Update November 2009

Just an update of where we're at. We were home 26/10 to 16/11, had a hectic time trying to catch up with everyone, but we got around to most. We had Aragorn tucked up in "Darsena Pesquera" (Fishermans harbour) just outside Tenerife's capital, Santa Cruz. Came back & got ourselves reprovisioned and organised. We wanted to go to Las Palmas in Gran Canaria, but waited for the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers) to leave before coming, or as someone cruelly put it, waited for the sheep to leave the pen!!

We are now in Las Palmas, which apparently has the most "comfortable" anchorage in the Canaries, inverted commas because we've had a light southerly breeze the last couple of days & are rolling in the resultant swell. The trip over was a motorsail into wind, but with the wind 30 degrees off the nose it wasn't too uncomfortable, and we did get some value from it.

We have signed up for Spanish lessons while we are here and we are "ablo"ing away. Has us in school for 9 am every day, so no more lazy breakfasts, and the To Do list is grinding to a halt. And we are not planning any more trips this side of new year.

We're home again for Xmas on 19/12 to 5/1. Plan to be in D&Ns for pints on 24th if anyone interested.

Hasta luego!

Something lost, Something found

26th October 2009

Hi Folks,
Greetings from Santa Cruz, Tenerife. We’re flying home from here on this morning, so the boat is all tucked in for our three week absence.

After Stuart & Ann left (see Circumnavigating La Gomera) we got the local mechanic in the boatyard to take a look at the windlass, and after much trial & error he got it working again, (or said he did) but didn’t charge us exorbitantly for it, still it took a few days nonetheless.

We anchored for a few nights behind Montana Roja, near the airport once we had the windlass back. We only intended to stay a night or two, but then an Irish boat came in & anchored beside us and we invited him over (solo sailor) and we all got pissed. So next night we had to go to his boat and get pissed again. It’s a tough life! Catherine reminds me to tell you that the beach there was a nudist one. Not that there was much to get excited about, the vast majority of inhabitants were of the wrinkley variety. There was the occasional tourist that braved going topless, and one German girl that went cartwheeling bollock naked once a day up and down the beach .

We finally hauled the anchor (using the windlass) and went back to Santiago in La Gomera, the place on the S coast that we’d skipped while Stuart and Ann were here. That proved to be a rolly anchorage, but we stuck it out for two nights, it is a pretty town. Once again the revived windlass motor did the business, but, when we were leaving my straw hat blew off, into the water, and sank before we could recover it. This was disheartening, I'd bought it in Tavira when we were there with Ron and Grace from "Flo" back in April, and it had served me well all Summer, and bore the scars, battered as it was including a distinctive splash of antifoul.

Before we came back to the North of Tenerife to leave the boat, (the place here has no water or electricity - we won’t need it while at home), we decided a couple of nights back in the Marina in San Sebastion to clean up the boat was in order. I finally caught up with the Irish guy on Jilliana, (Kevin Pender), so he came over for a few bevvies, and we all got pissed. The second night we went to his boat and got pissed again! Recognise a theme here?

Next day I was strolling down the pontoon nosing at the boats when I spotted a pink flip flop left out for the owner to find it. Yes, “that” pink flip flop, of course she’d dumped the other one in the meantime!

On the way up here we overnighted in Abona, the place where the heads blocked and the windlass broke on the way down. Our curse was broken, as nothing further broke, and in the morning the windlass motor made it three out of three, so I’m now beginning to have confidence in it.

Hasta luego!