15-05-2023 Monday
Our crew has a slight flight delay, so we go to lunch at a Chinese-Japanese restaurant in the marina and eat set lunches for less than 10€. Then we go shopping to HiperDino. We return to the yacht with the shopping and unpack.
After many adventures, the rest of the crew arrives. Due to fog, they landed at another airport and missed their connecting flight.
16-05-2023 Tuesday
In the morning I give the cards to the gates and toilets in the marina (they have a deposit of 10€ each), we fill up with water and leave. We have 25Nm to sail, but against the wind. This comes out to 50Mm. We sail on a reefed mainsail and foresail. It blows about 18-19kn, unfortunately the wind knows where we want to go. We live on bananas and sandwiches. On the way, the seal wipes and breaks the sheet. We put the entire sheet on the working side and sail with one sheet. Fortunately, we manage with one tack.
We enter the isthmus between the islands, the water turns blue. We enter the Caleta del Sebo marina on La Graciosa at 19:40 and moor in the Y-booms. The marina is almost empty. I go to find out where things are in the marina and I run into a security man who only speaks Spanish, he checks the list and tells me to move, claiming that there is not enough space for us where we are standing. We move to the place reserved for us. The girls come to life and make delicious spaghetti.
17-05-2023 Wednesday
Today we plan a trip to the island of La Gracioza. In the morning, washing the deck and a trip to the marina office (fortunately, they said everything was OK and they didn’t want anything more from me). We leave around 11.
We plan to climb the highest peak on the island, but it turns out that it is in the reserve and you can’t climb there (there is no path anyway). Instead, we climb to the top of 174m (the only one on the island that can be climbed) and from there we admire the view of the beautiful sandy beach and blue water. We go around the entire island along the marked trail, in total we walk about 20 km, along the way we admire the view of the volcanoes, beautiful sandy beaches and various rock formations on the shore of the ocean. On our way back, we do some additional shopping. After a little rest, Krzysiek and the girls go to the nearby beach for a swim. After returning, we eat dinner. We decide to leave the next day.
18-05-2023 Thursday
We get up at dawn at 9, breakfast, coffee and at 11:30 we set sail. It blows about 16 kn, unfortunately from the direction we want to sail. We set the jib and we sail almost 5 kn on the jib alone. The girls go to sleep – some in the cockpit, some in the cabin. There are quite big waves, but Franek (our autopilot) is doing very well. We add a piece of the mainsail and sail a little harder. We admire the places on La Graciosa, where we were yesterday, we swim to Monatna Clara – a rock that looks like a whale from our side, is very colorful and you can see how different layers are arranged during a volcanic eruption. We can’t anchor here – it’s a reserve. We have permission to anchor at Alegranza and sail there. On the way, Tomek makes dinner – pork chops with potatoes and tomatoes – delicious. There are three of us willing to eat. The rest will eat when we anchor.
A few more tacks and we reach the designated anchorage. We are hidden behind the island, so the wave is small but it blows about 17 kn. We throw the anchor at 19m and release 88m of chain. Tom makes dinner for the other three. We set anchor watches and go to sleep.
19-05-2023 Friday
In the morning, after a night of watching (1.5 hours for each), the company gets up around 10 am. From the morning there is traffic on the island – it seems deserted, and in the morning some fisherman arrives, puts someone ashore and sails away. This man collects something in a white container and takes it back to the boat that comes for him. The next guests are officials from the National Park, they come, watch the island and then leave. We eat breakfast and start assembling the boat. It takes us 1.5 hours – first untying, then assembly of benches, assembly of the engine, fenders and we can sail. I’m sailing with Krzysiek and 2 girls. We land on the beach, unfortunately we get out of the boat too late and the surf wave together with the sand from the bottom pours inside. We pull the boat a little higher, but the next waves pour in even more water with a pen. Finally, we remove the engine, pour some water through the transom and the boat can be moved. Pour the rest of the water above. Fortunately, there is a low tide, so the water recedes. We don’t have any scoop (no one foresaw that small waves could do so much damage). We feel a bit like shipwrecked on a deserted island, quite funny. They’re all wet. It turns out that from this beach there is no sensible exit to the rest of the island – nothing from visiting the volcano crater. I go up the scree a bit, but the sandstone is loose and gives no support for my arms or legs. I give up (it’s a bit dangerous), take some pictures and go downstairs. The girls sunbathe and then enter the water for a swim. The beach has dark volcanic sand in color brown, so heated in the sun it burns your feet.
We make a departure plan. This time we do without taking water, although the string from the battery pin blocks the engine and we swim in a circle, but fortunately we fix it quickly. We reach Pluskata – Tomek decides not to go to the shore (he watched us through binoculars). We rinse ourselves and things from salt and sand, set the washing machine to rinse. In between, the girls make dinner – pasta with chorizo – again very tasty – this time it stays for tomorrow – and that’s good, because we’re sailing tomorrow. We pull the boat out into the waves and Tom rinses it of sand. It takes another 1.5 hours to assemble the boat and hang it in place. It was worth coming here, despite the adventures on landing and the lack of available roads on the island.
20-05-2023 Saturday
Before 10 am we disembark and sail towards Arrecife. The wind is perfect 10-15 kn, backstay – we sail about 5 kn on the genoa alone. The wave is small, the sun is shining. Dinner is left over from yesterday so just reheat it. Even the girls eat dinner at sea. After sailing 34Nm and almost 8 hours of sailing, we enter Marina Lanzarote in Arrecife. It’s already out of office hours, so we park longside at the K pier. We are to report to the office in the morning for the position number and change. We connect the electricity, flush the deck and do crossword puzzles. Zosia is booking a car for 4 people for 2 days.
21-05-2023 Sunday
In the morning I go to the marina office, I find out that we have to move to the F28 slot. I get 2 cards per pier (€10 deposit each). One more coffee and we move the yacht to a new place. We connect the electricity and Krzysiek and his daughter go to the airport to get the car. Then the four of them go on a road trip in the car.
22-05-2023 Monday
In the morning, another trip around the island for the crew – the Timanfaya reserve, the cactus garden and the house of Cesar Manrique. Everyone likes it. In the evening, signatures on a joint photo and sharing of opinions from the cruise. Just cleaning the yacht and we go to sleep. Tomorrow the crew returns to Poland.
