Tenerife after the terrible summer in the UK. We had a night out in the local resort this time with two of the now infamous grilled chickens and two pizzas. I think that the waiters will just have our order ready on the table next time we arrive to save us the pretence of menu selection. We obviously also stopped in at the Marina bar for the excellent local Dorada beer in frozen glasses.
Kevin and I then had an early start to make the following day to collect the package from the post office, having been reassured with the message that we must now pay the custom agents fees (which presumably suggested that their work was complete) and be in their office the following morning at 8am. We therefore had a 6.30am alarm call and a departure in darkness on Thursday morning heading for Santa Cruz. We optimistically told Jill and Phil to make themselves comfortable, that we would be back at 11am and heading off to La Gomera for that evening.
Artificial lake in the centre of Santa Cruz
Of course, when we arrived at the customs agent office at 8am, they looked at us only half interestedly. We provided a name and someone gave us a vague acknowledgement then the three of them seemed to just carry on with their work. Twenty minutes later papers were proudly offered with the customs stamp in place and a bill for import tax beside it. Excellent, we had managed to talk directly to customs only two days before and agree that there would be no import duty required. We payed for the professional services of this compulsory customs agent (50 Euros) to complete the required form to this affect and he manages to gain us a bill for import duty too. We complained but his response was only that the customs people told him that we did need to pay duty. Quick calculation however says that the cost of querying this - further delay, rehiring a car to no doubt still end up paying the tax, customs not being famous for about turns seemed to about balance the cost of paying it. It also meant that our guests who we’d been waiting in Tenerife for 3 weeks for would not spend their entire week’s holiday sat in the marina waiting for us to return from Santa Cruz. So we paid up, no doubt this was the logic which they knew we would make and justified the inappropriate charge. We received the triplicate paperwork and the stamped post office sheet to allow us to collect. Apparently the fact the parcel was addressed to our marina not to a sorting office in Santa Cruz would not induce the post office to actually complete the delivery.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
We left the office rather down hearted at being ripped off and counting the cost of our new storm sail. Murphy’s law will hopefully now mean that it never gets used, in which case it will have been money well spent. Ten minutes later we were searching for some breakfast when my mobile rang and the customs agent entreated us to come back to the office because our invoice was “bad”. Kevin was convinced this was ply for more fees and was closely guarding the stamped post office docket. We arrived back to the office to receive a 40 Euro refund, no real explanation, our only assumption was that we’d been overcharged and that as we had shown that we were not adverse to going directly to customs ourselves they’d thought better of it.
Artificial lake in the centre of Santa Cruz
We returned to the boat via the supermarket and it was by now 1pm, we had decided it was too late to start a crossing to La Gomera now, so we bought fresh prawns for lunch which was consolation enough for Phil I think.
Jill and Phil seemed happy enough playing cards on the back of the boat with a beer when we arrived. So we made lunch and had a relaxed lunch and afternoon before heading to the Happy Hour bar. Jill and Phil had definitely brought good weather with them as the wind had dropped almost completely when they came. The sight of the surf leaping as high as the glass wall round the bar the week before was now replaced by gentle lapping waves. I am sure they wondered what we were complaining about.
Jill on board
Kevin and I then had an early start to make the following day to collect the package from the post office, having been reassured with the message that we must now pay the custom agents fees (which presumably suggested that their work was complete) and be in their office the following morning at 8am. We therefore had a 6.30am alarm call and a departure in darkness on Thursday morning heading for Santa Cruz. We optimistically told Jill and Phil to make themselves comfortable, that we would be back at 11am and heading off to La Gomera for that evening.
Artificial lake in the centre of Santa Cruz
Of course, when we arrived at the customs agent office at 8am, they looked at us only half interestedly. We provided a name and someone gave us a vague acknowledgement then the three of them seemed to just carry on with their work. Twenty minutes later papers were proudly offered with the customs stamp in place and a bill for import tax beside it. Excellent, we had managed to talk directly to customs only two days before and agree that there would be no import duty required. We payed for the professional services of this compulsory customs agent (50 Euros) to complete the required form to this affect and he manages to gain us a bill for import duty too. We complained but his response was only that the customs people told him that we did need to pay duty. Quick calculation however says that the cost of querying this - further delay, rehiring a car to no doubt still end up paying the tax, customs not being famous for about turns seemed to about balance the cost of paying it. It also meant that our guests who we’d been waiting in Tenerife for 3 weeks for would not spend their entire week’s holiday sat in the marina waiting for us to return from Santa Cruz. So we paid up, no doubt this was the logic which they knew we would make and justified the inappropriate charge. We received the triplicate paperwork and the stamped post office sheet to allow us to collect. Apparently the fact the parcel was addressed to our marina not to a sorting office in Santa Cruz would not induce the post office to actually complete the delivery.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
We left the office rather down hearted at being ripped off and counting the cost of our new storm sail. Murphy’s law will hopefully now mean that it never gets used, in which case it will have been money well spent. Ten minutes later we were searching for some breakfast when my mobile rang and the customs agent entreated us to come back to the office because our invoice was “bad”. Kevin was convinced this was ply for more fees and was closely guarding the stamped post office docket. We arrived back to the office to receive a 40 Euro refund, no real explanation, our only assumption was that we’d been overcharged and that as we had shown that we were not adverse to going directly to customs ourselves they’d thought better of it.
Artificial lake in the centre of Santa Cruz
We returned to the boat via the supermarket and it was by now 1pm, we had decided it was too late to start a crossing to La Gomera now, so we bought fresh prawns for lunch which was consolation enough for Phil I think.
Jill and Phil seemed happy enough playing cards on the back of the boat with a beer when we arrived. So we made lunch and had a relaxed lunch and afternoon before heading to the Happy Hour bar. Jill and Phil had definitely brought good weather with them as the wind had dropped almost completely when they came. The sight of the surf leaping as high as the glass wall round the bar the week before was now replaced by gentle lapping waves. I am sure they wondered what we were complaining about.
Jill on board
Wednesday 3 September 2008
Santa Cruz, Tenerife
Today as predicted by Ugrib the wind has died down and just in time for our visitors Jill and Phil who will be joining us today at about 11.30. We hope to set of for La Gomera at the first possible chance.
Yesterday we went upto Santa Cruz to collect our new storm sail from ATN, we had been given a document from the marina to say that we need to go to customs and clear any taxes due on the parcel. There should not be any taxes as the pilot guide has said that as long as the package is clearly marked ‘Yacht in Transit’, then this should clear customs without any problems. Wrong!
On arriving at the customs building, which was very impressive, vast, as almost everything on the island will need to be imported. Therefore, I was expecting a long wait and a very busy import office. We went through the entrance and then through the airport style scanner having our bags x-rayed and climbed the stairs to the first floor, the import section. First impression, wow, this is a big office, lots of desks and paper work piled high. Second impression, no people at the desks and I mean not a single person, too early for siesta and I can’t hear any fire alarms, hmmm. So, we just hung around, until eventually a customs lady, who did not speak any English, but Jo had previously written down a few Spanish key words that would help our cause. When she produced the document we had been sent it seemed to be enough to provoke some kind of action. The customs official then pulled out a document, which had my name on it and was an exact copy of what I had in my hands, bingo, we have done it!
Ha, Ha, Ha, the Spanish customs gods must have been having a good laugh at this point. The customs lady then tried to explain the situation, in Spanish and was speaking at such a rate that she had clearly just had her shot or two of coffee, no good. She went to find someone who could help, then requested us to follow her to someone who could explain the situation in English, here we go! We found an official who was reading the documents and we explained our position clearly. He agreed yes you are on a boat, which is in transit, you will not need to pay any import tax, Great! Let’s have our package and we will be on our way dear fellow.
Not so fast my good man, you will need an agent to help you fill out the forms for us to stamp your copy of the document, (which was on his desk in front of him) so you can pick up your package from another building about 10 miles away. He then gave us two sheets of A4 with lists of agents who could help us; I thought things were going too well. We eventually found an agent who is now processing our goods and we have entered the Spanish import doldrums, otherwise know as mañana, that’s all he kept saying, yes yes mañana. Quick phone call this morning and still nothing, not even a mañana, but a promise he will call us later, so we will wait with baited breath to see what happens later today. At this point I will take a wild guess - mañana! I have heard of this phenomenon before but now have a first hand account of it.
Whilst on our visit to the islands capital, the big Turkish gullet had arrived back, with the crew on the decks with their heads in their hands shaking their heads in disbelief. The boat looked as though it was helping out the British evacuation at Dunkirk. The main sail was hanging over the boom, not attached to the mast runners you could see that all main sail connections had been ripped out, the tender was hanging off the davits like the limpest of limp things with the outboard clearly missing. Ha, I hear you say, they could have taken it off, yes they could, but would you pull the transom out of rear of the tender with it, no I don’t think so. Clearly they have found other uses for the tender that most of us are not aware. I did not linger near the boat for long, just in case I was requisitioned to help out with some other opportunity of improvement they may have come up with.
So we are giving the boat a clean before we set off to pick up Jill and Phil from the airport.
Yesterday we went upto Santa Cruz to collect our new storm sail from ATN, we had been given a document from the marina to say that we need to go to customs and clear any taxes due on the parcel. There should not be any taxes as the pilot guide has said that as long as the package is clearly marked ‘Yacht in Transit’, then this should clear customs without any problems. Wrong!
On arriving at the customs building, which was very impressive, vast, as almost everything on the island will need to be imported. Therefore, I was expecting a long wait and a very busy import office. We went through the entrance and then through the airport style scanner having our bags x-rayed and climbed the stairs to the first floor, the import section. First impression, wow, this is a big office, lots of desks and paper work piled high. Second impression, no people at the desks and I mean not a single person, too early for siesta and I can’t hear any fire alarms, hmmm. So, we just hung around, until eventually a customs lady, who did not speak any English, but Jo had previously written down a few Spanish key words that would help our cause. When she produced the document we had been sent it seemed to be enough to provoke some kind of action. The customs official then pulled out a document, which had my name on it and was an exact copy of what I had in my hands, bingo, we have done it!
Ha, Ha, Ha, the Spanish customs gods must have been having a good laugh at this point. The customs lady then tried to explain the situation, in Spanish and was speaking at such a rate that she had clearly just had her shot or two of coffee, no good. She went to find someone who could help, then requested us to follow her to someone who could explain the situation in English, here we go! We found an official who was reading the documents and we explained our position clearly. He agreed yes you are on a boat, which is in transit, you will not need to pay any import tax, Great! Let’s have our package and we will be on our way dear fellow.
Not so fast my good man, you will need an agent to help you fill out the forms for us to stamp your copy of the document, (which was on his desk in front of him) so you can pick up your package from another building about 10 miles away. He then gave us two sheets of A4 with lists of agents who could help us; I thought things were going too well. We eventually found an agent who is now processing our goods and we have entered the Spanish import doldrums, otherwise know as mañana, that’s all he kept saying, yes yes mañana. Quick phone call this morning and still nothing, not even a mañana, but a promise he will call us later, so we will wait with baited breath to see what happens later today. At this point I will take a wild guess - mañana! I have heard of this phenomenon before but now have a first hand account of it.
Whilst on our visit to the islands capital, the big Turkish gullet had arrived back, with the crew on the decks with their heads in their hands shaking their heads in disbelief. The boat looked as though it was helping out the British evacuation at Dunkirk. The main sail was hanging over the boom, not attached to the mast runners you could see that all main sail connections had been ripped out, the tender was hanging off the davits like the limpest of limp things with the outboard clearly missing. Ha, I hear you say, they could have taken it off, yes they could, but would you pull the transom out of rear of the tender with it, no I don’t think so. Clearly they have found other uses for the tender that most of us are not aware. I did not linger near the boat for long, just in case I was requisitioned to help out with some other opportunity of improvement they may have come up with.
So we are giving the boat a clean before we set off to pick up Jill and Phil from the airport.
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