Animals

Location: Marina Lanzarote

Blogger: Jenny

Following a discussion between mum and Fizzy of Carpe Diem, there has been much talk over the festive period about which animal’s characteristics each of the crew members shares. Jack – do you know which animal you were likened to??!!

This discussion has gone international as Marcus took it back to the UK with him for Christmas. Below is a summary of the conclusions to date (yes we’re starting to crack up and we haven’t even left yet).

Dad (John)

Mum initially said she thought dad was a cart horse – dependable, not too flashy, solid and strong – but we felt that this was a bit boring and I don’t think dad was too pleased, although the idea did seem to grow on him! His real animal was discovered during a nice Tapas meal, when Marcus said “I’m not sure you’re going to like this, but I think you’re a pig, John”, followed closely by “I can’t believe I just called my girlfriend’s dad a pig”. After the laughter had died down we agreed that this was actually a really good fit. Clever, doesn’t mind getting dirty, reliable, strong and resourceful.

Dad – Gloucester Old Spot

Mum (Gill)

Mum’s took some discussion. We needed an animal which was protective of her young, a sociable pack animal, clever and a good provider. Many different species were discussed before we settled on a final two: a lioness or a blue whale. Mum was definitely in favour of being a lioness but we thought that this was too fierce so in the end we decided that she was a blue whale. (It must be noted here that we don’t think this is a very good visual fit)!

Mum – blue whale

Marcus

This was quite a tricky one. Marcus is independent and he’s happy on his own, he’s a thinker and planner and always chooses who he gives his time to carefully. It was quickly decided he should be some kind of cat, but which species? A domestic cat seemed too unadventurous but a big cat too flashy and in your face. Eventually, Marcus suggested that he should be a crap wild cat. A wild cat in characteristics but without the benefit of being exciting to spot in the wild! Perhaps a little harsh but a good fit.

Marcus – crap wild cat

Me (Jenny)

There is still ongoing debate about this one (suggestions on a postcard please) but the current suggestions are either a small bird – definitely one that has too much energy and is really squarky and fliting – or a kangaroo. The kangaroo was suggested by the Reading contingent as being full of energy and “free-spirited”.

Me - TBC

Wombat (Shore Support)

Emma, the younger Douch daughter already has the nickname of Wombat and this was suggested as quite a good fit, but the best suggestion we had was a ring-tailed lemur. Like Emma, these animals are happy on their own or in a group, can be energetic and excitable or quiet, like sleeping and are pretty awesome. I think of everyone, Wom was most pleased with her animal.

Wombat – ring-tailed lemur

Peter (Marcus’ dad)

This is a tricky one and I understand took quite a lot of discussion. Eventually it was decided that Peter was a buffalo because he’s strong and reliable and a problem solver. We’re not sure, however, if their reputation as one of the most deadly animals in Africa was taken into account….

Peter - buffalo

Angela (Marcus’ mum)

This might be my favourite one. Angela herself suggested that she was a squirrel and the fit is excellent. A really good provider and forward planner, looks after her young brilliantly and makes a very good nest. The only slight downside to this is that Peter regularly (attempts) to shoot squirrels with a BB gun in their garden which hopefully isn’t part of the likeness.

Angela - squirrel

So all sorted then. Feel free to add comments or suggestions below and we’ll look forward to hearing which animals you think we’re all like.

Before and After

Current Location: Still in Marina Lanzarote, Canaries

Aboard: John, Gill, Jenny and Marcus

Visitors: Ali and Mike, Jane and Simon

Jen and Marcus are now into their third and last week of Spanish lessons. They are up by 07.30, sandwiches made and leave by 08.00. Four hours of 1:1, 1:2 or small group work, then back to the boat for lunch and off to the library for homework. My, they are working hard. One of Jenny's exercises last week was about this chap below called Fernando; Before and After.

BEFORE: Fernando worked in an office, was very stressed out, played squash once a week, had a poor diet and was very unhappy, He wore elegant clothes and worked from 07.30-18.00. He had no friends and no time to himself.

NOW: Fernando is happy. He lives on a quiet island. He gets up late and fishes all day. Fernando wears short trousers and has a beard. He fishes, eats fruit and vegetables and has a healthy diet. He has lots of friends and is very interesting.

I was very impressed with how Jenny's Spanish was coming along especially when she then told me that the next part of the conversation in Spanish with her teacher was "That's not Fernando, that's my Dad"!

Jen has had a really nasty cough for 7 or 8 weeks and is struggling to get rid of it. Fizzy, our resident nurse practitioner prescribed tea tree oil steaming and whacking on the back like you do for CF. This is slowly working and the cough is now loose and much better. Good job because Fizzy had her lined up for doctor's appointments, chest X-rays and antibiotics if it hadn't cleared up. Little does she know, Douches don't do antibiotics.

In other news stores are gradually being purchased for the crossing. Here's a picture of the contents of just one of the many lockers. It's amazing how much space we have - and even more amazing the amount of stuff that it stored in that space.

Starboard Locker 2

People news next. We've had Ali, Gill's sister and Mike to see us this week. They are staying in Costa Teguise just along the coast for a week. Even more bizarrely, Gill's cousin Jane and husband Simon spent a morning with us whilst their cruise ship was in Arrecife for a morning. They now all have a better idea of how our lives are led. On a more boaty theme our great friends Jack and Fizzy left the marina a few days ago bound for Tenerife which they reached just over a day and a night later. We provided weather and passage information for them via their satellite phone. This worked pretty well so we will do the same for them during their crossing which starts on Wednesday. They will be at sea with their son and his friend for Christmas and New Year, bound for Martinique (Go, Carpe Diem of Ipswich, Go). Dilek's husband has been here for 10 days too, saying goodbye to her before she sets off for the Cape Verdes and Grenada, also on Wednesday or Thursday. Hobnob has reached Antigua and Exocet Strike are also across. Seems we will be one of the last to be setting off and now that we are just about ready we are itching to get started. First however, we have Emma coming out for Christmas week and then my brother Philip is coming out with Jane before the usual New Year team arrives from our home village of Gleaston. For more than 20 years we've had New Year together, rotating from home to home. They couldn't leave us on our own this year so all six of them are flying out for a Canarian extravaganza. The big question is "will Marmite make it into Room 101 this year?" [No chance!!]

Just had to break off to receive the mounting plate for the new windlass - which sort of fits (and cost an arm and a leg), but I'll leave those pictures for another posting.

The jobs list is decreasing and now looks quite do-able. Here it is as it currently stands - just 16 items remaining. That doesn't mean there won't be new ones to add of course but the list is definitely slowly reducing.

Padlocks
Grab bag rehearsal
* Windlass completion
Put reefing line in
Clean hull
Bleach rust marks on white
Pink rope try
Put Genoa telltales on 
- Diesel
- Engine oil
- Distilled water
- Outboard engine oil
Clean stainless steel
Clean chuffs 
Buy pork leg
Engine checks

Anyway time to finish as it's my turn to cook tonight. It will be my "signature" [read "only"] dish of mushroom and bacon omelette. Yum, yum with salad and small local potatoes.

Dinner and Darüşşafaka

Last night was a bit of a special one. Dinner for eight at our favourite tapas bar, La Bulla. Here we are off the African coast with six friends all with a link back to Turkey. Us, Dilek and her husband Ali who has flown out from Istanbul to be with his intrepid wife, Jack and Fizzy (who we first met in Turkey) on their last meal out before setting off across the Atlantic, and Turkish couple Cengiz and Nili from yacht Vega. The food as usual was fantastic and the company pretty inspirational but it was one particular conversation that stuck in my mind.

We knew that Dilek was sponsoring girls' education in Turkey through a charity called Darüşşafaka but not much more than that. It turns out that Darüşşafaka is one of the oldest charities and educational foundations in Turkey, founded I think in 1863. Turkey was then an integral part of the Ottoman Empire. The aim of the foundation was and still is to give orphans a good educational start in life. Later during the First World War its intake took orphans from the Turkish conflicts with britain at Canakkale and Gallipoli. Although things have changed now, at that time and considerably later, orphans were defined as children who had lost their fathers, as mothers would be unable to support their children on their own. 80% of the teaching was in English, education was top class and the foundation was well regarded by the new regime installed by Ataturk in 1923.

It was about this time in the evening that we discovered that Cengis, sitting opposite me, was one of these very orphans! By the time he was accepted, competition for places was very fierce and the year he gained entry he was one of only 53 pupils to gain a place. Fail one exam during schooling and you were out. No re-sits, no second chances. Only 36 students made it to completion.  Nowadays the entry exams attract around 10,000 applicants for just 100 places each year. Eventually girls were admitted and that is where Dilek comes back into the story.

Her aim is to raise funds for Darüşşafaka by way of her solo trans Atlantic crossing which will be the first for a Turkish woman. Darüşşafaka Foundation has committed to increase the number of entrants they admit by the number of girls that Dilek raises sponsorship for! £25,000 will support one girl from aged 11 to completion of their university education. Her aim is to raise sufficient money to support 10 girls. Companies and individuals throughout Turkey are sponsoring the initiative and she is famous in the Turkish media by way of television interviews and newspaper articles. In fact even before Cengis and Nili had even met them Nili was a social media friend of Dilek's.

What the future holds for Darüşşafaka is less certain. The current government in Turkey seems to be pushing for an increasingly Islamic education system. An independent, free-thinking, western-oriented foundation such as Darüşşafaka is likely to have a difficult time ahead of it I fear.

Dilek on Symina her 8m yacht, passing the Rock of Gibraltar on departure for the Canaries on a bleak morning in September

Dilek, high as a kite! With me and Jack (Carpe Diem) on arrival in Lanzarote after her longest solo passage to date

Random Things

Current Location: Marina Lanzarote, Arrecife, Lanzarote.

So, after a couple of weeks it’s time for an update of sorts.

The UK seems a distant memory now but it feels as though we saw just about everyone we have every met. Happy times with Gill’s sisters and families and Stu and Julie in Hull, daughter Emma (the Wombat) in London, brother Philip, wife Jane and Sam in Stroud, Dave, Vera, Chris, Audrey, (are you really coming out to Lanzarote?), Lynda, Jo and Helen in Cumbria, cousins Jane (see you in Arrecife) and John with partners Simon and Julie, and Uncle Sid in Cheltenham, Peter and Katie of Firemoose in Cambridge (thanks for the charts), Wendy and Barrie in Christchurch and of course Hugh and Linda (thanks for the offer of a 5 bedroomed house to stay in at any time).  But most of the time we were with Mum and Dad in Southampton. Finally we have found carers for them so thanks also to Katherine and Erin of Nurse+. Meanwhile the Saints started to slide down the Premier league table again as injuries took their toll.

The Hull Tribe

Grey and overcast drizzly days when it seemed never to get light with the occasional lovely autumn day were the norm during our time in England.

Urswick Tarn in winter from Lynda and Martin's front room

The Nightmare that is the M3

Finally we said an emotional farewell to my Mum and Dad in Southampton and then, gathering up the last batch of boatie bits, we set off for Reading to see Hugh and Linda and my godson Luke just back from 3 years in Australia. Final repacking (including the 18.5kg windlass) and the following morning to Gatwick where Linda left us to take our car back to Sonning. They will use it as theirs while we are away in a tit for tat, “car for house” arrangement.

We arrived back to the marina late in the evening to a chorizo and bean stew cooked by Jenny and Marcus. It was great to see them again and catch up with their final few days in England and the first week of their Spanish lessons. They were exhausted with closing their UK affairs down and then 2-4 hours of concentrated Spanish lessons a day followed by 3 hours in the library. I think they must be learning stuff though because I couldn’t understand a thing they and Gill jabbered on about for the next hour or so. It was taking its toll though and Jen has had a nasty cough for the past seven weeks.

Next morning we were woken by a shoal of kami-kazi fish hurling themselves at our steel hull. Bang, bang, crash, crash as they tried to eat bits of vegetation that have taken hold along the waterline. Even though it was weekend Jen and Marcus were still off to the library for more Spanish whilst we caught up with Jack and Fizzy and Dilek. Over the next couple of days Gill’s restocked the lockers, had her second “thank you” manicure from Dilek, we’ve climbed the mast to check out the spreaders, stays and other rigging and I have started to make a template for the new windlass support. Plus, of course, numerous social occasions – meals, patisseries and general chit chat.

New boats have been arriving at present as a brief weather window opened from La Linea/Gibraltar down to the Canaries. However, it was a very narrow window and most of these boats got whacked by a southwesterly half way across. A couple of boats arrived today bruised and battered during their passages. On the other hand our friends on the Atlantic Odyssey who are within spitting distance of the Caribbean are faced with near calms and are struggling to cover the last couple of hundred miles. We sit here smugly – blissfully unaware of what the ocean has in store for us during January!

I’ve noticed from reading other peoples’ ocean blogs that the isolation, cut off from outside stimulation, often results in humour and in-jokes only really understood by those undergoing the ordeal. Hence “mine’s a liccorice” and “feed the dolphins” from our short passage to the Canaries. Worryingly, with four weeks still to go, this tendency already seems to be developing aboard Petronella – but this time it hinges around a small, squishy plastic Freisian cow. Donated by Jenny’s ex work colleagues, “La Vaca” first appeared in the cockpit sitting demurely across the teak slats. Subsequently chastened by the Elfin Safety brigade he/she now never ventures forth without his harness attached. Since then he has been spotted adjusting the tiller, steering and then, amazingly, hanging on for dear life at the top of the mast. I understand that his growing band of followers has even set up his own Twitter hashtag at “#on the moooove”.

Selfie at masthead by La Vaca (looking white with fear)

Jen checking the mast top rigging

The jobs remaining list has 27 items on it, not including normal provisioning.

They’re Off!

Current Location: Petronella, Lanzarote. Us UK. Lots of friends, crossing the Atlantic.

Whilst we shivver back in the UK, boats are starting to leave the Canaries and Cape Verdes off the west coast of Africa to make their passages to the Caribbean. First to leave were Rick and Robin on Endagered Species (Dangerous Spices to their friends) on the last leg of their circumnavigation. Their catamaran is bowling along westwards so fast that they have been unable to catch any fish so far. Every day they are 150 miles or more closer to home in Florida. Each evening we get an email via their radio telling us of their progress. Rick and Robin are conservative, defensive sailors. They taught us about making comfortable passages rather than pushing on to cut a day off passage time, to always reef at night to allow the crew more sleep and to make sure we are all well fed with extra goodies. Crew morale we learned on our sea survival course is critical to happy, safe passages.

A few days later the 38 yachts on the Atlantic Odyssey Rally left Arrecife. We met several of them while we were in the marina earlier in the month. They will be starting their fourth night just now. Progress has been slow for them. Forced to leave at a time dictated by the rally organisers they have had little wind for the first few days and what they have had has been on the nose (coming from ahead of them) making for slow progress. From what we can see from the rally website (http://cornellsailing.com/sail-the-odyssey/atlantic-odyssey/) all boats look to be making progress westwards. We are especially looking out for Sephina with Rob (now that is one cool dude) and French Jen (of amazing crepes with honey fame) aboard. Good luck guys. We’ll see you on the other side.

They're Off!

My calves in the armpits of a millionairess

Current Location: Petronella in Arrecife Marina, Lanzarote, the Canaries. Gill and John on the M6 heading northwards from Southampton to Cumbria.

“Water’s wet. Water’s cold. We don’t want you in it, do we?” were the opening words from John, our larger than life ex Royal Navy sea survival trainer. We were at Hamble on the south coast of England for our intensive day of training on how to cope with shipwreck, fire, disease, injury and worse. We learned about life raft inflation, what to do if your skipper loses his marbles, how to be rescued by a helicopter, what to do with poo or period detritus when in your life raft (throw it as far away as you can to reduce the chance of shark attack!), what to put in your grab bags, how to choose your new life jackets and a host of other “must know” information.

There were 16 in our group, mostly in their 50s and early 60s with a smattering of younger sailors. Experience varied from very little to yacht masters. We were targeted by a couple with their friends who are planning to “sell up and sail” much like us. Except that their boat is a 55’ Oyster currently undergoing a complete refit in Southampton. Their electric winches probably cost as much as we paid for Petronella and they couldn’t imagine how we managed with no hot water and only two solar panels. But we had an interesting chat nonetheless.

Half the day involved this theoretical stuff but what we were all really there for was the practical part. Thankfully few sailors ever have to take to their life rafts but it’s better to learn how to “step UP into your raft” in the swimming pool than on a cold, dark, stormy night in the middle of the ocean. So off we went to the local sports college. Change into oilies three sizes too big and don the ancient blow up life jackets. Onto the poolside and jump into the pool using the hand over the nose technique. After trying to swim normal backstroke (very difficult) and front crawl (impossible – I actually moved in the opposite direction) we learned to lie on our backs and make mini backstroke movements. This allowed us to make slow progress but it is pretty hard work. Then eight of us linked up and worked as a long backstroke crocodile. I was behind Ros from the Oyster and incongruously as we paddled towards the inflated life raft I thought “I have my calves in the armpits of a millionairess.” Bizarre or what. Then, in our groups of eight we struggled into the life raft. It’s not easy. Everything is slippery, everyone is struggling to slither in, no one is in command and you are lying on top of people that two hours ago you had never met.

[Photo acknowledgements to Anita]

Next it was time to right the life raft. We each learned how to stand on the step, reach up to the CO2 canister, grab the ladder, walk our hands up the ladder, pull the raft up over our heads, punch some air into the base as it came down on top of us (this was the scary bit for some people), chat to Gemma our swimming assistant whilst in the air pocket under the raft and then calmly swim out from underneath the raft. All in all a very useful experience and one that hopefully we will never need to repeat.

Additional lessons to learn:

-          Check for wasps inside your oilies. They may sting you.

-          Do not put your dry clothes bag on top of a locker with a gap behind. They may disappear eight feet down behind said locker.

-          Always carry a BFK* with you in case you get caught in the various tapes and straps hanging off the life raft.

Shortly after completing this course we went looking for better life jackets with sprayhoods, crotch straps, LED lights and more reflective tape. A sobering day.

*Big Fucking Knife

Technical posting alert – SL500 finally replaced with SL555 (a Sea Tiger)

Current Location: Petronella, Lanzarote. Us, UK.

It looks as though the long running windlass replacement saga may be drawing to a close. Following my unsuccessful attempts to purchase a secondhand SL500 to replace our knackered one I finally decided we must have a replacement of some sort before we leave for the Caribbean. Gill wanted to change to an electric one but I didn’t want the huge cost and disruption involved in going down this route. She took a lot of persuading though. I finally convinced her by telling her that she would probably lose the benefits of my amazingly toned upper body if we went down the electric winch road! Anyway, enough of that. Before we left Lanzarote Jack from Carpe Diem (thank you Jack) had shown me a secondhand SL555 on eBay. Not the same, but thought by some to be even better than the SL500, this manual windlass was for sale in Bristol. I bought it for a not overly expensive price. Here is a picture of it.

My new Sea Tiger windlass. Note label on top suggesting it might actually be old but actually unused.

It won’t fit straight onto the mountings for the old one but I think I can mount it without resorting to welding. Welding on the boat is expressly prohibited when you are in the water and the last thing I want to do is lift out just for twenty minutes of welding. Hopefully this approach will work. The new windlass (the bit we use for hauling the anchor chain up) came with the option of either a gipsy to accept 8mm chain or one for 10mm chain. This is great except that we need one for 12mm chain. So that means finding a 12mm gipsy which hopefully fits both our old chain and the new windlass. I’ve emailed a guy in Scotland who purports to stock these gipsies but as yet no reply. I hope he does reply or else I could now be left with two ancient windlasses neither of which have a 12mm gipsy. Watch this space!

The Plan

Here is the North Atlantic with a yellow line roughly showing our expected route. It's well over 2,000 miles to the Caribbean from the Canaries where we are at present.

This is today's chart from Passage Weather, one of our favourite weather sites. The chart shows the winds. Winds blow from the arrow feathers end of the arrow towards the sharp point of each arrow and the brighter colours are the stronger winds. The figures are in knots. 1 knot is a bit more than 1 mile an hour. You can see two nasty looking low pressure systems in the north heading straight for the UK (in fact the first one is due to hit as I'm watching Saints v Leicester City this afternoon). Further south around our yellow line the NE trade winds (more easterly at the moment) are starting to kick in and get established. These are the winds that we've all been waiting for. By January when we leave the Canaries we hope they will be stronger and more consistent.

That's the plan!

(PS: It looks a bloody long way!)

Daily Life in Marina Lanzarote

Arrecife at dusk

Current Location: Petronella and Gilly in Arrecife, John at 38,000' above the Portuguese Atlantic.

After a summer of beating to windward and motoring westward through the Med we have finally had time to recharge our batteries both literally and metaphorically. The marina in Arrecife, Lanzarote has been our home now for several weeks. Activity is ramping up all around us as boats arrive from around the world in preparation for their Atlantic crossings. It's good to reach the Canaries by the middle of October before the chance of hitting a storm further north increases. That means loads of boats waiting in all the anchorages and marinas here until the NE Trades kick in that will transport us to the other side of "The Pond". Everyone has a story to tell because we are the lucky ones with an adventure ahead and everyone has already made a longish Atlantic passage to get here.

Dilek, our Turkish lady sailor friend who we had to leave behind in windy Tarife west of Gibraltar, finally arrived a few days ago. She was on an amazing high after completing her longest solo passage yet in her old 32' boat. After autopilot problems off Tarife she limped in to Rabat on the Moroccan coast. She fixed it but was almost thrown onto the rocks as her engine failed before she eventually managed to leave the port during a lull in the big swells. She stopped one further time on the Moroccan coast to pick up fuel. Here she met up with two small German boats also being sailed by single handers (currently with French hitch hikers aboard).  They sailed the last three days keeping in radio contact with each other. One of the boats caught tuna on the way across and although Dilek won't kill fish she will eat them. This resulted in the odd sight of a dead tuna being thrown from one small boat to another 150 miles from nowhere!

Jack and Fizzy who we first met in Turkey last year arrived before Dilek having also spent time in Rabat. We are now firm friends sharing their bikes (thanks guys) to get in to town and also hiring a car for a tour round the island. Volcanoes, wine tasting and dinner out made a welcome change from the rather intense boatie world of the marina. By the time Gill and I arrive back from the UK on 5th December they may well have left the marina although engine issues might delay their departure.

As it happens our marina is the starting point for a couple of rallies this year. These are organised Atlantic crossings for which you pay a fee to tap into the organisation provided by experienced sailors, the chance to meet other crossers, some parties and cheap berthing on either side of the ocean. We briefly considered joining one of these rallies but decided against it as we already had plenty of friends, could organise our own parties and did not want to be forced into leaving at a specific time and day. We are though part of a loose group of like minded boats who will keep in touch via HF radio during our crossings, though departure dates vary from mid November to mid January.

One of these rallies is the Atlantic Odyssey organised by the well known cruising sailor Jimmy Cornell. See here for more information on the Atlantic Odyssey rally. Jimmy's book Cruising Routes of the World is on most of our bookshelves. It explains the best routes, timings and hazards for sailors across the globe. If you wanted to sail say from Australia to UK his book would be one of your first planning ports of call. He has just arrived at the marina in his new boat. During the week the rally will run seminars on provisioning, downwind sailing, routing and other very exciting topics! Very generously the rally has thrown most of these sessions open to non rally sailors staying in the marina for free so Gilly will be attending a good few before she returns to the UK next week. There is even a "women only" session run by an all women team sailing round the world.  As one of the few women skippers at the marina Gilly has been invited to contribute to this session. Wow!

What else? Ah yes Jen and Marcus you will be pleased to hear we have a new toilet and there is now a concealed red glowing light in the compass so that is one less trailing wire in the cockpit. There is a new one though as the towed generator (The Toad) is now almost installed with a cable wired direct back to the batteries to generate electricity as we merrily bowl along.

In other news during a recent two day ferry trip to the next island of Fuerteventura we got talking about Christmas presents. "What did I want" Gilly asked. I told her I wanted some new "cool" T-shirts. "Like what? Who's cool?" she asked. After some discussion (I won't embarrass you chaps) as to who qualified we checked into a smart hotel for the night. Our plan of arriving late and getting a cheap last minute room completely backfired and we ended up with a very expensive suite. This did however include dinner and breakfast and our own VIP area for sunbathing. They even apologised for the late arrival of the cava and fruit platter! There was a problem though. Gentlemen (that'll be me then) were required to wear trousers for dinner. Problem. No trousers. Only shorts. Hoof it up to the local shopping centre for a pair. "Ah", says Gilly. "Zara. That's for you, especially with your new cool image". However, not so successful. My calves are SO well developed I can't get into any of their trousers. Hence the famous statement  "too hench for Zara". Still, no problem. I got a great pair for 19 euros in the sports shop instead. Feeling well up in the cool stakes we went down to dinner with me wearing my favourite white shirt. It was only after three ten year old girls had laughed at me that Gilly finally said to me "you do realise you are wearing your shirt inside out, don't you".  Ah well, maybe cool isn't really my forte after all.

Very posh hotel on Fuertaventura (our VIP terrace top right with "grass")

We now new or at least modified cushions for night watch, we've replaced broken crockery, had a cracking prawn curry and installed a new galley drainer from Lanzarote's very only Ikea (arghh) so Wmn you can keep the one we gave you to bring out!.....

.......So now I'm back in the UK. You can tell cus it's freezing cold, the train is full and it looks like I'll be standing from Gatwick to Southampton (2 hours). This is my last trip back before the crossing. Till now we've returned to the UK for a few weeks every 3 to 4 months to ensure Mum and Dad are OK. Next time won't be till June or July and that seems a long while away. At least we'll be back for longer when we finally do return. The contrast between our optimistic outdoor sailing life and time with my parents is stark and rather sad.

Crew Preparations

Location: Walthamstow, London

Blogger:  Jenny

So, dad has asked me to give a quick update of how the preparations for our departure are going in the UK. Both of us have resigned from our jobs and we have handed in our notice on our rented flat. I only have four weeks left at work. It's getting very close.

We've been busy learning about sailing and getting prepared for the trip. This began on a very cold and wet Competent Crew course in March this year in the Solent. The conditions on the last day were pretty challenging and a ripped foresail (see below) gave us a taste of the problem solving often required on board a boat.

*nb - photos taken the next day safely in Poole harbour!

Two trips with mum and dad, first from Kafalonia to Sardinia and then a couple of weeks ago from Gibraltar to the Canaries complete our limited experience. For us this gave us the chance to have a proper run at some passage making and to build on the skills we learnt on the Competent Crew course. Dad is an excellent teacher, so we've had master classes in a number of the tasks on board and now feel much more confident that we will actually be useful members of the crew. We've also had a chance to do watches on our own and are ready as we can be for the big crossing.

We also recently attended a very interesting, if slightly terrifying Sea Survival course in Southampton. We learnt a lot about "worst case scenarios" (sinking) and even had the chance to practice getting into a life raft in full wet weather gear and life jackets (in a swimming pool). We learnt loads, although hopefully it will be a complete waste of money and we will never need to put in to action any of the stuff that we learnt. Mum and dad are doing the same course in a month or so.

I am the Team Petronella Entertainments Officer so have been busy finding things for us to do during the crossing. So far the list runs to Cribbage, 3/4-part harmony singing (a recorder has been purchased), cards and cryptic crosswords. Other suggestions on a postcard please (or in the comments section). We've all also suggested meals to have on a couple of days - one fresh(ish) and one store cupboard. The world-famous pasta-tuna-mayo is going trans-Atlantic.

Experimental bread baking

Ingredients 

The Mix

Final Result

We're not going to be able to carry bread for up to 30 days when we cross so today was experimental bread making day. It came out OK. Gill found it a bit salty but I didn't.

Tomorrow we have been invited by French Jen for freshly made crepes on her boat. Yum!

On holiday in La Graciosa

We've been 5 days here now and every day we try to do some exercise (you really would approve Jen). Twice we've walked the 2.8kms and back along the sands to the little town of Caleta de Sebo to buy bread and vegetables, another day we crossed the ridge to the next bay and just soaked up the sun and two days ago we climbed the volcano behind the anchorage.

Boats arrive and boats leave and we are now one of the longest residents. Nearly all are getting ready for a long passage either to the Caribbean or to Brazil (which is actually a considerably shorter passage than to the Caribbean I was surprised to find). Several boats that left Gibraltar at about the same time as us headed for Rabat in Morroco. Big swells starting the day after they arrived means they are still there (hi Jack, Fizzy and Dilek) but they are doing the tourist bit in the desert whilst waiting for the sea to die down and parts to arrive.

Social engagements are taking a lot of time too. Dinner on La Luna (just arrived from the Azores) together with Rob (NZ) and Jen (French) a couple of nights ago. They met online at a music dating site and soon Rob was on his way to France to see if they really were compatible. They hit it off and decided to buy a boat and go cruising. That was three years ago. Both Rob and Stewart from La Luna are guitar players so that was a lively evening.

Time is still playing tricks on us here. La Luna were an hour late coming to our boat for drinks because they were still on Azores time and Endangered Species were an hour out the other way as they came in from Rabat. UTC is the only common language we all speak.

The SSB net is getting going now people are making longer passages. I tried to check in when we were crossing from Gib to Lanzarote but was unsuccessful. Yesterday though the 4 yachts from the Atlantic Crossing Group that we have joined spoke with each other across the anchorage here and we were apparently very clear so maybe the day I tried there was just no traffic. More investigation required with yachts further away. If you have an HF radio (Chris) or just a shortwave radio you can listen in at 7am and 7pm UTC first on 6516.0kH, then 8131.0kH and if those don't work 12359.0kH and heear who's doing what.

We're not far from west Africa here and there is quite a bit of talk about Ebola and its potentoal impact on our plans. We haven't followed the news much but the view here is that world governments don't really understand the virus and it is spreading fast and unpredictably. If even a handful of cases are registered in Cape Verdes or even worse The Canaries there is a real danger that we won't be granted access to the Caribbean countries when we arrive. Worrying times, not just for us but for the world in general.

As well as exercise each day we are trying to do a job a day. Recent achievements include removal of Wanda's paddle (we may get a new one) and consideration of how Jenny, the electricity generator towed behind us (kindly donated by Peter and Catie in Kas) might be deployed. We have decided that as we already have one Jenny on the crewlist this one will have to be renamed. So instead of Jenny it will be known as The Toad [get it? - as in the towed...].

The weather has been generally very benign since we arrived. Last night though, although there was no wind at all, a swell developed sending quite large waves across the reef on the edge of the anchorage. We woke up wondering what the noise was and if we were dragging the anchor. A quick check outside proved that if we were dragging so was everyone else! So back to sleep again. This morning boats were bobbing around a bit and our return trip from the shops was quite exciting as we tried to time our departure from the beach to avoid the crashing surf [well, that is a bit of an exaggeration]. We got back safe and dry to the disappointment of the watching holidaymakers.

Right, Matelot has just arrived and are about to launch their dinghy for a cup of tea.

A near perfect anchorage

Current Location: Playa Francesca, La Graciosa

After a week in Arrecife the weather looked set fair for a couple of weeks so early one morning, before the wind got up, we inched out of the very tight marina [well done Gilly, a perfect exit watched by world girdlers from three pontoons]. While there we had met up with Turkish sailors on Vega, Robert and Carla on Moody Mistress from Canada, both Atlantic Crossing Group boats as well as our Danish next door neighbours who were heading off for southern Argentina via Brazil.

We motorsailed back up the east coast of Lanzarote where a week previously we had galloped down big seas when we first arrived here. Apart from a nasty wet squall as we rounded the vicious looking northern cape of Lanzarote it was fairly uneventful. By 2pm we were anchored in this most beautiful bay in the south of La Graciosa. You may have been here on holiday? This was our first attempt at anchoring since the windlass was repaired back in the UK. It seems to be working fine. At least, none of the new teeth came flying off as we anchored. I'm still trying to source a replacement though. There was one advertised on eBay in Georgia (eastern Europe) last week but it's now disappeared. Eventually one will appear I'm sure.

Nestled below an almost perfect little ex volcano we are sheltered here from the predominant northerly and northwesterly winds. Across the straits about two miles away is the harsh rugged northern coastline of Lanzarote. This has to be one of the most atmospheric anchorages we have stayed in. And we are here for up to a couple of weeks. At last time to chill out, read books and watch the stars. Just what some people think we spend our whole time doing. It's bliss.

That's not to say there are no jobs to do though. Already we have, almost, fixed the toilet (again), cleaned the outside of the boat, inspected and removed Wanda's lower parts, tidied the rope locker, entertained a single handed French sailor who, despite having cancer of the stomach from working on the French nuclear tests decades ago, set off this morning on his own towards Brazil. Tonight we have a couple of Americans coming over to give us their experience of many years in the Caribbean. Tomorrow we will climb our little volcano and do a bit of lying on the beach soaking up the still warm sunshine. GSK? Eat your heart out!

How (not) to wash! A beginners guide to washing on a moving yacht.

Location: Walthamstow, London

Blogger: Jenny

It's not all glamour you know! By popular request, a “How do you wash at sea?” picture blog. Photos from the most calm day of the trip, with the engine on (so not very realistic really). Sorry to those of you who do this on your boats on a regular basis and know the drill. Sandy, this one’s for you…..! It is HARD work.

Hairwash

Take two-day old, unwashed, salty, windswept, matted hair. When it’s really rocky you just can’t be arsed to wash at all!

Take a sink with a foot pump. Dampen hair using said sink and foot pump using as little water as possible (if water is very limited then replace this step with a bucket of sea water).

Add shampoo. Lather.

Rinse using sink and foot pump. Try and stay upright on one foot as boat rocks. Add conditioner. Rinse using sink and foot pump. Try and stay upright on one foot as boat rocks.

Dry hair using towel. Bash at least one elbow on wall as boat rocks and you are upside down. Add to growing list of bruises.

Brush or comb. Finished!

Body Wash

Time at start: 15:05

Take one washing up bowl. Undo rope holding jerry can in place, pour an inch of water into washing up bowl. Put washing up bowl down. Do up rope holding jerry can in place. Retrieve washing up bowl from other end of boat where it’s slid to.

Take washing up bowl, razor and soap onto deck (if nice weather, if not, wedge yourself in the front of the boat).

Forget towel. Go back down below for towel.

Wedge yourself at back of boat. Try not to slide off.

Wash legs. Shave legs (optional).

Wash body. Try and retain modesty (unlikely).

Wash dirty clothes, dry yourself, put clothes on. Pour minging water over the side.

Take all washing items back down below (note sleeping dad).

Hang out wet clothes.

Finished!

Time at end: 15:30

n.b. during the following wash to this when it was rougher I managed to pour my entire, fresh, washing up bowl of water over my clean clothes and towel……

Happy, Happy in Lanzarote

Current Location: Lanzarote Marina, Arrecife, Lanzarote

Blogger: John

Shortly after our previous posting the wind began to fill in and we tried out our new sail configuration. With one front sail out one side and one out the other it’s known as “goosewinging” or to the  Americans it’s “wing on wing”. To Jenny it’s “goosey goosey”. It worked a treat and for two or three hours we bowled along at 5.5k with the water swishing gently past the hull. Beautiful sailing in only 10-12k of wind. If this is what the Atlantic crossing is all about, bring it on!

Petronella sailing "goosey-goosey" towards Lanzarote

Shortly before dusk we decided to revert to just our usual genoa. Just then the wind decided to increase to 20k and we had a bit of a fight taking everything down for the first time. But all was good especially as this was the time that 40 or 50 massive dolphins decided now was the time to play with Petronella. They carved and curved through the ever increasing waves, big grey shapes zooming from side to side of the bow as I sat right on the front of the pulpit with my feet dipping into the water as we descended into the wave troughs. Awe inspiring stuff in that wild seascape.

Next up, I decided to try and fix Wanda who had gnawed through one of her steering lines where we had bent the leg years ago in Preveza. With judicious use of that most practical of items – a wire coat hanger – I managed to thread first a mouse leader of braided fishing line and then the new line, through the top of the leg, out the bottom, past two pulleys and through the central leg. A quick modification of the coat hanger and I was able to grab the line as we crested a wave and bring it back on board to tie the securing knot. Then it was just a matter of fixing the inboard end of the rope to the tiller control and getting Jen to lean precariously out the back to launch the steering paddle. Result! She (Wanda that is) then performed perfectly all the way to Lanzarote. I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again. This wind steering system is simply amazing. After a while you forget she is there keeping the boat on track, continually feeding back information from the wind and waves so that our course, even in 3m waves and strongish winds we rarely deviated from our chosen course by more than 5 degrees. The best Jenny could manage, and she is our master hand steerer, was +/-30 degrees. What a boon, and with no electrics to drain the batteries or whir and chirp as the autopilot does. A truly valuable member of crew.

Jenny completing the repair to Wanda

During the night the waves and wind continued to build and Petronella started the famous Atlantic rolling. Every few minutes she would start to gather pace with everything bashing and crashing. Gilly decided to go on a “rattle hunt”. She put drying up cloths in the cutlery drawers, wedged the crockery with stale loaves of bread and generally reduced the level of crashing by about 2 per cent! At one stage she came on deck to tell us that Jenny’s safety harness clip was keeping her awake as Jen slid from side to side in the cockpit!

At last at 5.06am Jenny shouted down “Land Ahoy”. After 5 days we could see the light flashing on Alegranza, the first of the Canary Islands. Unfortunately, just at this point I let my concentration down for a celebratory second resulting in me being flung right across the navigation station and into the galley. Luckily my head stopped inches away from the cooker door. A close shave. Anyway, we wound our way through the small north eastern islands and rocks and were met as the sun rose to a wild sea and a wild volcanic landscape. It felt as though we had done it but there was still 5 or 6 hours of exhilarating sailing down the eastern side of Lanzarote to complete. Just as were starting to celebrate we were suddenly whacked by a wave from the side that decided it was coming in to join us. I was on the upwind side and got a pretty thorough soaking. Marcus was next to me and he was pretty wet too. We saved Gilly from the worst of it but there was still plenty enough to plop down the open companionway and to splosh through the central hatch which wasn’t quite tightly enough closed and give Jenny a lapful of seawater.

Eventually Arrecife appeared and we motored in to the harbour round the breakwater and into the enclosed body of water containing the marina. It was still blowing 20k+ as we radioed the marina. They gave us a tricky berth and just as we had realised we couldn’t get in behind a large yellow catamaran the bow thruster decided to give up. Now we are stuck side on to the wind, halfway into the space between two pontoons with little control. All three of us were watching a “corner” of the boat as Gilly skilfully turned us round and got us out missing boats both fore and aft by less than a metre. A call to the marina office resulted in them giving us an easier double berth and we safely motored in and tied up. We had made it! Our longest passage to date (621 miles) with barely a raised voice and a whole lot of laughs. Well done, skip, well done crew, well done Wanda.

Now, a day later, we have cleared up the below decks devastation, slept a long sleep and been to explore Arrecife town. It’s a great place, not touristy and very Spanish with a hint of North African influence. Petronella will be happy here for a few weeks. This morning Jen and Marcus caught the bus into Costa Teguise to check out their Spanish lessons when they return in December. It looks good. By then they will have given up their jobs, packed up and left the UK for the foreseeable future to start their new life in Uruguay. Tomorrow they fly home. So tonight we are off for a last meal in Arrecife. The only downside is that our Shore Support Leader, Emma, won't be with us. Well done Wom for receiving all those radio email messages and keeping The Gs up to date with our progress. Wish you were here.

We have a few things to fix and improve before we set off across the Atlantic but overall I’m really impressed with how Petronella and her crew have coped with this passage. Roll on January.

left to right: Wanda, Jenny, Gill, Marcus, John, George ..... make a great team (but where is Emma, our Shore Support?

Previous photos..

Jenny, Gill and Marcus on The Rock

Barbary apes on The Rock - oops, wrong captions!

Escorting Dilek on Symina out of Gibraltar