28:54.03N 13:42.04W

Tuesday 21^st, Wednesday 22^nd & Thursday 23^rd September

So the summer sailing season draws to an end with this trip which brought us up to 4380 miles since we left Turkey in May. We have visited 13 countries along the way and can now guarantee to say please and thank you in any country using the wrong language every time!

We now understand that the recent hurricane that crossed the Atlantic has upset all the wind patterns which goes some way to explain what happened over the last few days!

We set off from Madeira at 8.00 am on Tuesday with a forecast for no wind at all for the 300 mile, two and bit day trip. Not ideal really as we have really enjoyed getting free from the Med and the sound of an engine, but we needed to get to Lanzarote to lay Serafina up for the month while we fly home for a break before tackling the Atlantic crossing.

First things first though, so we trailed the fishing lure straight away and within a few minutes had caught what we think was a mackerel, not too sure, but it tasted great! Anyway this was not enough for a meal for two so we tried again and within an hour had a 4 kilo Atlantic Bonito on board. Very practical but not great entertainment value as now I had to stop fishing and we were only two hours into the trip.

It was a long dull day as we motored gently and then into the night where the wind gradually picked up a little, but only enough to bring us cold rain and not enough to sail by. Long night watching an electrical storm some 200 miles ahead of us and sitting alone on watch wearing full waterproofs for the first time in a very long time.

By dawn the wind had picked up and we were able to sail briskly which prompted us to download a new weather chart and to our surprise there was a complete change and we were facing winds that were expected to pick up to 25 knots and a whole lot more rain. As it turned out the whole thing became a complete lottery as the wind came and went all day. Sometimes driving us along with gusts of 20 knots and sometimes barely 6 knots. The problem that was growing was the timing of our arrival (again) as Lanzarote has a number of unlit offshore islands and unlit fish farms as well as numerous other unwelcome hazards such as overfalls etc. none of which we fancied dealing with in the dark. So the plan was to moderate our speed such that we would arrive at the north of the island at dawn on Thursday. But with 20 knots of wind blowing from forward of the beam, we kept going too fast, so we reefed right down so that we could sail at around 5.5 knots which was fine until the wind dropped again and we wallowed in the increasing Atlantic swell. All very frustrating but the forecast was for even more wind so we were at least confident that we would finish the trip in daylight on Thursday, it was all about where we would be at dawn.

In the early evening on Wednesday the wind started to climb and with the heavy reefs in place we finally settled on a good speed that seemed to be about right, but then as midnight approached, the beautiful clear sky (and bright full moon) disappeared to be replaced by heavy clouds and another massive electrical storm directly ahead of us. I chose to slow down more and reefed the headsail down to virtually nothing which helped a bit and meant that for the next hour I just watched the storm as it slowly moved east out of our track as we got closer and closer and the rain settled in around us. By 2.00 am it was a good 30 miles from our track and we had a clear run to Lanzarote but despite all our efforts we were still early and to add to the excitement the seas were now throwing up growing Atlantic rollers with a peak of 28 knots of wind. We hurtled past Grasiosa Island bearing away through a gap in the islands and were fortunate that the wind veered a little which saved us having to gybe at this point.

As we came down the eastern coast of Lanzarote dawn broke and the wind and seas settled down and we had a gentle run down the coast before dropping the sails and motoring into Puerto Calera which is a marina and resort near the south east tip of the island. Again on Wednesday night we had spent our night watches wearing full oilskins and even sea boots at one stage, but by the time we arrived at Puerto Calera the wind had turned into a hot blast and sitting here in the marina is almost uncomfortable in this hot and humid wind which is still blowing at 30 knots as the evening draws in.

Wind Machine (Jim & Michelle) were moored up here when we arrived and came over to say hello. They are part of a group of us who were all in Marmaris last season and who are all heading across the Atlantic this winter. (the MARC – Marmaris Atlantic Rally for Cruisers!) Scott Free came in about 5 hours after us and had a far worse deal than us as the winds had headed them for a while yesterday to add to their woes.

We had a few visits from Dolphins during the trip, but rarely did they stay long. The best was about 12 ‘Atlantic Spotted’ Dolphins who played around the bows for 10 minutes or so on Wednesday. We had no idea that we would see so many different species of dolphin during the course of our travels and we are indebted to Sarah’s Dad who gave us a wonderful book (Whales, Dolphins and Seals – a field guide to the marine mammals of the world) which is brilliant for identifying them all as they swim around us; we have even been known to stand on the bow with book in hand sorting them out.

The AIS transponder proved its value as well on this trip. It is extraordinary how you can be several hundred miles out into the Atlantic and the only other ship within 100 miles is on a collision course with you. In this case we did find ourselves crossing something of a shipping route as we had quite a few ships crossing our bow or stern but one 1000ft long chemical tanker actually altered course by 5 degrees to pass 500 yards under our stern before resuming its previous course and heading which is a definite first for us and we did not even have to call them up and ask.