Merlyn III - Gibraltar to Canaries
Gibraltar to Canaries
Our four days in Gibraltar had been pretty busy sorting out a number of issues, but we finished virtually everything (including fixing the heads) by the time we set off on 18th May. The crew comprised James Courage, Jerry Edge, David Lough and Iain Perring. All except Jerry will be part of the ARC crew. Our passage through the Straits of Gibraltar was not comfortable. The wind was against us and there was a pretty heavy sea. We were happy to have a really powerful engine which got us through at a good pace. Unfortunately one of our life buoy lights was set off by the volume of water and never recovered. The amount of water coming over the deck was impressive but she handled it very well. Late in the evening we were able to sail. The wind gradually improved and we sailed downwind on a reefed main and our inner foresail rigged with a barbour hauler. This proved to be a very reliable set up and we maintained this in some reasonably strong winds. We made Lanzarotte in exactly four days (only motoring again for the last few hours) which enabled James to catch his flight for a meeting with an hour or two to spare. While in Puerto Calero we tested the new MOBI mat for rescuing a MOB and rigged the storm jib. We resolved an issue with the Genoa furler. We also experienced further difficulties with the Main furler (since rectified) which in turn had caused problems with some of the battens in the Main. The marina at Puerto Calero can be recommended. The staff are very helpful (including the boatyard) and there is a good range of restaurants. Overall it was a very satisfactory and enjoyable sail.
CCM
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