Friday, November 14, 2008

Ghosts and things that go bump in the night.

October 31, 2008
Puerto Naos, Isla Lanzarote
coordinates 28 58.040N,013 32.178W

We had enjoyed our stay at Playa Francesca, Isla Graciosa. A tiny island with it's four old volcano cones, we had climbed and conquered one of them. The town provided us with some much needed produce and bread. The beach provided many opportunities for a sand forts and a bon fire. The weather was predicted to turn with winds out of the west making this location untenable so on we went. All 12 boats or so anchored here made the morning run to the next island of Lanzarote.

Puerto Naos, a fishing harbor afforded great protection and it was free. The guides we are using, we must keep in mind, are over 10 years old so we are never sure what we will find in the next location compared to what the text says. The channel marked into the harbor claims very shallow waters outside it's borders. We scoped it out, found what we though to be a suitable place to anchor amongst the smaller fishing vessels and prepared to wait out the winds. The Kelly's anchored a stone's throw
away decided to try to surprise us for Halloween, dressed as ghosts actually managed to climb aboard Ohana Kai without us even noticing. Great fun. We exchanged sugary goodies and chatted about the last 3 years. Specifically, we talked about how many times we had each run aground or hit something. The number is not important, you just don't want to be winning that contest with the highest number. As all good sailing stories go, we had jinxed ourselves. Not a half hour later, with everyone snug
in their boats, crunch, crunch, crunch. The tide was dropping much more than we had expected. We are back in the world of 2-3 meter tide changes. Luckily it sounds much worse than it is. The noise created when the keel grates the bottom will curl your toes and make your heart skip a beat but no damage done. We pulled up a bit of chain and gained a bit more depth. A few minutes later, across the radio waves, the Kelly's called out, "One more to the list", they bumped too. We continued to try
to anchor and reanchor over the next 4 days in this tight and crowded little space as the holding was crummy, and the space a minimum. Trying to not slide back onto unsuspecting neighbors with the increasing winds was the name of the game. We succeeded.

Much more fun was the discovery of an IKEA on this tiny little island. Who knew! We treated ourselves to some Swedish Meatballs and everyone got to pick out a treat to take home. Kelly girl got a new apron, Kelly boy, Tristan and Matthew each new pillows, Bruce got a jar of yummy Lingonberry sauce, Lisa a new cutting board and for Ohana Kai a sweet smelling new candle just in time for the holidays.
Then the big event! It's official, we have a teenager on board! Tristan turned 13 on November 2nd. As requested a small but fun pirate party was held in his honor, everyone in full dress with bandanas, parrots, hooks for hands. We ate popcorn cannon balls and of course watched Pirates of the Caribbean.

The winds were back in our favor so we made our way down to the next island of Fuerteventura.
coordinates 28 44.350N,013 51.830W
Tucked on the northern shore between Los Lobos, we were in search of surf. The unseasonable high winds and cool weather have been thwarting our adventures a bit. Bruce has been the only one, along with Kelly boy, to brave the waters with their thickest wet suits and catch a few waves. Apparently the rest of us hot house flowers are waiting more fair conditions. Until then we'll continue to explore the unique old volcanic landscapes and spanish style towns of the Canary Islands.

Lastly, we had the great fun of reuniting part of the Lawur crew with Ohana Kai. Our dear friend Robert was in London on business and managed to hop over to see us for a quick stay. It was just like old times and the wind even cooperated giving him a perfect 2 days of sailing. We miss our old cruising friends a ton.

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