Ashore in Grenada

Hi everyone,

This was one of our Schengen Shuffle trips - or tacked on to the end of one.

Window view in Granada

We trained from Paris to Grenada via Barcelona and Madrid.

We spent several days in Granada.  The Moorish architecture is amazing throughout the inner city.  And of course the city is dominated by the Alhambra palace and fortress.

Before visiting the Alhambra we explored the city.  There are many Moorish buildings with ornate arches etc.  Equally there are amazing Christian era buildings and modern street art.  And wonderful gardens.

We spent a day in the Alhambra and Generalife.  The palace and fortress were started in 1238.  It's a good walk up from the town.  Once in there's such a lot to see.  Unfortunately we didn't have tickets for the palace itself.

Amazing gardens

Medieval Ruins

Impressive Fortifications

Great Views

Palacio de Carlos V

Gardens

Back down in town we visited several museums with Roman, Moorish and Spanish content.

After visiting Seville we really wanted to see Granada and the Alhambra.  It was worth the wait!

Gran Canaria

Hi everyone,

We've been in Gran Canaria for a week now.  We spent day one trying to get into the marina at Las Palmas.  The weather there was windy, overcast and dreary.  So we sailed south to Puerto de Mogan, and what a difference that 50nm made!  Mogan is calm, sunny and fun.

On 'safari' in Gran Canaria

On Monday we did a 4WD day tour of inland southern Gran Canaria.  We were in 1 of 5 LandRover Defenders which toured in convoy.  The landscapes were spectacular so I'll let the photos do the talking...

Heading for the hills

Grand Canyon-like geography

Hardy plants only

Another canyon view

Canaries Pines on the upper slopes

View of Tenerife's Teide volcano in the distance

Gran Canaria's peaks in the distance

Rocky outcrops

Spectacular hills and canyons

Aloe Vera farm in a beautiful valley

Mountains surrounding the farm

View from a peak used for amateur astronomy

Another view from the same peak

Where's Polaris?

We really enjoyed our week in Mogan.  It has a very relaxed vibe, many nice cafes and restaurants and no loud party music.

The current weather window for the Caribbean is starting to close so we're off tomorrow.  Today we cleared out from the Canaries, Schengen and the EU.  To do so we had to take the #91 bus from Mogan to Las Palmas and visit the main Port Authority office (search for "Autoridad Portuaria de Las Palmas" for the exact location).  At this one office we had our passports stamped and received a stamped Departure Clearance.  We're good to go!

Autoridad Portuaria de Las Palmas entrance

Autoridad Portuaria de Las Palmas clearance office

Trust all's well where you are!

Las Palmas to Mogan

Hi everyone,

Yesterday we blasted south from Las Palmas to Mogan.  The two are at opposite ends of Gran Canaria.  Blasted because we rode the 'acceleration zone' around much of the island.  The forecasts said 18G27 at most, while we experienced up to 28G37.  When we rounded the southern tip of the island the wind died completely and we motored the last leg to Mogan.

Awesome sky (with Spanish patrol vessel on horizon)

The tracks and graphs below tell the story.  The heaviest seas were east of the island before we gybed.  The strongest winds were south of the island after we gybed to head west.

Track

Arrival Track

Graphs

Here are the vital stats for the passage…

    • Distances/Speeds

        • Route Distance = 46nm

        • Logged Distance = 53nm

        • GPS Distance = 52nm

        • Duration = 9h30m

        • Average boat speed = 5.6 kt  (7.5 kt until the wind died)

        • Average speed over ground = 5.5 kt  (7.4 kt ditto)

        • Minimum boat speed = 3 kt

        • Maximum boat speed = 11 kt (surf's up)

    • Weather

        • Minimum wind speed = 2 kt

        • Average wind speed = 20 kt

        • Maximum wind speed = gusts over 38 kt (since even the gusts graph is averaged)

        • Apparent wind angle range = 120 to 150

        • Seas up to 3m

        • Swell up to 1.5m

        • Sunny intervals with scattered to broken cumulus cloud

    • Engine

        • Total = 2 hours (motoring 20% of passage)

Leaving Las Palmas at sunrise

We broad reached down the east coast in 20G30 knots of true wind under double-reefed main (= trisail size) and triple furled yankee.  The seas gradually built and we had some good surfs under full control by the WindPilot.  There was a cross sea which occasionally side-swiped us, sending cascades of white water across the boat.  A bit like the trades in the Southern Indian Ocean - for hours not days.

Big seas on the east coast of Gran Canaria

After gybing to broad reach towards the southern cape of Gran Canaria we really got into the acceleration zone.  At about 30 knots steady wind we furled the yankee and unfurled the storm jib / staysail.  It's a similar area to the triple-furled yankee but moves the power down, reducing healing.

Double-reefed main with storm jib / staysail

When the gusts reached the high 30s the WindPilot was starting to lose control.  We were rounded up several times by gusts and seas but but the WindPilot recovered every time.  Nevertheless it indicates it's time to reduce power and move it forward, so we handed the main, leaving just the staysail.  That was much more comfortable and we were still doing 7 knots.  When the true wind exceeds 40 knots we usually broad reach under bare poles at 4-5 knots.  Beyond that it's drogue time.

Storm Jib / Staysail only

Throughout the passage we were taking turns off-watch below.  It's amazing how steady the boat feels below in conditions like this.  Surfing does tend to get one's attention though.

Once past Point Maspaiomas the wind rapidly decreased as we reached the lee of the island.  The NE wind curved around the SE coast for quite a way.  And once past the massive cement works at Point Taozo the wind died completely.  There's a sharp dip in our speeds at that point on the graphs.  We motored for the remaining two hours in  light airs.

Approaching Puerto de Mogan

We called the marina on approach on VHF ch 12.  They asked us to hold outside while the marinaros chose a berth for us.  Communication on the VHF was difficult due to language problems.  Eventually we deciphered that our berth was on the third jetty and proceeded into the marina.  We didn't know which side was ours and waited for 5 minutes while the marinaro had a nice chat with another berth holder.  Eventually he realised we were waiting and we got our instructions.

The marina offers only Med-style slime-line moorings which puts some folk off.  We don't mind them after using them in the Med.  There was very little wind in the marina so backing in to moor stern-to the jetty was fine.

With the boat secured and the light fading we had a quick look around the marina and the adjacent town.  It is plain to see why it is known as 'little Venice' with its waterway through the town.  The lanes are covered with climbing plants in colourful flower including bouganvilla.  And the Christmas lights are out.  Photos in due course!

The passage was a great shakedown for us and Zen Again.  We handled the challenging conditions pretty well and Zen Again was superb as ever.

Trust all's well where you are!