Cruising the Canaries – Part 1 of 2
As we cruised the Canaries the rally organised some great day tours at each of the islands. The rally was not able to secure a suitable mariner at Fuerteventura so we caught a ferry from the southern Lanzarote. First stop was a walk through the sand dunes that adorn the south of the island. Most of the trip was a drive through the interior of the island, it is equally as rugged as Lanzarote. At our lunch stop we enjoyed local fair and wine… Sitting in a bus all day, definitely brings on a thirst. The restaurant catered for bus tours, we sat on long tables and got to know our new rally friends a little better. We may have been the only table that asked for a few more bottles of wine.
Photos Fuerteventura
The day arrived that we were scheduled to depart Lanzarote for Las Palmer de Gran Canaria. Aura was due for the sail drive to be serviced and this required hauling out. We’d planned to do this during our stay in Tenerife though advised to utilise the Lanzarote Marina facilities as there is no guarantee they would be available in the future port. Unfortunately it meant that our departure would be delayed and that the rally would leave without us. It was sad watching the fleet depart as we missed the officially start of the rally. We were so glad that it went well with Aura back in the water within two hours. I wasn’t sure what the lift guys thought when speedo clad Si decided he needed to check that the sling was correctly placed…not sure how many captains they get who jump overboard to do a visual…twice. It was our first haul out and we knew of another Sense having the sail drive crush when lifted. Si and Crispy took advantage of the lift and cleaned the propeller and other shiny bits.
Finally on our way, we were only four hours behind the rest of the rally fleet. By the time we sailed past the break water, the wind had increased to 30 knots of wind. The wind was coming from the stern so we decided it was time to test out our new whisker pole. We spent the first three hours adjusting sheeting and blocks positions. The wind turned to 90 degrees so the pole came down and we focused on our 115nm sail to Gran Canaria. It was an easy night passage with the glow of Gran Canaria lights guiding our way. We arrived several hours after the rally fleet.
Gran Canaria was probably the most touristy of the islands that we visited. It also had the best chandlery’s and supermarkets, yep priorities in life. We had a night out with the other rally participants at a great tapas bar. We ate a variety of tapas, drank sangria while standing around the bar listening to local musicians. Great night and I was glad that Si took us home when he did as it could have turned into one of those nights. The Columbus Museum was really interesting which was home to two macaws that I wanted to take home, perfect for pirate parties in the Caribbean. Si and I also enjoyed an afternoon at a beach bar while Crispy worked on his Perth winter tan.
Photos : Gran Canaria
After only three nights in Gran Canaria, we left the dock at 8am to make the 53nm passage to Tenerife. The first hour was extremely uncomfortable as we slogged through rolly swell as we headed north then north east to Santa Cruz, Tenerife. By all accounts the sailing was good with 20 to 30 knots winds on the beam for most of the crossing. Not my ideal sailing angle as she was well heeled over. I kept telling Si to slow her down…in the end I just went below and let Si and Crispy have their fun.
Crispy was busy taking photos of the other yachts. We thought he was on holidays but he was really at work. It may have been a little confusing why we appeared to be sailing all over the place, weaving around the other rally yachts. They soon realised we were chasing the right angles and light. During one of these photo shoots, a whale spout was spotted between us and the other yacht. Through much patience, we managed to get a photo of what we believe to be a pilot whale.
Santa Cruz, Tenerife is a great hub to explore the island. It is in walking distance to Carrefour, Superdino, Mercadona, El Corte Ingles as well as a morning market. In our provisioning frenzy for the upcoming visit to Cape Verde and the Atlantic crossing, we visited them all. In our down time, we did a few sightseeing excursions including a visit to the local beach where we were blasted by imported Saharan sand. It is a really nice beach with fine golden sand however it is not recommended when it is blowing 30 knots from the north. After our unsuccessful beach day Si and I decided to try the local pool. We hired our beach chairs and umbrella and kicked back in the sun with a book. Within the hour the wind had whipped up again and the sun disappeared behind the clouds. We persevered for a couple of hours…thankfully naked breasts kept Si’s interest else we would have been there for a much shorter time.
The highlight of Tenerife was a visit to the Teide National Park which features Mount Teide which is the highest mountain of Spain (3,718m and growing). The landscape is very different to the eastern side of the island due to the inclusion of greenery and trees. You can actually see the different lava flows that have occurred over the centuries. Very cool!!
