On the way to Sidi Ifni and Mirleft as I wrote in the last post? Well.. we are sailors and sailors change their minds all of the time. While leaving Essouaria there was good wind to bring us straight to the Canaries but there was no wind near the coast, so time for a new plan. Lets go to La Palma instead.
Fourth morning of the passage to Canary Islands from Essouria.
We are at our chosen island at the Canaries, La Palma which was recommended by a French sailor who we chatted with at the anchorage in Essouria. Looking forward to a good hike, a provisioning trip and to get a rest. We also wanted to get more diesel. Crossing the Atlantic with half a tank is doable but as it is winter we have to run the generator every night for an hour, So we would be more at ease with a few more litres.
All is not lost and we enjoyed looking at the lee side of this island black with lava and white with agricultural poly rectangles. La Palma had a volcanic eruption in 2021. No deaths but the red hot lava and ashes did a lot of damage to the infrastructure and you can still see the black volcanic path from high up all the way down to the sea.
So…time for a new plan. Lets go to La Gomera instead which was the original plan after Sidi Ifni! Captain Neptune points out the wind line in the distance where the sea has little white caps. The wind about ten miles distant. Nothing for it but to motor. All of a sudden, wham 25 knots hit us and we can switch the engine off. If we can maintain this 7 knots close reach to the next chosen anchorage we will make it before dark, fingers crossed.
Written on a heeling sunshiney day on passage: Sailing close reach like this is exhilarating a bit inconvenient for practical things like writing on the tablet or brushing your teeth. Yesterday I made two 500g loaves and a pot of humus. Useful now. By mid-afternoon the wind drops and the captain turns on the engine again still aiming for La Gomera. But the engine failed, no propellor drive…. If Captain Neptune was a curser he would have cursed !
The last three hours we spent sailing a pleasant two knots, passed a black monster with no lights which we silently slid past outside the town beach. It was like a black plant based lochness monster, long with a lumpy back. Was it a whale?
