Las Palmas To La Gomera

Despite the last blog entry we still managed to leave Las Palmas a day later than planned as Marcus finally arrived. We spent a really nice evening with Marcus, Jess, James and Freya of (aboard) Otahi (I think that’s the right spelling).

The next day we left Las Palmas and made a swelly passage to Pasito Blanco, arriving around 5pm to drop the anchor in about 1.8m of water under the keel (my shallowest anchorage yet), make some food and get a few hours sleep before re-setting off for Los Christianos on Tenerife.

Just before arriving at Pasito Blanco we spoke to Aliisa on the VHF who was also heading for La Gomera, mid conversation we experienced a 180 degree wind shift and gusts to 35kn! The winds around the Canaries are crazy.

After eating pasta and watching the crazy local water skier we slept until 2am and then left under motor towards Tenerife, 65nm away. After motoring all night (Lindsey slept while I helmed) the wind finally made an appearance around 8am where I could finally set up the boat to steer herself.

We arrived at Los Christianos after being escorted by a pod of dolphins and discovered that the anchorage as described in the Imray pilot book has completely changed. Anchoring in about 8m of water under the keel I had to let out the warp again as 30m of chain just isn’t enough. More chain is at the top of the shopping list when I get to the Caribbean!

Rather than head off immediately, we decided it might be nice to actually see Los Christianos as Lindsey has never been to Tenerife before. I, on the other hand spent a few months here living on a nudist beach years ago and this is the place where I first discovered that people are sailing boats around the world and probably the birthplace of the crazy idea that now led me back with my own boat.

The next day was spent generally looking around the town with Lindsey buying perfume gifts for her family. We finally headed back to the boat in the afternoon and had a ‘wash’ / swim before heading back for an evening Chinese meal. The next day we left the anchorage with about 5knots of wind and ghosted our way towards La Gomera, with Lindsey sunbathing and me a slave to the wheel.

We saw several whales of which I presume were of the pilot variety. Mid way across we had to use the engine as the wind had died and the swell increased considerably. The last 5 or so miles saw the winds increase to 25kn as we entered the acceleration zone and with 2 reefs in the main and ¾ jib made good progress towards the San Sebastian marina.

Quatermoon and Aliisa were already moored up inside and luckily Sym managed to sweet talk the staff into letting us moor in the haul out pen as the marina was completely full with boats moored up four boats deep.

After a close encounter with a large cat moored in the entrance of the haul out pen we made fast and headed over to the join the BBQ on the pontoon quayside. Needless to say the wine flowed and out came the guitars, with several memorable songs being composed the best being ‘Donde Esta El Doris’ sung by Sym in his best Spanish! Another highlight was ‘We’re German – and I hope you like Germans too’ by a crew of randoms who happened to join in as they passed by. We finally had to abort when the other boats started to complain about the noise…

The next morning I felt like death, I managed to muster a cup of tea before getting back into bed. The second attempt to wake up was even worse. We managed to make it into town and ordering a cooked breakfast in the hope that this would kill or cure. Just the sight of the cold almost raw fried eggs and fatty bacon made my stomach do back flips. Lindsey managed considerably better than me as I sat there shaking, freezing cold with sweat running down my back with watering eyes assessing what bin to throw up into should the need arise.

After walking around a while I started to feel a little better and met up with the rest of the crew who had also been rough all morning. We got the boat sorted for a departure the following day, filling the water and fuel tanks (my first Diesel since Portugal) and went to the supermarket and got some supplies for another BBQ. That evening saw a more subdued version of the previous night, all very civilised with not a single guitar in sight.

Anina having recovered from alcohol poisoning...

The next morning we checked out of the marina and just before leaving we bumped in Matti of Carma who had just arrived. After a quick chat I decided that I would like to stay another day, especially as we were only being charged 10eu per night in the haul out pen!

Sym & Amy of Quatermoon also decided to stay another day. We went into town and looked around in a more relaxed state than previously without having to look for bins to throw up into! After some lunch in a local restaurant we had showers (cold) and met up with Matti for some food on Doris before finding a bar in town.

We decided to get a pizza, which looked really nice when bought to the table. (Un)fortunately, Lindsey managed to find a small cockroach on the underside of the pizza we were sharing quashing any appetite instantly! We asked for the bill and was horrified to discover that Matti had been charged for his pizza despite him returning it due to feeling ill!

Its now 11am and after writing this will prepare to head for Valle Gran Rey (possibly via Santiago) where we will hopefully finally do our PADI Open Water courses.

Daniel of Luna, if you are already there and read this in time, wait for us before heading for the Cape Verdes.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAT

----- Original Message -----

Sent: Sunday, November 23, 2008 11:06 AM
Subject: Fw: Matchmaker Contact ARC yacht numer 34

Hi all
Most of you don't even know i've managed to secure a crew place on an ARC yacht earlier this weekBut we set off in the next hour!!!

I really have landed on my feet on this one - its a 65ft oyster with every luxury you can imagine

(although the washing Machine can't be used at sea!!!)

Spent the last few days provisioning and the new crew are loving my OCD tendancies when getting all the menu ingredients labelled up so we know what to grab out of the freezer or which fridge (yes there's 2 plus cooler box in cockpit) for every meal over next 18 days.

As per usual i'm running round like headless chicken but wanted to let you know the details to track our progress - see website below

If i've forgotten anyone in my haste and while the marching bands are kicking up and boat dog horns blaring please pass this email on!

The email address onboard will be symatchmaker@mailasail.com and I can receive emails on that but please be aware the whole crew (incl boat owner peter) get to see content so don't send inappropriate content or large files etc!
I will send another mass email when we get to st lucia safely - roughly 18 days from nowWhen back on this email!

Take care and lots of love
Katherine

-----Original Message-----

From: "Peter Lloyd" <symatchmaker@mailasail.com>
Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2008 09:13:48 To: <kath@kathblackler.co.uk>

Subject: Fw: Matchmaker Contact ARC yacht numer 34

Hi All of Katherine`s Family & Friends,Between Sunday 23rdNov and 12thDec Me and my crew - Jen, Simon, Katherine, and Callum, will be sailing across the Atlantic Ocean in SY Matchmaker.

She has satelite communications on board so that we can keep in touch with familyand friends. You can communicate with the boat and all her crew if youwish on this e mail - but be aware we all see what is sent! (so cut outthe really personal stuff!)- please reply to test it out if you wish - andsave the details in your contact box.

Please DO NOT SEND any graphics orphotos or logos because these are very slow to transmit and are also veryexpensive as they take up a lot of band width - so make sure your e maildoes NOT contain a logo "Signature". We shall be checking mails every dayat 12noon (sometimes more often).

You can also reach the boat by Satelitephone if anything is particularily urgent. The number is +870764836998. Ifyou are interested in following our progress across the Atlantic you canopen our "Matchmaker" blog page which is,http://blog.mailasail.com/symatchmaker

We shall post an update most day but NOT everyday - and normally at around12 noon (local time) - n.b. we shall loose 4hours of time zone as wetravel west! Subject of course to the wind - we expect to arrive in StLucia around the 10th December.

Thanks Peter LloydS/Y Matchmaker

Las Palmas Anchorage

Thursday 20th saw us wondering around the marina where we found Kat for a quick chat and generally mooched around watching the ARC circus. Later that evening Danielle arrived from Puerto Rico and we all (Daniel, Lauri, Annina, Kat and the three of us) sat aboard Doris for Honey Rum and Curry!

The next morning (Friday) we hired a car with Lauri & Annina and we went exploring around the island seeing the sights and trying to find an old car tire (sea anchor) and gas bottles filled for Aliisa.

We finally said farewell to Mr Crute around 5pm as we dropped him at the airport. Despite the horrific crossing he had to endure, I’m guessing this isn’t the last time Doris wecomes Mr Crute back aboard.

It was really good to see you again dude – we are already missing ya!

Back at the boat, we had some food and got an early night as Lindsey’s cold was starting to get the better of her.

Saturday morning saw us getting up late and we spent the afternoon with Kat who was on a mission to get a bikini and sunglasses for her crossing. It still feels strange knowing that we both started this little adventure together over a year ago and now she is crossing the Atlantic separately from me – irony!

Kat really has done well to land a position on one of the largest and most luxurious boats in the ARC a brand new 65ft Oyster! – It makes Doris look like a second hand dinghy!

Later that eve I picked Kat up from the beach again to watch the fireworks, which ended before I even got her back to the boat! We sat and talked for a while and before I knew it, it was gone 1am. It was an emotional farewell at the waters edge and we reflected on times gone by and the fact that she hadn’t really had time to get her head around what she was about to do. I have to say it was a weird feeling me rowing back to the boat and her walking off to the marina.

Sunday morning – ARC departure day. We woke and made our way ashore to watch the boats leave. (Un)Luckily, Kat had already left the marina and unbeknown to me had sailed right past Doris at anchor as she saw us rowing ashore, probably for the best as to actually see her depart may have got messy.

Lindsey and I spent the remainder of the afternoon rowing back and forth filling the water tank using cans from the taps on the beach. Lindsey has decided to stay with me aboard Doris at least until the Cape Verde islands.

Monday morning and the anchorage was now half empty compared to the pre ARC departure. We went ashore and washed every bit of dirty laundry we could find (my first washing since before Biscay!) and had showers in the marina facilities having ‘borrowed’ the key from some of Lindsey’s friends.

After returning to the boat we comprised a shopping list to get us to the Cape Verdes. Daniel of Luna came with us to the HyperDino supermarket where we managed to fill two trollies including more than a few fruit & vegetables, including cucumber of all things!!!

After paying we caught a taxi back to the beach which turned out to be a mini adventure due to the taxi driver first taking us in the wrong direction and then scratching his car due to impatience. The final straw came when Lindsey kept the change! Luckily, we were able to just get everything in the dinghy although I nearly lost Lindsey over the side resulting in wet jeans.

Back at the boat it looked like chaos with shopping everywhere. It seemed impossible to lose this much shopping inside the little storage space available. Not able to face it anymore and with Lindsey close to death due to her ever worsening cold, we ate pizza and went to bed.

Tuesday morning saw me get up and attack the shopping, managing to get everything stowed with room to spare. We have finally decided on a plan of action. As follows:

We will leave Las Palmas tomorrow morning (Weds 26th) and sail to the south of the island, drop anchor for some food and sleep before departing for Los Christianos on South Tenerife and then finally a day trip to Valle Gran Rey on the west side of La Gomera to do PADI OpenWater courses before leaving for the Cape Verdes.

Rubicon Lanzorote to Las Palmas Gran Canaria

Despite winds to F6 forecast we decided to leave the anchorage and set sail for Las Palmas late Tuesday afternoon. With just the headsail out we made an easy 5kn+ and due to the wind being behind us and the growing swell decided not to bother with the mainsail.

About one hour into the trip just as we were approaching the channel between Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, where the sea gets a bit confused, Mr Crute developed his thousand mile stare. A few minutes later he was clawing for the windward rail and heaving his guts up! I did have to debate whether to continue as we were only one hour into a twenty hour passage. Eventually, he went below and tried to get some sleep. The seas got progressively rougher with me insisting that Lindsey get her waterproofs and life jacket on. It was strange to now have crew who I was responsible for.

Progress was quite fast with Doris doing around 6kn and surfing to 8kn+ in the 3m swell only interrupted by Doris falling off of the odd steep wave. Mr Crute later told us the only way he knew we were not going to die was the fact that he could hear that Lindsey and I were chatting in a relaxed manner!

Not really much else to report aside from it wasn’t the best passage for either Lindsey’s first aboard Doris or Mr Crute being a non-sailing type. Lindsey cooked some pasta which considering the conditions and the fact she had no idea where anything was stored, tasted amazing!

I helmed throughout the night while Lindsey got a few hours sleep, with Lindsey relieving me for an hour or so in the early hours. Mr Crute’s passage consisted of 2 hours on deck (1 hour each end) and about 18 hours with his eyes gaffa taped shut below!

When we finally sighted land the following morning, the depressing sight that is Las Palmas with its army of cranes guarding its entrance made us want to continue to somewhere nicer and were it not for Mr Crute’s flight in a few days time would have done so.

We also received a DSC call from Aliisa who were already anchored and they told us on no account to swim in the water it was so polluted!

We managed to find a spot in the busy anchorage and could see all the ARC boats in the marina opposite. With the anchor dug in we all fell asleep.

Later that eve we went ashore for some food in the ‘Sailors’ bar and to get some supplies and got a call from Kat who had landed a position on an ARC boat ‘MatchMaker’ which is a 65ft Oyster! Arriving back onboard Doris, Lindsey introduced me to Honey Rum – I’m hooked!

Rubicon Anchorage 13.11.08 - 18.11.08

After several days of being ‘Billy NoMates’, Lindsey arrived on Thursday the 16th, and we were immediately joined that night by Aliisa (Lauri & Annina) and QuaterMoon (Sym & Amy) for a few beers.

It was really nice to have Lindsey aboard as I now had someone to eat ashore with and generally hang out with. We spent the days snorkelling, eating & drinking and watching a DVD.

Marcus (& Jess) arrived as planned on the 16th to meet Lindsey. Lindsey moving aboard Veracity to make room for Crutey who also had just arrived for his week holiday aboard Doris. That evening after a ‘run in’ with the local security guards for bringing our dinghies ashore on the sailing school slip and the ‘Ahole’ calling the police on us, we all went to a restaurant and caught up on what each other has been up to.

The next few days were spent snorkelling around the boat, drinking with our new found friends Amy & Sym on QuaterMoon and Crutey becoming a hardcore member of the Sea Pikey posse!

It seems Mr Crute took to the lifestyle almost without any training as demonstrated by him jumping off the stern armed with a bottle of shampoo!!

On Tuesday 18th Lindsey decided to leave Veracity and we welcomed Lindsey back aboard Doris just before we were to depart for Las Palmas in Gran Canaria. Doris has crew!

Lanzarote – Rubicon (Anchorage)

So whats been going on?... Well I stayed in Graciosa for a day, spending that day chilling out and getting the gallon or so of water from the forward bilges. Greg (an American single hander who we met in Madeira) on Carina was also anchored up opposite and the plan was for us both to leave for Rubicon marina the next day. Just after I set off he called me to say his anchor was fouled and was not going to be able to leave. I haven’t heard anything else from him since.

The sail down to south Lanzo was great with Doris sailing and steering herself in the following winds and seas. It was a bit swelly with waves coming from the W / NW which was a bit confusing given the trades are usually NE. I am guessing it was as a result of swell wrapping through the islands. Anyway, under headsail alone, we made a constant 5knots until the final headland where confused seas and what felt like a strong current forced me to use the engine for the final mile or so into the anchorage outside Rubicon marina.

The first attempt at laying the anchor resulted in me jumping over the side armed with snorkel and mask to find it laying in rocks meaning either the anchor was likely to pull or get fouled. A second attempt found a patch of sand just before it started to get dark.

I managed to assemble the dinghy on the foredeck and went ashore to meet Kat and her skipper Charlie. Kat is over here helping Charlie get Neroli (of Fowey), a 42ft Halberg Rassy ready for the ARC. At this stage Kat is trying to ‘hitch’ a ride with an ARC boat (maybe Neroli?) and will go to Las Palmas with Charlie and crew to find that ride.

After they finished eating Kat and myself went to the bar and then back to Doris. It was really good to see her again as it’s been over 3 months since I left the UK and her behind. The last few days have been very enjoyable and emotional. Its been slightly awkward in getting ashore to see Kat as I am ‘banned’ from entering the marina as I do not have an engine and rowing is not allowed!

Not much else has happened over the last few days. Crutey has booked his flights and will be arriving here in Rubicon marina on Sunday 16th and we will then sail to Las Palmas as well, where he leaves the following Friday.

Other late breaking news, Lindsay (of Veracity fame) will be coming out and arrives here on (this) Thursday 13th before meeting Marcus who is on his way from Madeira.

Lauri & Annina (hope I spelt that right) of Aliisa has just arrived today in Rubicon. They will enjoy the luxuries of the marina and I hope to share a beer or two with them over the next few days.

It’s a bit lonely out here in the anchorage now and with Kat gone, I look forward to my visitors.

At least I have some WiFi depending on the boats angle!

So … Looks like its all coming together nicely! Marcus get a move on, Steve (Zanda) stop playing around and get over here! Luna & Carma – see you both in Las Palmas! Theres a few ARC parties we need to get into!

Self Portrait.... The 'Ol Seadog' I have become!

Machico To Lanzarote

Day 0.
I decided to leave the fishing harbour wall and return to Baia Da Abra for a nice relaxed start to the journey. This in itself proved to be stressful! Due to limited space we decided to warp Doris’ bow round to open water as I didn’t want to spring against the wall itself and use really long ropes to do so – big mistake. Needless to say Doris now bares another scar due to her incompetent skipper.

It seems as if Madeira really had it in for me because no sooner had I got out into clear water two squalls came down from the hills and drenched everything and tried to blow me out to sea with 30kn winds. Luckily they abated as I reached the anchorage. However, as expected the gusts came throughout the night but with my new found trust in the 10kg lump of galvanised steel at the end of my bow I slept reasonably well.

Day 1.
I awoke naturally around 0800am and had a bite of breakfast before getting Doris ready to sail. Finally lifting the anchor around 0900. We were on our way at last! I knew the seas were still big out of the shadow of Madeira so decided to take it nice and slow as they continued to drop as forecast.

I sailed most of the first day under headsail alone at around 4kn until clearing the Isla Desertas. Over the radio it was clear that a lot of people were taking advantage of the weather window with a small flotilla heading for Isla Graciosa.

Once clear of the Madeiras the seas and wind started to increase and with the mainsail now up for increased drive through the swell I was finding it hard to get the Hydrovane to steer reliably with the wind on the beam.

After what seemed ages and failed attempts to sleep in the cockpit by lying on the asymmetric, I finally found the answer. REEF! Like an idiot I should have known better with the wind around F5 and 2-3m beam seas I found the answer in a double reefed mainsail and ¾ jib. This may sound like under canvassed but I have learnt that the ideal canvas for general sailing in daytime is completely different for long distance cruising, especially if you do not want to spend your life behind the wheel or worrying about the boat either rounding up and tearing off at a rate of knots in the wrong direction or gybing and threatening the rig while you (try to) sleep.

The Hanse boats carry a lot of sail for their size and needless to say are very fast, but can be temperamental when it comes to Self-Steering not unlike comparing a Volvo with a Race car in terms of handling and I have been told that the mainsail is the same size as other production boats with 1 reef in!

Once the boat could be relied on to look after herself I started to get some sleep. For some reason, immediately after indulging in some chicken noodles I began to feel sick and couldn’t make up my mind whether it was mild sea sickness or the food. This nauseous feeling continued all night and was most prominent after waking up from a ‘Cat Nap’, so sea sickness I’m guessing.

Another lesson re-learnt was closing the heads stop cocks while at sea. Excessive heeling fills the shower tray with water and thus leaks into the fore cabin and salon – doh!

Day 2.
While I had some sleep I found myself feeling very tired on the second day and therefore extremely lazy. The wind (and seas) had dropped and instead of working to keep the boat at around 5kn I relaxed and listened to music. I did try several alternative sail configurations but as the wind continued to drop the flapping sails drove me mental with frustration. I should have pulled out the asymmetric but this seemed like a lot of hard work. Eventually in the late afternoon I even pulled down the mainsail ghosting along with the self tacking jib at around 3kn and sleeping.

Just before it got completely dark I reraised the mainsail as this chore is almost impossible with the lazy jacks at night and continued to focus on sleeping with a speed of around 3-4kn. The mainsail was as tight as a drum, flat and heavily reefed to stop it flapping in the flukey light winds and I could (should) have shaken out the reefs several times but simply could not be bothered!

Throughout this trip I slept my usual 30 minute shifts from around 1900 (dark) to 0700 (daylight), several times trying to sleep for a complete hour. However, the longest single sleep was 30mins. For some reason I wake up at the 20min mark and while through the course of a night I must sleep several hours the fragmentation does start to affect me. I noticed that while awake I constantly hear music in my head as a culmination of several different songs and also voices of people outside the boat. When I say ‘in my head’ I actually ‘hear’ the sounds externally – which is mildly disturbing! Several times I was convinced a yacht of people were almost alongside me! I was also aware of the approaching landfall and knew there would be a cut off point where no further sleep would be possible. It seems that 2 nights (3 days) at sea are not long enough to fall into the proper groove of sailing properly.

Day 3.
On day three the actual realisation that I would be arriving in the dark finally hit home and I started racing the clock! A bit of a pointless process to be honest as I would probably have to maintain around 10kn throughout the day, but it seemed to provide me with some motivation to sail harder. It did occur to me to simply stay offshore but that seemed a bit excessive for such a small trip.

I sighted land around 40nm offshore, the sun was out and ELO’s Mr BlueSky was playing loud at the time. Its always a nice feeling when you first sight your destination – assuming it is the place you intended! I thought that Kat might actually see me from her plane above as she was due to arrive that same day.

Needless to say Doris done me proud maintaining a speed of around 6-7kn SOG. On approaching landfall (not long after dark) the wind rose to 20kn and the seas got quite steep as the waters shallowed, with Doris regularly surfing over 10kn.

Getting the mainsail down was exciting and looked like a dog’s dinner once I had finally wrestled it into submission. With the engine on and the wind blowing the approach seemed very scary in the dark and I soon aborted the original plan to go into Playa Francesa anchorage. Mainly due to what seemed limited space and a fear of boats without anchor lights! If anyone concerned is reading this - Go out and get an anchor light you stupid B*STARDS and make life safer for the rest of us. I am sure there was room to fit in but I didn’t want to weave my way through those boats I could see into a bay surrounded by reefs containing other unlit boats.

The next bay up the channel was almost empty and a lot bigger. With the anchor touching the bottom in just under 5m of water I was completely shattered! I said a little prayer that the anchor would hold as I was in no fit shape to deal with a dragging anchor and would probably sleep until washed up on the rocks!

I made myself tidy the boat as the sight of the cockpit full of ropes was depressing before getting a phone call from Kat to say she had arrived in Rubicon marina south Lanzatote. Again it feels weird to be in the same area (40nm away) for the same reasons but separately. Anyway after a quick chat I dived into bed immediately falling into a deep sleep.