[p]pjr4728
[s]
pos: 28 27.987N 016 14.655w
sp: 0.0
h: 0m
w: 0kn W, CC 0, SS 0
d: 05/11/19 09:45 GMT+0000
The stop in Gibraltar did indeed turn out to be a rapid one, so we could
catch the 'perfect' weather window we'd being watching for, for the 750nm
passage here to Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands.
Paul spent the day on usual passage prep and maintenance stuff such
as refuelling, rebuilding the raw water pump etc, while Sue did at least
get to head out of the marina and explore a bit of the old town of La Linea
while off to the markets for provisions.We also got to speak to some lovely
fellow cruisers. Paul met a Scottish guy on the dock who just happened to
know someone he did from the RAF MRT! Showing what a small world indeed we
inhabit,we also got to spend a pleasant few hours with a couple (Phil and
Helen Burns), from Christchurch NZ(!) who keep a boat in the nearby
Queensway marina! Remarkably, they had spotted us on AIS (an electronic
system which identifies boats) coming in and had recognised our boats name
so had got in touch via the VHF! It turns out they knew Windchase very well
indeed, having cruised the Pacific Islands in company with her and her
previous owners Mark and Sue from Waikawa. Anyway, luckily for us they made
the effort to head down to our marina the following evening for a very
pleasant catch-up drink or two, as well as taking the obligatory photos to
show the previous owners, with whom they remain close friends!

The next morning we were a little it jaded, but time and tide wait for no
man and so it was out and west as dawn broke! Fortunately the winds were
only light westerly (from the direction we needed to head through the
Strait), never rising above 20kn. Our dawn departure also meant good timing
to cross the shifting currents (that run up to 3kn) and fairly busy
shipping lanes to get us to the Moroccan coast.
By that evening we had cleared the coast of Africa and headed out SW, into
the long Atlantic swells. After a fairly calm first 24 hours (with motor
on) the winds increased sufficiently such that we could sail the remainder
of what for us would be a 5 day, 6 night passage (at a steady 5kn average).
This was in generally very-pleasant and benign conditions, bar a couple of
nights with somewhat uncomfortable side waves and when the winds rose
briefly to 30kn (from its usually-perfect 10-20kn at 90-160d). We were
pretty conservative with the sail plan throughout, but deliberately slowed
down even more further towards the end, to ensure we'd make landfall after
dawn.
The passage was (apparently 'naturally'?!) not without our usual 'technical
challenges'!....The instruments conked out after a few hours, although by
taking the speed and depth out of the instrument network, at least we got
to restore our wind readings. As we have multiple backups that give us
speed, its absence was really no drama.
Unfortunately it was potentially a bit more dramatic when our AGM starter
battery (new in Greece) started getting significantly overcharged!...This
could potentially be a problem with wiring, our 'smart' charger not being
too smart (they can fail), or the voltage-sensing relay we have to meter
between Start and House batteries. Fortunately it wasn't a problem I needed
to identify the source of straight away at sea, as the alternator was still
giving correct charge to the (also new) House batteries when the Start
battery and charger were taken out, and so these could easily be used to
start the engine when required. Investigation and solution is just one more
job for our pre-Atlantic task list!
Thus, and after a bit-too-stressful summer in the Med, we are now, finally,
where we wanted to be timewise!! We even have a decent hiatus while we wait
for the end of the Atlantic hurricane season, towards the end of November.
This leaves us plenty of time to get ready for the next big leg, hopefully
have some exploration around the Islands, as well as affording Paul the
luxury of visiting family and friends in the UK (while Sue stays to look
after Mili here!). TTFN.

[END]