Leaving Madeira
Ile Jeudi
Bob and Lin Griffiths
Tue 28 Aug 2012 12:44
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30:50.40N 14:44.55W
Tuesday 28 August 2012 12.30pm
Distance Run 142 nautical miles
We left Quinta do Lorde Marina at 12.30pm on Monday
after settling the bill and saying our goodbyes to some boats we have
met. We are heading for Isla Graciosa which is a small island off the
northeast tip of Lanzarote, about 274 miles southeast of Madeira.
The wind was forecast to be 10 knots from the
north east which would be just about enough to sail (we need about 12
knots to sail get moving properly) but the sea should be relatively calm.
Unfortunately these winds didn't materialise so we continued under
engine.
There are three volcanic islands, the Ilhas
Desertas, which lie on our track about 15nm south of Madeira. They
are about 10 miles long and a mile wide and are a Madeiran National Park
and therefore protected. There is a warden who ensures that nobody
disturbs any of the nesting birds and prevents anyone landing ashore unless they
have a permit. We had no plans to visit but we obtained a permit from the
marina before we left as a precaution in case we had to stop for some
reason.
Approaching , the Ilhas Desertas. More barren
rock:-
 There is a vertical pillar of rock at the
north point which looks like a lighthouse but was just formed by erosion.
The lighthouse sits on top of the cliff to the right of centre of the
picture:-
 We sailed about 2 miles off the island and passed
the 'approved' anchorage - you can just about see two boats at anchor under the
cliff. Sorry about the picture quality which was taken on full
zoom:-
 We continued under engine throughout the night
doing just under 6 knots and started our 3 hours on, 3 hours off watch system
from 10pm. We had a good moon so the horizon was visible all around us for
most of the night. Lin saw two ships during the night, one being a 200
metre cargo ship which passed about 1.5 miles ahead of us. She was bound
for Port Elizabeth in South Africa and due to be there on 10 September.
None of this is very interesting but the information on the AIS does
provide a distraction on passages.
During the first couple of nights we don't usually
manage to sleep for much of the 3 hour 'off watch' periods so we are aften not
awake when we should be. Here is Lin resting her eyes when we were
both on duty this morning ( we both do this but I got the camera
first):-
 We managed to turn the engine off and set sail at
11am this morning and have sailed (and motored) 142 miles in the first 24
hours. We like to average over 5 knots, which would be 120 miles in 24
hours, so we were happy.
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