Monday 4th August
John and I got organized and headed off from Santa Cruz in
La Palma at around 08.30 using twin head sails which we soon had to set to one
side as wind veered round to port stern and full main sail. As wind increased John reefed in the main to
second reef and then almost knocked himself out hitting his head on the
boom. Despite this we sailed all day with
wind gusting to 24 knots in the acceleration zone off La Gomera. Arrived in San
Sebastian just before 18.00 in time to book in to the marina and go through the
formalities yet again. Enjoyed a tuna pasta bake I prepared yesterday washed
down with a chilled Chardonnay outside.
5th to 7th August
We stayed in San Sebastian for a few days during which time
we travelled on the public bus to Vellehermoso in the north marveling at the
agility of the bus and driver negotiating the never ending trail of hair pin
bends, snaking it’s was around the hills, often with breath taking drops at the
roadside. There are lots of forest areas and again, houses built on steep
hillsides.
As most sailors will know, much of the entertainment to be
found on board is sitting watching fellow sailors coming into the marina and
berthing their boats. This pastime is
always better when it is not you who is the one trying to do the parking. In San Sebastian we watched in horror as one
such skipper came into the berth opposite ours somewhat out of control. John
went to catch his line and found himself having to fend the boat off the
pontoon to avoid a demolition. The stern
bathing platform looked as though there had been a serious injury on board but
the skipper assured us that it was in fact water melon which had clearly been
the product of a sea sick passenger. The Austrian skipper and his ‘crew’ were
clearly three sheets to the wind. It was
a charter boat with a very rotund Russian guest with his three young female
companions, a further ‘helper’, the ‘fist mate’, learning how to sail. The
Large Russian immediately stepped ashore and dived off the pontoon into the sea
– never a good plan within a marina.
Without an easy option to get back out, he swam to a near bye jetty and
crawled out on his hands and knees.
Quite a sight to see. Their merriment
continued well into the early hours of the following morning.
After a few days exploring and enjoying San Sebastian we
looked for a window of opportunity to head over to Tenerife. The wind had been blowing hard for days but
the forecast looked like it would abate on Friday the 8th August to
allow us the chance to set sail.
Friday 8th August
We waited patiently all morning for the wind to drop enough
to allow us to take down, remove one and put back up the head sail. The wind didn’t drop. We decided just to head
out and manage the two head sails together as we had done previously although
not ideal. At 13.00 we headed out in to
a gale force 8 with winds gusting up to 37 knots. Quite exciting, however the
head sail taught us that in this wind direction we needed both sheets on one
side if we were going to try and sail with both set to one side. After having to recover one from flipping
over behind the other several times, John had to clip himself on and go and
move the port sheet over to starboard. We then carried on over toward Tenerife
passing Los Christianos and surrounding resorts before the wind dropped and we
started the engine. At one point we
heard a loud slapping nose just off the starboard bow and looked to see a whale
a couple of feet away smacking its tail on the surface of the water, we assumed
to warn its two mates of danger. Then
the three whales swam together away from the boat rising and falling as they
do. A little too close for comfort for
me, but an amazing sight to see none the less.
When we rounded the point at the south end of Tenerife the wind started
to increase again and this time on the nose slowing down progress considerable
as the wind quickly strengthened back up to a force 8 again. We are starting to
understand the fickle nature of the wind around the Canaries and the impact of
the acceleration zones close to the islands.
It took us quite a while to reach San Miguel, our destination, arriving
about 18.00. We both felt quite pleased
that we had managed such a challenging sail and were happy to get ashore for a
refreshing shower before heading out to a local restaurant for dinner. We had a
lovely evening and chatted to a couple from Newcastle who had moved here a few
years ago. It is strange to be surrounded
by so many Brits after hearing so few English voices for weeks. The following
morning we said Hi to Daryl who has sailed directly here from Madeira to meet
his daughter who is arriving from the UK for a holiday.
I’ll be back in touch after our guests, Davis and Rachel
have sailed with us for the coming week.
Alison