Our position is 28:00.45N 16:39.61W

Saturday 13 November 2010

Friday morning saw us up in time to return the car and then over to Remedios for breakfast and a tour of their boat and its delights. The porridge was delicious and we were surprised to learn that, unlike most of Pat and Tom’s food, it hadn’t come from Minnesota with them but the ingredients had been purchased and assembled in Spain. We were very envious of the comforts and space of the more modern, larger yacht and extremely impressed by the thought and care that had gone into equipping her for the voyage. We enjoyed wide ranging discussions over the meal from Monty Python through philosophy to the histories of our respective countries.

After breakfast it was time to drag ourselves away so we could all make ready to go to sea. Remedios to Florida and Moorglade back to Tenerife. First we all went up to the cafe for a last use of the wifi and for Pat and Tom to eat their last ice cream for at least a month. We also needed to finish the washing up from Wednesday night! Then suddenly it was time for Pat and Tom to gather in their steps and for us to throw them the warps providing their last tie to Europe, and with our good wishes ringing in their ears they embarked on their long passage home.

We followed them through the harbour entrance about 90 minutes later but we headed East, back to Las Galletas. We had been trying to heat up some water in the shower bags, to see how well they worked and tested the outcome shortly after setting out by showering on the foredeck. The water was quite warm but the wind chill on wet flesh was less appreciated. Also it was difficult to position the bag ideally and the flow was minimal to say the least. However one bag proved adequate for 2 showers – a pity as the remaining full bag was lost overboard from the deck when the wind got up in the night! (The skipper has forbidden me to put the pictures we took on the blog!)

 Apart from the showering it was an uneventful passage – a mixture of motoring in light winds and sailing hard to windward in the acceleration zones. We arrived just before first light and, apart from some confusion caused by the reflections from the street lights, were able to tie up and go to bed, but not before the skipper scared himself spotting some deterioration in the standing rigging.

This morning saw a hotbed of activity with arrangements to have the rigging inspected and attended to next week, which also required amendments to the lift out dates to be sorted by phone in spite of a language incompatibility. Let’s hope Juan Ramon gets the message, at least the riggers are English.

The rest of the morning was spent reviewing stowage possibilities for all the supplies and equipment that will be needed for the crossing – there is concern that the boat isn’t big enough – and then we took a walk up to the Ferreteria. This was shut when we got there just after 4 pm even though it claimed to open from 4 – 6. We were still debating whether to wait or go back when another frustrated customer arrived and started expressing dismay about this state of affairs, shortly followed by the shopkeeper panting up the street rattling his keys. After all that our only purchases were a bucket (to replace the one that fell off its handle while Ted was flushing out the holding tank) and 2 rubber doorstops, needed to effect a repair to the steps damaged by the crew’s over enthusiastic springing  when climbing the wall at Puerto de la Estaca. On the way back I stopped to buy some paper sleeves for the new DVDs and was reprimanded in a friendly way by a helpful Spaniard for my lack of Spanish. He reckoned none of the English who live here can speak Spanish. He was mollified when I said I didn’t live here and if I did I would definitely learn! At least I’m not likely to be put to the test.

There still seems to be a lot of stuff to stow before the boat has to accommodate 4 crew, oh for a big, unoccupied foc’sle like Remedios!  This is going to be my last blog for a while so those of you who think I write too much will be relieved to know that the blogs are likely to be a lot shorter  for the next few weeks.

KLW

Kay let go the warp that last held them to Europe                   Pat and Tom wave goodbye. We wish them a safe passage.