Las Palmas, Canary Islands Landfall

 

Looking at the anchorage at Las Palmas, Gran Canary Island

It was a holiday in Las Palmas, Spain, National Spain Day (Columbus Day) and the beach was packed

Crazy beach in Las Palmas on a holiday

Tied to the commercial dock at Porto Santo, Madeira waiting for fuel.  Notice all the paintings on the wall from passing sailboats.

The anchorage at Porto Santo, Madeira with the barren volcanic peaks behind.

Sailor girl at sea once again

S/Y Savannah Sky – October 14, 2023 – Log #12

Savannah Sky Position: 28 degrees 07’ N, 015 degrees 25’ W

Las Palmas, Gran Canary Island

 

Las Palmas, Canary Islands Landfall

 

Picking a good time to leave England was frustrating, this late in the sailing season.

 

Well, there really is never a good time to sail south from England, as we discovered.

 

One storm after another flies across the Atlantic Ocean from North America, pummeling England with unmatched viciousness. 

 

Storms rake the south coast of England, the English Channel and the notoriously brutal Bay of Biscay as summer leaves the northern hemisphere at the end of September.

 

Our boat projects kept us in England longer than we expected, but we had to get things done.

 

Then our route had to be changed because of daily Orca attacks along the coasts of Spain and Portugal, with attacks stretching as far south as Gibraltar.

 

Orcas have learned to attack the rudders of passing sailboats, ramming the boat, while disabling steering systems and sometimes actually sinking the boat.

 

It is pretty crazy what is happening with Orcas in relatively shallow coastal waters.

 

That might have been the reason none of our sailing friends wanted to join us sailing south?

 

So, we took the safer but longer route south, avoiding damage to Savannah Sky and ourselves by staying 200 miles offshore the entire time.

 

We waited and waited and waited some more in England before there was a small gap in storms, luring us away from our comfortable dock.

 

The sailing proved challenging with headwinds and rough seas to contend with.

 

Well, we called it sailing as we beat, bashed, thrashed and pounded our way forever south into stiff headwinds, contrary currents and nasty seas as we left the safety of Haslar Marina in Gosport, England and into the northern Atlantic Ocean.

 

Savannah Sky sailed well into the wind, giving us 150-170 nm days in the rough conditions.

 

Maria fought to cook meals on her pitching stove while avoiding being flung around the galley too much.

 

Dolphins constantly leapt at our bow as Savannah Sky literally flew amongst the nasty contrary seas.

 

We also learned how to NOT appreciate the moon once again.

 

When the moon rises on the wrong side of the current or winds, really bad things happen with seas.  The resulting maelstrom creates havoc with our lack of comfort as Savannah Sky challenges the moon’s power over water.  The moon always wins that battle.

 

Oh yes, just about this time our IridiumGO! tracking device decided to fail.  Luckily, we had a Garmin backup tracker so family and friends could still see we were making progress and hadn’t disappeared at sea.

 

Steve spent many an hour calculating fuel consumption and determined we had to make an unscheduled stop at the Madeira Islands for more diesel.  We wouldn’t have enough fuel to run our engine once the forecast winds were imminently set to decrease to zero and leave us drifting for the remainder of our journey.

 

Porto Santo, Madeira Islands was where diesel was waiting for fuel hungry Savannah Sky. 

 

When we arrived in the anchorage at Porto Santo, Madeira Islands, a friendly British sailboat informed us there was no diesel available at Porto Santo.  None.

 

Our spirts sunk.

 

Luckily, another sailor told us we could get fuel at the commercial dock, if we made proper arrangements.

 

Luckily the British sailor wasn’t the most astute person and was proved wrong as we made a reservation to take on much-needed diesel at 2 pm that day.

 

The marina/commercial office where we made the arrangements also explained we had to pay in cash only.  No credit card or foreign currency was accepted for fuel.  Only Euros!

 

Yeow. 

 

The friendly office permitted us to dock Savannah Sky at the commercial dock two hours before out scheduled fuel delivery.  The closest ATM machine was two miles away, they informed us.

 

Luckily Captain Steve could still use his shaky sea legs in a sprint down the road to the ATM.

 

After maxing out his withdrawal limit, the sprint back to the commercial dock in midday heat was simply long and hot.

 

Maria said I was drenched in sweat with my face the color of a ripe tomato as I staggered back to Savannah Sky in time for our fuel appointment.

 

Savannah Sky definitely needed diesel fuel as there was absolutely no wind for the final two days of our journey from Porto Santo to Las Palmas, Gran Canary Island.

 

We might still be floundering around in the Atlantic Ocean if it were not for our trusty diesel engine.

 

Instead of drifting forever, we made landfall at Las Palmas Marina, after 11 days at sea, and sailing over 1,650 nautical miles.

 

Now it’s time to decompress and lick our wounds while preparing Savannah Sky to sail across the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean, in cruiser friendly Las Palmas Marina.