New crew and the Canary Islands

Nige trying to retrieve the rubber duck (not ours luckily)

Nige turned up from England on schedule and we spent a few days exploring the sandy channels around Faro , and the occasional coffee shop or little bar.
Then Russell flew in from Hong Kong and crew complete we sailed out to the entrance anchorage so Russell could catch a fish entree for us, and he did.
The weather gods smiled and we set off for the 700 miles to La Palma. All downwind, 15 to 27 knots, and up to 3 metres of swell. The boat performed very well with the autopilot doing the hard work. Daily runs of 124, 135, 152, 154 nautical miles saw us in La Palma in 5 days. Only 2 hours of motoring and the solar panels kept up even with some cloudy weather. Couldn't have asked for better. Well less swell perhaps!

Russell and Nige at Faro anchorage

Russell doing a bit of steering


And Nige relaxing

Sunrise on typical 20plus knots



Bad photo but one of the three Mahi Mahi we caught

Flying downwind
The camera does lie a little but fairly big swell


A snapshot of our navigation device and we did really surf a couple of times at 12 and 14 knots


Arrival at Santa Cruz La Palma , tall volcanic island

La Palma, part of Spain, is a tall volcanic island with about 80000 people. About 50km by 30km and a mixture of sub tropical and dry hard volcanic wasteland. And then in volcanic scree they grow bananas by the ton. A strange mixture?
The crew stretching their legs


We relaxed around the town, enjoyed a shower, had a beer and then started to explore. With good public transport it was easy to travel to great hiking spots.
The trade winds produced lovely clouds over the mountains


We visited two distinctly different areas. One was a relatively old eruption so revegetation had happened and except for the wind easy walking. The wind depending on the hill orientation would be 5 knots or 35 knots and the temperature would change from 15deg to 22deg in the space of 100 metres. A great 20km walk.
Looking into the caldero



A lava tube

Self timer photo up on the volcano rim


At the summit

The next day we went South to a volcanic region that erupted 50 years ago. Bare earth, rock, scree, and vineyards! The vines were 30 cm to 60 cm total height and very straggly but the sweet local wine, Malvasia, was a lovely way to finish our one restaurant dinner.

Amazingly low grape vines in volcanic scree




Flash visitor centre but not very good information!






Irrigationion channel on the side of the volcano
As we walked around the volcano irrigation channels reminiscent of levadas on Madeira were found. And then a long galvanized pipe snaking down to a banana plantation.

The skipper on a recent (50years ago) volcano

The very Southern tip of La Palma

Salt farming on the windy corner





Lichens on recent volcanic rock


So I have just cleared with Policia Nacional and it went surprisingly well. Le Bateau is now an Australian registered ship and it's Dutch heritage never came up in conversation. For those who understand Schengen treaty, well that did come up.
 "Do you realise you can only stay in Europe for three months"
"Well I sort of knew that"
"But you have been here five months"
"Yes"
"You are leaving tomorrow?"
"Yes sir"
"You WILL leave tomorrow."

So we are off to Barbados probably leaving 10.00 UTC on the 15th. Things being well we should be in about 20 days sail to Bridgetown Barbados.





Le Bateau with Pt Adelaide as home port. Miraculously now an Australian ship


Comments

  1. Kerry14 November 2019 at 20:01

    Is that the Spanish spelling of Pt Adelaide? Sounds as though the Schengen issue went a lot better at La Palma than it might have. Obviously it wasnt a problem for the Portuguese when you signed out of Faro. Wishing you fair sailing on the next leg.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pete and Jane14 November 2019 at 22:05

    Fair winds and plenty fish.
    Have a great sail.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Unknown14 November 2019 at 22:13

    Fair winds and following seas lads. Nige looks right at home.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Unknown14 November 2019 at 22:14

    Last comment was from Pete and Jen.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Unknown14 November 2019 at 23:06

    Very interesting and nice photos. Fair winds to Le Bateaux and crew.👍
    Brgds Iris and Leif
    S/Y Grace

    ReplyDelete
  6. Jill15 November 2019 at 01:03

    Have a great sail to Barbados.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Zaba15 November 2019 at 01:46

    It seems a lot of good fun for you guys. Do have a pleasant trans-Atlantic and beware of the triangle.

    Regards....Tom

    ReplyDelete
  8. TutleyMutley15 November 2019 at 04:15

    Your SORT OF leaving tomorrow then? Bon Voyage. I shall be watching from afar, from the safety of the living room. (It's raining outside). X

    ReplyDelete

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