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Postcard From the Voyaging Thomasina - Nov 05
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This is by way of being a pre departure mail before crossing. I have spent the last few weeks cruising around the Canaries, and jolly fine that has been. Not nearly as scenic, or having the plethora of anchorages, as Scotland but hot and you do actually catch big fish without trying to hard here. Also it has been a time of meeting a lot more cruising people some of which now are firm friends, and who it will be fantastic to meet again in the Caribbean. I now feel I am a living part of Thomasina and, as inert objects go, I love her to death for she has only to twitch or shudder and I know what she needs. Houses are not quite like that and this is possibly why I have never got attached to them overmuch. |
The last few days at Los Palmas were a lot of fun as there was a World Of Music event on, with bands and drummers from Africa, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean in open-air stages along with cabaret acts. All free, thousands of people, the best atmosphere ever and not even the slightest suspicion of any trouble.The Wailers, as in 'Bob Marley and..', played the last evening and got the odd few thousand people jumping about!
Roy and Allan are now on board and we have finished the provisioning, miraculously stored all the food and water (a mountainous task), and have crossed south west to the bottom end of Tenerife, where I plan to drop into Los Christianous to top-up the diesel and water and buy any odds and sods that are missing, also give the crew the last opportunity to jump ship as the full impact of how far it is across the Atlantic comes into full focus.
The weather, after being perfect wind wise, has died to light F3, which is not best for a fully laden Sceney, so I plan to head a couple of hundred miles further west to get into some systems that are there and which should provide more stable fair winds over the next week at least.
Weather routing is courtesy of my SSB radio receiver, from which I download weather charts onto the laptop, and also from listening in on Herb, who is an American who spends his life routing cruising people across the Atlantic.
Hopefully will catch you all again from the Caribbean after I reckon, winds willing, about 26 days.
