Although the wind speeds fluctuated between 12 and 18 Kts, we kept the engine off, deciding that a SOG (Speed Over Ground) varying from 5.2 Kts to 6.5 Kts was enough to get us to Isla Graciosa just after lunchtime, both delighted that we didn’t have another night at sea. It had been 18 months since doing multi-night sails from Djibouti to Sudan, then Sudan to Egypt and onto Türkiye and we were both feeling the effects, so much so that Elaine decided to postpone her methotrexate day, rather than risk the nausea side effect that she knew would result in expunging her body of the medication regardless, something she really didn’t feel like dealing with.
Pan-Pan calls regarding migrant boats and their possible positions, broadcast over the VHF radio, continued as we got closer to the Canary Islands, most located in the vicinity of where we were heading. That required a sharp lookout for the remainder of our passage.
By 1100 we had roughly 15NM to go, but had lost all our wind, so the genoa was furled and we continued onwards.
“Land ahoy” occurred just before noon when we spotted Isla de Alegranza and what we thought to be Lanzarote Island; our initial destination of Isla Graciosa lay between these two islands, but being as flat as a pancake, we understood, we weren’t expecting to see it until we were very close in. Then Elaine spotted two peaks just after noon at about 6NM out.
Making our way down Estrecho del Río the winds picked up to 25 Kts and, by the time we wanted to anchor, they were howling at 30 Kts, ripping a section of our weatherguard at the helmstation. Given that the anchorage wasn’t protected at all in these conditions, we took the decision to scrap that plan and continue down the west coast of Isla Lanzarote to the south coast. Fortunately we managed to get a last minute reservation at the Rubicon Marina, but getting into the berth remained an unknown with the winds.
After sailing the remainder of the day in howling winds, it was close to sunset by the time we rounded the lighthouse situated on the southwestern tip of Isla Lanzarote, after which the winds died completely, allowing us to enter the marina without too much ado.
By 1915 we’d tied to the visitor’s dock, cleared in at the marina office and moved to our berth for the next four days, with the hope of getting this extended to six days.
Before a dinner of bangers and mash, a celebratory “we-got-here” drink was enjoyed on the foredeck as the sun dipped below the horizon. It wasn’t long after that we both crawled into our beds, thankful that we’d made it safe and sound to the Canary Islands, leaving us with just one more passage to complete our circumnavigation.
