Leaving Las Palmas

so....here we are!
so many months, weeks, days of preparations for our first big ocean crossing!
the last days were ....bloody hell - well, if you read our blog, you know I wrote quite often how busy we were - but compared to the last days, these days retrospectively feel like holidays.

I got all the fruit, veg and meat order delivered - our boat looks like a fruit market with all the nets up inside the salon now.
all the boat stuff is done, every corner cleaned, every pair of underpants is freshly washed....to put it in a nutshell: we are SO ready to go.

today 12:00 - skippers briefing for the trip.
the last safety instructions are given, and then: the final weather report for the next couple of days.
and the weather is looking foul - actually more than just foul! really rotten!!!! 6-8m waves and the wind from a SSW direction with 35kn - a very deep low just north of the canaries is causing all the havoc.
this was probably the first time I got physically sick when seeing a weather chart! - and looking at Mark  I could see he's not well either!
2 days of bashing into heavy weather....if we would not be in the arc, we would never go out in such a forecast!
so we made the hard decision not to. in order to protect our crew, ourselves and of course our beloved maloo and in order to have a good time and a safe crossing, this is in our case the only decision we can make!

thank god the people from the arc think so too and decided for the second time ever in the last 27 years of arc to postpone the start for those who wish to leave in better weather and strongly recommended the "cruising devision" (the one we're in) not to go out!

so....as I wrote in the begining: here we are - and we will stay here until tuesday!

finally a couple of days to catch up on sleep! - and time to celebrate my captain mark's birthday!

busy at the arc

well, after a horrible horrible horrible night sailing from lanzarote to las palmas (we were rolling so much that at one stage i flew of the couch down below...) we find ourselves in the middle of the arc-program and preparing the last things for our crossing.

find out what's going on at http://www.worldcruising.com/arc/

so again we are busy as hell....and actually I can't wait to finally get going - so all the organizing will find it's own end ;)

still - some important things are still missing and this is why I need YOUR help!!!! - please send us some book-tips (preferably non sailing) via leaving a comment on the blog! also music-playlists will be highly appreciated :) (please leave Rod Steward out though;) )!

thanks for all your comments!!!

good bye monkeys - hello dolphins!

after a long wait for the right weather pattern we finally had the right wind prediction to go south.

the almost 4 weeks in la linea were a mixed experience: annoying, because we couldn't go anywhere, thinking that the weather might change and we'd miss our chance - exhausting, because we tried to use the time to get some boat-things done - cold, because the weather was just awful - funny, because those monkeys are really cute and fun to watch -  great, because we made really good friends I would not want to miss anymore (Lisa, Gill, Cameron and Samuel of Fabiola took great care of us, feeding and entertaining us! thanks so much for not only that, guys! - I reckon borrowing our bikes just won't make up anymore...)

but there we are - out the strait of gibraltar we go, snug along the coast making use of a couple of back currents pushing us out. just after tarifa mark and i landed our first tuna! a wonderful fish, that would be our dinner for the next couple of nights.

with fabiola and a lot of other boats we knew around us, we went into the first night. with no moon out and clouds it was pitch dark- and very very cold. wearing two layers of everything we started our 4h watch regimen. unlike the prediction (which had a nice northeasterly along the route we plotted) the wind died off where we are. 

the night went on, the next day came and in the morning the wind slightly picked up again. but the angle was not as nice as hoped... so we tried "goose-winging" for the first time on maloo. (i.e. poling out the headsail on one side and having the mainsail on the other side - very useful to go as far down wind as possible)

the second night started rather smooth but as the hours went on, thunderclouds built and in the early morning hours I found us surrounded by massive thunderbolts hitting the water - beautiful to watch when in a nice house with a cup of tea - bloody scary when in a boat with a mast alone on sea - so we switched of every antenna (like the vhf right up the top) and took all power off the batteries only steering to the compass to make sure we attract the least attention possible to any flash up there ;)

heavy rain followed and for the next day we tried to avoid one thunder system after the other - they fortunately had little wind in them (at least where we were) - but the wind direction changed like being on some joyride.

other boats - other conditions: just 20nm away from us, other yachts had great wind or even too much and a hell of a lot of bad luck. over vhf we got news of sails being torn and another boat suffering a knock down. horrible things to hear - but thank god no one was hurt or serious damage done!

morning of day 3 had us surrounded by a massive pod of very playful dolphins which stayed with us for over an hour... funny how you feel really knackered in one moment (after two nights of very bad to no sleep), wondering what you ever thought when you decided to do this sailing thing, and the next moment you are surrounded by dolphins and you know that exactly this sailing thing has clearly been the best choice ever made!

we heard them talk to each other through the hull of the boat as they swam left and right and under our boat - just amazing.

while looking at the dolphins i noticed a bit of rope coming out the back of our boat. it was stuck so the first thought was it would be around the prop (and this was not the nicest thought!) we took our little gopro camera and put it on a pole to film under water. we were quite relived to find this rope only being stuck between the rudder and the hull. again we were incredible lucky as this string would come out just after maneuvering in the marina 2 days later without us having to dive)... check out the video below!

a few hours later we got another visitor - a little bird needed some rest and after hanging out outside in the cockpit for a while he decided it was much cozier down below... so down he went. 

he got really friendly and looked for various places to sleep (see photos), sat on my hand for a bit and tried our bed - i wonder what these birds do out there, since quite a few came to have a look if maloo would make a good rest stop.

I gave him a bit of sugared water, which he drank happily and after a short snooze he took off again.

friday the 9th we arrived in Graciosa at 10:00am planning to anchor for a couple of nights - but other yachts had the same idea so the anchorage was full and very rolly so mark and I decided to move on to rubicon marina on lanzarote, where we anyway had to go to pick up the last safety gear for crossing the big lake.

this added another 50nm to our trip - we caught another tuna, unfortunately, as after our first catch we were quite "tunaed out" and both did not fancy one more bite! (it was not wasted however: another boat in the marina was very happy to add it to their paella)

we tied off in rubicon at 17.00 - after 5 days and 4 nights on sea. 

compared to other yachts around us we were incredible lucky and had no damage done to our boat even though the conditions were nothing like expected. the wind came from every possible direction, the sea was sometimes nice, sometimes very messy - it was definitely not an easy sail down and very demanding.

after a late dinner with the fabiola crew, we had a deep sleep and found ourselves the next morning on this most amazing island of lanzarote. unfortunately we will have to explore the island some other time (which is a huge shame) but las palmas is calling and we will do the jump of 100nm on monday night hoping to arrive for breakfast.

the arc-craze will start and we have to get the last preps done before the big jump.

I tell you, it is more than strange having talked about it for such a long time and now have it finally happening!

monkey no.1

monkey no.2

monkey no. cute

catching a free ride uphill

quite scary when you throw something and all of a sudden....

Gibraltar and La Linea

probably the only runway we got to cross 100 times

the first tuna

goose-wingin' maloo

on watch

a new friend!

trying to find a nest...

found!

getting lost in marrakech

a few days in gibraltar - but africa is too close and so we can't resist the calls to come over.

we board a ferry from algeciras to tanger, board a train and go south.

on the way - a different world - sometimes beautiful, sometimes sad...all this rubbish! -what did we ever think when we started wrapping our food in plastic? tonnes of plastic bags caught in kakteen, in trees (a lot of eucalypts again), just flying through the air like autumn leaves...pretty and yet so horrible.

after 10h of numbing our butts we get off in marrakech! the owner of the riad where we will stay organised a taxi to pick us up.

a near death experience is what you have to call a taxi-ride through this mess of traffic! ;)

we get off the taxi to be taken by another guy to our riad which is right in the medina. we walk past little shops, people screaming selling fruit and handbags...faces smiling at us (probably welcoming their new pray...i get to that later!) and smells of food and urine...crazy - another magic planet!

the riad was just phantastic and i can only recommend it to everyone going to marrakech! it was simply a calm oasis in all the bubbling and brothing turmoil of marrakech.

the city, especially the medina forces you to a balancing act between positive and negative. one one side there would be a wonderful spice shop, or coran school right next to a spot that has been used as dump/public toilet, followed by a butcher that has the alive chicken in the back and when you choose yours, makes it "table ready" right in front of you. the smells are sometimes overpowering, the poverty of the people is always heartbreaking and the way some of the donkeys (who are still a very common means of transport) are treated is excruciating.

seeing the monkeys on the main square is a reminder that animal welfare is a luxury good.

people are generally friendly - but never make the mistake of pulling a map out in the middle of the street. our experience in short:

us: "where the heck are we? - let's have a look on the map!"

some guy: "you need direction? go to tannery! fest of the colors, my brother work there! you go tannery!!!!"

us: "oh well, why not!"

2minutes later the same guy next to us walking: " i show you way to tannery! - my brother work there - I don´t want money - you don´t pay me for showing the way!" (it is common practice to get money out of tourists when showing them their way - no matter if they want to be shown or not)

we arrive at the tannery - where leather is made under what have to be the worst circumstances (and there goes my handbag....what a shame - but after seeing people up to their waste in poison handling rotting skin...) 

after the tannery (of course) we are taken to the shop to be shown carpets and leather products. we resist - talk our way out of the showroom. outside however - the first guy and his brother aka tour guide around the tannery wait for us and ask for 200dirham (20€). being told it was all for free, we did not let them intimidate us  and gave them the amount we were told was reasonable: 15dirham and took off.

nevertheless, walking through the medina feels quite like being taken back a few centuries into tales of the book of thousand and one night.

the desires of orient are more than fulfilled and all these colors and smells and noises feel like a wild dream.

marrakech is a demanding and beautiful place...and a night train ride later, he dream of orient is over - we're back in La Linea and trapped between weather systems and lows blocking our way to the canaries.

where all the mercs go...

Saadian Tombs

Saadian Tombs

one of so many donkeys...poor beast of burden

foxy bike!

Ben Youssef Madrasa/ old islamic university

Ben Youssef Madrasa

the long jeans shall not mislead...it was damn hot!

nicest colours and patterns

tiny study and dorm room at the university

the storch of thousand and one night

going home for lunch - with a live chook

one of the butchers with the alive animals in the back - and alive flies in the front

wool died in the streets

tannery - the smell is unbearable

another tannery, same smell

entry to one of the souks

jardin majorelle - yves saint laurent museum

Dar Si Said

obstacles in the way

we started in Fomentera at 06:00am in complete darkness and soon after the wind started moving us along with nice 6,5 to 7kn but the swell was just awful! very short 2-3m high waves made it impossible for us to sail directly downwind (as the course would have required) because the odd higher wave would make the sails flap with a big bang. so we gybed and gybed adding a total of app.60nm to our trip. 

the first night the rolling movement of our boat made it impossible to sleep.

pretty tired we thought, that if conditions didn't improve we´d be tired enough to fall asleep anyway and so kept going.

our decision was encouraged by lots of dolphins playing in our bow-wave and by what would have to be the most amazing and rare sight in the mediterranean: mark saw a sperm whale breeching out of the deep! (unfortunately I was off shift at that moment and got out too late, only seeing it breathing on the horizon.)

at around lunchtime the wind died off  - so did the swell soon after and thank god we got some sleep.

just one hour before midnight though in mirror like waters the odd bit of bamboo was floating on the surface. the wooden bits got bigger and bigger, leaving me with a massive "tree-paranoia" and my eyes fixed to the radar-screen.

just a couple of hours later the carpet of debris (which must have been a remain from last weeks floods in southern spain) got so thick one of us had to look out at the front of the boat with a torch. lots of lemons and oranges where floating past, making you wonder, where the tree to it would wait for you!

the debris kept reappearing for at least 150nm even though we were mostly more than 40nm off shore.

the rest of the trip was rather uneventful. as we would have arrived in Gibraltar in the dark we decided to pull up at Fuengirola just 50nm short of Gib and have a rest. our first anchorage within a break wall proved to be very rolly again, so we snuck into the marina tying off at the fuel dock for the night. a very cheap and peaceful alternative;)

the next morning we headed towards Gibraltar in very dense fog - and again the radar proved to be a great piece of equipment. I love it!!!!!!

through the fog you could hear the fog horns of hugh cargo-ships...what an orchestra!

as we got closer to Gibraltar the fog slowly started to rise and "the Rock" appeared in front of us.

surrounded by massive ships going around the rock into the bay of Gibraltar felt like going into the heart of a big machine. a very different experience from what I was imagining before we got here.

we went to the marina in La Linea which is on the spanish side and found a nice spot to prepare for the jump into atlantic. before we leave we will take a ferry across to Morocco and travel down to Marrakech. let´s see what is awaiting us there!

so after two and a half months we made our way through the mediterranean who almost gave us the feeling in the last few days it did not want us to leave with putting obstacles in our way.

I have to admit, I am a bit proud of accomplishing the first part of our trip.

we had a great time, a wonderful summer and perfect conditions to get to know our maloo (i.e. strong winds or none of it - choppy seas and short waves or none of it etc...and sometimes all of it in half a day;)). I reckon we could spend years in the med as there is so much to explore and see - and I am very sure, we will come back and do so!

she´s a great lake to be on - unfortunately she either is to be motored or sailed in rough seas ...but the places to be found, the people to be met and the food to be had make up for a lot of it.

autumn has definitely moved in though and another ocean is calling out for us! 

take care, dear mediterranean! and see you again!

spanish coast in fog

sometimes we could not see further than the boat is long

dolphins hunting for breakfast

"the rock" appearing on the horizon

europa point and it's mosque

a lonely beach in the mediterranean

leaving Palma we had a good sail down to Ibiza, where we spent the night anchored in front of the main habour and left the next morning to go to Formentera.

we have had enough of towns for a while and hence decided to move on to a nice quiet anchorage.

we enjoyed the last days of summer in a wonderful bay resembling what I think looks like some lonely pacific island, walked along the beach and had a very uncomfortable roly night...not so nice. we moved on to another more protected anchorage further down, took a walk through La Savina and just relaxed for a while, preparing for our last jump to the westerly end of the mediterranean.

anchorage under the cathedral of eivissa (ibiza)

salt lake on formentera

an almost australian like beach

get out your land legs, mate!

after having done all the nescessary work to our beloved maloo, mark and i thought it was time for a little treat and time to get off the boat for a bit. so we hired a car and of we went to explore the island of mallorca - without any real plan and a rather superficial map. what a great way to go on adventure!

the first adventure was actually to pick up the car at the airport. we decided to ride our bikes out along the coast and then just to cut inland at the airport. part one( the coast) was beautiful - with a strong wind making huge seas, we fortunately didn't have to sail! - part two (cutting inland) had us going on the highway with our bikes...since then i know that what the spanish word "loco" means!

with a great new citroen berlingo we then went to port andratx, supposedly one of the nicest places in the med where all the rich and pretty are said to meet...well, not when we were there! but we saw a scary reminder of what can happen, when the seas get too high and you pull out of a bay too late. a rather new 62ft catamaran must have broken the mooring of the buoy as the swell was rocking the yacht up and down. the cat went straight on to the rocks and a couple of days of waves completely ground it to pieces.

with our heads full of horror scenarios we had to distract ourselves and went up to soller and further through some crazy winding roads full with bike riders and busses. with the roads hardly wider then our car we had a few near heart attacks there (and please mind, that this is written by an austrian girl! - so you get the picture) - bike rider meets bus meets berlingo....not good! (as mark put it)

but the landscape is breathtaking and (for me) rather unexpected to be seen on mallorca.

we went up the coast to pollenca and drove by alcudia only to find "shindig" of andrew and chele there, had a quick drink and drove back home to palma.

the next day had us explore the south west further. we drove through arenal on a rainy morning, which is a very scary thing to do! - and sat in the sun in the afternoon in calla figuera (well worth a visit) and watched the ducks.

what a great way to "waste" time!

generally mallorca is a beautiful island - even though you find those hotel-resort-bunker towns. these places however can be avoided...the only issue is: this sland is just run over by tourists!;) being part of the problem we prepare to leave!

as the winds seem to calm down and it is time to get moving, we plan to stock up on provisions and move on by sunday. at the moment we hope only to make a quick stop on ibiza, as we want to make our way down the spanish coast as fast as possible.

we hope to do a inland trip to morocco to see marrakech hence traveling fast past ibiza. at the moment we´re not sure if we travel down to rabat and leave our boat there, or maybe even leave it in gibraltar and just move over by ferry (advantage being we don't have to clear into morocco which apparently can be a bot nerve wrecking) time and winds will tell us! but till then we still have a few miles to cover!

so...sails out!

panurama tramuntana

making friends along the road....they were sooooo soft!

boats of calla figuera

in soller - a lot of flags for one country

now which one is the spicy one?

very yummy tomatos

a cat on the rocks

a scary reminder!