We were faced with the choice of leaving
Madeira with a good northerly wind, but the probability of a 3-4m swell, or
waiting until the seas calmed down to a reasonable level but risking a windless
passage. We chose the latter, delaying
another day. We’d enjoyed getting to
know Ed and his daughter Heather on Aardvarc, an Arcona 40 they were basing in
Madeira for a while, and he kindly gave me a lift to the local garage where I
invested in two extra jerry cans of diesel, which were to prove invaluable.
 |
| Sunset, last night out |
We’d thought about sailing straight to
Tenerife (the western Canaries are greener and sound more interesting), but Cain
and April emailed us from Graciosa and it sounded wonderful – particularly as we wanted to spend some time at
anchor. Graciosa is a tiny island across a narrow strait separating it from
Lanzarote, and is meant to be one of the best anchorages in the whole of the
Canaries. We’d been slightly put off by permit requirements: you’re meant to
apply for an anchoring permit at least ten working days in advance of arrival,
with exact dates, and
the process for booking a berth in the nearby marina was just as unworkable,
involving faxing through several documents with apparently little chance of
hearing whether you’d been successful. Fortunately, it sounded as if no-one was
checking!
