Leaving

Has been hectic here on Gran Canaria: We hired a car on Monday & drove toLas Palmas where we bought a new stern light with LED bulb (shld solve our power worries) and a new autopilot. We then stopped in Carrefour for provisions.

I don't know how but we found room for all our provisions on board. The boat is floating quite low in the water though!

Tues & Wednesday were spend fitting the stern light and the autopilot. All went well except I need a 12A fuse for the autopilot & they appear to be like rocking horse poo here! Never mind, we shall have to go without the fuse.

And it lloks like we will go tomorrow. About 850 miles to the Cape Verdes! At least it shld be warmer - it's getting cold here. Sometimes I even have to put a jumper on, so it must be time to head South!!

Gran Canaria

From Puerto Calero a short hop around the corner saw us arrive at Marina Rubicon on the S coast of Lanza. A lovely place: Well sheltered, clean, helpfull staff, plenty of supermarkets, cafes etc and a nice atmosphere. We were moored directly next to a snack bar & we ate out there one evening, pigging out so much on tapas that we had enough left for lunch the next day!

We also got a lot of work done, inc. some provisioning & dis/reassembling the windvane which had become somewhat seized.

Some pleasant evenings with neighbours Eva & Daniel were also enjoyed. It was nice to meet another young couple with a small boat & swap stories (their Biscay dismasting and helicopter rescue being the best (worst!) story by far!).

On the 22 Nov we left for Puerto Pasito Blanco on the S coast of Gran Canaria. Really a fine passage: Sailing the whole way, averaging just under 5 knots & a bright moonlit night. We did have an electrical fault though, which meant sailing with no nav lights - luckily there were few ships about but not a nice feeling anyway.

It could be that I was a little sunstroked as well as tired when we arrived here & that didn't help with first impressions, which were not good. There is nothing here! Ok, just a small shop, no bar, no internet (we had to get the bus to Maspalomas today) and an awkward "lazy line" mooring system. Still, after a good night sleep we are feeling refreshed & ready to make the most of it. We will hire a car on Monday for a trip to Las Palmas for chandlry stuff.

Skipper & 1st mate sat down yesterday eve & had a serious talk about our plans. Most important question was "Do we really want to do the nearly 1000 M passage to the Cape Verdes?". The answer is a unanimous "yes", but we feel that, at this stage, it is an informed decision & not just us being gung-ho.

On the road again

Just to quickly let y'all know that we got back to Graciosa safely & have now hit the road again. After our first sail in what seems like ages we are now in Puerto Calero, Lanzarote.

Cheers for now.

Holiday

Yes, it's been a fantastic holiday. It was great fun in Germany, Susi's family made me feel very welcome & it was a good laugh staying with Micha & Andrea. It was good to be back on the Reeperbahn for one night only too. Of course the best thing was being back with Susi & it was sad to leave for England without her.

Once back in Blighty though, I have also had a great time seeing my folks & friends. Thank you Roo for selflessly making yourself single just so as to have lots of free time to entertain me while I was in Bristol - it made for a very enjoyable holiday. You're welcome on 1494 anytime.

And tomorrow I shall be off to the big smoke to see Jackie where I'm sure I shall have a good time too.

Next week back to Lanza, ready & rearing to conquer the Atlantic!!