Anfi Del Mar (again)

We woke around 8.30 -9.00am and it was a lovely calm day with no wind.

 We had lots of clearing up to do which we started and had an easy light breakfast. It was very quiet and no one had hardly stirred. We sorted some of our own things in preparation and had a chilled morning as planned.

Mark suggested we had a dive and used our own equipment which I thought was a good idea. Our objective was to put our tripping line on the anchor but underwater and to practise breathing more easily and trying to hover and stay at a depth level. I was not too worried as the maximum depth was 10m which meant I could come up at any time and without waiting for some time to prevent decompression sickness (the bends). A tripping line is a line which you attach to your anchor and which has a float on the end which floats on the water which alerts others as to where your anchor is and which means if your anchor is fouled (stuck) on the bottom you can hopefully pull it clear with the tripping line -ie. you pull it clear.

We prepared our equipment and then put our BCD’s and tanks on and got ready to enter the water. This meant standing with our BCD’s etc and flippers/mask and then jumping off the side of the boat into the water taking a big step.  Mark went first with a big splash and with the inflated BCD he came up to the surface quickly. He took the tripping line and also a separate line with a fender on to tell others on the surface that we were down below. Then it was my turn. I jumped off with a big splash and again came up quickly. We swam to the front of the boat and held the anchor chain. Then when we were ready we dived below following the anchor chain down to the bottom. It was not that clear but as we reached the bottom we could see the sand clearly and the anchor buried in the sand.  There were a few fish from time to time. Mark gave me the tripping line so under water I attached it to the anchor and then we lowered it to about 5 meters and practised breathing to stay at that level for minutes as if to practise having to do this to prevent the bends. Then we went up and swam along the bottom of Stormbird. She is quite clean but there is some weed/growth which needs to be removed. The propeller also needs a clean. It had been a good dive for me as there was no pressure and Mark was very good in helping and in giving me more confidence.

 The dive all in all was about 35 minutes and our equipment had worked well. We got out, showered and cleaned the equipment. Mark made a Spanish Omelette which was nice and we eat at about 3 pm – it was that late by then.

 After lunch we did more jobs. We used the dive compressor for the first time to fill our scuba tanks which was good. I filled the diesel tanks with the spare fuel we had in the lazarette so it would not sit there for months and it is better in the main tank.  We sported out stuff and the day just went. I had put out some solar lights I had bought in the Caribbean which I had not yet used so they would charge up. We put stuff way and I deflated the paddle board. You know that sort of end of holiday feel.

 Mark cooked a delicious supper of sausages and mash in a red wine/vegetable sauce and we put the solar lights out which went well and sat in the cockpit relaxing.

We chatted and reflected what a great trip we had had few major problems. We both agreed that La Gomera was the best and prettiest Island and we would both like to return there again. It had been great to visit all the Islands which provided great variety. How lucky we have been to be able to have the time to do this. We enjoyed our last evening at anchor as the sun went down and the moon came up almost as if it had been cut in half.

We have had a great trip and will move Stormbird to Passito Blanco tomorrow. We will enjoy one last night rolling gently at anchor. Whilst the previous day had been quite a slog it had allowed us to have a quiet day doing what we wanted without a care in the world really. There was a lovely breeze which fanned us as we sat and chilled listening to the CD Mark had bought in Madeira with the guitarist we had seen in the street who is very good.

A great last chilled day.      

If you have any questions, comments, suggestions – do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com