Why did you fly?

Whilst the seven day sail to the Cape Verde's was fine, it was also exhausting and even though the winds were relatively light it was rolly enough to prevent sleep. The thought of up to 21 days of that and with the likelihood of stronger winds filled me with apprehension and I am afraid I bottled out. Scruffbag was going to sail single-handedly but then we met Matt and Rosie.

They had both travelled extensively despite their youth (27 and 24) and had then been given a Jaguar 30 in need of work. They had been living on it for a year and had decided to take the winter off and hitchhike crewing on an Atlantic crossing to get experience. Although they had not done much sailing, they had lived on a small boat and, more importantly, we liked them, although really it was only important that Scruffbag liked them.

So it was Scruffbag, Matt and Rosie to  Barbados on board Erica and Anne to Barbados by plane to stay in a cheap Airbnb to await their arrival.

And then Sao Vicente

We left Sao Nicolau  following two big cats, al three of usl heading in the same directio - to Mindelo Sao Vicente. Although we were going to anchor in the bay, Sao Vicente boasts the only (and hence very expensive) marina in the archipeligo. Both the ARC rally and the French Isles De Deux Soleils rally would be in residence so we were expecting a full anchorage.

We had a reef in the main, about 18 knots of wind on the beam and very big seas. I felt very queasy but luckily was not actually sick. At one point, I was doused by a very big wave and had to completely change clothes. We also had to hand steer all the way as Scruffbag had not tightened up the line on the windvane and she refused to steer (beam reaches are never her preferred point of sail in any case  unless the sails are set perfectly).

We arrived in Mindelo and were anchored by 15-45. The anchorage was, as predicted, very busy and we were too late to go ashore and sign in as the office shut at 16-00. The paperwork was duly completed the next day and we were free to explore.

It costs 3000 cape verdean escudes (about £26 ) to tie up the dinghy to the marina pontoon for 18 days but this includes the rubbish collection. Mindelo is far more cosmopolitan than towns on the other islands we have visited and there is a growing middle class, although there is still evidence of poverty. There are lots of colonial buildings and lots of shops and restaurants. There is a great fish market with half a kilo of fresh tuna at 200 eacudos, and a vegetable market and women selling sweet cakes and fish patties they have made at home. Local fishermen regularly fish around the anchored boats for small sardines.

We spent a couple of evenings with Richard and Jane, whom we had met in Sao Nicolau, before they left for the Caribbean. We also met up with Alex, whom we had met in El Hierro and who is heading to Africa. On Scruffbag's birthday we went to Calhau, a small fishing village which boasts a restaurant which only opens on Sunday, plays live music and offers an "all you can eat" Cape Verdean buffet which was truly delicious.

We also managed to get out and get some exercise. The town boasts a lovely white sand beach, which is steeply shelving but good for swimming and we also climbed to the high point of Monte Verde behind Mindelo, which is a national park and offers stunning views of this island and views over the 3 smaller islands between here and Sao Nicolau.

We also visited Baia Das Gatas, a pretty bay with a shallow, sheltered swimming lagoon. However, it was rather too set up for tourists and the one cafe had dirty toilets and charged very high prices.

We wanted to see the island of Santo Antao before we left as it was said to be the most beautiful of the Cape Verdes. We were unable to visit in our own boat as the anchorages are reputedly lacking in shelter so we went on the ferry and hired a car and driver for the day. The island's reputation is well deserved . It is stunning. Photographs just cannot do this verdant, magnificant mountain landscape justice. The island also grows sugar cane and we visited a distillery which produces grogue, the strong spirit of the islands.

So for now we are almost at the end of our travels in the Cape Verdes. Maybe one day we will return and walk the lush mountains and valleys of Santo Antao but for now the compass points to Barbados.

Sal to San Nicolau

We left Sal just after 11a.m. on 30th October with between 12 and 17 knots of wind just aft of the beam, It was very rolly but we romped along. By 5-30 we had spotted Sau Nicolau and by 9 we had a second reef in the main as the wind increased. We hove to at 3-45 a.m. as we were very close to our destination and did not want to enter the anchorage in the dark.. We started the engine at dawn and by 8-35 were anchored in the bay.

There were only 2 other boats at anchor in the pretty bay and, after sorting the boat out, we set off for the harbour to check in with the maritime police. This time we tied up to the fish quay, though after that first day we went ashore on the beach as the quay was a bit difficult to get into the dinghy from and they were prone to moving the dinghies when fishing boats arrived.

On arrival on the beach, a group of young boys would arrive all eager to "look after the dinghy" for a few escudos. They were a lovely bunch of kids. They went to school in two shifts, a morning group and an afternoon group and when we gave them the pens and pencils they had asked for before we left, they were so happy with them.

Sau Nicolau was a beautiful island, clean and well cared for with a very lush interior. Taking the bus right over the mountains to the capital was a treat in itself as you rounded a corner and saw a lush valley unfold.

The capital itself was very small. In fact the biggest town was Tarafal, where we were anchored. One day we walked up the lush valley from the capital to the village of Cachaco, a walk described by my guide book as a 4 km easy walk! Ha - it was easy in the sense that it was along a cobbled track but it was steeply uphill and very hard in the heat even for seasoned walkers like ourselves.

Another day we paid 300 escudos each and went into the lush national park to walk. It was cloudy but that did keep the heat down as it was quite steep. It was also amazing, lush and green and with lots of flowers and cultivated even at height with men transported to the fields by donkey.

Just along the coast from the anchorage was Caberinho, where we saw some amazing rock formations caused by the strong waves crashing against the volcanic shore.

That was the day we met Silva. In a small mountainside village with a tiny shop that doubled as a bar (and the only things we could buy for lunch were home made biscuits and pringles (!!) ) the proprietor heard us speaking English and insisted on buying us a beer. It turns out he had been a sailor on English ships before he retired and he knew Harwich very well. Small world!

We later met another former sailor, Antonio, in another shop/bar in another small village and he insisted on giving us a lift back to Tarafal. Unfortunately he drove like my mother in her later years but luckily he drove very slowly.

The fortnight in Sau Nicolau passed very quickly, with Scruffbag upping his swimming to 4 boat circuits.I had pulled my upper arm muscle on the journey to the Cape Verdes so could not compete.

Still, maybe on the next island.

By the second week far more boats had arrived at the anchorage and there were around 14 boats anchored. This turned out to be rather comforting on the "nights of the big wind". The anchorage had always been prone to the odd strong gusts funnelled down the mountain but on our last Friday the gusts became a big blow and we were unable to get ashore for 3 days. The Friday was the worst with gusts up to 46 knots and a very sleepless night on anchor watch. Luckily we held and we can now say we have truly tested the gear.

In Africa

On arrival in Sal, we had not long dropped anchor before a small wooden fishing boat drew up alongside us. This was Dee Jay. He greets all the new arrivals, offering taxi rides ashore, laundry service, bottled gas service, water delivery and diesel delivery. He is great, very happy and chatty, though his timescales can be somewhat flexible.

Anyway, our first job after a glass of something to celebrate safe arrival, was to blow up the dinghy and go ashore to complete paperwork and be issued with visas. When Scruffbag was here 20 years ago, this was a convoluted process that involved a trip to the police station and then a truck ride to the airport. Now it is relatively straightforward and all carried out in the office of the maritime police. We did, however, realise how utterly exhausted we were as we stood in the police office with the floor swaying, sweating profusely and talking in a mixture of French, English and sign language. When we had completed the paperwork we headed straight back to the quay, gave some coins to the young boys who had taken our lines and headed back to the boat for lots of sleep.

The next morning we stopped for a chat with Sourian, the young Frenchman, who had left El Hierro, two weeks before us and then went by one of the numerous minibuses into the capital, Espargos, a very small town. Scruffbag noticed the changes and the way things have grown and developed. Now there are minimarkets selling a variety of goods and small Chinese hardware shops, where 20 years ago there were very few shops, mainly markets with fresh produce and street sellers.

From my point of view, I have to say that this is not one of my favourite places. It is dry and barren and makes even Fuertaventura look green and it lacks the surreal beauty of that island. It is also very poor with quite a lot of rubbish strewn around. That said, the people are fantastic, very friendly and helpful and even the street sellers don't press when you say no.

We have been to the saltpans, which closed many years ago and only opened again recently as a tourist attraction.

We floated in the salt lake, which is saltier than the Dead Sea and was an interesting experience.

We also went to Santa Maria. Twenty years ago this was a small village, where there were lots of dogs which needed to be chased off with stones but it is now a sprawling tourist resort, growing still. Scruffbag wanted to have a drink in the same bar (Atlantis) that he had had a drink on his 38th birthday but, after much searching, we found out it had burnt down 3 years ago so we had a dip in the warn sea to cool off (the beaches there being miles of white sand), and then we had an unknown fish for lunch in a local cafe away from the tourist drag

Sunday night was spent in the town here at a fiesta night, eating skewer kebabs and tasting the local grog (very nice with sugar, ice and lime). Today we went along the coast to visit a blowhole that shines blue in the sunlight, but, unfortunately there was no shining as it was cloudy. There were also natural pools but they were  quite crowded and not as inviting as those on El Hierro.

So tonight we are off to eat an octopus supper on an English boat anchored behind us and tomorrow we will leave for the island of Sao Nicolau, 100 miles away and reportedly much greener and prettier.

Kissed by a flying fish

Sailing from El Hierro to Sal, Cape Verde Islands

Distance 717 miles

Time taken 6 days and 8 hours until we were hove to outside the harbour

Weather sunny

Wind speed between 12 and 20 knots over the deck (once clear of El Hierro's acceleration zone)

Fish caught - none, though something took one of the lures

Wildlife seen - lots of flying fish (amazing how far they fly). Scruffbag thinks the ones that land on deck are depressed and suicidal. I think they are show offs who attempt more than they can achieve in jumping over the boat. - some storm petrels and a few shearwaters.


So we finally left Europe. Jaques, the Frenchman on the neighbouring boat, was sounding dire warnings about 45 knots of wind forecast in the acceleration zone that runs down the side of El Hierro but we had waited long enough and, besides, it is always windy in that zone and we knew we would be clear of it in an hour or so with a good forecast of around 15 knots from behind for the whole week ahead.

It was windy in the acceleration zone and it was heavy on the helm before the wind vane took over and it actually took around 3 hours to get clear. From then on the sailing was downwind and straightforward, though the windspeed did drop for a few hours on several occasions, which made sailing, slow and wallowing. We were goosewinged for most of the trip with 2 headsails poled out.

The worst thing about the trip was the tiredness. Neither of us got much sleep as it was very rolly and trying to sleep was like being rocked in a cradle by a sadist on speed so we were utterly exhausted when we arrived.

We tried a new watch system on this trip - 4 hours on and 4 hours off between 8pm and midday and time together in the afternoon and chance  to eat lunch and dinner together. It seemed to work well, giving the opportunity for longer sleeps when the sadist loosened his grip. One night I was on watch 12-4, just meditating on the stars above when suddenly I felt a flash of wetness pass over my lips. I jumped, startled, and then realised that a flying fish had just flown across my face. It landed on the coach roof. After that kiss what could I do but pick it up and return it to the Atlantic?

Scruffbag and I had agreed that if we arrived after dark we would not enter the harbour till the next day and although we put the mainsail up to try for more speed, it became apparent that we were not going to make it (by only a few hours, which is very frustrating and leads to lots of what ifs).

By eight o'clock, European time (6 o'clock Cape Verdean) we were hove to about 15 miles away and, although we drifted with the current, we had peace, quiet and some sleepthat night and by 6 o'clock in the morning we were ready to put the anchor over the bow and motor 10 miles into Palmeira harbour and drop anchor on our first African island.

Waiting for the weather

Whether to go or whether to stay?

We had intended to leave El Hierro on 1st October but here we still are on 9th and with no plans to leave before 15th at the earliest. For the first week we had no wind i.e. 5 knots or less for a few hundred miles. Since, with fair winds it is likely to be a 7 day trip, we did not want to go out and wallow for days on end and we did not want to motor for that many miles either. So we waited for the wind and along came storm Leslie - with over 50mph winds at its centre. Although it passes north of here, it has swing the winds round onto the nose and created huge swells which will not abate until at least Monday. So, along with a Swiss boat heading in the same direction, we wait and we check forecasts,

There are worse places to be.

Lots of sunshine means lots of swimming, with Scruffbag now jumping off the back of the boat and swimming round to the steps in the harbour and both of us sampling the rock pools on the other side of the island.

We have walked along that coast and enjoyed the  rocky coves and natural bridges.

We have walked along the high ridge and through the pine forests, picking and eating wild figs along the way.

We have walked over the lava fields along this coast.

We have had a couple of very tasty and inexpensive fish suppers at local eateries and we have watched the annual open water swimming contest, with classes for 18km, 6km and 2.5 km, followed by an evening entertainment on the quay until 4am.

We plan more walking and more swimming over the next few days and then, we hope the weather gods smile on us as we say our goodbyes to Europe and head south.

So what's El Hierro like then?

The place we are in, you could hardly call it a town, is La Restinga. It is a popular scuba diving base with several companies operating from here. There are a couple of low rise rental apartment blocks Apparently divers have to stay close to sea level for 12 hours after a dive and the road curves steeply upwards from here to the next village. There are a few streets with several bars and cafes, 3 restaurants and 2 small supermarkets but that's it. There is, however, a beach in town with good facilities and locals (and us) make good use of it.

The population of El Hierro is less than that of a small English town and the capital, Valverde, is a very small town indeed .Most of the coastline consists of very steep cliffs and this is one of the few easily accessible shorelines. The top of the island reminds us a bit of north Yorkshire with cacti. It is very different from the other island with pine forests, dry stone walls, fields, cows and sheep!

We walked down footpaths from the next village and enjoyed wild figs straight from the tree. There are also some spectacular views, particularly from the high cliffs on the other side of the island looking down to the coast. We walked from San Andres on this side, up to the Mirador Jinama.

Then we walked down to the coast below - a fantastic walk with amazing views but very

A couple of days later we went to gaze at the same view but this time from the Mirador de la Pena. This mirador was designed by Cesar Manrique, the Lanzarote born artist whose work we have come to really admire. This mirador has a cafe/restaurant in a Manrique - designed building with huge windows, artwork and landscaped walks enabling one to see the view from a variety of aspects.

Having viewed the coastline from above, the next step was to walk the coastal path. Fortunately, a boardwalk has been created to protect the lava landscape, which makes it a lot easier on the feet

We had planned to cool off in the natural pools. but, unfortunately it was high tide and the Atlantic breakers were crashing into these pools. We had been warned against swimming in them at high water and we could see why.

There was a swimming pool (chlorinated) at the end of the walk so we did have a cooling swim - though one that was not nearly as much fun as the earlier one. had promised. 

Also along this stretch of coast was The Museo Ecologico de Guinea, which we had visited a few days earlier. This consisted of some stone houses replicating the way of life on El Hierro up to the 1970's. It was also an access point for a tour of some lava caverns and a chance to see some of the island's giant lizards. These lizards were thought to be extinct but theywere re-discovered in the 1980's and have been successfully re-introduced to the island. So far almost 300 have been released into the wild, although they are preyed upon by the abundant population of kestrels. Scruffbag and I were expecting enormous beasts but in the end they turned out to be just quite big,

So now we have just over a week here before we set sail for Sal in the Cape Verdes. At over 700 miles and around a week at sea it will be my longest sail so far. While El Hierro is hardly a shoppers' paradise (indeed I often wonder how the islanders manage to dress so well and furnish their homes etc), I am sure it will seem like a paradise once we get further south. We intend to stock up for the sail and to buy some advance treats for Christmas, when we will probably be on a small island off the coast of Brazil. We will also do some walking in the pine forests and try to see the less populated side of the island before we leave.

Off to the end of the world

Actually to El Hierro --- Before Columbus sailed to America, it was thought that El Hierro was the end of the world and that if you went south you would fall off the edge!

So we left Garachico in very light winds, heading for La Gomera, where we would fill up with diesel and stay for 2 nights before  going to El Hierro for a few weeks. We did not mind motoring as San Sebastian deLa Gomera is only 27 miles from Garrachico and we wanted to get moving. The main was up, the engine on and the autohelm was steering.

Now one thing the Canary Islands are known for is acceleration zones. These are stretches where the wind funnels down valleys or between islands or round headlands. We were coming up to a headland and the wind began to increase, at times getting up to 20 knots so we turned off the engine and sailed under main alone, thinking that it was probably an acceleration zone and would not last. It was very gusty, at times getting to 30 knots and the autohelm was starting to goof out so we took turns hand steering. After about an hour (and once we had rounded the headland and were laying a course for La Gomera) the wind dropped off and we soon had our 5 knots back again. Such fun.

It was good to spend a day in San Sebastion, which has gained a couple of trendy fashion outlets since we were there last December, and it was great to swim off the town beach and to buy gas for only 15 euros. But all good things must come to an end and we were soon up with the dawn and heading to El Hierro, our last Canary Island. We had lots of strong gusts of wind as we set off; they were coming from the mountains of La Gomera. Once we had cleared the island and left the acceleration zone, the wind again dropped to zilch so we had to motor in the hot sun looking back on a view of El Tiede in the morning clouds.

This time we almost caught a fish. Scruffbag was down below resting and I heard the line whirring. I looked round and saw a fish on the end of the line leaping out of the water. I immediately shouted for Scruffbag as I am as much use as a chocolate fireguard where fishing is concerned. Unfortunately, however, it was "the one that got away" as by the time he reeled the line in, the fish had gone.

By late afternoon we were getting close to El Hierro and once again the wind piped up as we entered yet another acceleration zone. We had to keep going until we were due north of La Restinga harbour as there is a reef just outside the entrance. That done, we entered the harbour, to find that Puertos Canarios' booking system had, for the only time in our experience, actually worked and there was a security guard waiting to take our lines. Raoul  dealt with the paperwork, sorted the keys and gave us a bill which was ready prepared for us to pay at the bank after the weekend.

Hello El Hierro