2012 - Canaries
Malua is at 29:13.12N 13:31.24W on 6/11/2012 at Isla Graciosa
The passage from Mohammedia took us just under five days to do the 470
nm however we sailed due to the head winds 490 nm of which the motor
was on a total of 70 hours not very good for a sailing yacht. The
passage was luckily uneventful with nothing going wrong or breaking
which I attribute the the soundness of Malua and its crew. It was
a pleasure to be with Piers after the last crew experience. He
take initiative, remembers how things work on Malua , is a great cook
and a great pleasure to be with.
We had timed our arrival for dawn and was 60 miles off when we saw the
loom of lights of the Canaries. The moon came up at 23:00 and the
loom disappeared but we motored on at a very slow speed. As the
sun rose we were five miles off the reef and then entered the passage
between the island of Graciosa and Lanzatote. We passed the
marina and headed for the bay where eight other boats are
anchored. Dropped the pick in five meters of water and turned in
for a warm shower, scrambled eggs and a sleep.
It is still overcast at midday but the water is warm and the living is
good. Lunch will be the last of the fish we caught on passage.
A magical moment on Malua
Malua is at 28:58.31N 13:31.84W at Arrecife on 7/11/2012
We left Graciosa and headed down the coast to a new anchorage.
This time the recommendation was right deep in the inner harbour of
Puerto Naos. It required some skilful navigation to follow the
red and green channel markers as we moved cautiously up the harbour
with all the fishing boats and moors vessels. We had just found a
good spot and dropped the anchor along with a tripping line when I saw
on the dock a policeman waving his arm at us. We have to move out
of this protected spot. We pulled up the anchor and moved back
down the harbour towards the entrance where we had seen some other
yachts anchored. Oh well better than out in the open. We found a
spot and anchored just before a strong wind sprang up along with some
heavy rain. Off to bed early.
The following day we lowered the RIB with the big motor into the water
and plained up the harbour towards the town. We secured to a
local boat and walked into town to add more credit to my Vodafone phone
and USB dongle. We stopped in the supermarket and resolved to
return to add to our provisions.
Two large cruise ships had just entered the big outer harbour so the
town was alive and bussing. We got a trolley and filled it with
the penultimate provisioning list. Five bags of food etc which we
had to carry back to the RIB. It was so overloaded it would not
plain back to Malua.
My watch had stopped at 2:30 so I suggested we leave this harbour and
head on down the coast to a good anchorage. Piers asked if I knew
the time – yes 2:30 No it is 4:00 and the trip would at 5 knots
take two hours. We set off with the wind behind us, the sails up
and the motor on and were soon doing our hull speed of 8.2 knots.
We would arrive just as the sun set. Unfortunatly the sun set
behind a dark cloud and darkness fell as we dropped the anchor,
narrowly missing a group of plastic containers floating on the
surface. We had to pull up the anchor at which point the windlass
deceided that it was time to stop. It jammed with a link at right
angles due to the poor quality of the French chain. Reset the
trip switch, undo the jam but this time the sprocket had lifted off the
ratchet so I had to dismantle the windlass to get it working. By
this time it was dark. We tried to anchor again with more
difficulty but chose to let the chain run free through the
windlass. Before Piers knew it all the chain had gone out and we
where onto the nylon line. 75 meters of anchor out in a bay full
of rocks. Fix the windlass and then take in some chain.
Back to the cockpit for a cold beer and into the freezer for a prepared
stew. We will spend a day here then move into the Rubicon Marina
to hire a car and visit the national park and volcanoes on the island.
A magical moment on Malua
Malua is at 28:51.44N 13:48.92W at Playa Blanca on 10/11/2012
We left the bay of Papugaya after two days of rock and roll as the
swell came round the western tip of Lanzarote and the wind camee from a
different direction. The rock and roll was not that bad but it meant
that I had to hold my wine glass all the time rather than set it down
at the table. We arrived as per my previous post and stayed a day
taking the RIB to the beach and walked along the headland towards the
town of Playa Blanca.
After the MOzzie net we set off to the Rubucan Marina and requested a
berth via channel 09. We were instructed to tie up along side the fuel
jetty which we did. We had just closed down the engine when a fellow
appeared and said we had to move immediatly to another jetty and then
go to the Office which would open at 9:00. We started the engine untied
the lines and redocked just across the harbour.
I collected the ships documents and went to the office. I was third in
line so had to wait while the lady dealing with the other Masters
filling in their papers, and aswered the telephone and also the radio
which seemed to go off every 2 minutes.
When I sat down she took the official Australian ships papers,
passports and insurance papers copied them and then entered the details
into the computer. During this time Malua's name was mentioned a number
of times as she chatted on the radio in Spanish. She presented me with
the papers to sign and said they had while I was waiting measured Malua
and found "The length on the Australian Registration papers is wrong"
The length of Malua according to them is 14 meters. This adds two
meters to the boat's length and adds an extra 20 something euros to the
all ready expensive marina fee (42.80 E).
I objected which resulted in further discussion in spanish on the
radio. I later find out later they have measured Malua with a tape
measure while I have been sitting in the Office. I refuse to sign the
papers until they use the official information on the ships papers.
They finally let me cross the error out and agree to a refund of the
money they had taken via my credit card. I have to go back the next day
and demand the refund because they have not credited my account.
Watch out for the Rubicon Marina they are a rip-off. The wifi does not
work, the showers are no where to be found and the toilets require you
to put your long distance walking shoes on to reach them. The list of
rules goes to 22 points many starting with "It is forbidden....." "It
is prohibited to......"
Thankfully Piers and I had a wonderful day on the island exploring with the use of a hire car.
A day on Malua
Malua is at 28:12.44N 14:01.54W at Gran Tarajal Port on 12/11/2012
We left rib-off Rubican Marina soon after the chandler opened and set
sail across the channel towards the east side of Fuerteventura. The
wind was well abeam and we pulled up the main and let out the genoa
with the spinnaker pole. The wind increased to slightly over 23 knots
and with a little swell we topped 9.4 speed over the ground - current
helped. It was a great sail along the coast which started flat and
sandy in the north with a few holiday development to rocky and
uninviting further south. We were chasing the distance to get to an
anchorage before the light went. We passed La Entallada Lighthouse high
on the cliff and pushed on in fading wind to a bay outside a town. The
bay was supposed to be behind a cliff and seltered from the swell. Two
yachts were anchored close to the cliff along a rocky shore but they
rocked and rolled as the swell came round the headland. We dropped the
anchor hoping the wind would keep our stern into the swell but that was
not to be. Not a great night but not bad.
At 08:00 I hosted the MOzzie net and called. We weak signal from
Sundancer, slightly stronger from Charm Offence who had both been to an
ARC party the night before. Then boom out of the airwaves came Jack
Tar. You have a strong signal where are you. They gave their Lat and
Long and it was almost the same as Malua. They must be in the harbour
outside which we had spent the night. We pulled up the anchor and
before 8:30 we were next to a pontoon in the harbour.
I went to the local chandler to see if they had an impeller for the
generator and yes one would be there tomorrow. That is service. Sure
enough at 8:30 the next day I had the impeller and within minutes the
generator was running again - what bliss.
I then installed the desalination system - water maker and started to
run water through the system. As soon as I turned up the pressure I saw
that the end plug in the membrane tube was cracked and leaking water. A
major problem. Back to the chandler but no fitting.
Tomorrow we are off to Gran Canaria at 04:00 am
Malua is at 28:07.847N 15:25.485W at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on 14/11/2012
We have finally arrived at the Canaries, the setting off point to cross
the Atlantic. It is a big city and we are anchored within the large
harbour with lots of cruise ships, merchant vessels and the odd
visiting US navy vessel. The anchorage is crowed with a huge variety of
yachts. Red, green, bright yellow, grey, white and all shades in
between. There are some production boats but most are one-offs or not
well known designs. The anchorage is just outside the main marina
containing 250 ARC yachts all getting inspected to meet their standard
of seaworthiness. Today we will take the RIB in to walk the dock and
top up the provisions.
Malua is still at 28:07.84N 15:25.48W at Las Palma on 19/11/2012
Over the last few days be have received 12 kg of various cuts of meat
beautifully vacuum bagged and frozen from the butcher JP rosper on the
ground floor of the market. I am about to turn the stewing steak
and mince into preprepared meals. We also purchased fruit and veg
from the stalls in the market. We spread the risk of getting a
bad lot by not buying a single type (lemons) from one supplier.
We have 20 lemons from 4 suppliers. Hopefully they will last the
distance. We did that with potatoes, onions, red and green
tomatoes and all the other vegetables we need. There was however
one bad apple in the lot so we had to eat that today!
The citrus and cabbage, cauliflower are no hanging in a string hammock
in the main saloon while the onion are in a dark bag away from the
potatoes which do have to see the light not to sprout.
Yesterday I finally got the generator to work with the new impeller -
purchased locally, and I installed the membrane in the water-maker and
I made my first fresh water from the sea. I only made 20 l but
that took 20 minutes so it looks as if we will have more than enough
water on the passage. Having been at anchor for a week the
batteries are low so we will have to run the gen and motor before we go
to recharge the reserves.
The weather forecast looks good. I listened to a westward net on
8131 at 0830 UTC. Three vessels checked in on passage towards the
Cape Verde. They have had good winds over the stern and the sea
has been flat. I just hope that lasts over the next few days.
Today the last of the fuel and water from the Marina, then lift the RIB
on to the deck and we will be off just after first light tomorrow.
A magical moment on Malua
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