Holding out for a Hierro!!
Chiscos - Atlantic Cruise
John Simpson
Sat 8 Oct 2011 19:23
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27:47.094n 017:54.072w
We spent two days in La Palma and walked on the
volcanoes during the second day.
The scenery was dramatic.
   Yesterday we left La Palma early to sail the 55 miles to
El Hierro, the Western most Island in the Canaries chain. Apparently for
centuries the town of Punta Orchilla on the west coast of El Hierro
was viewed as the most western point of the known world. This was
reinforced in 1634 when it was discovered that it has zero magnetic variation.
Greenwich didn't become the prime meridian here until 1884.
We had a very, very lively sail. We left with
predicted winds of force 4-5, put the parasailor up and roared south.
However, the wind kept building and eventually we were forced to take the
parasailor down in 30+ knots of wind. It was a real handful, but we
managed. The sail performed amazing well in these very strong winds (the biggest
gust was 32 knots!)
We arrived in Puerto de la Estaca at about 6pm. The
island is small and very remote. It is not a yachting centre and we were the
only yacht here.
 The view from the boat - looking up the
hill.
 The view from the top of the hill. You can just see
Chiscos against the harbour wall, bottom left of the picture
 Today we walked the 10 km to the capital Valverde and
back. It was a great walk with spectacular views and stunning scenery.
 Approaching the capital
 Some enormous sculptures on the approach road to Valverde
 The skipper writing the blog on the foredeck as the sun went down.
 Tomorrow we leave early for La Gomera.
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