Monday 23 august 2004.
Hello or Hola as we say nowadays! We're back in Spanish territory on the Canary Island Graciosa and it feels great!
 Sailing in calm waters. |
We have sailed some relatively long distances since we left you the last time. We waited for a good weather forecast in Portimao, which we got one in the end of June, NE wind strength 3-5 at least for the next 5 days. Since our course was set for Porto Santo we were heading SW so it sounded perfect. We left Portugal and said goodbye to all our friends there and took off. The main sail was up straight away but we motored almost 3 hours before we had enough wind for sailing. We passed the shipping lanes at 9 p.m. the first night and the wind had picked up a lot. We called a big ship to ask if they had the same weather information as we and they did. Gunilla wanted to turn around after 50 Nm, after all we still had 420 Nm to go, but the Captain thought it was temporarily more wind off Cabo Sao Vicente...
We got winds of up to 43 knots and the waves to go to it, thankfully from the stern but it was very wet onboard the first 2 days when we got pooped several times. The wind decreased to 30 knots on day 2 and the waves where not as big as before but we were still in a state of seasickness. We felt quite small on the ocean but Elvina sailed beautifully with only a little genoa rolled out and Peter, our windsteering steered us right on track. We talked to the Swedish radio net every night and were more relaxed as they said the wind would continue to decrease as we came further west. They were right and day 3 and 4 we had the promised 3-5 beaufort and we could change our course straight for Porto Santo as we had been unable to do that when the waves were too high.
 Elvina in Porto Santo |
After 4 days and 7 hours (484 Nm) we came to Porto Santo and it felt very good. Despite the hard weather in the beginning it was tougher to sail the last 20 Nm as we saw the island rise up from the horizon but it felt like we would never get there!! Psychologically like being very hungry and look at a nice dinner but not getting any... We anchored outside the marina in turquoise water where we saw the anchor at 10 meters depth since it was extraordinary clear. Then we started to clean out the mess... Everything that had been wet was put in the cockpit to be washed/rinsed and it looked like a small tornado had passed through! We went into the marina the following day to get access to water and then we had 2 days of washing and cleaning onboard. After that we were ready to see and explore Porto Santo.
 House in Santana |
We went out to the anchorage again after all the hard work in the marina. We also painted the harbor wall there. It's a nice tradition to leave a little memory behind and also fun to see if we recognize any other boat names. We took a few long walks on the island, one of them up to the top of Pico Castelo where we were rewarded with a wonderful view over most of Porto Santo. The beach is the island's greatest asset and there were tourists from Madeira on a daily basis to enjoy the tropical life a bit. Since it would cost 12€ to leave the dingy in the marina we landed on the beach instead and now we know what a wet dingy landing means in reality... One moment everything is under control, then there's a wave landing in the dingy, throwing us in the water and the following seconds we are trying to understand what happened... So we went back to the boat, put on our swimsuits and put dry clothes in a watertight bag and headed for the beach one more time! We got wet more than once but with bathing gear on we don't mind as much and we are slowly getting better at taking the waves.
 Elvina has her own mark in Porto Santo |
After almost 2 ½ week there we were ready to move on and now Madeira was tempting us on the horizon. It was a pleasant day sail and we got to fly the spinnaker again! We anchored in Baia d'Abra and had a few good days with snorkeling and swims, walks and BBQ:s with other sailors. It was far from the civilization but there were buses to the cities where we could do our shopping. When the wind turned and came from the south the anchorage became untenable and then we went into the new marina Quinta do Lorde (Canical) nearby. We really don't want to take seasickness pills while at anchor! We had a visit by Hans and Lennart from the Swedish TV who was on Madeira to work and it was fun to see them again. They brought herring, caviar, Swedish cheese and candy and boy did it taste good!!
 Dutch Rudi and Krilla at a BBQ |
 Funchal, Maderia |
We sailed on to Funchal and got to see both a shark and a whale at a distance. On the trip to Porto Santo we had turtles on a few occasions and we are glad for every sign of life we see in the ocean. Funchal was quite a contrast to the calm life we'd had in the wilderness and there was a lot to explore. During our days here we took different daytrips. One day we went to the village Santana on the north coast famous for their special houses. Another day we walked along a levada, ( the watering system) and wherever we went it was very beautiful with flowers, high mountains and steep valleys descending in the blue ocean. We like Madeira and hope to get back there because we still have a lot to see!
 Levada walk at Maderia |
The thought of sailing on is hard to get rid of once you've gotten it and when the weather looked good for a trip to the Canary Islands we left Funchal. Three days and 290 Nm later we came to Graciosa. We had little wind the first half and nice winds the other half and it's the best passage we've had so far. We are anchored with 14 other boats of different origins, we are the only Swedish boat, and this is great! The water has the same color as in Porto Santo, the beach is white and also easy for landing the dingy! Graciosa is the least exploited Canary Island and it reminds of an old western town with sandy streets and low built houses. We will probably stay here a few more weeks before we move on to Lanzarote to see what that island has to offer!
 Anchorage in Playa Francesca, Graciosa |
 Gunilla at Graciosa, Canary Islands |
All the best from Gunilla and Krister Bewert
