On 27 June 2023 it was time again: cast off in Las Palmas! This time we headed back to Tenerife – and on to the western islands.
Four days all to ourselves
Right up in the north of Tenerife we found a completely secluded bay – you can only get there by boat. We spent four days and four nights at anchor there. It was a bit windy, but we had the bay all to ourselves.
At the same time it was an important test for the big voyage: how well do we manage completely self-sufficiently? Are the watermaker and solar power enough, do energy and supplies add up? The result: everything worked perfectly.
Across to La Gomera
From there we sailed south between Gran Canaria and Tenerife and spent a night in Marina San Miguel – right at the fuel dock. The next day we crossed over to La Gomera. The first miles were wonderful, but about five miles before our destination it started blowing hard once again, and just before arriving we had to reef properly.
In the marina of San Sebastián de La Gomera we got a berth – not the nicest, unfortunately, as we were right next to the boatyard and it was accordingly noisy. Still, we hired a car again and explored the island. Steffi was a bit under the weather those days, but bravely kept going.
There was also a special reunion: on La Gomera we met Bernhard again – the well-read sailing examiner we had got to know on Lanzarote through Siggi. We spent a few wonderful hours with him and his wife Heike. Great people!
A music duel at the boatyard
In the end, the noisy berth even had its good side. Next to us lay the sailing yacht Beluga, belonging to Ralf and Sabine, whom we had briefly met in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The yard workers started every morning at eight – sanding, drilling, milling, painting, accompanied by Spanish music from their boombox. At some point Wolfgang had had enough and decided to return fire: he turned ME’s sound system up to full volume.
That brought Ralf and Sabine into the game – and of course they answered with counter-music of their own. It went back and forth for hours, each louder than the other: old classics, hard rock, the greatest songs. The yard workers could only shake their heads. In the end it turned into a merry, cosy and very funny evening with the two of them.
From La Gomera we sailed on to La Palma – we’ll tell you about it in the next entry.