Bonfire Night

Scot Free III
Frank & Anne
Sun 6 Nov 2016 12:28
28:01.2N 15:49.9W

Filled up with diesel in Puerto Morgon. We sat outside the harbour for two hours in a flat calm and were the first boat on the fuel dock when it opened at 09:00.
I said there was a spectacular lightning show last night but it only got better as we approached Gran Canaria! Sheet lightning going off every few seconds, like paparazzi camera flashes at the Oscars. Forked lightning, thankfully a good distance away, hitting the sea. Our own, personal, bonfire night special and we survived without a strike.
At 2am (watch change) Anne woke me with the cheery announcement that a huge black cloud was approaching and promptly went to bed. A quick look at the radar showed the extent: .....gigantic and with very dense rainfall beneath! Her timing was impeccable, as soon as I got on deck, rain of biblical proportions started. The monsoon was deafening and I was soaked. Wash the sails, I thought. They were very grubby from the red African dust which had been in the air, on and off, for weeks. It's normally a two person job to hoist the main, but I didn't have the heart to wake Anne (of more likely in fear of having a winch handle surgically implanted) so I struggled to slowly hoist the main alone and as it reached the top of our 15m mast the rain stopped and apart from the sound of gentle snoring from the forward cabin everything was silent. Oh well, at least my life jacket got a good clean.