In which we sail back to mainland Europe in preparation for a summer in the Mediterranean.
We started March at anchor of La Graciosa, the northernmost
inhabited Canary Island. Our weather
planning had brought us here in the expectation of getting a favourable wind to
take us To Madeira, the first leg of our journey back to the mainland of
Europe.
The wind predictions continued to hold (for once) and at
mid-day on the 1st we heaved up anchor and headed North West. The predicted wind was NE’ly F4-5, backing to
ENE’ly as we approached our destination.
Our intention was to swing a little to starboard of our track so as to
keep the wind on our beam. In fact, we
found the wind to be coming from ENE on departure and kept it ahead of the
beam, to avoid having to beat into it on arrival. This meant a less comfortable sail, with a
greater apparent wind, more heeling and more pounding into the waves but it was
quite manageable and, after 36 hours, even Elsie claimed to be enjoying
herself. With the possibility of
stronger winds, we had rigged the storm jib on the inner forestay and this
proved very effective. At night, Elsie
sailed with just the storm jib and a 3 reefed main and achieved 5 knots across
the ground. Putting out a small section
of the genoa increased our speed by over a knot and also reduced the rolling
considerably. The downside of this was
fluttering of the leach of the genoa so, reluctantly we had to put it away to
avoid any damage (on arrival, we tightened the leach cord on the genoa, and
will experiment again).
Elsie had made up the after cabin again for this trip and
this proved a good precaution as there was a leak from the hatch in the forward
cabin. We didn’t realise how bad this
was until arrival, when we found that the bedding was completely soaked. We feared that the seal needed replacing but
investigation proved that the source was a perished O ring on a latch.
As we approached our destination the wind, instead of
backing, veered, so that we could have had a much more comfortable
journey. So it goes.
We arrived in Porto Santo, the small island to the North
East of Madeira at lunch time on the 3rd and tied up at 1400. We chose here as 1, it is the nearest place
to mainland Europe and 2, it is inexpensive: one week’s berthing cost 134 Euros
but, if paid in advance, you get the rest of the month for free. As we were unsure of when we would be able to
move on, this was good news. The staff
are also very friendly and helpful, if a little inefficient. Elsie managed to get all the bedding washed
and dried in the first 48 hours and when it came to our personal laundry,
leaving it next to an occupied washer resulted in the cleaner washing, drying
and folding it – all for free! The
boatyard was a disappointment, proving unable to provide a tester for our
suspect batteries or a piece of pipe to replace one on our domestic fresh water
system with a pinhole leak, but the ever-helpful Zapatisto managed to conjure
up an O ring that (almost) fitted the forward hatch, an auto-electrician to
complete the re-wiring of our radar supply wire, a mobile diesel supplier to top
off our tank and a replacement camping gas cylinder. Even the Customs officer seemed to have done
the customer service course and was charm personified. Daily bread was available from the local café
and an adequate supermarket was a mile away, giving us our daily exercise.
Each morning, we checked passage weather and Grib files (for
the uninitiated, these are highly compressed files which can give a good
overview of forecast winds). Each day we
agreed that six days’ time looked a likely date to depart, but we would need
more information. Finally, the departure
date ticked down to 4, 3, 2, 1 day in the future. On Monday 14th it looked
possible: Following 10-15 knot winds for
the first 200 miles; light and variable for the next 100 and 10 knots on the beam
for the run in. It looked like it could
be a slow passage with motoring required in the middle but very safe. We carry fuel for about 300 miles but always
want to have at least ¼ tank for ‘just in case’.
So, with full fuel, water, stores and cooking gas we let go
at 1015 on the 14th, bound for Lagos at the south west corner of
Portugal, fully prepared to be at sea for a week if necessary. Keeping us company was ‘Jaz’ another yacht
bound for Cadiz. We stayed neck and neck
until her track finally took her too far south to see. The wind, bless it, turned out to be 20
degrees backed from the forecast, which meant a broad reach rather than a
run. This gave us a more comfortable
motion and an extra 2 knots. Initially,
with a F3, we had cruising chute and full main.
The wind had increased to F4 by 1800 and, foolishly, I kept the chute up
for my evening watch. I was regretting
this by 2300, when the wind was gusting to 18 knots but didn’t want to disturb
Elsie so left it until she rose at 2345.
Naturally, as we dowsed it, a stronger gust came, broke the weak link at
the head and dumped it overboard, so it had to be dumped, wet, into the
shower. Changing to Genoa made no
appreciable change to our speed. Our
education continues.
The wind continued SxWly F4-5 through to 1800 on the 15th,
by which time we had covered 220 miles, averaging 7 knots, on a direct track
and were within motoring distance so, when it dropped to F2, on came the
engine. The next 24 hours were
alternately sailing and motoring though, as the wind was on the beam and the
swell low, we could have progressed at 3 knots under sail. By the following evening, the wind had steadied
at N’ly F3 and we resumed sailing at 5-6 knots.
There is a huge traffic separation scheme off Cape St Vincent,
which meant a 45 degree turn with 45 miles to go. The wind obligingly turned with us and
remained F3-4 on the beam. We had full
sail up as we crossed the end of the TSS but engine running too. This gave us a reliable speed to assist in
collision avoidance and also ensured that we would arrive in Lagos well before
dark. Sails down at 1615 with 465 miles
run and still over ¾ full tanks.
Lagos marina turned out to be very pleasant (though a bit
pricier than we had become used to).
There are many British boats staying winter or years. The town itself is also attractive if a
little touristy. The chandlery, billed
as one of the largest in Portugal proved a little disappointing but was able to
supply the pipe required to repair the pin-hole leak on the domestic
system. We stayed 4 nights to recover,
dry out the boat, watch the final day of the 6 Nations rugby and dry ourselves
from that.
It was coming up to my next return for medical checks so we
decided to plan on being in Gibraltar for the 10th April. This would provide convenient flights and,
hopefully allow some work to be done, particularly upgrading our battery
charging options with a wind generator and a replacement for a defunct solar
panel. We left Lagos on the afternoon of
the 21st for a short but pleasant sail to Portimao, anchoring
overnight. The following day, we wished
to enter the lagoon off Faro, which meant arriving early afternoon to avoid 7
knot currents at the entrance. The wind
was initially too light to permit this so we motored for 3 hours until the
coastal wind built at 1130 and gave us a good broad reach. The lagoon has many mud flats and although
our anchorage appeared, at high water to be in the middle of miles of open
water, the falling tide told the true story.
The following 2 days were also spent more motoring than sailing: 53
miles to Mazagon on the 23rd and 36 to Bonanza on the 24th. At the former, we anchored just outside the
marina, in the shelter of a huge sea wall.
Bonanza is a few miles up the Rio Guadalquiver, which leads to
Seville. There is a strong current, but
good holding and we spent a very comfortable night. AS we were at spring tides, timing our exit
was important, so we had a long lie, picking up anchor at 1030. We expected to have to motor to the river
mouth, but the wind was kind and we were soon progressing with all plain sail
down the coast to Cadiz, tying up at 1700.
Cadiz from seaward
The centre of Cadiz is wonderful, with a huge area that has hardly
changed for hundreds of years. No chain
stores, no plate glass windows and no advertising hoardings. Every U.K. town planner should be made to
come here to see what is possible and hang their heads in shame. And where there are modern features, such as
the bridge linking the peninsula to the mainland, they are stunning. Even the pylons crossing the same gap are
spectacular. The only tatty bit is the
dock area, leading to the marina. Like so
many parts of Spain (and Canaries) there are partially complete or abandoned
projects that have been allowed to decay and get covered in graffiti.
We spent 2 nights in Cadiz before setting off down the coast
early afternoon on Sunday 27th.
We had only 22 miles to go today and that was forecast to be the best
timing for wind. So it proved and we had
a lazy sail down to Port Conil, where we anchored in what should have been the
lee of the harbour wall. Unfortunately,
this seemed just to funnel the swell round and we had an uncomfortable night.
Our next challenge was the Strait of Gibraltar. This is only 8 miles wide at its narrowest
and not only does it have the only flow of water in and out of the
Mediterranean, it also funnels the wind between the pillars of Hercules so
there is great potential for 7 knot currents and gale force winds, with one of
the busiest shipping lanes in the world to add to the spice. I was having difficulty tying in the text
advice in the pilot book with the tidal flow diagrams, so asked advice on the
Cruising Association forum. Collating
the replies revealed that our best chance for the next week, and possibly much
longer (as who knows what the wind was going to do after that) was to finish
our coffee, pick up the anchor and go.
In fact, going 2 days earlier would have been even better, as it would
have given an extra 90 minutes between best tides and sunset, but too late for
that now. So, at 1040, we heaved up and
set off. Had daylight been longer, we
would have had time to sail all the way but, as I didn’t want a dark arrival we
motored, or motor sailed most of the way to keep the speed up. We didn’t pick up a following current until
Tarifa, the start of the narrow bit, but from here on, with tide behind and a
fair wind we sped through. Gibraltar bay
was packed with freighters bunkering, fishermen ferries etc. so we were pleased
to be crossing it in daylight. Our
chosen parking space, Marina Bay, is right next to the airport runway, so we
had to promise not to cross the centreline as it was active.
The marina itself is ‘Med style’: bow or stern to, with lazy
lines to keep you off the jetty. A fixed
jetty works well in the Med, with no appreciable tidal rise but here, where it
goes up and down a few feet, it presented access problems for Elsie. We had planned to leave Ruby here while I
flew back to the U.K. in April, but had a re-think and changed our booking to
Queensway, where floating pontoons are used instead.
Gibraltar itself is all that we expected: touristy,
historic, crowded. We took the
obligatory cable car to the top and went for a walk over the border to Spain. Having motored so much in the previous week,
we needed 130 litres of diesel, but at 28 pence per litre, it didn’t hurt too
much.
Barbary ape
We had 10 days to kill, waiting for my booked trip to
Scotland and decided to see a bit of the Costa del Sol, so set off again on the
31st for Marbella. The forecast was for 15 knots of wind; we planned
for 20, with 2 reefs in the main and Genoa;
there was actually 25, so we had a spirited sail down the East side of
the bay, round Europa point and up the coast.
Only on going inshore, at Jose Banus, did the wind change to light and
variable and we had an interesting last few miles, alternating tacks, beating,
running and reaching but tied up at Bajadilla at 1700, next to Jaz, the boat we
had left Porto Santo with. Timing on
this coast is not so much about currents but seasons. The cost of this marina was very reasonable,
at 13 euros per night but from June to September, it nearly triples. Ouch.
Let’s hope we can find some nice anchorages in the high season.
Monthly stats:
logged 931
Over ground 1004
Monthly stats:
logged 931
Over ground 1004
