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.