28:02.75N 14:20.98W

After a later-than-ideal start, waiting for the office to open to reclaim our key deposits, we set off down the east side of Fuerteventura to find an anchorage about two-thirds of the way down to the south-western tip.  Very little wind was forecast for the first couple of hours, so we motored down until we picked up one of the acceleration-zone breezes and put the Mexican up.  The sun came out and all was well.  Until we came to gybe it.  The first time we tried the gybe, the old sheet got caught in the hydro-generator and we got a wrap.  Unwind everything and try again.  The second time we tried it, we got the new sheet caught in the clew plate on the jib and we had to undo another wrap.  OK, enough messing about, so we socked the Mexican and dropped in on the deck.

After gybing back towards the shore, we noticed Galatea, who was an hour ahead, had sailed on past the anchorage.  Andrew said there was an onshore wind and a bit of swell so he was going to follow the advice of another skipper he’d spoken to in Rubicon who apparently knew the area, and keep going to Morro Jable.  That would mean a late arrival but it would be well sheltered and we would be anchoring in sand (there’s a lot of it on the east side of Fuerteventura, all blown from the Sahara).  The sailing was very pleasant and we saw a couple of flying fish.  Amazing how far they can fly.  We were surprised that we hadn’t seen any dolphins since leaving Islas Desertas, when prior to that we had seen them multiple times each day. 

The wind died and we started motoring again but soon afterwards we came into another acceleration zone and raced ahead to the anchorage.  ETA just before 2100.  As the sun went down we could see the lighthouse which was just a mile from our anchorage, and Gran Canaria in the distance behind it.  Finding the beach and spotting a good place to drop the anchor was easy enough and we were soon tucked up for the night.