Still in Tenerife

Santa Cruz is a big city by Canarian standards. Its docklands are run by Tenerife Traffic and all harbour movement is sanctioned by them. There are also said to be 4 chandleries in the area. Forget the chandlery in your local marina. The chandleries here are all in the back streets and you need a map to guide you. However, with said map in hand we decided to go and find at least one of them.  We opted to go to the biggest first and work our way through them all if necessary. On our shopping list was a new shackle for the mainsheet and a dinghy engine! We struck gold with the first one, BlancoMar Not only did we get a shackle, and a couple of other bits as well, we were also given the name of a mercury dealer in Santa Cruz. The very helpful assistant Luciano rang them up and informed us of a 3.5hp reconditioned engine in our price range. [we had other choices as well ]. He then offered to take us there when his shift ended. Great. By the end of the day we were in possession of a new engine.  After deliberation we decided to bite the bullet and get the Suzuki engine repaired. We had been given the name of a mechanic further north in the harbour. Several phone calls later saw us in a taxi with said engine [wouldn’t happen in the UK] on the way to the workshop. 

The GRIB files were showing bad weather coming in; high winds and lots of heavy rain. Steve decided that Bahia de Abona would offer us the shelter we needed, so after another trip to the supermarket, off we went. Santa Cruz is a dirty marina. The pontoons are filthy, the black dust invades everywhere and after only 2 days the boat needed scrubbing again.

Back in Abona for Saturday night and we had to share with 8 other boats. Plenty of room though. The French do like to cosy up and always anchor, in my opinion, too close to other boats.  There were 4 catamarans and 5 monohulls.  By Monday morning there were just 3 left. We shared the bay with a small yacht flying a Canadian flag, and a Catamaran flying the Belgium flag. A couple on each boat. Johann on the cat came over for a chat and we discussed the weather. He was expecting 40kn of wind. Our gribs showed similar. Steve put down the 56lb anchor chum as an extra precaution and that sat happily above the sea bed, giving us the equivalent of an extra 15 metres of chain.

The wind started increasing through Tuesday morning and by afternoon, we had stopped all activity and were in the cockpit on standby. In the increasing wind the cockpit tent was being buffeted. It has withstood storms in Troon, so I had no reason to think it would fail here. However, as a precaution, I emptied the cockpit of all the bits and pieces, put the engine key in position and kept a watchful eye on the other 2 boats. Transits remained in place and we were secure on our anchor. The same applied to our companions. The catamaran had put down extra chain and with a wind shift from south westerly to westerly put him too close to the rocks for comfort. He spent 3 hours with his engine on keeping away from the rocks. We found out later that one of his bridle ropes had snapped.

 We had more fun with the dinghy. It flipped twice and we worried that we would lose the oars. Steve dragged it closer and we retrieved them and pulled them into the tent. The dinghy then washed itself up onto the back of the boat and fixed itself to the top of the bathing ladder. Steve quickly secured it with extra lines and that became one less thing to worry about. At 4pm we showed 47kn wind through the anchorage. Our transits remained constant. The wind was howling but out on deck was actually pleasant. It was warm and dry. In one of the lulls, a quick trip outside to check the gear, reassured each other that all boats were in good order. Thumbs up all the way. Another boat dragging their anchor could quickly become everyones problem. We later heard that the Canadian couple registered 57kn that afternoon. The highest I saw was 50kn. The wind eased through the night and, though it was still in the mid to high 20’s, it felt like a breeze. As the heavy rain came in on Wednesday Steve had a new challenge; how to collect rainwater in enough quantities for it to be useful. [practising for in the Caribbean.] He used the cockpit side pieces and funnelled them into buckets and got 20 litres of fresh water. That was after rinsing out the buckets.

Looking back, the days actually all rolled into one, We read, and read, and played scrabble, looked at charts and pilot books, listened to music. We got the sewing machine out one day and made a cover for the new dinghy engine and canvas pockets for the cockpit. When the sea was quiet and it was warm, we went swimming, Steve with the snorkel to check the anchor and me for a bit of exercise. The solar shower felt warm and was welcome to wash hair and get rid of all the salt. In all the 8 days we were there though, the sun only came out on the last day. “Mad Fish” with Russell and Emma and Ethan and Ollie came into the anchorage on Saturday afternoon, and we went over for pre dinner drinks. It was good to catch up. On the Sunday though, it was time to leave.

Once again we were motoring to Santa Cruz in 3kn wind for provisions then off again. The plan is to anchor further north and then, wind permitting to go round Gran Canaria until we can pick up the engine then on to La Palma, La Gomera, and then away, probably to the Cape Verdes by the end of the month.

Hot off the press is the fact that we have refused permission to anchor anywhere on Tenerife, La Palma or Gomera. The Capitano Maritime office is refusing permission for any foreign boats to anchor in its waters. Apparently maritime law will allow them to do this. We will have to take this up with the Cruising Association and also inform Noonsite. Emma off Mad Fish has already informed the RYA