Fuerteventura
Gran Tarajal to Morro Jable
27/11/07 20:05
Overnight the wind decreased and by morning conditions were quite settled.
The german yacht "Nena" from Hamburg anchored nearby.
The beach at Gran Tarajal.
We weighed anchor at 9:35 and had a good sail down the east coast of Fuerteventura in NE winds F3-5.
At 14:20 we passed Morro Jable lighthouse and the main resort.
We had intended to berth on the pontoons in Morro Jable harbour but the anchorage just to the right oh the harbour appealed.
At 15:15 we anchored off the beach at Morro Jable in 5.6m of water. A lovely spot. Two yachts, one Canadian and one Finnish were there and later "Aphrodite" that we had met in Puerto Castillo arrived.
The water was lovely and clear and I was able to dive down to see our anchor perfectly set.
Eva from "Aphrodite"
"Kiriwina", "Aphrodite" and a Canadian yacht, Morro Jable anchorage.
My first attempt at photographing fish.
"Kiriwina" off Morro Jable" above water...
...and below water.
Later we took the dinghy and ate out ashore.
The german yacht "Nena" from Hamburg anchored nearby.
The beach at Gran Tarajal.
We weighed anchor at 9:35 and had a good sail down the east coast of Fuerteventura in NE winds F3-5.
At 14:20 we passed Morro Jable lighthouse and the main resort.
We had intended to berth on the pontoons in Morro Jable harbour but the anchorage just to the right oh the harbour appealed.
At 15:15 we anchored off the beach at Morro Jable in 5.6m of water. A lovely spot. Two yachts, one Canadian and one Finnish were there and later "Aphrodite" that we had met in Puerto Castillo arrived.
The water was lovely and clear and I was able to dive down to see our anchor perfectly set.
Eva from "Aphrodite"
"Kiriwina", "Aphrodite" and a Canadian yacht, Morro Jable anchorage.
My first attempt at photographing fish.
"Kiriwina" off Morro Jable" above water...
...and below water.
Later we took the dinghy and ate out ashore.
Puerto del Castillo to Gran Tarajal
26/11/07 17:58
Yesterday we spent some more time with Daniel and Eva and heard more detail about their rescue 90 mile north of La Coruña. They also had some surplus Caribbean paper and electronic charts which I bought.
Later I went ashore to check e-mails but couldn't find anywhere which allowed the use of one's own computer. In the end I sat in an amusement arcade and picked up a free wi-fi signal.
Puerto del Castillo has little to recommend it. It is a pretty cheap resort with a very expensive marina.
This morning we decided to make an entry in the complaints book. The facilities are a disgrace. Electricity was off for most of one night and their charging structure is byzantine. Tomas had a long chat with the manager who I thought looked a bit dodgy. The gist of the conversation was that they didn't want visiting yachts to stay for short periods but had been told they had to offer places. He tried to favourably compare his charges with Marina Rubicon among others.
At Puerto Castillo the posted charges bore no relation to what we paid. Instead we were charged a special "short term" tariff of €9.50 per day plus a flat fee of €15 to cover water and electricity whatever the length of stay. Payment was demanded on arrival at the dock with no breakdown of the charges. We pointed out that had we been told of these charges we would not have used water or electricity. He said we had to pay whether we used them or not. In the end he gave up trying to defend the indefensible and charged us €35 for three nights. Tomas reckoned the manager didn't want any complaints in his complaint book.
A place to be avoided.
We left Puerto Castillo at 11:40 and sailed rapidly down the bleak east coast of Fuerteventura under main with 2 reefs. The wind was mostly astern with a 2 metre swell. Wind speed varied between 15-27 knots peaking in the acceleration zone just before Gran Tarajal.
Punta Lantailla Lighthouse
2m Swell of Punta Lantailla.
Approaching Gran Tarajal we had some excitement in the wind acceleration zone. The wind would die away to almost nothing and then hit us with 25 knots. This happened several times.
At 16:15 we anchored off Playa Gran Tarajal in 6.5 metres of water with 35m of chain out. The wind was still northerly around 18 knots but it eased to 10-15 knots as night fell. Days run, 17 miles.
The anchorage was a bit bouncy but seemed safe enough. A german yacht was anchored a few cables away.
Later I went ashore to check e-mails but couldn't find anywhere which allowed the use of one's own computer. In the end I sat in an amusement arcade and picked up a free wi-fi signal.
Puerto del Castillo has little to recommend it. It is a pretty cheap resort with a very expensive marina.
This morning we decided to make an entry in the complaints book. The facilities are a disgrace. Electricity was off for most of one night and their charging structure is byzantine. Tomas had a long chat with the manager who I thought looked a bit dodgy. The gist of the conversation was that they didn't want visiting yachts to stay for short periods but had been told they had to offer places. He tried to favourably compare his charges with Marina Rubicon among others.
At Puerto Castillo the posted charges bore no relation to what we paid. Instead we were charged a special "short term" tariff of €9.50 per day plus a flat fee of €15 to cover water and electricity whatever the length of stay. Payment was demanded on arrival at the dock with no breakdown of the charges. We pointed out that had we been told of these charges we would not have used water or electricity. He said we had to pay whether we used them or not. In the end he gave up trying to defend the indefensible and charged us €35 for three nights. Tomas reckoned the manager didn't want any complaints in his complaint book.
A place to be avoided.
We left Puerto Castillo at 11:40 and sailed rapidly down the bleak east coast of Fuerteventura under main with 2 reefs. The wind was mostly astern with a 2 metre swell. Wind speed varied between 15-27 knots peaking in the acceleration zone just before Gran Tarajal.
Punta Lantailla Lighthouse
2m Swell of Punta Lantailla.
Approaching Gran Tarajal we had some excitement in the wind acceleration zone. The wind would die away to almost nothing and then hit us with 25 knots. This happened several times.
At 16:15 we anchored off Playa Gran Tarajal in 6.5 metres of water with 35m of chain out. The wind was still northerly around 18 knots but it eased to 10-15 knots as night fell. Days run, 17 miles.
The anchorage was a bit bouncy but seemed safe enough. A german yacht was anchored a few cables away.
Day Tour - Fuerteventura
24/11/07 20:18
Not a good start this morning the showers were cold and the toilet was falling apart. When informed the harbour master said a plumber had been called. We shall see!
We had arranged to hire a car and were joined for the day by Daniel and Eva from the German yacht Aphrodite
They had had a very eventful trip down which included a dismasting and helicopter rescue on their Biscay crossing. After their boat was salvaged and fitted with a new mast they resumed their trip to the Canaries via Maderia. Their story certainly put into perspective my use of the word disaster in relation to the discovery of a cockroach onboard.
Our first stop was Gran Tarajal were we discovered that the harbour was better than we had thought with a secure anchorage in an adjacent bay. Then we moved on to Playa de Solaventa de Jandia, a long attractive beach backed by a tidal lagoon and very popular with wind/kite surfers.
At Morro Jable in the extreme south of Fuerteventura we found that mooring was available for around €5.00 per night on new but unserviced pontoons.
From Morro Jable an unsurfaced road led to Faro de Jandia and Playa de Cofete on the south west coast, a spectacular but dangerous beach viewed from Montaña Aguda in very strong winds which blew in off the sea and up over the mountain.
Fuerteventura is the second largest island in the Canaries and the bleakest we have seen so far. We drove north through dry mountainous terrain with few inhabitants and an occasional wild goat.
A squirrel like creature introduced from Africa.
At Betancuria, the original capital, we went for a walk around the town which dates from 1404.
Town square, Betancuria.
Goat on a roof - Betancuria.
Continuing north we stopped at a few spectacular lookouts but the terrain remain consistently brown save for a black line of surfaced road. Our hire car, a little Citröen C3, was a bit underpowered on some of the steeper sections.
At Correljo we reached the north of the island. The town was an unattractive high density tourist destination with the usual selection of jewelers, steak houses, english pubs, estate agents and TT shops.
Sand sculpture, Correljo.
By then it was dark and we turned south towards the capital, Puerto del Rosario, where we stopped briefly, there being no obvious reason to linger, before returning to Puerto del Castillo.
We had arranged to hire a car and were joined for the day by Daniel and Eva from the German yacht Aphrodite
They had had a very eventful trip down which included a dismasting and helicopter rescue on their Biscay crossing. After their boat was salvaged and fitted with a new mast they resumed their trip to the Canaries via Maderia. Their story certainly put into perspective my use of the word disaster in relation to the discovery of a cockroach onboard.
Our first stop was Gran Tarajal were we discovered that the harbour was better than we had thought with a secure anchorage in an adjacent bay. Then we moved on to Playa de Solaventa de Jandia, a long attractive beach backed by a tidal lagoon and very popular with wind/kite surfers.
At Morro Jable in the extreme south of Fuerteventura we found that mooring was available for around €5.00 per night on new but unserviced pontoons.
From Morro Jable an unsurfaced road led to Faro de Jandia and Playa de Cofete on the south west coast, a spectacular but dangerous beach viewed from Montaña Aguda in very strong winds which blew in off the sea and up over the mountain.
Fuerteventura is the second largest island in the Canaries and the bleakest we have seen so far. We drove north through dry mountainous terrain with few inhabitants and an occasional wild goat.
A squirrel like creature introduced from Africa.
At Betancuria, the original capital, we went for a walk around the town which dates from 1404.
Town square, Betancuria.
Goat on a roof - Betancuria.
Continuing north we stopped at a few spectacular lookouts but the terrain remain consistently brown save for a black line of surfaced road. Our hire car, a little Citröen C3, was a bit underpowered on some of the steeper sections.
At Correljo we reached the north of the island. The town was an unattractive high density tourist destination with the usual selection of jewelers, steak houses, english pubs, estate agents and TT shops.
Sand sculpture, Correljo.
By then it was dark and we turned south towards the capital, Puerto del Rosario, where we stopped briefly, there being no obvious reason to linger, before returning to Puerto del Castillo.
Marina Rubicon to Puerto del Castillo, Fuerteventura
23/11/07 19:39
Up early (06:30) as we wanted to take fuel and get away as quickly as possible. At 07:30 we left our berth and moved to the fuel dock where we took on 120L of diesel at €0.812 L. We had previously fueled in Mohammedia on 22nd September.
Marina Rubicon is one the best marina we have called at in Spain. It is very well run with good facilities and shelter. The location is uninspiring and they are a tad precious but by Spanish standards they are good value for money even after a 25% increase in May 2007.
At 08:10 we cleared Marina Rubicon and set course for Gran Tarajal. The wind was N2-3 and we motor sailed initially but by 09:30 it had increased to F4 and we proceeded under sail with the main and yankee goose winged.
Meanwhile a phone call to Gran Tarajal revealed that we would have to moor on the breakwater wall. This did not appeal so we decided to go to Puerto del Castillo instead.
A bleak looking Fuerteventura.
We had another sleigh ride. A lovely sail down the east coast of Fuerteventura with the wind pretty much astern all the way and with speeds in excess of 6 knots at times.
At 14:30 we entered Puerto del Castillo harbour where we went initially to the reception berth and then on to a finger berth on pontoon two where we were all fast at 14:45 having covered just over 30 miles.
There were no obvious attractions at Puerto del Castillo but the berth was very secure. We paid a very uppish €35 for two nights but might stay longer as the harbour master mentioned that a strong wind warning had been issued.
Marina Rubicon is one the best marina we have called at in Spain. It is very well run with good facilities and shelter. The location is uninspiring and they are a tad precious but by Spanish standards they are good value for money even after a 25% increase in May 2007.
At 08:10 we cleared Marina Rubicon and set course for Gran Tarajal. The wind was N2-3 and we motor sailed initially but by 09:30 it had increased to F4 and we proceeded under sail with the main and yankee goose winged.
Meanwhile a phone call to Gran Tarajal revealed that we would have to moor on the breakwater wall. This did not appeal so we decided to go to Puerto del Castillo instead.
A bleak looking Fuerteventura.
We had another sleigh ride. A lovely sail down the east coast of Fuerteventura with the wind pretty much astern all the way and with speeds in excess of 6 knots at times.
At 14:30 we entered Puerto del Castillo harbour where we went initially to the reception berth and then on to a finger berth on pontoon two where we were all fast at 14:45 having covered just over 30 miles.
There were no obvious attractions at Puerto del Castillo but the berth was very secure. We paid a very uppish €35 for two nights but might stay longer as the harbour master mentioned that a strong wind warning had been issued.