We have decided that we will circumnavigate Gran Canaria over the coming weeks, it is a couple of hours extra but we like the idea of completely going around the island. The plan is to do this in two stages, firstly anchor on the east coast and then go around the north of the island to Las Palmas, our start point for the trans Atlantic. 

Before we can leave we have decided to change insurers after pantaenius nearly trebled our quote with the expectation that it would increase further as we go into the pacific. We consulted a few organisations and Admiral had been recommended. When we spoke to them the quote was better but because of the age of the vessel they would need a survey before we left the Caribbean. Rather than try and sort that out after the Atlantic, we decided to have the survey done before leaving for Las Palmas, it would also provide any pointers for things we had missed – not that we were expecting any. Marcos came on board in the morning and took a thorough look around the boat. He gave me some pointers of things I need to do as part of standard maintenance but absolutely loved the boat, commenting that she was a very strong boat and clearly well looked after. We had provisionally booked a lift out so he could inspect the hull but, having shown him a lot of photos of recent lift outs, he was satisfied that he could see there were no issues. By lunchtime the job was done and we were ready to make a move. 

Pasito blanco has been a good marina, we have met a lot of people and everyone has been great. It is very busy though and difficult to get in but the Director tries his best to accommodate all and we found him very friendly and helpful, like the rest of the staff. As we are settling the bill, the yanmar specialists message me to tell me my spare raw water pump for the engine has arrived. Another spare that we hopefully won’t need but will be useful should we need it.

It is now lunchtime and we have to get the rib back up on the davits and head out. 

The thirty five mile journey will be by engine as there is no wind. We also have specific instructions from the yanmar team who checked our engine running hours and told us we weren’t pushing the engine enough. So we will get to maximum revs, 3000,  today and give the turbo a workout.

We have dropped the lines and are starting to move forward when a french boat decides to go across our bow, start to go astern and come back across our bow – he seems completely oblivious to other boats. Maria gently brings Mariadz out as the french boat continues to go astern out of the marina. As he heads towards the anchored boats we slip down the outside and we are ready to go. 

There is no wind to speak of so it will be under engine. 

We ramp the engine slowly up to maximum revs, and 8-9 knots, for thirty minutes and then gently bring her back down to cruising revs. The engine and refurbished propeller work great with no vibration since the prop rebuild.

After four and a half hours, we are approaching the anchorage as the sun sets. We have timed it well so we still have light as we anchor the anchorage at Sardinia Bay. The town in the bay has a lot of colour and is very attractive but the anchoring needs care. There are a number of pipes and cables on the seabed and also quite large patches of rock which can snag an anchor. Today we will anchor in ten metres of water with our anchor buoy and trip line deployed. There is only one other boat in the bay when we arrive and of course they are in exactly the spot we were looking to take. Mariadz tiptoes through the bay avoiding the path of the pipes and I find some sand to drop the anchor and forty metres of chain – there is no wind tonight. A snubber takes the strain off the chain, with two further snubbers higher up to protect the windlass! We like to protect our gear…. Anchor ball up and anchor light on and we are ready for an evening on anchor.

It’s been a nice few days in the Rubicón marina in Lanzarote. We have met half the crew of Seahorse, a Hanse 588, and that was lovely – can’t wait to meet her better half…

We have booked for the lift out in southern Gran Canaria so that we can service the Brompton auto prop and also get the engine serviced which has done 300 hours this season already as we have travelled 2,500 miles. Our lift out is scheduled for Friday morning and so we are keen to arrive before the end of Thursday. To that end, with a reasonable north easterly predicted, pretty much the prevailing wind, we decide to set off at 3am. We want to be quiet so as not to disturb our neighbours and Maria brings us out slowly with minimal use of the bow thruster. It is pitch black and usually we are not fans of going in or out of new marinas in the dark. I am on deck keeping a watchful eye and Maria is keeping an eye on the course she added into the plotter which she knows is safe. Safe except for the brightly coloured catamaran that has anchored across the entrance of the marina! They have their anchor light on and I can see them well but it was an unnecessary complication on our exit. We are out and clear, lines and fenders are in.

The route to Gran Canaria is pretty simple, once you have cleared the north coast of Fuerteventura, it is pretty much straight south west for 100 miles! There doesn’t seem to be much shipping after a high speed ferry goes past as we leave. 

We are making good progress motor sailing under main. It is dark and we still need to get some rest so we will just keep everything simple until daylight. As it is, we are cracking along at 7.5 to 8 knots and our eta is looking good. The wind is starting to veer a little to the East so some minor course corrections keep us going in the right kind of direction whilst keeping the wind in the sail.

Maria is first to get some rest, I will need to do the same before 9am when I will start work. Not a busy day today but a few meetings I need to attend. Maria takes a little time to settle but I am hopeful she will get a few hours after a disturbed night when she couldn’t get comfortable.

We are probably going to motor sail for the day because we have 120 miles to go and are a little concerned about arriving after nightfall. The wind will steadily be building during the day but our marina is in the islands wind shadow today so we should be fine when we get there. As we follow the western coast of Fuerteventura down , we will need to cross another Traffic Separation Scheme. Overnight it has been really quiet but now there seem to be more big ships, typical! Not as busy as the Gibraltar Straights but still will require us to do a little frogged moves as we skip across the lanes. The wind has shifted slightly and we can adjust our course a little too which puts us on a starboard tack with main and staysail out. The wind is almost behind us and we think our large headsail would just get blocked. We are still surfing along at over eight knots though 🙂

I head in to the TSS and aim for the first of two cargo ships. My plan being that neither gets within a mile of us, it means we cross the path of the second faster ship but no one should be inconvenienced. Once again I try to call up the MSC ship to inform them of my intentions. The AIS system is great but it can only predict based on what you are doing and not on your intentions. My intention includes a turn to starboard to cross the TSS. Once again I get no answer from the cargo ship 😦 AIS is great though because the information it gives you really helps when doing these manoeuvres. We are safely through and the other “lane” is almost completely free apart from a ship that will go past us and miss us by two and a half miles. As we get through the TSS, it is back on course to head to the south of Gran Canaria. It is a little hazy but we can see the vague ominous outline of the island and so we are back into the hours thinking you are almost there! 

The wind has started to pick up so our chances of making land in daylight have improved. We were always looking pretty good for time but since crossing the TSS the wind has picked up. We have tunes the sails and are now almost touching ten knots at times. We are still motor sailing though. We have just decided that arriving in daylight is really important. It’s now nearly 5:30 and we have 13.5 miles remaining. Last night it was still twilight at 8pm so I am confident we have done it. For the last 10-15 miles we are sailing and still cracking a long at a good speed in wind speeds in excess of 20-25 knots. Lovely! As we continue to plough on we can see some disturbed sea up ahead and is worried it could be rocks. The chart is clear that we are in deeper water. As we get into the area, the reason becomes clear, the wind is very gentle and in a completely opposite direction. Fortunately we have already put the sails away and we are on final approach with another hour of daylight remaining.

Tonight we will go on the fuel pontoon, guess we may as well as take advantage of that before Mariadz gets lifted for an important service to the prop, it has excessive movement in it so I have bought the full service kit. That is a job for tomorrow.

And now for a beer!