9th August
We spent the day doing chores around the boat and at the
marina bar we accessed Wi-Fi and I spoke to Gareth on Skype which was just
great before he heads off for Canada next week.
Rachel and David arrived on the Edinburgh flight in the
evening. We had prepared dinner and
chilled the wine for their arrival and enjoyed catching up. David had only left us three weeks previously
but it was great to have him back and with Rachel’s sense of fun, it really
added to make for a great week.
10th – 16th August
The following morning we left fairly early to return to San
Sebastian in La Gomera. It was another
lively sail with loads of whale sightings and a pod of small dolphins leaping
high out of the sea. It reminded me of the previous week on the same crossing
when about five dolphin had surfed alongside us all in a row on top of the same
wave. On arrival in San Sebastian we
went to the beach for a swim to cool down.
We found a really nice wee rustic restaurant where we dined in a lovely
wee attic table and Rachel ‘lost’ her shoe and asked the waited who didn’t
speak English if he had seen it. She
would get her own back on me later in the week!
It’s hard to believe we have now been travelling for eight
weeks since leaving the Clyde. We have
seen so much and travelled so far in that time and are both feeling much more
relaxed and happy.
The following day John did his tour guide again in a hired
car when we explored much of the island, its amazing mountains (we walked to
the summit on one, 5,000 feet high), and sensational coast lines. We all loved
the little resort of Valle Gran Rey, full of character with its brightly
painted boats, bohemian shops and many resident hippies. The following day we were to return here but
this time on the boat. We have come to
realise there is no such thing as plain sailing in the Canaries in August as
the wind is relentless. As I mentioned in
a previous log, even the simplest thing, like going to the loo becomes a major
task and on this trip it was no exception.
On one such visit to the loo, there I was perched on the throne whilst
the boat was lurching violently from side to side. I had wedged myself in with hands and feet
strategically positioned to keep me seated when suddenly the boat took the most
violent lurch to starboard, effectively launching me off the seat. In an attempt to keep myself from falling on my
face, I reached out to put my hand on the door facing me but unfortunately my
hand came into contact with the door handle, throwing open the door with me
following it out into the saloon with my clothes round my knees, hitting the
facing wall several feet in front of me just as the boat lurched violently to
port carrying me at great sped back the way I had come, throwing me back onto
the throne and slamming the door shut behind me, just as though nothing had
happened. I was amazed this entire
sequence had gone unnoticed by my fellow crew members. I would hate it to have reached You
Tube.
On arrival in Valle Gran Rey we anchored just outside the
harbour. We enjoyed swimming and
snorkeling in the crystal clear waters. Fellow sailors, Nigel and Tracy, from
Northamptonshire, on their boat ‘Relentless’,
whom we had met in San Sebastian, joined us for dinner having sailed down the
next day. The sail back to Tenerife came
around all too soon heralding the end of a great week. It was again a very lively sail, this time
letting me see my first turtles of the trip, (although John claims to have seen
one a couple of weeks ago)! I enjoyed
lying on the bow as the boat dipped dramatically into the waves, at times
coming up over the bow and my feet and legs cooling me down in the heat of the
day. I wanted to hold that moment in my
memory, it just felt so special. When we
arrived in San Miguel we headed for a beer in the marina bar where we met Daryl
again with his daughter. We later went
out for a farewell dinner with David and Rachel and were joined by Nigel and
Tracy who had arrived yesterday.
After a lazy day in the marina, Rachel and David left for
the airport. We were sad to see them go,
such a good time was had by all!
On Sunday 17th my good friend Isabel from work
and her partner Chad came to visit us from the hotel they were holidaying in
along the coast. Neither of them sailors
enjoyed a first time experience in some fairly rough seas for a couple of hours
getting back to the marina in time for a long leisurely lunch washed down with
some wine. After putting the world to
rights we went to the bar for an iced coffee before they headed back to their
hotel in time for dinner. It was lovely
to catch up.
John and I prepared the boat for an early start as we make
our way to our final destination of the first part of our journey, Gran
Canaria, via Santa Cruz where we will prepare the boat and leave her there
whilst we return home for the month of September. We have now covered 2500 nautical miles. I
still find it hard to believe we have sailed all the way here from the Clyde.
I will write again from Gran Canaria.
Alison