Nevis lies so close to Antigua that the one is clearly visible from the other. Despite this, our passage from Jolly Harbour to Charlestown took more than 24 hours. Perhaps that’s what comes of setting forth on April the 1st. The first 15 hours of our journey were spent drifting sideways, just a stone’s throw from the anchorage, watching turtles swim past under the boat. The night which followed was spent limping along into a light westerly – a westerly,…
From Dominica we limped northwards, borne by the flimsiest of breezes. The Saintes and Marie Galante drifted slowly into view and then began to sidle past. The breeze eventually picked up to about force 2, but the southern shores of Guadaloupe were still a few miles distant when our progress was suddenly arrested altogether. “Something round the rudder,” I shouted. From the aft cabin, where I happened at that moment to be working, the sound of graunching was unmistakable. By…
Two days were all that we had allowed ourselves for our visit to St Pierre – extra time spent here must necessarily be deducted from that available for visiting the other isles – but the anchorage was pleasant and the company was of the very best sort, so that we reckoned we were doing pretty well when we finally got underway again on the evening of the fifth day. As we ambled out of the anchorage and away from the…
The Caribbean. To the land-dweller, cocooned in his bricks and mortar, the name probably means a brief escape. It conjures up images of white beaches lined with coconut palms and lapped by turquoise waters. Honeymoon couples come here, breaking out of their old routine like butterflies released into a new but very brief life of colour and freedom. Traversing the sky at impossible height and speed, they enjoy a fortnight in paradise. And then they hop back into the jumbo,…
These notes cover the following anchorages – click the name to jump to the relevant section. Santa Cruz de Tenerife Montaña Roja Las Galletas Los Cristianos
These notes cover the following anchorages – click the name to jump to the relevant section. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Máspalomas et alia Arguineguín Cement Factory Bay (Bahía de Santa Agueda) Puerto Mogán
A one-time fishing village on the northern end of Fuerteventura, Corralejo is now a busy little tourist trap, with scores of restaurants, a street full of shops selling ticky-tacky, and a small fleet of glass-bottomed boats and charter yachts. It is also the port for the ferries which run between Fuerteventura and its sister island, Lanzarote. This makes it easy for an approaching vessel to find the place: you just follow the big boats! Although it is easy to find,…
The island of La Graciosa sits at the northern end of Lanzarote and is divided from the mother island by a narrow channel, or “rio” (as the locals term it). The high cliffs off Lanzarote seem almost to overhang the islet and they have a tremendous influence over the weather down here. When the wind is in the south they cause mighty gusts, or williwaws, to go hurtling down onto the channel. At such times, the anchorage on the southern…
These brief notes cover a mere handful of anchorages. UPDATE: These cruising notes have been split into different pages for each island. Please see the list below.
Herewith, some general notes for the benefit of other visitors. The information is arranged in the traditional form, beginning with a few paragraphs concerning such matters as history and flora. If you deem these things to be irrelevant to your needs as a yachtsman, just scroll down the page. Eventually you will find the nitty-gritty: an appraisal of the local winds, and a few words regarding local customs… (as in Customs and Excise).
