Kurukulla

Kurukulla
Kurukulla, anchored at James Bond Island, Thailand

Monday 25 September 2017

Lanzarote to Gran Canaria via Fuerteventura and Tenerife; the last voyage of the season.

Lanzarote Marina, Arrecife
The Marina Lanzarote, at Arrecife, was also the venue for our next crew change. With Matt due to depart 48 hours after our arrival, and the weather forecast being less than inviting for an excursion to sea, we decided to hire a car and “do the island” in order that he would see somewhat more than just the harbour and a bit of coastline. From Arrecife we headed south to the southern tip of the island at Punta Papagayo where we enjoyed a swim and relaxing late lunch at El Barba, one of the cafe/restaurants on the cliff top. This was followed by a leisurely drive up to La Caleta, a windsurfing/kite surfing venue on the west coast, where we enjoyed an excellent dinner at the Restaurante Costa Farmara, dining whilst watching the sun set in the west. Ultimately we headed back to Arrecife and Kurukulla for the night.

Statues at the entrance to Lanzarote Marina, Arrecife
Next morning it was time for Matt to depart, we dropped him at the airport and then hit Lidl to re-victual before the next two guests arrived, Ray and Amedeo. They were due to arrive in the mid morning of the next day. With victuals and the next two guests embarked it was time to set off southwards again.
Southern end of Lanzarote
With the wind and sea coming from the north this was going to be a rolling good start to Ray and Amadeo's time onboard. Fortunately it took us only a pair of hours to get to the bay of Playa Blanca where we anchored for the night, very close to Punta Papagayo, our lunch venue of the previous day. Our first attempt at setting the anchor was less than successful, we had mistaken flat rock for sand; hence, we had to concede defeat, start the engine, and re-lay the anchor; this time successfully. Moral, when anchoring under sail take a careful look before dropping it!

We stayed here in the shelter of the bay, enjoying the yellow sand beach and relative calm (only very slight swell penetrating the bay) until late in the afternoon of the following day. At that stage we sailed off the anchor for the short, 5 mile, passage to Isla de Lobos. Here, due to lack of space, we opted to motor into the anchorage. In the event we chose to pick up one of the several moorings available, all of which were laid for day tripper boats to use, rather than risk getting our anchor fouled on their ground tackle. There is very little if any unobstructed and sheltered space left in this “anchorage”.
Las Playitas bay at sunset
Here we stayed overnight but with grey skies and relatively strong winds whistling through the rigging we were not tempted to venture ashore and we had departed before the first of the tourist boats arrived to claim their moorings.

Next stop was Las Playitas, an anchorage two thirds of the way down the east coast of Fuerteventura. This charming little village is almost a place that time forgot. It is very reminiscent of a Cycladean village, that is if you ignore the rather ugly (but well hidden) resort behind the beach to the west of it. So taken were we with this little gem of a place that we decided to stay two nights and on the second night chose to dine in one of the two waterfront restaurants, Restaurante de los Playas; again we enjoyed a very good meal. On return to our dinghy, which we thought we had left well above the high tide line, we were informed that it had been retrieved by the locals having taken itself for a “passeggiata”!
Papagayo
Well, one does tend to become unaccustomed to tides after so many years in the Mediterranean and we were later leaving than we had predicted! Fortunately the rest of the trip back to Kurukulla was uneventful.

After 36 hours of sun and swimming we set off for the southern tip of Fuerteventura via the beaches to the south of Punta de los Molinos; sadly, despite the relative calm of the last 48 hours, the swell was such that we were unable to anchor off of any of the beautiful golden sand beaches and were forced to carry on to our planned night anchorage at Puertito de la Luz. Initially we had a variable, if only light, wind to carry us south but at Morro Jable, the most southerly tip of Fuerteventura, the wind deserted us and we were forced to resort to the engine for half an hour or so; the eight mile reach to Puertito de la Luz took two hours not the 90 minutes we had anticipated, that said, as we approached the anchorage, the winds got up considerably from the north west and when we anchored we were in winds of 20 gusting 25 knots that persisted for the night. Good for battery charging at least! Notwithstanding the wind the remainder of the crew swam ashore for a walk on the golden sand beach, I remained onboard to look after Kurukulla, or that was my excuse anyway!

Next morning it was an early-ish start. The alarm sounded at 0700 and by 0800 we were ready to go. It was to be a relatively long, 55 mile, crossing to reach Las Palmas in Gran Canaria. With the winds of the previous night I was expecting the seas to be fairly heavy hence we all set off in harnesses and foul weather gear. I was not disappointed! After a pair of hours our two joiners had retired to their bunks, taking refuge from the seas, and Christoph and I took it in turns to steer for 10 mile stretches. As we approached the harbour of Las Palmas the winds subsided somewhat but the seas did not. Not a bad crossing though; 55 miles in 8 hours; roughly a 7 knot average.

En tour of Gran Canaria
With strong winds forecast for the next two days we again took the option of hiring a car and touring the island that way. Not only did it give us more flexibility but it allowed Christoph and I, on the second day, to deposit the other two crew members on the beach whilst we got on with arrangements for the storage of Kurukulla between end September and early January when the trans-Atlantic leg starts. The final crew dinner was enjoyed at the Restaurante Rustico, in Maspalomas, not far from the Golf Course; it was excellent. We opted for a selection of Tapas, all were delicious; they were served with care, in an ambiance of calm, but in a restaurant full of character. The following day we deposited the two departing crew at the airport, en route back from the beach, after which Christoph and I settled for a simple meal in one of the marina cafes before retiring for an early-ish night.

We opted to declare the next day a maintenance day, undertaking laundry, minor maintenance on Kurukulla and relaxing, only to discover it was a public holiday in Las Palmas hence there was nothing open anyway! The following day we headed for the supermarket to re-victual before calling at the fuel station on departure from the marina to fill Kurukulla's fuel tank and finally anchored for the night in the anchorage inside the port. Life is so much more pleasant in these temperatures when clothes are unnecessary and you can swim at will!

Approaching Bahia de Antequera, N end of Tenerife
As the sun rose next day we set off for Tenerife, this was the last of the islands we were planning to visit before laying up. The winds were from the north and the seas confused as we left the port. For the sake of saving time we motor-sailed north-east before shutting down the engine and setting off north westwards towards our destination. As we rounded the north of Gran Canaria we were able to free off even more and were soon surging along at 7-8 knots on a close reach, this was to last almost to our destination the deserted bay at the north eastern tip of Tenerife called Bahia de Antequera.
Bahia de Antequera, N end of Tenerife
Close to the beach here the bottom is stones covered by a thin layer of sand but after two attempts we managed to get the anchor to dig in and settled for the night; notwithstanding the blustery winds the anchor held firm and we passed an uneventful night. Outside the bay were two drill ships and a drilling platform each of which was anchored and lit up like Christmas tree!

Next day we decided to have a lay day.
Bahia de Antequera, N end of Tenerife
We had the anchorage to ourselves and thus decided to take a hike up the adjacent hills. We swam ashore and just as we landed on the beach another yacht arrived and anchored near Kurukulla accompanied by a “water taxi” bringing beach lovers from Santa Cruz, neither seemed phased by our state of undress. The trek took us up to the crest of the hills behind the anchorage and then we decided to follow a dry river valley back to the beach. Although far from a footpath we only had to negotiate two dry waterfalls in the process and two hours after we left we were back on the beach.
Arriving back on the beach
The sunbathers were still there but not for long. Soon after our arrival the mizzle started and the mixture of mist and light rain settled in for the rest of the afternoon. We had chosen our time well! The beach lovers soon summoned their water taxi and departed!That evening was tranquil with a mixture of mizzle and blue sky, normal for the north end of this island.
Entering Puerto di Santa Cruz, Tenerife
Next morning we departed for the Marina de Santa Cruz where on day two we hired a car and see more of the island before our return to Gran Canaria. However, our first trip ashore was a shoort one by tram and to visit the world renowned town of La Laguna, a world heritage site. Impressive though the town is I was somewhat underwhelmed. It felt rather more like being on a film set than standing in the midst of history and at street level it bore more allegiance to Oxford Street than an early Spanish settlement. By comparison the tour by road was a great success. Next day we departed Santa Cruz, heading west, crossed the island to Puerto de la Cruz stopping en route for a swim at, what we determined to be one of the best beaches on the island, Playa del Pozo.
Self at La Laguna
This beach was a nightmare to get down to, the cliff falls had carried away several parts of the path, but once there it was an almost deserted kilometre long stretch of black sand, clean and close to paradise. Oh joy. From here we headed south west along the coast until we were constrained to turn south east and undertake an amazing climb, up into the volcanic mountains, to reach the more populated parts of the south coast.
Church of San Bartolomeo, La Laguna
The village of Masca had to be seen to be believed, nestling in amongst the peaks and looking like a village the world had forgotten! The climb was astounding, first and second gear only, with hairpin bend after hairpin bend. The descent was slightly less challenging but only because gravity was on our side! If there is one word to describe the most southerly shores of Tenerife it is “breathtaking” but for all the wrong reasons. Acres of concrete and rock with little to recommend it, other than the ease of access from the motorway. We stopped at Palm Mar, a development that had been recommended, it was like a ghost town.
The beach at El Pozo, near Puerto de la Cruz
Thousands of apartments but virtually no one to be seen. We departed soon after arriving, having stopped for a beer at the “Beach Bar”, situated on a few hundred square metres of imported Saharan sand! Not for me.....
By 2030 we were back in the main city of Santa Cruz, settled onboard for a late supper and determined that we would leave next morning.

Crossing the southern end of Tenerife, town of Masca.
With the hire car returned and a few other odd jobs completed we requested approval from Santa Cruz Harbour Control to depart and once granted set off for the south eastern shores of Tenerife, with the initial intention of anchoring for the night at Bahia de Abona, but the further south we went the more unlikely this looked; the wind veered to the east sending the seas it had created directly into the bay; for this reason we continued south to reach Playa de las Tejitas a more sheltered bay, protected by Punta Montana Roja, which also hosts the refuelling system for the Aeropuerto del Sur, the most southerly of the two airports on Tenerife. The tankers moor to four buoys in the bay and pump the fuel ashore to the storage tanks; sure enough one was in position as we arrived. Notwithstanding the ships presence we were able to anchor nearer the beach but a significant swell was rolling in on the beach from the south, where this had come from goodness knows as we had had no southerly wind for weeks! Fortunately the north easterly wind held us stern to swell and we were able to enjoy a relatively stable night without rolling our hearts out.

Punta Montana Roja, close east of Playa de las Tajitas
Next morning dawned with 20 knots of wind from the North East; it was to be an early departure as we had to cover the 50+ miles to Pasito Blanco on Gran Canaria, our last port for this season. It was here that we had reserved a place ashore to lift out Kurukulla for the September to December period, prior to going trans-atlantic. A north easterly wind meant that we were going to be on a close reach or worse still close hauled for the trip across; c'est la vie! As we departed we settled down on port tack making good 6 – 7 knots, almost close hauled, and with 25 knots of wind over the deck. As the day progressed the wind increased but backed such that by mid day we were on a beam reach which, although faster, meant that we had breaking waves coming at us beam on, not pleasant. After twice having the cockpit of Kurukulla filled by a breaking waves we eventually reached the lee of Gran Canaria and breathed a slight sigh of relief. As we approached the island the winds became stronger, the winds choosing to go round the island rather than over it, but within 10 minutes of reaching the lee we were verging on becalmed, ghosting along in less than 10 knots of wind. To have light winds was a pleasure after the previous five hours of steering by hand to avoid the worst of the breaking waves but frustrating given that we were keen to arrive in Pasito Blanco before the marina staff went off for the night. After two hours of 2 – 3 knots we opted to motor the last 7 miles and get into port at a reasonable hour; we finally arrived at 1930 where we were greeted by the security staff. We came alongside the fuelling pier whilst they checked our reservation, and then we were directed to our berth for the next three nights. Thus ended the 2017 season......
Kurukulla ashore at Pasito Blanco
Our task now is to put Kurukulla to bed for the next three months and to make the preparations for the Atlantic Crossing and for the 2018 season in the Caribbean. She will go back into the water in late December and the plan is to set off for Antigua on or after the 4th of Jan 2018. Notwithstanding the after effects of hurricane Irma, Antigua remains our first destination only because one of the crew, Malvena, has her return flight already booked from there. After that the plan remains flexible depending on how quickly the BVI, Barbuda, Turks and Caicos and other islands recover from the effects of Irma.

Next blog once we are about to depart.........