Ashore in Gran Canaria

When we arrived in Gran Canaria our pontoon had very large electric fittings (for super yachts) and our wire would not fit so I went early to the chandlery to find an adapter. They did not have any and informed me that I was on the only pontoon with those fittings. They suggested I go back to the marina office to ask for an adapter. I did so but they sent me to the fuel pontoon as they did not have any. After all this hassle I bought an adaptor which I am sure I will need again at some point on my travels and when we return to this marina as this pontoon is a good one.

Power is vital on a boat as it runs our lights, instruments, fridges, freezer lights etc. For those who do not know we have 2 battery banks. The domestic as it is called where we have 8 -6v batteries in series and 4 6v for the bow thruster (propeller at the bow to help with manoeuvring). The engine starter has its own battery just for that and we have another 12 v battery for the 12 v system. On board we have 13 amp plugs like at home and 12v sockets.  When we are on shore power, we can use the normal 13 amp sockets. However, when we are not then we can use 12v sockets and we can use the 13 amp sockets but only if we put on what we call an inverter which coverts 12 volts to the 24 volts which enables us to use the 13 amp sockets. However, that takes quite a lot of power and so we always keep an eye on the state of the batteries. We can charge our batteries in 3 ways – when we use the engine, when we use the generator (which we use to charge, when we use the washing machine and dive compressor for example -this takes less diesel than the engine) and when we are on shore power. It was good to get the shore power in so we could charge the batteries and use our plugs as normal.

In Gan Canaria you have to be careful of cockroaches and take your shoes off every time you come back to the boat. In addition, you do not bring cardboard on board as they lay eggs in the cardboard. I therefore needed to find some baskets to put our shoes in. There was also a cupboard which kept coming loose on our crossing, so I bought a new fitting and I wanted a new soap dispenser for the guest heads. The hydraulic fitting on the passarelle (our gangplank) was leaking and the small fridge needed fixing. There are always things to do and Gran Canaria seemed a good place to do this.

After doing a few jobs we headed into town and walked to the old town where I found a shop and bought 2 little shoe baskets which was good and a few more teaspoons and forks which we were a bit short of. We found a café for a light lunch and then found a great ice cream shop – the chocolate has won awards and it was delicious and very chocolatey. The old town was pretty with its narrow streets and old buildings and the cathedral impressive.

We then decided to head over to El Corte Ingles which is a big department store and a bit like a John Lewis but more stylish. Jules wanted to have a good look round. I looked a bit like a wild man from Borneo with long salty grey hair and had a good haircut by the end of which I looked like a new man! Jules found a new green raincoat and I a soap dispenser. So, all in all a good and fruitful time in the town.

 We decided we wanted to hire a car and see more of the Island, so we booked a car and were to collect it in the morning. We returned to Stormbird with our new bits (the shoe baskets being immediately used) and pieces and Mark cooked a delicious fish stew which we had in the cockpit as the sun went down. We then played a game of gold with lie dice which was fun.

It had been a busy and fruitful day and nice to have a day on land which was not moving all over the place!!   

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