Fuerteventura

We had planned to leave Lanzarote and sail south to an anchorage on the east coast of Fuerteventura. However, as we left the anchorage at the southern tip of Lanzarote, our anchor bow roller made a worrying strange creaking noise. Not wanting to damage the bow roller we decided heading into a port would be safer than anchoring for another night.

We sailed past the Isla de Lobos and south along the dramatic coastline of Fuerteventura to the harbour at Gran Tarajal.

Our stay in Gran Tarajal lasted 2 weeks giving us time to explore the local area, rebuild the bow roller and do a little work on the interior of our boat. We also invited several other people from nearby boats to a tea party in our cockpit, Hannah made numerous delicious scones and cakes. The water in the harbour was crystal clear, we could see numerous brightly coloured fish and even a ray.

We both needed a break from working on our boat so we decided to spend a few days exploring the southern end of Fuerteventura. We enjoyed a delightful anchorage at Giniginamar, a small cove on the east coast with excellent views down the coast and a memorable sunset.

The 20 mile sail south along the coast to Morro Jable only took about 4 hours due to strong winds in the 'acceleration zone'. The area around the harbour was very quiet, with herons, egrets, small squirrels and even a couple goats near the boat! However, a short walk led to vast white sandy beaches and a bustling tourist resort.

Hannah's friend Lisa joined us for a few days, so we sailed back to Gran Tarajal to meet her. After a couple of days we sailed back south to Morro Jable, a journey which started in calm conditions and ended with gale force winds! Our time in Fuerteventura was coming to an end, we were excited about sailing the 60 miles to Gran Canaria.

Lanzarote

We had enjoyed our stay on Isla Graciosa, possibly due to the stark contrast with Morocco. However, we were keen to start exploring the rest of the Canary Islands, so set sail for Arrecife, the capital of Lanzarote. Upon arrival we anchored for 1 night and then moored in Marina Lanzarote due to strong winds and increasing waves. The weather remained a little changeable during our stay in Arrecife, with a few rain showers to dampen the dust. We enjoyed a visit to the Saturday food market and a very blustery bike ride along the hilly coastline.
We decided to hire a car for a day to visit some of the islands tourist attractions:
Cesar Manrique sculptures and architecture;
Caves caused by cooling lava flows;
Spectacular Cactus gardens;
Mirador del Rio over looking Isla Graciosa;
Montana del Fuego, active volcanoes!
We made the most of having a car to stock up on wine from the islands vineyard and food shopping in a Hyperdino supermarket!
With the weather finally improving we set sail again for the south of Lanzarote and anchored at Playa Quemada, where we enjoyed a walk inland up into the hills. Continuing further south we anchored for several nights near Playa Papagayo, 'surfing' the dinghy ashore to explore the local area. Whilst at anchor we could see the north of Fuertaventura and watch the sunsetting over the ocean.

Morocco to Canary Islands

The 290 miles from Safi to the Canary Islands would take us approximately 3 days, so we made sure we had sufficient food and water before departing. It was exciting to be on our way, as neither of us had been to the Canary Islands.
With light winds on the first day we had to use the motor for a few hours to make good progress. Despite this, the following morning we could still see the Moroccan coastline!

Then the winds picked up and we could sail at a good speed in the right direction. The winds continued to increase, peaking at gale force 8 or 9 with large waves just as it got dark on the second day. Fortunately the winds eased overnight and the sea state improved, luckily we were still making good progress towards the Canary Islands.

Around lunchtime on the third day we could just about make out the faint outline of islands on the horizon. We had decided to head for Isla Graciosa, as it had been recommended by several people. As we approached the sun was setting behind the islands, and we continued under full sail. We anchored between the islands of Graciosa and Lanzarote under a bright moon and were very glad to have arrived in the Canaries.

The following morning we moved to an anchorage off Isla Graciosa, a tiny island north of Lanzarote. We spent a few days exploring the island, looking at the lava rocks, walking up the hills and exploring the village of Caleta del Sebo. We swam and snorkelled in the warm seas off the boat, we'd been waiting a long time for the opportunity to swim from our boat without freezing!

Morocco

Weather conditions prolonged our stay in Mohammedia to nearly a week, so we decided to take the train down the coast to visit Casablanca. It was wet and windy when we arrived, but we enjoyed walking through the ancient Medina and visited the giant mosque. Despite some impressive French style architecture, we didn't like Casablanca, maybe the weather conditions affected our judgement! With limited attractions in Mohammedia we visited the local yacht club one afternoon, where in contrast to the surrounding area, we found a tranquil clubhouse and garden.

With a favourable weather forecast we decided upon an overnight sail to the small fishing port of El Jadida. Arriving in the morning, we went ashore to complete formalities with the harbour master, police, customs and immigration. There was an interesting Portuguese fort with ramparts overlooking the harbour and another ancient Medina. We stayed for a few days, sheltering from large waves before continuing down the coast to the large commercial port of Safi.

We spent a few days exploring Safi, visiting the pottery quarter which was interesting but very touristy. There was a large Medina surrounded by ancient city walls, it was quite easy to loose sense of direction wandering around the narrow streets and under archways that supported the tightly packed buildings. Our friend Matt had to leave us in Safi to fly back to Bristol, we had enjoyed his company and sailing expertise.

A large French catamaran was moored alongside us for a couple of nights, but when the waves increased we both had to move due to likely damage. We motored round the harbour for a few hours avoiding tankers, tugs and finishing boats. Then we tried to re-moor alongside the wall, but picked up some fishing net around our propeller and very nearly drifted onto the inside of the stone breakwater. We had just enough power to reach one of the basins and anchored, where the following day a diver cut the nets to free the prop. We completed formalities in numerous offices and were very glad to be on our way to the Canary Islands.