Arrecife to Tazacorte

I slipped my lines in the marina and with the strangest sensations related to having spent 2 weeks in this little marina village and having met and connected with some lovely people, I made my way out to the sea. Heading down the coast past Lanzarote to go west to La Palma, the late afternoon sun gave way to a beautiful sunset, in which case the wind dwindled and so began a passage that proved arduous and challenging. Something about the passage between the two islands of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, and the sea state became as lumpy as hell, with a following wind of about 5 knots, under bright stars and moonlight. By midnight, nothing but the constantly shifting and aggravating body of water under the hull, the motor came on and we crawled along at about 2.5knots, a slow and low chunter into the night. At about 5 am the wind returned and we made some way, and then it reduced to a crawl again, 4 hours later. All of Saturday, a lazy wind on the tail, polled out gib and spread mainsail, rolling and listing in the vague direction that we needed to go. And so it went on, into the night. Sunday bought wind, woohoo! Wind abaft and moving at last, 5 knots steady progress, it was a glorious spell and I managed to shake the melancholia that had set in since leaving Arrecife. I was amazed how a good blast could lift my spirits, nobody enjoys crawling along, bashing and listing going ten miles in four hours, and having to nurse the sails constantly. As the dusk came I could see La Palma in the distance and I realised that I needed, paradoxically, to slow down, in order to arrive in the daylight of Monday morning. And so began the night of no sleep and drama! Bearing around the north of the island and planning to head down the west side, the wind had other plans. I was really lucky to have put down the main and be on gib only, to achieve a speed of about 3 knots on a comfortable sea with the wind astern. Because at about midnight, all hell broke loose and I found myself in a mountainous sea with winds blowing at 30knots. And there in lay the problem that I was now making 5+ knots, going too fast! To achieve 3 knots I reduced the gib to something not unlike the size of a hankerchief, I was amazed at the rate of speed, running before the wind and waves. When the time came to tack down the side of the island, it soon became clear it was not a good move. As the moon was setting in the west, I came about and everything changed. The wind howled in the rigging, the gib was bolt rope tight and before long we took a massive hit from a wave at 90degrees to our port beam. There was an almighty crash down below as all of the stuff that i hadn't stowed properly took a flight across the cabin. Large pieces of timber, a heavy tool box, a shelf of books, about twenty flapjacks ejected from where they lay and scattered on the floor and the opposite bunk. My only option was to head back to my westerly bearing and run with it. Pressure had dropped 3 mb and I was a little worried but figured that to overshoot the island was my only safest option. So, for 8 hours we headed west, until it got light. With light on the situation I could get a better idea of the sea state and take the boat at a healthy angle to the waves and sea, rather than side on. With that in mind, at dawn, we turned back and beat into the wind to make back the distance towards La Palma. Which of course took another 6 hours, an uncomfortable passage of bashing and crashing until we came out of the wind. Having left the acceleration zone, bizarrely, the wind went to nothing as if we had crossed some invisible line, what little wind that remained was on the nose so we motored in, arriving mid afternoon to the marina. Show me a passage plan and I'll hold up a bit of tissue paper that may or may not disintegrate in the breeze, it's just never straight forward it seems, I am coming to learn. Puerto Tazacorte, a small and very quiet marina, nestled in a cove and surrounded by high cliffs. I see the mountain side with the vivid back drop of blue awaiting investigation. Time here to take stock, recover, sort out some shit and relax into the rhythm of unpredictability, it's probably a lesson I will really benefit from learning!