Last month of the calendar year 2011 and it’s the first month of winter in the northern hemisphere although not at all bad here in the Canary Islands compared with mainland Europe.
Each day we download weather data via the Iridium Satphone trying to get a feel for what is happening in the greater north Atlantic Ocean and how it affects the latitudes we will be sailing in when we leave here. Must say some of the winter weather to the north is hideous with one forecast the other day showing a low of 938mb with force 10 winds, mountainous seas, sleet ice......sort of a winter hurricane.
We are quite happy with 20 X 20......20 celsius and 20 knots thanks.
We are quite happy with 20 X 20......20 celsius and 20 knots thanks.
So at the moment it’s prep time aboard Musketelle in the Canaries as we are 100% focused on our next big hurdle….. the 5000km pond crossing to the Caribbean.
We are in Las Palmas anchored off the city in a bay within the busy port using the RIB to get ashore but expect to go into the nearby marina for the last few days to top off the diesel and water tanks. We will depart with 725L of diesel and 750L of water but with watermaking capacity at 90L per hour en route when required, so we should not go short on water.
Safety systems are being checked and rechecked, the floating waterproof grab bag that we throw over in an emergency is being repacked with new kit and the liferaft is away at the service station getting re-gassed and repacked. This has to be the biggest price gouge known to the cruiser, and we experience a few.….nearly NZD$1000 to re-gas a small 1kg pressure cylinder, replace 6 emergency flares, a few new high protein biscuits, some satchets of Norwegian mountain water (which makes it dearer than Scotch) and a few seasick pills plus a new typed A4 certificate.
One of our electric toilets has decided to call it quits at the most inappropriate time (but what time is not appropriate) and as is increasingly common in this disposable age service people prefer typing orders into keyboards for a new replacement and are reluctant to attempt to repair even when we can tell them exactly what the often infintissimal problem is. It our money they are after because we are clearly not repeat customers.
Every locker and every section of dry bilge is crammed with fine European faire and we have bulk stocks of our favorite food items that we will not get in the Carribean or the US. The fridge and freezer are full and we are using a mobile chiller for day to day items until space becomes available.
Christmas will be spent at anchor off Las Palmas, we have a leg of lamb from Waipukurau Hawkes Bay a bottle of Spanish Tradiconale Methode (bubbly) and we will have a nice quiet day loading these long overdue blogs. Feliz Navidad folks and looking forward to having you join us for the ride in 2012.
 |
| At anchor Las Palmas Harbour 23 Dec 2011 |
