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| Happy Days! |
Delayed by a week with outstanding jobs to be completed we were finally ready to go - off I went to the supermarket to buy supplies leaving Andrew to deal with last minute jobs - you can imagine his horror when suddenly all the bilge pumps switched on and smoke poured out of the floor boards!! Fearful of a fire it turned out to be our hot water tank which had chosen this moment to explode - not the best of timings! Still who needs a hot shower - we never used to have such luxuries in the past and we were sure worse things were likely to happen in the next few years - so at four o'clock we slipped our berth and motored out of the Solent in calm seas, tired but excited and to be honest a little shell shocked - it all seemed a little surreal.
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| Farewell Blightey |
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| Happy Skipper |
catching some sleep in the day when the need arose. Having downloaded some films and tv programmes on our laptops, for the first time ,watching them at night whilst on watch was a revelation - they certainly help to pass the time and we just loved being at sea just the two of us on the start of our big adventure.
We had lots of Dolphins accompanying us - one pod stayed with us for an entire night and we had a whale swim under the boat which was literally breathtaking! Luckily we didn't see him coming Andrew just noticed this whirlpool of water on the starboard bow and he popped up to port about three boat lengths away blowing a huge plume of water - we think he was a Sperm whale about 60ft long - an amazing sight and one we probably don't need to see again at such close quarters!
We made land at Ria Arosa happy to tie our vessel to the shore - headed straight for the showers with a quick detour to the bar for fags, wine/beer and food!! Then a quick nap before dinner - except we didn't wake up until the next morning - clearly more exhausted than we realised!
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| Club Reale Nautica |
Woken by the stern banging into the dock and a howling wind we had an interesting couple of hours securing the boat, the skipper very worried that she would break loose from the finger pontoon and crush the small boat moored next to us - it somewhat supprised us when this couple emerged on deck a few hours later having slept through it all - if I had known they were there I would have dragged them out!
We stayed another night and then took advantage of a break in the
weather to pop round to the lovely town of Bayonna tying up at the Club Reale Nautica de Yeats -an amazing club house built below the old castle where the staff were all very welcoming.
The next morning tropical storm Henry hit, we recorded 45knots at times and were very happy to be safely in harbour - I ventured out to visit the laundrette and had to hold on to the railings to get back to the boat the wind was so strong! We stayed for three nights in all - having wandered out to the sea front the day after the storm and seen an enormous Ro-Ro boat with her bow slamming against the waves we decided lunch was a much better option and Andrew took me to the lovely Parador Hotel which is a very special place.
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| Lisbon Bridge |
We then set sail to Lisbon overnight hoping to catch our lovely mates Geoff & Belinda who have recently moved there but ended up arriving as they flew back to England for a few days - we couldn't quite believe how unlucky we were. We spent a happy day sightseeing - thrilled to have finally reached the sun. It is a fantastic city with such a lovely vibe.
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| Cape St Vincent |
Then two nights at anchor on our way down the Portuguese coast - the last at Cape St Vincent before we said goodbye to mainland Europe and headed out into the Atlantic next stop the Canaries. Once through the shipping lanes there is nothing out there and the sight of a ship is a rarity - absolute heaven nothing for me to panic about!! Lots more dolphins - we even saw a bait ball where the birds and dolphins work together to find food - the birds spot the fish and the dolphins swim around the shoal rounding them up with their mouths wide open to feed - any fish that manages to escape upwards is taken out by the birds - quite a feeding frenzy! And four more whales were spotted between us but in the distance - you could just see them blow.
It took us four days and nights to get to the Canaries - we had lovely weather and at times had to motor due to lack of wind but we were happy to be enjoying the Sunshine and the freedom - cold showers by now an absolute pleasure! Having now spent many hours at sea and had plenty of time to put the world to rights I marvelled at the experience of just being - nothing to worry about - nothing to be done but bob along. At times you could smell Africa wafting across the ocean I have never been there but I know what it smells like now!
We heard a radio call one evening from a boat 120 miles south talking to the Coast guard - they had come across a boat full of refugees and wanted advice as to what to do - we never heard the outcome but it got us both thinking - we would also have to go to their aid if we found such a situation but the authorities didn't seem to be very helpful as to the correct course of action. |
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| Bliss |
We spent two nights in the Puerto Calero and then three at anchor south of the island - unheard of I believe to have such settled weather with very little wind and flat seas. Another night in Fuertaventura where we had a very romantic stroll on the little Isla De Lobos which we had all to ourselves after the day trippers had all left. Then a days sail to Gran Canaria and two nights at anchor in Las Palmas which seemed like a very large & busy city. And we bought a fishing rod - with high hopes of our first fish we set sail for the bottom of the island and our final destination on this trip - I psyched myself up for the first kill ready with the gaff to spear this enormous fish I was sure we would catch - maybe next time....
Sadly time to go home - we left Hullabloo in Pasito Blanco all clean and shinney having spent two days scrubbing her decks - I think the two men on the boat next to ours thought we were nutty - we probably are as no doubt she will need another clean on our return! Back to England for a month - my lovely mother in laws 70th birthday to celebrate, my poor mum to visit in hospital & my two lovely girls to spend some time with.
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