October 16th 2021
After a comfortable night in the anchorage outside Rubicon we ended up
going into the marina for a week in which time we did all our laundry, filled
our water tanks, topped up our diesel, re-provisioned our bilges of tins and
jars and also topped up our fresh foods. We trekked the length and breadth of
Playa Blanca with backpacks and our trolley; and found a great hardware store a
45 min walk from the marina where we managed to find a lot of things from our
massive list of parts and spares that we are still stockpiling for our onward
travels. We soaked and scrubbed our staysail, inflated and inspected our kayak
and Jamie finished the final touches to his fibreglass Dorade boxes that he has
manufactured and are now fitted with cowl vents and ready for installation on
deck. Overall it was a brilliant and productive week and each afternoon we made
sure we finished our preparations in time to enjoy an hour by the fabulous
marina swimming pool that was included in our berthing fees!
After a
cracking week in the Marina; and once we had taken a stroll around the Saturday
morning market, we set sail for Los Lobos off the top of Fuertevantura. When we
left the marina there was absolutely no wind but we decided to head out and
anchor if we couldn't get enough wind to take us to Fuerteventura. As it was
there was just enough wind and we ended up having a really comfortable, sedate
sail; regularly making over 3kts in less than 10kts of wind.
We dropped
anchor in the most crystal clear turquoise waters off the volcanic little
island. It's some of the most beautiful water we have ever swam in and was
perfect for our first actual swim off Hamble Warrior since we set sail again.
Our first
night turned out to be quite rolly as the wind blew around the island into the
anchorage and created quite a bit of swell. Fortunately as our forepeak is
still loaded up with spares and gear for our big trip we are still sleeping in
the sea-berths; our little bunks in the aft-cabin which are designed to keep
you comfortable in a seaway so even a decent swell couldn't roll us out of bed!
We slept well and the second day there was hardly any swell at all.
We
launched our dinghy and rowed ashore to explore the little island of Lobos
which we learnt was named after the monk seals which once inhabited it. We swam
off the lovely sandy beach and walked around the tiny hamlet before heading
back to Warrior for an energetic hour or so in the water with scrapers in hand
scratching barnacles off her bum! The beauty of clear water is it gave us a
chance to have a good look at her below the waterline and assess what we will
need to do when she is lifted out in a few weeks time.. and get a head start on
the barnacles which are buggers to get off in the water but even worse once they
have dried out!
