Lanzarote

Serenity of Swanwick
Phil and Sarah Tadd
Mon 26 Oct 2015 16:54
We had a reasonable crossing from Madeira, with calms or mostly favourable winds, so we sailed well for a good part of the way but also had to motor.

As we left Madeira, on Friday morning, and passed the Ihlas Desertas we watched the cloud build over the islands from a few wispy bits that seemed to just be summer coastal cloud to towering thunderclouds - magnificent from a distance!  As it got dark there were flashes of lightening from both north and south, but we weren’t affected by any of it.

Approaching Lanzarote on Sunday afternoon there were black clouds over the island, but once again we stayed dry, and motored down the eastern side in hot sunshine, followed by a bright moonlit night.  It was getting late, and we still had 4 hours to go to the marina we were booked in at when we found ourselves off Arrecife, so we called the marina on the radio and asked if they had space.  They had previously refused a booking from us, but said we could come in, so we are here for a couple of nights.  It seems that the black clouds we were watching brought the island some of the worst rain they have had for some time and there are signs of flooding everywhere still, with fishermen bailing out boats in the inner harbour.

Its a bit of a change from the quiet of Madeira, with harbourside shops and bars.   The marina is also full with solo race boats taking part in the Mini Transat race, from North Britany, to Guadeloupe, via Lanzarote.  There are also a lot of boats that are taking part in the various transatlantic rallies and races that start from the Canaries in November.

We have seen friends from previous harbours: there are a lot of boats now that we have seen on several occasions, and a few who were stuck in Madeira with us due to the weather and who took the same chance to leave.

Tomorrow we move on to the marina we have a booking with, further south on Lanzarote, where we will be waiting for the delivery of some radio equipment from England.

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