Passage from Tangiers to Lanzarote

After a pleasant interlude in Tangiers it was time to do our first big passage.  The 600+ nm shakedown cruise from Tangiers to Lanzarote in the Canary Islands will tell us what works and what doesn't.   

Everyone got into the routine of watch schedules.  We each had a 3 hour watch and 9 hours off, which allowed us to get a good block of sleep.  I had the 9 - 12 am/pm watch, which meant on the night watch I had 3 hours in the dark but usually someone else (Reg) was still awake, so that I was rarely alone.  The moon was a lovely during the passage, starting with a waxing half moon and building each night.  This meant that there was plenty of ambient light and it was not too onerous to stay up until midnight.  Reg relieved me at midnight until 3 am when Bob got up for the dark and lonely watch until 6 am.  Then Phoebe relieved Bob.  We had the same time period watch in daylight hours.  Most of us were able to fall asleep during our off hours for a decent block of sleep and did not suffer too much sleep deprivation. 

Sunset, day 1

Phoebe and I shared the meal preparation with dinner and lunch the next day so we only had to make one meal a day.  Breakfast was catch as catch can as many were asleep early morning. Plus we didn't need or want three meals a day - a light lunch and dinner was all we needed.   At about 5 pm we all convened in the cockpit for a single light drink and chat together.  Then we had dinner and those who were not on watch tried to catch some sleep.  

  

So our days went – reading, resting, chatting, napping and taking our two 3 hour watches in every 24 hours.

Genoa poled out for downwind sailing

The seas were quite rocky rolly which made cooking quite a challenge.  Vegetables had to be chopped up while bracing against the galley wall and swaying with the boat motion.  Although gimballed, the stove still moved a bit erratically and one day a half cooked frittata nearly landed on the floor.  So a project for Las Palmas is to sort out the stove so the movement is smooth and we can safely cook.  Also our resolve to cook up meals in advance and freeze for the Atlantic crossing was strengthened.  Then we will only have to heat the meals up while the boat is rolling.  

We realised the ungimballed microwave will not be useful on a rolling boat.  One must time the opening of the door with the waves and the side ward motion of the boat or the whole tray will come flying out!  It is just not safe with hot food.

We have been told that the sea state is a bit worse on this north-south passage than it will be when we are going east-west.  The Atlantic swell rolls east-west so we had the swell on our side (beam) most of the time which gave the boat quite a roll.  Going west we will go up then down on the swells in a nice gentle motion.   That is the theory anyway!  

The routine of the passage is broken up by the events of the sea.  On two mornings we found a lone flying fish in the scuppers.

A flying fish found in the scuppers

On our fourth day we had a beautiful pod of dolphins leaping and playing along the side of the boat for about 20 minutes – Lovely!

 

 

 

The crew have been great and seem to be happy to be at sea again.

Happy crew

 In the afternoon of our fifth day at sea we spotted land, Roque del Este, and uninhabited rock off the north coast of Lanzarote.  Phoebe won the contest for guessing the time when we would first spot land.  She guessed the correct time within a minute – hum……  We still haven’t decided on the prize.

Land ho!

We sailed down the east coast of Lanzarote all day and arrived at Playa Blanco on the south coast just before midnight.  This was the first time we anchored in the dark but with a near full moon the anchoring was quite straight forward.  After a celebratory drink we were all grateful for a sound night’s sleep on a relatively still boat at anchor.  Five and a  half days at sea covering 609 nm.

 

Crossing the Straits to Tangier

Our friends, Reg and Phoebe, arrived from Canada enthusiastic to crew on Songster.  It was great to see them again and we spent hours catching up on all our news and sharing sailing and travel experiences.  We hadn’t seen each other since sailing in company around the Greek Dodecanese islands in 2016.

Reg and Bob relaxing at anchor before we leave to cross the Straits of Gibraltar

The first step on our way across the pond was to cross the Straits of Gibraltar.  After nearly 5 years doing cappuccino cruising in the Mediterranean with no tides or currents to speak of, it was time to dust off our navigation skills and think about tide time tables, wind directions and strong currents. 

Approximately 1 million cubic metres of water from the Atlantic flow into the Mediterranean every second through the narrow 7 nautical mile wide Strait.  This combined with tides can produce up to a 4 knot current going from west to east.  Then with a prevailing westerly wind, a small sail boat does not have a chance of getting out of the Mediterranean into the Atlantic.  So it is essential to pick a good weather window with an easterly wind and the tides countering the prevailing currents.

It is a busy waterway

The long term forecast was for strong westerlies for the next ten days, except for Friday when a light westerly was predicted.  No easterly winds were in sight so we decided to go with Friday (despite the sailor’s superstition to never leave port on a Friday) and catch the tide three hours after high water in Gibraltar as recommended.  

Early morning departure from Gibraltar

We crossed perpendicularly to the busy shipping lane towards the African coast and then followed the currents west.  There were impressive tidal races off the Belyounach point.  The engine was running at 2500 rpm which normally would give us 6 - 7 knots and we were only making 2 knots. 

Tidal race off the African coast

Finally we got the current in our favour and zoomed along the coast into the new marina in Tangiers.  This marina was being built when we were in Morocco 4 years ago and the entire waterfront then was a noisy construction site.  Now there is a very pretty marina and open public space which attracts the young people, families and elderly couples every evening for their twilight stroll. 

Moroccans enjoying the marina area

Songster along side at the marina

 We spent two nights in Tangier revisiting some of our favourite spots and exploring the new areas. 

Reg, Bob, Phoebe and Eileen relaxing at the Hotel Continental

The streets of the Kasbah

Morocco seems to be going from strength to strength.  It is still maintaining its old Arabic charm but modernising without crassness.  Four years ago on our road trip through Morocco, the desert was covered in discarded plastic bags.  From a distance we thought these were some kind of cactus bloom and were horrified to see that the specks of colour were plastic rubbish.  Plastic bags have now been banned in Morocco and replaced by paper fibre bags.  There is very little rubbish in the streets and Tangiers is looking very nice.

The busy streets of Tangiers