October 2023

As we stirred into consciousness we realised that we had both slept ridiculously well for the night before the start of our first ocean passage for about 4 years. We roused ourselves and set about our usual last minute preparations while we waited for our turn at the customs wharf in Tangier. It was a busy morning with at least 8 yachts wanting to depart before 11 am to make the best use of the available weather window. It had taken 2.5 hours for the first 4 yachts to be cleared so we were a bit anxious about our timeline, but we were able to throw the lines off just after 11am as we had planned. 

The Mediterranean spat us out into the Atlantic Ocean with a strong easterly wind and current. We were moving along at speeds between 9 and 14 knots with a rolling swell following us. The weather did exactly as forecast and by the afternoon, the wind had dropped somewhat and we were soon unfurling more headsail and taking out the reef in the main. 

We settled quickly into our passage routine, each having a nap in the afternoon and sharing our evening meal together. After Phil went to bed around 7 on the first night, I had a period of increasingly light wind -again as forecast -before it swung around to the north and I could change course so we were heading south towards our destination -La Graciosa, one of the more northern of the Canary Islands. The night was lit by a three-quarter moon, the sea flattened out, the wind filled in a bit and I enjoyed a very pleasant first night’s watch, even if it was a bit cooler than we were used to. 

The dawn on the second day brought us grey skies and as the time wore on, it also brought a somewhat grey mood. The wind was puffing and regularly dropping just enough to empty the sails and make them flap. The waves, even though small, were side on and combined with our lower speed to produce an uncomfortable motion which I could tolerate but which was challenging for Phil. There was some discussion about getting the spinnaker out but a check of the weather suggested we might just be on the edge of a patch of light wind which would fill in down the track so we decided to stick with our plan and press on. As it turned out, this was a good decision. The wind did pick up during the afternoon making us more comfortable although we still had beam (side on) swell. The grey skies deprived our batteries of charging power so we had to watch them overnight but the third day dawned clear and sunny and the batteries sucked up the solar power. 

The third day passed uneventfully again with a period of lighter winds in the late morning and afternoon accompanied by uncomfortable motion sending Phil onto the couch and into the ginger, his go-to remedy for mild sea sickness. By late afternoon the wind had picked up again and we were zipping along more comfortably. We had a visit from a large spread out pod of dolphins who filed past us virtually two by two. It was a lovely half hour or so in the cockpit watching them first appear in the crest of waves behind us and then see them swim towards us and then alongside the boat before they disappeared off in front of us probably chasing their dinner. 

After a very quiet night during which we saw no other traffic, the fourth day dawned and was to prove the perfect example that things can change at any minute. We were struggling with the relatively light winds, and eventually decided to put the spinnaker up mid-morning. It was worth the effort as the rest of the day was glorious downwind sailing with very little swell and consistent wind. 

The prospect of our expected arrival at La Graciosa early the following morning had wired Phil up so that he was unable to sleep despite being tired and going to bed a bit earlier than usual. So around 8.30 pm, we did a tag and I turned in much earlier than normal. I stuck at it for an hour or so and was just about to get up when there was urgent tapping on the cabin top which meant I was needed on deck pronto. A tear in our 40 year old spinnaker which we had recently mended had given way and there was a gaping whole down the middle of the spinnaker! We dropped it like a well-oiled machine and put the headsail back out. 

Fortunately the wind was strong enough to keep the headsail full and we had a good sail to the strait between Lanzarote, and La Graciosa, our intended destination. Our friends on Anthem had radioed us to say that the wind died out in the strait so we were anticipating that we would have to motor. However, the opposite occurred and the wind accelerated to 30 knots or so. We arrived into the anchorage on the south of La Graciosa at about 3.30 am and found ourselves having to anchor in a crowded bay with very strong wind in the dark. All went well and having got the anchor set, we jumped into bed and slept very soundly indeed. When I checked the log book the next day, I calculated that we had averaged 6.5 knots over the 89-hour passage. We consistently did just over 150nm in each 24-hour period, and there was no need for motoring. So despite the uncomfortable periods, it was a good passage overall.