The puff paste had ten more minutes in the gas stove and I was about to lay the table. Looking out of the window a familiar name caught my attention – SY Geronimo arrived.
Although Rainer with his boat was moored south of Gran Canaria in Pasito Blanco he decided to sail up despite strong winds and hazy conditions to join our community here in Las Palmas.
Two solo sailors sharing not only a puff paste together with some wine but also more sailor’s fairy tales. 👍
Fair winds…
It was a bit of a hectic day for Cornelia and Volker from SY Hexe as they are counting days towards their start of the Atlantic crossing. Straight from Lanzarote to Martinique is the plan but as we know, sailor’s plans can change.
Even for a 3000nm passage it is advisable to wait and increase the chances to catch a stable trade wind window, which ensures constant winds of 4-5bft from the northeast quadrant, the typical trade wind. This will not only ensure a faster crossing but also give comfort rather than fighting changing conditions.
Despite the hectic during the day we had a very nice farewell evening in Marina Rubicón starting with a dinner on SY Hullu Poro and followed by a couple of pints in the Flagship Pub.
As I will we throwing the lines tomorrow afternoon heading out to the ocean, it was time to say good-bye, wish fair winds…and work on a see you again!
Fair winds…
Open water diving was our plan for today but unfair winds and choppy seas postponed this adventure.
As Yoshi, skipper SY DaYo, has moored at the pontoon next door to the diving school, I spontaneously went for one of his famous coffees!
Fair winds & thanks for the home brewed coffee Yoshi!
Based on recommendations, two books were a must for me:
The first one was recommended by Hermann from SY Thetis on the very first evening we met. It is about biking on Lanzarote and it describes in detail how it feels to climb the pass at Femés and cycle on this island.
The second recommendation followed from Cornelia from SY Hexe and it deals about diving on Lanzarote. Although I am not a diver yet, my first snorkelling experience was pleasant and soon I will attend my diving course.
Both books are from Juli Zeh and worth to read as they bring you this fantastic island closer in many aspects while same time ensure good entertainment up to the last page.
I know, where the first cycle trip on New Year‘s Day 2022 will take me.
Fair winds…
Today is Second Sunday of Advent. Tomorrow is St Nicholas’ Day, which falls together with the Spanish Constitution day, a public holiday.
Unfortunately Corinna and Rainer from SY Geronimo are planning to move on tomorrow 🥲 and invited for a farewell cake & coffee.
Really grateful as a single-hand sailor being part of this warm-hearted group.
Thank you & fair winds…
Today morning, four navigators met for a round table discussion on SY Hullu Poro to exchange their views and get an introduction to the basic functions of weather routing with my preferred program called qtVlm. While the program itself provides functionality for complete navigation, our focus was on weather routing only. I have used it twice only, first from Porto to Funchal and second from Funchal to Lanzarote. On both passages it worked well with minor deviations and surprises.
This software was initially introduced to me by Uwe (call sign DD1HUR), who is one of the Netcontrols within the Intermar e.V. association.
Fair winds to all…
Rainer, skipper SY Geronimo, said: 11am we throw the lines! Volker (SY Hexe), Achim (SY Jojo) and myself were on time as by no means we wanted to miss it.
Another fight against the wind took me to Arrecife today. Besides checking out the Specialized Concept 🚴♂️ Store I am chasing some fittings to install our new Seagull IV water filter underneath the sink in the cold water line towards the tap. It is part of an improvement project to ensure constant water quality for making delicious tea despite changing water supplies from varying marinas. Ferreteria is the Spanish word for hardware store, very well sorted.
I also had the opportunity to visit Jutta and Willi from SY Leonie. They have now arrived from Porto Santo/Portugal in Arrecife and we had to update each other on sailor’s fairy tales over the last few weeks since we met in Funchal. We are sharing the same adventure, spending the winter in the Canary Islands before heading North again towards the Azores.
Thanks for the coffee and cake!
Cycling in these winds is a new experience. They are not particular strong, perhaps 20 to 25kts, but the impact on the bike and its rider is remarkable. It’s worth another blog entry.
Fair winds…
