The last of Tenerife
Luna Quest
W. Eric Faber
Wed 15 Jan 2014 17:17
It is 4.30pm and I am about to pass Tenerife under full sail with the main sail set to starboard and the genoa poled out to port. Gran Canaria was lost to view about an hour ago, not helped by the increasing cloud cover that has veiled much of the island for the better part of the day. Tenerife has been under a mass of low grey, drizzly clouds, but surprisingly, the Atlantic in between the two islands has benefited from a reasonably clear sky.
At 8am this morning daylight arrived with a bang and at 8.30am I cast off from the pontoon in the deserted port of Darsena Pesquera, save for one or two fishermen preparing their boats for a day's work. I was pleased to get under way, for hanging around in quiet harbours with few people to talk to in one's own language can get a little tedious. Within 20 minutes I was outside the harbour entrance, met by an awkward sea caused by a confluence of currents, seawalls, the wash from ferries and ships at anchor, but it did not last long. Under engine I secured a good offing and found 15 knots of wind from the Northeast clear of the headland, just about right for a course to steer south along the coast of Tenerife. I wanted to clear the island by nightfall, so that I might enjoy the relative safety of wind and sea alone. I have activated the AIS to alert me of any shipping and hope that not too many fishing vessels without AIS will be in my path tonight.