Canary Islands

After a busy week of informative seminars and fun social activities sponsored by Cornell Sailing for participants of Atlantic Odyssey 1 and 2 rallies, it was finally time to get out and about and see some of this island.  Hard to believe we had been here well over 2 weeks and had not yet ventured out and seen a thing!  

A tower in Teguise village just
off the town square

Virginia and Dennis on S/V Libertad had rented a car for a couple of days and kindly invited us to accompany them on a day of exploration.  As with previous land trips with them in mainland Spain and Morocco, we were happy to let them research and decide what would be best to see and where to go.  Like having our own personal tour guides!  


We knew nothing about the Canary Islands before sailing here, other than what is printed in our sailing guide for this archipelago.  There are 7 major islands with many small islands and rocks in this archipelago, and it lies west of the North African coast.  The ancient sedimentary geological formations show that the islands were once part of the African continent; however, their major features derive from more recent volcanic activity.  The last eruption was in 1971.
  

Traditional Canarian costumes

Maybe it is coincidental or maybe there is a geologic explanation that the islands are in almost perfect order of oldest to youngest, from east to west.  Lanzarote is the oldest island and it is the one situated closest to Africa.  That is where we have been since 2 Nov.  The next island westward is Fuerteventura, where we will be sailing tomorrow; and it is the next oldest island.  Next, both geographically westward and in age order, is Gran Canaria.  We will be sailing to Gran Canaria the day after tomorrow, after spending only 1 night at Fuerteventura.  There is only one marina on Fuerteventura which can accommodate a boat the size of BeBe.  There are no suitable anchorages. So we will not be seeing anything of Fuerteventura except as seen by sea.

The next island westward from Gran Canaria is Tenerife and also is the next in age.  We will sail to Tenerife on 5 December or 6 December and will remain there until 9 January when we will depart with the Atlantic Odyssey II en route to Martinique in the Caribbean.  The other islands west of Tenerife are La Gomera (home of a unique whistling language), La Palma (the island farthest west and north), and El Hierro (the island farthest west and south).  La Palma and El Hierro are almost due north/south of one another.  El Hierro is also the site of the most recent volcanic activity in this archipelago.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2531173/Could-Canaries-new-island-Recent-earthquakes-hint-imminent-underwater-eruption.html

There are few permanent surface streams on these islands and water is scarce.  Areas of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura are totally barren and the other islands are semi-desert, albeit very mountainous semi-desert.  Water is supplied by desalination today. Flora is a mix of southern European and African and agriculture is completely dependent on irrigation.  The chief interest of fauna lies in the birds.  There are more than 200 species, many unique to this archipelago.  

Note that the canary bird is named for the islands rather than vice versa. The islands are actually named for dogs, not birds.  Originally these islands were called the Fortunate Islands by Phoenician traders who came here to collect the very valuable purple dye called orchil. 

Typical African masks and junk for sale

The early inhabitants of all the islands have come to be called Guanches, although originally this was the name of the people of Tenerife only.  Their origins appear to be Cro-Magnon, Berber and Semite; although their practice of mummifying their dead and the roots of their language suggest an early Egyptian connection.  King Juba II of Mauritania (in the area now known as Morocco) sent an expedition to the Fortunate Islands in 60 B.C.  The troops discovered large dogs roaming the islands and brought 2 of them back to the king.  Today the native dogs of Canary Islands are much smaller.  The Latin name Insulae Canium -- The Islands of the Dogs -- was given to these islands by Pliny the Elder around 60 A.D. when he wrote about the expedition sent by King Juba II.  That name persists today as Islas Canarias.  How strange that these islands we associate with that special tiny yellow bird are really named for large dogs.

An African woman tending her stall.  She was
NOT selling the fake designer handbags.

Arabs arrived here to trade in 999 A.D.  Later, during the 13th and 14th centuries, the French, Genoese and Portuguese navigators were well received by the island inhabitants. They found the local people existed comfortably and were well supplied with the necessities of life, yet they had no knowledge of navigation; no boats; and existed with no inter-island communication.  This is the first island or group of islands we have visited where the local people were not sea-going.  At first I considered this very strange, until I realized that the reason for their lack of sea-going skills might be due to the fact that there were almost no trees on these islands from which to build boats!  

Never could get close enough to see the traditional
dances.  This photo was taken by holding camera
up over my head.

The Arab traders found inhabitants who primarily were cave dwellers (few trees with which to build houses?).  The island inhabitants still used tools and weapons made of small pieces of wood and bone with obsidian cutting edges.  Cooking utensils were of unfired clay and clothing was made from goatskin and vegetable fibers.  These islands appear to have skipped the Bronze Age entirely.  Metal objects and fired ceramics arrived here via traders; none were produced on these islands.


Fast forward to 1823 when the islands became a province of Spain.  In 1853 the islands were declared a free trade area, a move that greatly increased their prosperity.  In 1927 the 7 islands were split into 2 provinces.  Tenerife, La Palma, El Hierro and La Gomera comprise the western province.  Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote comprise the eastern province.  There remains today an active competitiveness between these 2 provinces.  General Franco was the military governor of the islands in 1936 when he planned and then led the nationalist revolt which sparked the Spanish Civil War.  Black bows adorning the national flag were seen in Tenerife following Franco's death in 1975. Proof yet again that there are always at least 2 sides to any disagreement, especially in governing politics.

Since the 1960s tourism has played an important in the economy of the Canary Islands. 
The percentage of GNP derived from tourism is estimated at 65% to 70% and increasing.  It is easy to see why tourism is so popular here.  The climate is superb!  Humidity is low; surprising for islands.  It is much warmer than cold Britain and northern European countries. Yet during the hot summer months, these islands are significantly cooler than the very hot temperatures found in mainland Spain.  Kind of strange that people come south, closer to the equator, to enjoy cooler temperatures.  We have not seen a single biting insect in the month we have spent in the marina in Lanzarote.  This the first place we have visited anywhere in the world where there are no biting insects.  Maybe it is just because of the time of year that we are here, but we suspect it has to do with the lack of any standing water to encourage insect breeding.

Our day of exploring Lanzarote with Virginia and Dennis began with a drive to a Sunday open-air market in the town of Teguise.  We have visited so many of these type markets that they now all seem the same.  This was not a food type weekly market; this one is designated for arts and crafts and clothing.  A few of the stalls had an African influence; and, as always, included Nigerians selling fake designer handbags.  Those fake purses must be really popular because we have seen these for sale throughout the Med at open-air markets and on sidewalks.    

Flamenco street dancer

Bill and I saw nothing that peaked our interest; we just are not shoppers and not buyers of souvenirs.  But Virginia found several pieces of locally produced jewelry as gifts.  After all, Christmas is just around the corner.


There was a group dressed in traditional Canarian costumes.  They danced and played music.  Would have been more entertaining if there had not been such a crowd around them preventing others around the town square from seeing the performances.   Behind them there was a woman doing street performance of flamenco.  I enjoyed watching her much more than the glimpses of the traditional costumed dancers and musicians.

Street dancer doing
flamenco.  She was pretty
good.

Moving on down the highway (a generous descriptive term for that narrow road) we wound our way northward to find one of the homes of César Manrique.  More about that in another posting soon.

Odyssey I rally festivities and they are off!

The Canary Islands have been wonderful thus far!  Apologies for being remiss in not posting sooner...but we have been busy!

We are finally back in the world of actual cruisers which is very different than being anywhere in the Med.  Everyone has been friendly and helpful and it has been absolutely delightful to once again enjoy the camaraderie of fellow sailors.  Maybe this change of attitude is attributable to the fact that most boats here are continuing on across the Atlantic, real cruisers.  Not everyone, of course; but most.  In fact, our friends Hajo and Julia on sister-ship Amel Super Maramu named Seraphine have decided they will return to the Med after leaving their boat in the Canary Islands over the winter.  Crossing to the Caribbean no longer interests them, so they will continue to enjoy the Med.  Easy to do when one is a European citizen and not have to deal with that Schengen 90-day nonsense.  I hope they enjoy many more years exploring the Med.

We enjoyed sundowners and delicious snacks with Jeff and Gayle aboard their very nice boat, Lazy Bones.  Lazy Bones and BeBe have been aware of each other for years, yet missed each other time and time again as we both hopped around the South Pacific and SE Asia, and later in the Med.  
F-i-n-a-l-l-y we met up here in Marina Lanzarote.  Very nice people and we have many friends in common.  Their boat, an Irwin, is an extremely nice and very comfortable boat.

Another evening Dennis and Virginia invited us to share sundowners aboard Libertad. Always an enjoyable evening with them.  And another evening with Hajo and Julia aboard Seraphine enjoying sundowners accompanied by German and Spanish tapas.  Delicious!

An evening of meze aboard S/V Kandiba

One evening Hasan and Zehrya invited us, Seraphine and Libertad to enjoy traditional Turkish meze aboard their beautiful Amel 55 named Kandiba.  Kandiba has a big cockpit, large enough to seat in comfort all 6 guests plus her own 3 crew.  Zehrya and her niece, Fatma, must have cooked for 2 days!  They kept bringing out serving dishes until we wondered how the 9 of us possibly could eat it all!  And we could not!  They had leftovers enough for at least another meal or 2.  

Zehrya, Dennis, Julia, Hajo, Virginia, Judy, Bill and
Hasan in cockpit of S/V Kandiba enjoying meze

Libertad and we brought a couple of bottles of sparkling wine to celebrate everyone's arrival in Lanzarote. (Cannot find Prosecco here; darn it!  Should have stocked up when in Italy.)  And then Hasan broke out the red wine and it was enjoyed by all. This was an exceptionally enjoyable evening.  Thanks again to Hasan, Zehrya and Fatma for their hospitality and all that delicious Turkish food.

Our host and hostesses.
Zehrya, Fatma and Hasan.

Hasan knows how much Bill and I enjoy Turkish food and several times he brought over dishes to share of whatever Zehrya had cooked for dinner that night.  We were docked next to one another.  Once he shared with us that wonderful white version of chicken soup for which Turkey is famous.  Another time he shared a dish of fresh green beans cooked in the traditional Turkish manner.  We love those!  I have a feeling that Hasan and Zehrya are going to miss some of those special ingredients for their favorite foods which cannot be found outside Turkey. 



The second week of November was filled with evening gatherings and seminars presented by Cornell Sailing for participants of the Odyssey rallies crossing the Atlantic.  There were 40 boats participating in the Odyssey I departing Lanzarote on 18 November.  And there are 18 boats scheduled to participate in the Odyssey II which will depart Santa Cruz, Tenerife, on 9 January 2016. We will be in the Odyssey II. 

The participants of Odyssey II were invited to attend the seminars held here in Lanzarote for the Odyssey I rally.  There were 4 boats registered for the January rally which were present and we all enjoyed the seminars.  I know that there are more boats which will be participating in the Odyssey II rally in early January who are now in the Canary Islands.  I do not understand why more of those boats did not attend these seminars, as the seminars will not be repeated for the second rally.  They missed a lot of informative seminars and meetings, and a couple of interesting video presentations.

There were seminars or talks about all sorts of useful topics -- route and weather planning; how to obtain weather information while at sea; an overview of satellite communications on cruising yachts; medical presentations; how to provision (presented by Jimmy Cornell himself; and he ought to know this topic well after all his years of long-distance sailing); a lesson about photography at sea (interesting tips); downwind sailing information and rigs (not sure I learned much in this one since we have already sailed about 25,000 NM downwind on a boat that is built for downwind sailing); radio communications on board; and an open panel discussion of what to do next after arrival in the Caribbean.  There also were children's workshops about how to use the SSB to talk with their friends while at sea and some art workshops for the kiddos.  If I recall correctly, there were something like 37 children on the boats sailing in the first rally. I like that. 

There also was a welcome party at the marina which we attended and enjoyed, even though we would not be sailing with this first group. We did skip the welcome party at the Castilo San Jose which I believe was hosted by the office of tourism for Lanzarote as we felt that was really just for the group departing from Lanzarote.  Likely there will be another welcome party for our second group in Tenerife.

One evening we enjoyed a screening of a documentary filmed during the Atlantic Odyssey last year by a group of female scientists aboard a 73-ft sailing yacht named S/V Sea Dragon.  The goal of this project called Exxpedition is to raise awareness of global pollution, and is an on-going research project.

http://exxpedition.com/atlantic2014/

A special treat was that one of the women who participated in last year's Exxpedition project was present that evening and answered questions from the audience.  As an aside, Bill later was in the rally office and read some statistics compiled by an outside source about all kinds of things pertaining to last year's Atlantic Odyssey.  Things such as battery capacity and usage, fuel capacity and usage, autopilots; just all kinds of things that would be of interest only to other sailors or boat owners.  Fuel carried varied from 50 liters to 2,000 liters.  Fuel consumed during the crossing varied from 30 liters to 1,750 liters.  The yacht on this global pollution research project consumed 1,750 liters of diesel crossing the Atlantic.  I find that high quantity disturbing.  Especially for a group focusing on global pollution.

Jimmy Cornel and his lovely wife, Gwenda
with Bill and Judy

The most special treat during this week of seminars was a video presentation by Jimmy Cornell about his voyage this year through the Northwest Passage.  And about his first attempt last year.  Last year he attempted to go the usual route of east-to-west, but became ice-bound and was unable to continue.  He related a harrowing tale of breaking out of the forming ice and returning to Greenland.  

During that return voyage the propeller on his boat picked up a broken line floating beneath the surface.  Jimmy used a GoPro to video the prop and could see the line wrapped around the shaft.  It would have been unwise to attempt to continue without checking this.  He had to kit up and dive.  In that icy cold arctic water!  He had a dry suit for this emergency purpose, but the hood began to leak.  The icy water around his head affected him very quickly and he recognized the symptoms of hypothermia.  He realized that he had only seconds before he would lose all bodily control because of the icy temperature.  He remembers looking up from the water into the faces of his daughter and granddaughter and thinking, "I have only one minute to get back on the boat or I am going to die; and I cannot die like this with my daughter and granddaughter watching."  He managed to get one foot up to the stern of the boat and his daughter removed the fin; then the second foot; and then they could lift him up back onto the boat.  How scary that must have been!

This turned out to be just the start of the long way around!!  He made it back to Greenland; then, rather than return to England, he sailed down to the Annapolis Boat Show.  Then down through the Panama Canal and up to Costa Rica, where his boat was loaded onto a northbound transport ship.  It would have been impossible time-wise to sail the boat on its own keel and arrive in the Bering Strait in time to begin another attempt through the Northwest Passage before it iced up again; this time he would sail from west-to-east.  I have forgotten where the ship off-loaded his boat, but it was somewhere near Seattle (I think).  From there Jimmy and crew sailed up through the Bering Strait and did manage to get through the entire Northwest Passage.  

What an accomplishment!  The photos were breathtaking.  And he noted that there was no plastic pollution through the waters up there, which is kind of surprising as I would have thought some would have found its way from the North Pacific following currents.  I feel privileged to have been fortunate enough to see his video presentation about this voyage.

The start boat.  This was fun!  Enjoyed watching
all the boats excitedly beginning their long voyage.

Last Wednesday the Odyssey I rally departed Lanzarote en route to Martinique.  Several of us in the marina were invited to go out on the start boat and see the rally boats on their way. This was fun.  Almost like the start of a big race, although this really is not a race in any manner.  A safe crossing; and a comfortable crossing; that is what is important.  The order of arrival is insignificant.  

Fatma aboard the start boat.

Bill aboard the start boat.

The only ketch in the first Atlantic rally.  It was the last
boat to cross the starting line.  Real cruisers; they
know this is not a race.  BTW, there are at least
4 ketches in the second rally that I know about. That
rally consists of more experienced cruisers rather than
boats crossing an ocean for the first time, although
there are some first-timers too.

This French boat sailed back and forth
behind the start boat while his wife took
photos from the stern of the start boat.  
She will fly over.

This woman and her 2 small children chose not to
sail across.  Her husband and 3 crew are taking
their large catamaran to the Caribbean.

Invictus, the large catamaran the woman & children
were watching.  Saying goodbye to daddy.

The boats circled behind the start boat for half hour.
When the horn sounded, each had to pass the
starboard side of the start boat.

Already one boat has reported back that a fixed window broke when a large wave hit the boat, and they lost many electronics; but have repaired the window and are continuing onward safely. Another boat has diverted to the Cape Verdes because of battery issues.  One boat also had autopilot problems and returned to Lanzarote for repairs; now back out on their way to Martinique.  

And off they went!  About half headed off down the
eastern side of the island of Fuerteventura and the
others headed off to go over the top and down the
western side of the island or the western side of Gran
Canaria. I do not think it mattered which side at all. They
have a long way to go and the start does not mean much.

And our friends, Jeff and Gayle, aboard S/V Lazy Bones also have diverted to the Cape Verdes because their primary autopilot has failed.  Wishing them fast repairs and hope the winds hold favorably for them onward to Martinique soon.

Goodbye!  Safe Passage!

Finishing up in Rabat; over to the Canary Islands

 As soon as we returned to the boat from our trip to Marrekesh, we started looking for the first weather window to scoot over from Rabat to the Canary Islands.  As mentioned previously, the constant swell along that stretch of African coast often causes the entrance to Rabat to be closed.  If swell is running higher than 1.8 meters then the entrance (and exit) is closed to traffic.  For the next week the swell was running 3.2 to 3.8 meter so we were stuck in Rabat.

There could be worse places to be stuck for an extra week.  We did not mind the delay because there was still plenty of time for us to get to Lanzarote in the Canary Islands before the rally seminars started on 9 Nov.  

One day we joined Virginia and Dennis of S/V Libertad for a day in the actual city of Rabat. We were all getting a little stir-crazy staying in the marina and needed an outing.  Virginia suggested the contemporary arts museum and lunch in the city and that sounded like an excellent idea.  

Literally walked the soles
off my shoes -- again.

I wore a pair of sneakers that had been stored for maybe 2 years; and, once again, my shoes disintegrated while walking in the city.  This is the fifth time this has happened in the past 9 1/2 years!  The sole on the left shoe completely separated off, leaving a moccasin type enclosure around my foot for the rest of the day.  Then a few hours later the sole on the right shoe also began to come off.  I don't know if it is the salt air environment or the heat on the boats that cause this, but it is annoying and little embarrassing when what appears to be a perfectly good shoe suddenly loses the sole.

Moroccan Andy Warhol?

Every item in this photo is made from a
bullet or shell casing.  Art from ammunition

The Mohammed VI Modern and Contemporary Art Museum was better than I had anticipated.  This is the first contemporary art museum in Morocco and fitting that it should be built in the nation's capital.  A pet project of the king.  This is a nice modern building, very different from the typical local architecture.

This museum has some very unusual works of art.  Here is a
bathtub made from the inner layer of lamb hides.

Pastillo for lunch

After a few hours of wandering through the 3 levels of the museum, we found a place for lunch -- down a wide alleyway off the most prominent street in this section of the city.  Virginia and I chose the pastilla so we could sample another type of Moroccan food.  It was made from chicken and almonds cooked inside a pastry; then the pastry is topped with sifted confectioners sugar and cinnamon.  I normally do not care for sweets and meats combined, but this was surprisingly good.  It actually tasted better with the sugar and cinnamon than the bites I tried without the sweet seasoning.

While eating lunch a protest started in the nearby main street.  Being in a country where we do not speak the language and having several thousand people marching in the street and yelling is a bit disconcerting.  I asked the cafe owner what they were protesting.  She explained that the university for medical study is located only a couple of blocks down the street and that these were students protesting the mandatory medical service they will be required to serve once they graduate.  The protest seemed to go on and on and on for a long time. Finally it broke up and we headed back to the light-rail tram to return to the marina.  Many of the young people on the tram carried rolled-up medical coats and lab coats, obviously having participated in the protest march.

One of the entrances of old walled city of Sale

One day we walked around Sale, the town on the northern side of the Bou Regreg River across from Rabat.  The marina is situated in Sale even though all the sailors call it the Rabat marina.  Sale is the home to nearly 1 million people, mostly factory workers; whereas, Rabat is the nation's capital and has many residents who work for the government, plus several universities.  Rabat is much more cosmopolitan than Sale.  We were surprised at how large the old walled city of Sale is; it appeared to be much larger than the old walled city of Rabat.  There are many woodworking factories in Sale and the workers are true craftsmen.

A small section of a corner of
walled city of Sale

The wall of old Sale went on for miles.
the tents are merchant stalls outside the old city.

Sale has always been known for stirring things up.  
This was where the first protests were held in the early 1950s that led to the national movement insisting upon independence from the French.  In the 1600s the town was infamous for its pirates known as the Salee Rovers.  This town was so famous for pirate activities that Daniel Defoe wrote the city into his novel 'Robinson Crusoe,' placing Robinson in the captivity of the Salee Rovers.

The very short finger piers at the marina have no cleats.
Lines are run around and through this large metal
protrusion at end of each finger pier. Works fine.

On Friday afternoon, 30 October 2015, at 15:45 we finally exited the Rio Bouregreg into the Atlantic.  There were 6 boats leaving the marina at the same time; we looked like a convoy.  Two boats were going down to Agadir, Morocco; and 4 of us were headed to Lanzarote, Canary Islands.  Our exit was at precisely slack high tide on a 3.6 meter tide, so depth going out was not problem whatsoever.  And the incoming swell was almost imperceptible because of that 3.6 meter tide.  Perfect timing as we all followed the marina guide boat out into the Atlantic.

Looking forward as we passed the Customs dock
headed outbound.  Old walled city of Rabat ahead.

The swell was there but was no problem because of the slack high tide.  If we looked closely at the boat in front of us we could see the effects of the swell.  But we did not feel it at all.

At same time, looking backwards at the other 4
boats in convoy behind us.

Passing the old walled city of Rabat was a bit sad as we said a final goodbye to not just Rabat but also to Morocco; and also to the continent of Africa.  Have no plans of ever returning to any place in Africa.  Glad Morocco was our introduction and farewell to the continent.

Old walled city of Rabat on our
left as we closely followed
S/V Pimentau, as they closely
followed the guide boat.

Swell was barely perceptible as we exited.
But look more closely. S/V Pimentau was up.

And then S/V Pimentau was down.

While looking behind us, these 2 boats first were up.

And then the left one was very much down,
while S/V Libertad on the right was still up.
So...yeah...there was some swell.

Goodbye Rabat!  Goodbye Africa!

Our routing toward Lanzarote would take us between 2 weather fronts.  The first one was coming up from the SW and the other was coming down from the NW.  The first one passed through and moved off to the east as we motor-sailed over the top of it.  Friday night conditions were okay and everything was comfortable until around 04:00 Saturday morning when we began to feel the effects of the second front from the NW.  For the next 36 hours the sea conditions were miserable; no fun at all!  The waves (swell) were 3.5 - 4 meters with winds 25 to 35 kts, mostly mid-twenties.  Everyone we talked to on the radio was seasick Saturday and Sunday, with the worst conditions being around Saturday midnight.  Bill was on bucket duty and we both were taking seasick meds.  I never upchucked but probably would have felt better if I had.  It was too rough to want to eat or drink anything and we let ourselves become a bit dehydrated.  We normally are very careful about forcing water even if not eating during rough weather like this.  And now we know to be even more pro-active about water consumption the next time.

The beginning of a rainbow welcoming us to Lanzarote.
The island is visible on left side.  A very welcome
sight after the seasick conditions for 2 days.

By 04:00 Monday morning the seas has subsided by half, down to barely over 2 meter waves and wind about 15 kts.  Our course allowed us to turn more southerly at this time and the remaining 10 hours into Lanzarote was much, much more comfortable.  Thank you, Lord, for small favors!  We each found something to eat and began sipping fluids.

This was what Bill found on deck when he went to
put away the preventer for the mizzen.  It was in
pieces.  Luckily, all pieces were still on deck.  This
shows why it is critical to check all rigging daily
when at sea!  We were lucky that it fell apart
after Bill had disconnected it when we were
finished using the mizzen sail downwind.

When we docked at Marina Lanzarote, several men came to help with our dock lines.  We were so tired that neither of us recognized these men.  After the lines were secure we looked around and saw 2 Amel boats docked nearby and then realized who the men were! More about that in a future posting.