Day 10, Marina Lanzarote

Stravaig'n the Blue
Tue 20 Oct 2020 12:53
Position: 28.57.780 N 013.32.363 W  (Marina Lanzarote, Arrecife)
Position timestamp: Sunday 18th October 2020 16:05 BST (UTC+1)

Passage stats
  • distance travelled: 1512 NM
  • time at sea: 235.2  hours (9 days 19.2 hours)
  • average speed: 6.43 knots
  • maximum speed: 12.8 knots (no idea when that was)
  • engine hours: 62
  • diesel used: 280 litres approx
  • fresh water consumption: 525 litres
  • watermaker production: 200 litres
  • satellite phone minutes used: 87 (cost US$154)
  • fish caught: none (the opportunities for fishing were limited)
We berthed at Marina Lanzarote at 16:05 on Sunday. This was just over 24 hours later than originally planned, the main reason being the 144 miles / 10% extra that we travelled. Some of this was due to skirting around bad weather at Cabo Finisterre last Sunday and the rest was the result of us zig zagging down wind until we were able to hoist the Blue Water Runner and sail directly before the wind on Wednesday.

Just before lunch on Sunday we were greeted by a pod of playful dolphins as we approached the barren Roque del Este. In the background, to the left, you can just make out the rim of the crater of one of Lanzarote’s many volcanoes. The smaller crater to the right is on the island of La Graciosa which we’ll visit once we have the required anchoring permit.



Two massive wind turbines and the desalination plant just north of the harbour are excellent landmarks.



Readying the lines as we approach the marina. Note shorts and t-shirt.



The masked mariñero ticks us off on his arrival list after helping with our lines as we came in.



This screen shot from marinetraffic.com (thanks Tim) shows our final approach and proximity to a couple of restaurants (Lilium and Tasca La Raspa), two supermarkets (Mercadona and EuroSpar) and IKEA. How does marinetraffic know that’s what we needed to know?



After two nights not having to do watches, we are both feeling much refreshed.  As far as we can gather the Covid-19 situation here is reasonably contained. The Canaries in general, and Lanzarote in particular, are in much better shape than mainland Spain. The mariñero thought there were about 50 active cases on the island, population 150,000. The wearing of masks is mandatory outside the home (in our case boat) apart from in restaurants and bars. Compliance appears to be very high. The staff in the marina office wear masks all day.

The marina is fairly full but less so than this time last year. Many of the boats are an orange colour from the Saharan sand that blows in from time to time so have probably been here for most of the year. The Swedish couple on the boat next to us were unable to leave Lanzarote on their boat when Spain went into lockdown in March so flew back to Sweden and have only just returned. Their first task, cleaning off the sand from the top of the mast down, is now complete.

With no cruise ship traffic, the car rental and tourist office here at the harbour is closed. However, the bars and restaurants that overlook the marina are open and a new cafe that also has a small selection of essentials such as beer and wine has opened.

The number of entries for the ARC and ARC+ rallies which leave for the Caribbean from Las Palmas on Gran Canaria in November are down considerably this year. In recent years, there have been close to 300 entries across the two rallies but this year it looks as though the total is less than 100. Mitigating the risk of going to sea with an infection, there will be mandatory PCR tests in Las Palmas plus a 7 day isolation period before the start.  Encouragingly, the organisers have agreed with the Saint Lucia Chief Medical Officer that time at sea will count towards the 14 day quarantine requirement currently required by Saint Lucia, meaning that only yachts with crossing times of less than 14 days (which will be few) will have to spend any time in quarantine on arrival.

And a couple of final words on the weather. The strong southerlies that were originally forecast for Sunday have only just kicked in (Tuesday lunch time) but the wind will be back to the prevailing north by Thursday. And as you will see from Monday’s UK Met Office shipping forecast graphic (thanks again Tim), there are gale warnings in almost all of the sea areas along our route from the Channel Islands to Morocco. Good timing!





Thank you for tuning in.

All is well.

Allan