More Canaries

Bondi Tram
Peter Colquhoun and Sandra Colquhoun
Mon 6 Dec 2010 17:10
We left Lanzarote to make our way to Las Palmas on Gran Canaria, then on to Santa Cruz on the
island of Tenerife
 
An anchorage at a small island on the way south, with the mountains of Lanzarote in the
background.
 
 
Sailing south along the east coast of the island of Fuentaventura.  Lots of white cube villages and
many resort hotels.
 
 
The spinnaker up in a very light breeze, photo courtesy of Phil and Karell on Tehani-Li.
 
 
In Las Palmas, we anchored outside the marina and had a ringside seat to watch 239 boats in the
ARC 2010 (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers) leave for the start.
 
 
 
The boat towing the marks for the start.
 
 
The red boat below is Steinlager 2, skippered to first place in the 1989-90 Whitbread Round the World race
by Peter Blake.
 
 
A classic yawl sailing out.
 
 
Moonshadow was also in the 1986 ARC and completed that in 14 days.  The weather has not been so
kind this year, and Moonshadow will take at least 21 day.  Moonshadow sailed to the Mediterranean
from Phuket a couple of months after us.
 
 
The racing division start, courtesy of the Spanish Navy.
 
 
The Invitation division start....
 
 
....with Steinlager in second place, 2820 miles to go.
 
 
Then everyone else started, spinnakers galore.
 
 
Las Palmas has a very busy harbour.
 
 
On our way to Tenerife, a 60 mile passage, with the spectacular peak of El Teija, at 3,400 metres Spain's
tallest mountain and the third tallest volcano in the world.  When we left Tenerife 5 days later, there
was snow down to 2,000 metres.
 
 
On the way to Tenerife.
 
 
Approaching Santa Cruz.  The large white 'tooth' is in fact the Cultural Centre.
 
 
Downtown Santa Cruz.
 
 
Spanish Civil War memorial.
 
 
 
 
The markets.
 
 
 
Becky preparing a Thanksgiving Turkey dinner on Stardust.
 
 
A wonderful meal of traditional Thanksgiving turkey with all the trimmings, and pumpkin pie to follow.
 
 
Pre-dinner drinks.  From right anti clockwise, David Turnbull of Samsara (Melbourne), Bob McAlister
of Stardust (Oregon), Sandra of Bondi Tram, Cheryl Turnbull of Samsara and our hostess and chef,
Becky of Stardust.  David and Cheryl's son won a sailing gold medal at the Sydney Olympics in the
470 class.
 
 
We picked up our crew member Toni from the airport on the south of Tenerife and drove back to Santa
Cruz via the centre of the island and the volcano.  Here at 1,500 metres there are dense pine forests.
 
 
Now we are up to 1,800/2,000 metres and there is very little growing on the lava fields except a few
hardy bushes....and it was COLD.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Thats Toni on the left.  We met Toni in Abu Tig, Egypt.  Every year he spends the summer sailing
the Med on his yacht Zampa, and goes home to Antwerp for the winter.
 
 
The historic town of La Laguna, now an outlying suburb of Tenerife.
This Sunday the open air theatre was out in force.
 
 
La Laguna is World Heritage listed, with many buildings dating back to the 1500s.