SERENITY NOW

  Arrived safe and sound in Gran Canaria after a somewhat fraught crossing. We spent the next few days anchored safely, if not altogether comfortably, in an industrial port. It’s far from pretty (despite the nice sunset pic above suggesting otherwise) It's ringed with around 300 wind turbines, one corner is dominated by what appears to be a massive scrap metal processing plant. When the still brisk wind dips enough to be able to smell it, the air seems to be infused with what I can best describe as a combination of raw onion and poo. The howling forecast wind is yet to pass, so here we stay for the moment. It’s too choppy to get the tender down, and as I write this, a clearly ‘over it’ Chez is sitting on the transom looking a little green. We have the port to ourselves boat wise , but the wind has attracted a number of wind and kite surfers who buzz past us at incredible speeds - none have hit the boat yet, but the way they bear down on us does make me think they might actually be

  27 Nov 2021 Our guests all having headed home, we once again find ourselves anchored within earshot of the chiming bell tower at Morro Jable. Both tired we went to bed at 9 ish - it’s been a big few days. At 3:30am there’s a gentle tapping on my foot - it’s Chez: “Do you want to go to Gran Canaria?” ...and d’you know what: I did! So we did. This - on the face of it - rash decision, was in fact well considered. We have an upcoming bout of strong winds hitting from the North - Gran Canaria has better protected anchorages to the South than Fuerteventura, and it’s a 12hr journey, so we’ll be arriving before sunset - all of which Chez had been researching as I slept. ...and as we don’t have to be up for work in the morning - why not go sailing at 4am We had something of an uneventful journey initially - both managing to snatch little naps as we bobbed along. Not sure exactly what we’d done to upset Neptune, but with the barometer dropping rapidly, ominous clouds on the horizon and the occ

  25, Nov 2021 We’ve recently been spending a lot of uncomfortable rolly nights up and down the coast of Fuerteventura. We’ve been scoping out suitable spots to take our upcoming guests: Martin, his son Micheal and Micheal’s girlfriend Anisha. Having found a few, we ended up heading into the marina at Gran Tarajal for a few days break from the swell. We’ll also be able to take care of the multitude of pre-guest jobs without the floor moving too much underfoot. We headed along to the local supermarket this afternoon to top up the provisions - not exactly noteworthy, but an amusing moment at the checkout is worth a mention. Chez went to pay using a bank card which we didn’t know the balance of - it was declined. Knowing only a little Spanish she said what she thought was ‘excuse me’ (disculpe), but was actually ‘enjoy’ (disfruta).. This gives the scene a nice comedic touch; “Senora, you card has been declined” “Enjoy!” Spent the next two days moving everything from one place to another,

  The anchorages of Lanzarote so far have been a little disappointing: rocky bottoms, constant swell - Chez actually reported ‘The worst night of swell ever’ one morning. I can’t confirm this as I managed to sleep... and snore through the vast majority of it. This, coupled with a windlass that appears to be slowly dying and a ripped main sail has meant a less than perfect start to our Canary Islands experience. We tracked down a possible sail repair location in Playa Blanca at the Southern end of the island. The owner - Manuel - had advised that he was busy, but would have a look for us to at least provide a quote. With no other options, and unable to sail at all until it’s repaired, we headed along with the sail. After a short wait, Manuel took a look at our ripped clew - he put on a pained expression and started doing some classic dodgy mechanic style umming and arring... I’m thinking ‘Here it comes’ - how wrong could I be. “€50, and I’ll have it done in half an hour’” Well - miracle