El Hierro to Gran Canaria
We had various options to head our way back to Gran Canaria where we had arranged to take the boat and leave her in a marina called Pasito Blanco on 24 September 2023, where we would prepare her and fly home on 26 September 2023. We would then return at the end of December 2023 and prepare for an early Atlantic crossing to the Caribbean in early January 2024.
These options involved going back to La Gomera to Puerto de Voltas where we would be able to snorkel and hopefully see Manta Rays and that was about 36 miles or so. We would then have to move on to Gran Canaria -Pasito Blanco the next day which would be about 75 nm. Alternatively, we could go to Tenerife which would be about 50nm but we were not sure whether we could have to go to a marina as the anchorages on the South are really day anchorages and then we would have about 50nm or so to Pasitio Blanco the next day. Both of these options would be difficult to sail if the normal wind was N/E as we would be direct into the wind. The final option was to go direct from El Hierro to Gran Canaria but to Anfi del Mare where we could anchor and have a day of chilling/doing what we like before heading to Pasito Blanco. This was however 117nm at least and would mean a long day. We chose this option as we thought it was the best. If we wanted to bail out en route we could peel off to La Gomera or Tenerife if we had to.
We woke at 6.15am and got ready and prepared the lines etc. with our deck lights on as it was dark. We unplugged our electricity (yes, we do have it) and by 7.00am we slipped the lines in the dark with our navigation lights on and steaming light and bow thrusted round from our pontoon so we did a 180 and the bow faced the entry to the port. As we left, we heard a few drops of rain and then it stopped. Once outside the marina we just floated whilst we took in fenders and lines and got ourselves ready for sea as we know there would be swell beyond the breakwater. The forecast was for wind in the morning dying down by midday and picking up again at 3.00pm onwards and then between Tenerife and Gran Canaria 20 kts or more. Due to the wind angle, we may not be able to sail much unless the wind came round to the North more.
Once past the breakwater we put up the sails but put one reef in the main and full Staysail. We had an issue with the car (i.e., the angle that the rope from the sail comes down to the deck and it would not hold its position). I had some spares, so it took us a little time to resolve and then we were off again. After about 8 nm the wind started to die and as we had so far to go on came the engine and we headed for Gran Canaria on a course of 094.
We looked back at El Hierro as it began to get smaller and it had been a good few days in the quietest of Islands. We could see La Palma to the Northwest which was covered in cloud and shorty we saw La Gomera with its lovely round shape and then behind it Tenerife with El Tiede (the breast) poking out from the clouds.
It was a lovely day with blue skies and the swell was about 1.0-1.3m waves and we were cutting along through them although every now and then a wave would stop us a little and spray on to the deck and the speed would slow down and then we would speed up again. There was no one else out there although we could see on our chart plotter the odd ferry between the Islands. The wind continued to be very light, so no sailing and we continued up and down with the waves and we were here on our own watching El Hierro vanish and La Gomera get a little larger on our left and Tenerife get a little larger. We had watches of an hour on and hour off, so we had a little break. When on watch you have to keep a look out in case of fishing boats, obstructions etc and you watch the waves and white horses passing. We also had messages to watch out for rubber boats from Africa with migrants heading for the Canaries. I also noticed the birds which zoom up to about 30 feet and then dive down to fly close to the waves and the contours as they adjust shape. It is these times that you have to yourself and you can think of anything – a sort of meditative state whilst ensuring you are keeping an eye out. Every hour we note our log and position in our logbook including barometer and wind strength etc and we put notes of things we see/ or what we are doing etc. Other than birds we saw no wildlife unfortunately.
The wind continued to be light and we continued motoring. We had this annoying current against us of about 2 kts and thought initially it was the tide but it did not vary and it must be a regular eastbound current. This impeded us but there was nothing we could do about this and we had it all the way. We had chicken wraps for lunch which kept us going. An hour on and an hour off was good even though when you are off you tend to sit in the cockpit and chat and do things if necessary.
As we got closer to the south of Tenerife the wind started to get up so we put our main up to help us, but the angle meant we could not sail fully. As time went on the wind built up. We then saw a yacht come towards us on the chart plotter we assumed to be heading Cape Verde way. It got closer and she passed in front of us and a tanker also passed behind us. Other than this we had no traffic all day.
The wind then stared to really get up and we reduced sail but continued to motor and for many hours we cut through waves but many bashed over us and there was a lot of seawater coming over the deck and you could hear the deck drains gurgling a bit like water going down the plug after a bath!! Some of the waves were so big that the doghouse was sprayed with a lot of water and some came over the top of it. We were snug under the doghouse but Stormbird was getting a real soaking and I thought tomorrow we will be covered in salt. This continued for hours and we bashed on with water coming over us and the miles ticking down. The wind was howling and at its highest it went to 29.4 kts (force 7) and was mainly 23-25kts (force 6) and we coped. The mainsail was helping us along with the engine which never missed a beat and Stormbird was getting a bit of a hammering but then she is built to withstand these conditions.
Mark cooked us burgers which we eat as we continued and then it started to get dark. I wondered when the wind would reduce as we got closer to Gram Canaria. The miles and the hours ticked away and when you want to get there it always seems to carry on for ages. It can be quite hard corr and you just say to yourself you are getting there -be patient. You watch the 60’s become 50’s and then 40’s etc and finally last 20 miles and it goes on slowly. iT takes time when you are only doing about 6.5 -7.0 kts an hour. The wind did not relent a bit until we were about 15 miles for Gran Canaria as we got into the lee of the south of the Island and the waves started to decline.
We were then finally starting to motor in flat water and we could see the lights of the Island ahead and a small fishing boat on our left as we could see his lights. We had half a moon which was giving us some light and I knew there would be quite a lot of light from the buildings round the anchorage. There is a breakwater which has a red light on it which flashes very 8 seconds and you are supposed to see it from 8 miles. We could not but we carried on and Mark wondered whether we needed to worry about lobster pots which are very difficult to see in the dark. Mark therefore went on the bow with a torch as we motored on.
Eventually we arrived and finally saw the light on the breakwater and we could see a number of other boats anchored. We therefore chose our spot an anchored in 10 m of water. This was at 00.30 am – it had taken us 17.5 hours and some 18 nm at an average of 6.5 kts (with a 1.5-2.0 kts current against us all the way) It was quite a slep but we were here and ready to rest the next day. We had executed well and Stormbird as ever despite her soaking had looked after us bless her.
We went bed quite quickly after a long day and in a safe spot. Well done Stormbird- sleep well and dry off!
If you have any questions, comments, suggestions – do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com