October 25, 2015 – Last month, on September 5, Shiva left Lagos after a few months of
pleasant stay along the beautiful coast of Portugal. The journey headed
southwards over the Atlantic Ocean towards Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. In
other words, towards the start of ARC 2015! With half of the crew – Herman,
Inge and Gerard – Shiva showed a super steady and nice performance.
The first night was a peaceful night with an
average speed of 8 kts. Inge and Gerard took the first night shift from 7PM to
10PM, then Herman until 3AM, and then the sunrise was viewed by Inge and Gerard
again. The sun stayed high at the sky and it was a beautiful shiny day although
a lowered wind speed of maximum 10 kts. With the mainsail code 1 Shiva sailed
6,8 kts speed and course over ground. 408 miles to go to Lanzarote…
The next days a lot of dolphins were seen! The
wind unfortunately stayed at the maximum of 10 kts and was mostly coming from
the back. During the nights the engine had to be put on to keep going, during the
days the Parasail was raised and beautifully pushed Shiva through the water and
reflecting the bright sunlight. As steady (low) as the wind was, so (high) was
the sun. It brought about a super enjoyable atmosphere on Shiva.
On September 9 Shiva and crew arrived in Lanzarote
after a trip of 573 miles. Real distance is 548 miles, so some extra miles were
made because of the wind and subsequent extra zig-zag movements. With a little
positive current (ca 0,2 kts) and an average speed of 6,9 miles of which 41 hours
on the motor, the trip had taken all in all 3 days and 10 hours. Not bad! Many
thanks to the new Parasail Expert Gerard and the Volvo Penta Engine!
3 days later Herman and Inge set sail to Tenerife.
It’s a 130 miles trip with broad to close reach (ruime tot halve wind). Without
Gerard the Parasail didn’t get out of the cabin, but code 1 was on until 8.30PM
and during the night the mainsail and genua. Next morning, after 19 hours pure
sailing and an average speed of 7,2 kts Shiva, Herman and Inge arrived in Santa
Cruz Tenerife. Having explored the island for a day Herman and Inge continued
the journey towards ARC 2015... 60 sea miles further they arrived in Isla de la
Gomera after which the trip continued to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. A lovely
sail trip it was and on September 15 Shiva entered the harbour of Las Palmas!
There appears to be a great fish shop where
Daan can acquire his fishing gear. And there are enough markets and shops where
Inge and Mariette can purchase the supply of food before we start the real
crossing. Some Spanish will be required so Nicoline has been informed to bring
the Spanish study books and will teach the crew enough Canary and Caribean
Spanish words so that we can get everything out of the few days we will spend
on Spanish-speaking land and so that we can intellectually kill some hours
while we will be gliding over the Atlantic Ocean…
The next destiny of Shiva will be Rodney Bay in
Saint Lucia!! With the complete crew Herman, Inge, Gerard, Daan, Mariette and
Nicoline!
Want to read more about the expectations & dreams of the Shiva crew? Stay tuned for our next log
!