Las Palmas, Gran Canaria to Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe – Days 1 – 2

Yesterday morning the weather was erratic. It was sunny for a while, and actually got warm enough to remove all coats and sweaters, then suddenly a big cloud blew in and it was cold and rainy. We went through the usual get ready to go routine, which went by incredibly fast with Neil and Colin helping. With the long passage and potential for rough seas, we really needed to batten down the hatches especially well, and we probably would not have left until sunset without their help.

When we were ready to go, we went for a last lunch on dry land. We have realized there is a palpable air of resignation amongst the boaters here. We already mentioned that everyone is friendly, and in the boating world, usually friendly and social go hand in hand. We have noticed there isn’t much socializing going on here. We haven’t had any offers, nor have we made any, nor have we seen many get togethers on the boats around us. The few get togethers we have noticed are short and subdued, as opposed to the often all day and late into the night loud affairs that are typical in the boating world. We haven’t made any offers because our focus is solely on getting the boat ready to go, then leaving ASAP, and we are certain everyone else’s mentality is the same.

Switching topics completely, we have been told by everyone we have talked to, including the marina, that there are no country check out procedures at all. You simply leave. We are baffled by that and hope we have no issues checking into Guadeloupe without a clearance from Gran Canaria.

We untied at 1400. Neil waved us off, and Colin was sad to say goodbye. Just before leaving the sheltered waters of the bay, Eric and Colin put the paravane arms out. Just the arms, they didn’t put the fish in the water. They decided to do this for two reasons. One, they hope the extra windage the arms create will help push us along, and two, should the active fin stabilizers die, throwing the fish in the water will be faster and easier with the arms already out.

Shortly after we left, we eavesdropped on some sailors talking on the radio. It turns out they are people we had met briefly in the marina. They are also Americans, and about our age. We could see them both not too far ahead of us, so they had obviously pulled out of port today, too. Eric called them to say hi and had a nice chat. It turns out we have a mutual friend. They also invited us to join their daily radio net at 0900. A few hours later, we passed by both of them.

We were sheltered by the island and had a calm and pleasant ride for the first 12 hours or so. The wind was light, and the seas were only 2 4 feet, following, at 40 foot intervals. Not flat as a pancake, but quite pleasant for an ocean. We like this photo because you can see the island and the paravane arms, and get a sense of the weather and sea conditions.

We were braced for it to get ugly once we cleared the island, but it didn’t. The seas have remained the same. Eric theorizes that the other islands in the Canary chain are protecting us. Yes, they are farther away, but they are still stopping the big waves which are coming from that direction.

At 0800 UTC this morning, our position was 26°57.70’N by 016°44.30’W. Our average speed has been 6.16 knots at 1600 RPM.

On the radio net this morning, the sailboats were complaining about the lack of wind. They were motoring. Eric was very sympathetic as he told them we had to run our engines, too.

In the late afternoon, Colin spotted a sailboat near by. It was coming towards us. They didn’t respond to our radio calls. Colin went out to look at a sailboat in the distance through binoculars. The people on board were fishing and clearly not paying attention to what was ahead of them. We were not on a collision coarse, so ultimately it was no big deal that they weren’t paying attention, but it is still a bit disconcerting to know people don’t watch. The guys kept an eye on them for most of the time they were visible. We suspect that they did eventually notice us and that they started watching us through binoculars, too.

While he was outside, Colin noticed there were about a dozen dolphins playing quietly along the front of the boat. Dolphins are always a good thing. Unfortunately, they refused to pose for the camera and only stuck around 10 to 15 minutes or so.

Here is a shot of sunset.

We are pleased to report that the seas remained nice all day and that it was a pleasant ride. It was cloudy, but warm enough that we could leave door open all day and even after dark. We haven’t moved very many degrees south yet, but obviously it was enough to escape the biting cold at night. The wind was fairly light on our port aft quarter all day ranging from 4 10 knots apparent.

Tonight the moon was ¼ full and it aligned with Venus and Jupiter into a triangle formation, with the moon at the top and the two planets below. For just a few minutes, the trio poked out from behind the clouds and they were glowing vividly in the sky. Then the clouds ate them up again. Throughout the night we’d get peeks of the trio through the clouds, but they were moving farther apart, so it wasn’t as special as the first sighting. All the other stars in the sky are also looking especially vibrant tonight, though you can only see them through the gaps in the clouds. Visibility is poor overall because of the small moon and heavy cloud cover.