The next day we sail from Gran Tarajal in Fuerteventura to Puerto de Mogan in Gran Canaria, a long sail so we decide to leave at 2AM so we can make it to the next island before sunset. Thomas and I take the first shift and pull up anchor with no issues this time. The bottom was sandy this time around. We motorsail for almost the whole 3 hours as there is very little wind, we are still in the lee of the island and have not rounded the cape by the time our shift ends at 5AM. There are no clouds and hardly any light pollution so we see many many stars and in the waves we create the plankton is glowing like little LED lamps in the water, activated by the movement of the sea. We hand over and go back to sleep, I get up again at 8AM.
We are about to round the corner of the end of the island and the sea is getting rougher and the wind stronger. We are entering one of the acceleration zones that form between the island where the wind is channelled by the mountains and picks up a lot of speed in a short time. The boat heels quite a bit and we have gusts up to 29 knots so we take a reef to reduce our sail surface and handle the winds better. I feel ok but need a bit of time to get used to the new force of the wind and the leaning of the boat.
I feel a bit seasick when i try to do the dishes down below so i go back up into the cockpit for a nap which makes me feel better. We have lunch, that also helps. I feel better but still a bit weak and i am not confident enough to steer the boat in those conditions so i don-t do much, just sit and enjoy the ride and get used to the feeling of the boat and try to learn as much as possible about it while we are underway.
During // After feeling seasick
The day goes by quickly and we arrive in our anchorage in Gran Tarajal at 5PM after 105nm. We go to town for dinner in our dinghy and go for a walk around the “Venice of Gran Canaria” as this place is also called. There are beautiful flowers everywhere and some small channels. On our way back to the boat, the dingy motor stops working so Thomas has to row us back to the boat. One more item for the to do list!
Comments