UPDATED Porto Santo to Santa Cruz, Tenerife.

We had a really nice week at Porto Santo. I called it my weeks beach holiday.

The marina is quite small, but well run. The office is a good trek away abut ¼ mile. This is where the wi-fi was accessed from. Toilet and shower facilities were pretty basic. We did not use the laundry facilities, but did like the rest of the boats in the  marina and washed by hand using the bucket method!

We went on the tourist bus around the island, and with many of our pontoon neighbours along as well it was quite a social occasion. It was a good way to pass an afternoon. The driver stopped at viewpoints along the way to allow photo opportunities. At the end of the trip a beer seemed in order!

  

We also went swimming in the sea. Haven’t done that for years. Lots of surf about and big rollers, enough to drive the yachts previously anchored in the bay, into the marina.

The trips to the supermarket were always a trek. The ‘Pingo Docie’ was big and well stocked. It had a good supply of fresh meat and vegetables which came in daily on the ferry from Madeira. The wine and beer was cheap, the quality hit and miss! Steve bought his Madeira wine, but then had to open it to make sure it was ok.

So the week passed in a flash. There were a lot of ARC boats all flying their 2012 flags. Steve had the idea of using our signal flags to fly N A R C. New friends Richard and Rowena on Galena did the same. We became known as the narc boats.

The wind turned southerly which meant most boats stayed put. We were all heading south. By Tuesday Steve was getting stir crazy and needed to be on the move again. We left mid morning with very light NE winds  and motored over to Bai D’abra in Madeira, a mere 30 miles, It was good to get away. You can almost feel the glue holding the boat after being in a marina for a while. We anchored overnight in 7 metres of water. There were another 5 boats there with us. The next day we moved a further 4 miles down the coast, anchoring again, this time outside the harbour at Machico.
 We had no neighbours this time. We were under the flightpath for the airport and they were quite noisy on take off. However, they either stopped at night or I slept through so it can’t have been that bad.

We left Machico 9am on Thursday morning  knowing it would be quiet windwise for a few hours. We had 255 miles ahead of us to Santa Cruz, Tenerife.

En route to Tenerife 11/10/12

We left at 9am under full main and genoa With a NE 4 and a cool 22.5 degrees. We had a good sail with the wind lightening around 15:00. We got the cruising chute ready for flying but then realised the snuffer was coming apart at the top and the lines were twisting. At this point I remarked that I was glad he knew what he was doing as I would not know how to start untangling the cord, sail head, and plastic tube all around and inside the snuffer head which was just gathered and stitched together. How many sailors out there have ever turned the snuffer bag inside out to see how it works? However, Steve grinned and said he had no idea what he was doing either. Either way, a quick  repair soon had us on our way again.  The cruising chute has performed very well since so the problem had probably been developing for a while.

We had a couple of hours of light winds and at around 7pm we put the genoa back up and reefed the main sail for overnight. Reefing the main seems to be common practice among cruisers, especially couples. A slower overnight trip, but safer if the winds pick up. It was a beautiful starlight night with the reward of a few shooting stars.

After breakfast the next morning we were visited by some Spotted Dolphins. We have Mark Carwardine’s “Guide to Whale Watching” on board and covers all the species of dolphins and whales seen in Britain and Europe and has been invaluable for identifying the different types of whales and dolphins seen.

As the NE 3 continued we put the engine on for a few hours battery charging. There had been no sun for 18 hours and not enough wind for the aerogen to do its job.

At 1 o’clock on my watch the light pollution from Tenerife was visible on the horizon. We now had something to focus on. We had seen no ships / boats / canoes etc since we left Madeira. We had full sail up slowly sailing in our NE 3.  At 7am I was back on watch – still dark.  We were approaching the the NE corner of Tenerife. I had been reading the pilot books and scared myself reading about the acceleration zones around the islands. The pictures and tales of 5 knots increasing to 25 knots of wind in 200 yards kept me wide awake. I spent 3 hours worrying. However, nothing happened and we had an uneventful trip down to Santa Cruz. You have to call Tenerife harbour control for permission to enter the harbour, which is a huge area, and then the marina after that. I’m getting quite good as radio operator. Glad I’ve done the VHF course.

We stayed in Santa Cruz for 2 nights; got the laundry done and visited the excellent food market hall, painted a conspicuous bright terracotta colour. This has the added advantage of having a supermarket underneath. We needed a taxi back to the marina.

Leaving Santa Cruz, we travelled south staying close inshore. With a variable 1 wind we motored all the way. The advantage was that we could sightsee the island as we travelled down. Interestingly, the reported SW current became a strong head current of 1 to 1.5 knots which made our journey slower than expected.

  

Steve also tried his hand at some fishing but there were no bites that day.

Our destination was San Miguel Marina, on the SE coast. This was just 10 minutes by taxi from Tenerife South Airport, where Paul and his family were flying into to visit with us for 1 week. The marina is part of the Amarillo Golf complex and as such is no where near towns or other urbanisations. The apartment complexes are huge. The advantage is that there are many restaurants and bars to choose from, 2 minimarkets, that we found, and the usual gift shops. As always in Tenerife there was a large British presence including an Irish Bar.

The marina is exceptionally well sheltered from winds that have any North in them. It was meltingly hot when we arrived. Washing the boat down in 32 degrees is something I just can’t get used to. However, I don’t mind being sprayed with the hosepipe either.

Our visitors arrived Tuesday16th at lunchtime and in typical 10 year old fashion, James wanted to be on the go straight away. That meant a visit to the small beach for a swim, and a paddle for the grown ups!

I’m going to write about our 1 week holiday another time and skip straight to Tuesday 23^rd October the day they left us. After doing 1 load of washing [5 euros] we packed up the boat and headed north towards Santa Cruz leaving at about 14:30. The forecast was a SW 3. When we got out there it was a SSW5 a good genoa run.

After an hour and a half we realised the trailing dinghy was full of water. Hm. The wind was increasing touching on a 6. We tried heaving too to bring the dinghy on board to no avail. After a quick think, we rolled the genoa away and ran under bare poles whilst we retrieved the dinghy. With lifejackets on [I’m the health and safety officer] we went to the back of the boat and pulled the dinghy along side. We had previously put the painter on the winch and wound it in as close as we could. After tipping out the water it was a relatively easy task to haul the boat out and on to the aft deck. We won’t be trailing the dinghy again in a following sea. Climbing back into the cockpit we were amazed to see we were doing 4 knots under bare poles.

The wind was increasing steadily, and we decided to round the headland and anchor overnight in Bai d'Abona. A bottom of sand meant that the 60LB CQR dug in nicely and we were going nowhere. Just as well really as there were 4 other boats in the anchorage before us so we were not as tucked in as we would have liked. We still had 25knots of wind over the bow but the sea was flatter and the wind in the bay was better than along the coast. Overnight the wind died away and we left the next morning for a 20 mile motor into Santa Cruz!

In Santa Cruz we were on a mission; to source a new bigger dinghy engine, to repair the 2.5 Suzuki, to get shopping from the Carrefour supermarket, and to sort out the sat phone.

It all began with a locking turn in the Furling drum..........

Povoa de Varzim to Porto Santo. 27^th September to 2^nd October

It all began with a locking turn in the Furling drum………………….warning, this account may make you seasick or start to exude sympathy.

After waiting for 2 weeks for favourable winds to sail direct to Porto Santo 615 miles away [25 miles N of Madeira] we slipped from our berth at 10:15 on Thursday morning 27^th September. There was no rush as we knew we had to motor for a few hours till the wind kicked in which it did 2 hours later. We had a great genoa run under full sail. 8 hours later, at 10pm as we changed watch and with a brisk Northerly 5 blowing, Steve decided to roll some genoa away for overnight. At no. 3 genoa size the furling line fell in on itself inside the drum and jammed tight. With a dark night and a rough sea there was nothing to do until daylight.

Day 2 Friday September 28th

With a very rocky rolly boat down below my sea sickness came back. A combination of tension, tiredness, and lack of food we think. At 7:30 as daylight was just breaking Steve went forward onto the bow to try and untangle the furling line in the drum. No way was that going to happen and a perfectly good screwdriver pinged overboard almost immediately. We then prepared to take the genoa down and replace it with the storm jib as the wind was now well into a Force 6 with apparent wind at 25kn. As we turned and motored into the wind to lower the sail it was blowing 32 knots with a 4 metre swell. Steve was on the bow of the boat, clipped on with 2 tethers, completely engulfed by the huge sail. The boat was all over the place with the combination of wind, sea state and me at the helm! Steve managed to get the sail down and keep it all on the boat, though the bolt rope jammed in the foil about 8 foot from the head of the sail. Turning and motoring back down wind allowed us to get the remainder of the sail down, though the bolt rope was ripped in the process. Once down we had to bundle it up and move it off the foredeck back to just in front of the sprayhood so we could hoist the storm jib using the spare genoa halyard and genoa sheets. All this before 10:30.

Once this was done everything settled down a bit. The boat was sailing happily at 6 knots. This with a storm jib of 7.5 sq metres which is a smaller area than some windsurfer sails. Steve now demanded his breakfast!! However he had to get it himself [remember the seasick galley slave was out of commission] The sea and wind built all day and at 19:30 with 38kn of wind on the stern and a 6 metre swell, we went below, closed all the hatches and left the boat in the capable hands of George the autopilot. Throughout the night we periodically had a quick look around, but it appeared we were the only ones in this bit of the Atlantic. [Mind you it is difficult to see anything at the bottom of a 6 metre wave.]

Day 3 Saturday 29th September .

After a good nights sleep, [everything is relative] things looked a little better this morning. We appear to be gradually sorting all the knocks, bangs and rattles out. Thank goodness for bubblewrap, t-towels, and napkins. The sea and wind had quietened a little and Steve went up on the foredeck to try and untangle the furling line. He was there an hour, was successful but a little grey when he came back to the cockpit. We had the means now to use the genoa again. Unfortunately, with 22 knots of wind right on the stern it was too windy to put it up again. We were doing 4-5knots under storm jib and it was so frustrating that we had the wind we wanted and no sail to do the job.

Feeling better today this afternoon, I put together a beef and mushroom casserole for dinner. We tried and failed several times to get a weather forecast from our new sat phone and grib files. Abandoning this we used a new tactic and called up a passing tanker on the radio at 17:30. We had last seen “Atlantic Hope” in Coruna. We could imagine the radio operator running round for permission to respond to us. A very nicely spoken guy replied to us and acknowledged our request for a weather forecast. The forecast given for the area just south of where we were was for wind Force 5-6 with the sea rough to very rough, decreasing moderate to rough. We thanked them and they continued on their way passing us within ½ mile.

Tanker Atlantic Hope helped us with a weather forecast

Day 4 Sunday 30/9/12

Up before daylight  with a plan to put up the mainsail with 2 reefs in. I was struggling to keep the boat turned into the wind while the sail went up and was very relieved to pull in the mainsheet. The next few minutes are a blur, but suffice it to say that I gybed the main sail. In the total utter panic that overtook me I then took it back. A double whammy. [Not my finest hour]. The shackle on the mainsheet traveller sheared and became a flying missile. Whilst taming the wild boom Steve fell hurting his back and lower ribs with a glancing blow on his head. I was lashed by rope but nothing worse than bruises to either of us thank goodness. A very tense half hour followed. I was devastated and not much use, not that I trusted myself to do anything at that time. Steve dropped the mainsail, scandalised the boom and then tied it down to the aft cleats. He then went for a lie down complaining he was a bit poorly. I was left on watch. At about 10:15 Steve came up on deck and noticed the wheel was not turning. I had been facing forwards watching Steve, the sail and the chart plotter. Our course was still good but the steering had failed. We then had to empty the aft cabin as the steering gear is under the bunk. We had the prospect of rigging emergency steering in the aft cabin and then removing the binnacle in the cockpit to check the linkages. Fortunately when Steve looked at the steering cables under the bunk he found they had worked loose and fallen off the rudder quadrant. Job done in 45 minutes. Good job George is connected straight onto the rudder quadrant!!

Flush with success we decided to have an early lunch. We were having more beef casserole with added tinned veg. As I turned the tin opener one of the cogs sheared. A moment of disbelief followed.  Fortunately we had a spare! Over lunch we chatted and tried to formulate a new plan. We could not make more than 4knots in 18kn wind. We needed the mainsail up and out secured with a preventer. Steve jury rigged the traveller using cord and we got the main up with 2 reefs as planned. We took the storm jib down acknowledging what a good job it had done. Unbelievably we were still only making between 4-5 knots.

Steve was beginning to get stiff and sore and went to bed about 10pm. We had seen no ships all day. I set my minute minder for 1 hour and lay down. An hour later it went off. I got up had a look around. Nil to see. Back to bed. An hour later same procedure, and again and again. I was getting tired but Steve was fast asleep. Eventually I forgot to reset the timer and slept for 3 hours. Steve got up next. No change and no boats seen. Monday morning dawned.

Day 5 Monday 1^st October.

We ran the engine to charge batteries this morning. The confused sea meant the wind generator was struggling to run and there had been no sun for a couple of days either so the solar panel was not giving enough power either. However the upside was with hot water we could have showers. Now ladies, I want you to imagine this. Having a shower in a moving boat is a bit like a shower on a 4 way randomly moving escalator; up and down and back and forwards. Add to this needing 1 hand to hold on to a grab rail and 1 to get the shampoo out of the bottle. All the while being aware not  to use too much water and to remember to switch on the drain pump so as not to flood the boat.  Hmm, you see it may be a little problematic at times. However, nothing beats the feeling of mastering all the obstacles and ending up feeling clean and fresh after all that salt.

Things started getting better on Monday. We managed to get the genoa off the foredeck, roll it along the length of the boat, hoist it back up and roll it away. Steve threaded the sail through the groove and I winched it up the forestay. [This was my Monday afternoon gym session] Steve found the problem with the furling line and moved the nearest guide to the bow lower down and now the line runs well. We shook a reef out of the mainsail as the wind was lightening. The winds remained too light to fill either sail. We ran under main doing only 4 kn. The wind could not be more on the stern.

We were visited by a large pod of Atlantic spotted dolphins. Unfortunately we were not travelling fast enough to interest them for long and they swam by.

Day 6 Tuesday 2^nd October.

Up at 7am to gybe the boat onto the other tack. Wind less than 10 knots on the stern. Freshly baked scones , yoghurt and coffee for breakfast. We attempted to get the genoa out but not enough wind to set it so rolled it away again immediately.

We made the decision to start the engine which would mean entering Porto Santo in daylight this evening rather than during the night. It was a good feeling to get sight of land and as the sun came out for the first time in 5 days we sat on the foredeck and absorbed some vitamin D. We entered Porto Santo Harbour at 17:15 and within ½ hour were tied up to a mooring buoy and enjoying a well deserved beer. On Wednesday morning we moved to a marina berth and began the process of washing 6 days salt off the boat. She scrubs up rather well. Well done Chewsy. Well done us!