Day 21: Long Leg to Lanzarote
Purple Mist
Skipper: Kate Cope
Thu 6 Oct 2022 21:17
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36:13.400N 009:07.999W
Day 21: Long Leg to Lanzarote
Today we finally set off for the long leg to
Lanzarote. The winds and waves are favourable and we should be there Monday /
Tuesday. Its less than a Fastnet, the standard unit of Offshore
miles.
Yesterday a random French youngster asked us where
we were going and whether he could hop aboard to the Canaries. Although its
would be good to help out a youngster, I quickly concluded the boat was too
small and not set up for 3 people.
The marina exit was a bit tricky as a Catamaran the
size of a small house was blocking the channel and the lifting bridge. We had to
hover about which is always difficult in a vehicle with no brakes. Anyway when
he had finished faffing about mooring to the reception pontoon we slid past with
a large bunch of tourist boats and headed out of the channel.
By 17:00 were were in the very bust shipping lanes
off the corner of Portugal with commerical vessels off to all sorts of exotic
locations. Best of all we were in deep water, past the continental shelf, past
the boats fishing for tuna and past the threat of Orcas. Big cheers all round as
Purple Mist and her pink rudders have evaded being chomped by Orcas. We stowed
away all on deck Orca defenses and breathed a huge sigh of relief. The
cockpit is now clean and tidy... well tidy at least as the quick spray down this
morning didn’t really clear away 3 weeks of grime.
The wind is light and the swell is horrible from 2
different directions. We have been motoring all day but thankfully just turned
off the engine as we havent enough diesel to motor all the way. Finally the roar
of diesel is over and we can float down on warm trade winds.
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