Lanzarote 2013

Lanzarote

Day Skipper’s Course – Practical

 

April 2013

Kathleen and I both sat out Day Skipper theory a good few years ago in the non heated club house of the Clyde Cruising Club – Dingy Section – at Bardowie Loch in Scotland. Although the clubhouse was at the time fairly new for a non determined reason we sat in sub zero temperatures for 6 Saturdays learning about navigation, buoyage etc. For our practical course we were going somewhere with sunshine and warmth!

Endeavour Sailing is based in Puerto Calero, Lanzarote, where the surrounding Islands of the Canaries are so they claim “an unrivalled location for sailing offering fantastic conditions all year round. The beauty of the Canary Islands also means that you will sail in the sunshine which rarely goes below an average of 8 hours per day. A good breeze, tidal sailing, tidal streams and warm water make it a perfect place to learn to sail and the ideal destination for a sailing holiday for families, singles and couples to suit all capabilities.

What distinguishes Endeavour Sailing from other schools and sailing charter companies is our commitment to excellence. Our experienced team of certified RYA instructors & skippers ensure that our clients get the most from their sailing courses and holidays providing a safe and rewarding experience on clean, well equipped and safe boats”

This sounded just what we were looking for!

Sunday

Lanzarote is the easternmost island of the Canary Islands and has a volcanic origin. It was born through fiery eruptions and has solidified lava streams as well as extravagant rock formations. The island emerged about 15 million years ago as product of the Canary hotspot. The greatest recorded eruptions occurred between 1730 and 1736 in the area now designated Timanfaya National Park.

Flying in to Lanzarote from Edinburgh on a Ryanair flight which once again landed early (well if you put artificial arrival times on the flight schedule what do you expect!) a short taxi ride took us to the Puerto Calero Marina.  It was mid morning and the course get-together / introductions were not until 6pm. Endeavour’s office was closed and we looked in vain for their boats as we wanted to dump our stuff. Saddled with our kit bags we were pretty tied to the marina for the rest of the day; however it was warm sunny and quiet. All in all not too bad a place to spend a few hours although we did manage a bit of a walk – guess who carried the bags!

At 6pm we met up with the Endeavour team and were introduced to Gordon, our instructor examiner for the week, before being shown our berth on board the yacht.

Our boat for the week was “Kilima” a 38’ Bravaria which looked at first sight to be in good condition and which was proven during the course of the following week to be well maintained and looked after.

As we were still early in the season apart from ourselves there was only one other “guest” on board – Keith from Wales who was there to clock up some sea miles and to brush up on his skills.

Day 1 – Monday

Waking early we collected bread from the local supermarket for breakfast on board. Gordon arrived shortly after breakfast. Gordon as it turned out was an absolutely first class guy, a great instructor and a genuinely nice person. He had spent many years in the Gunners and is still involved in the army sailing association. We could not have found a better instructor.

Sailing

Weather warm / sunny. Wind South Westerly F4 / F5 constant (11 – 21 knots)

After a fairly lengthy briefing, we made the most of the quiet harbour and spent the rest of the morning practicing manoeuvring and holding the boat to the wind. After lunch we headed out to sea where we spent the afternoon revising basic sailing. The conditions gave us some great sailing and allowed us to practice putting in and taking out reefs in the mainsail – something that we had had little practice in doing before.

Monday was a long day as Gordon was determined to get a full day’s instruction in as well as giving us a full briefing on the course, the boat and the safety and other procedures that we would be expected to follow as and when the need may arise.

Miles sailed – 16

Day 2 – Tuesday

Sailing

Weather warm / sunny. Wind South Westerly F4 / F5 constant. (11 – 21 knots)

Rising early we were enjoying a fairly leisurely breakfast in the cockpit under blue skies when Gordon arrived at 8.30 to start the day’s tuition.

As the wind was again fair we headed out to sea for more general sailing practice, including some man overboard – well bucket and float overboard – drills.

We saw a number of other yachts heading south west all of which were under motor. Gordon observed that it is fairly common to sea yachts motoring if there is too much or too little wind. Today the wind was ideal – these guys do not realise what they are missing!

Non sailing

Having been on board for two days Kathleen was in the need of some exercise, so as soon as Gordon had stepped ashore we set off to walk to the harbour in nearby Puerto Del Carmen which was just over 2 miles away along a lovely cliff top walk. As the cliff top walk was unlit we had to turn around just after reaching the harbour as we wanted to walk back to Puerto Calero before it got dark.

Miles sailed - 28

Day 3 – Wednesday

Sailing

Weather warm / sunny. Wind South Westerly F4 variable (11 – 16 knots)

Sailing

We had a great day sailing from Purto Calerno heading south, beating against strong headwinds before running back down to a local bay where we practiced approaching moorings in sheltered waters. We practiced reefing with 1 and 2 reefs.   Returning to Purto Calerno late afternoon we then headed east towards Arricife, where we moored behind the harbor breakwater and made dinner.

Once darkness had fallen we made a night sail back from Arricife to Purto Calerno finding our position through the use of lit navigation markers, our depth and the approach lights for Arricfe airport! Arriving back alongside I Purto Calerno just before midnight we definitely felt as though we had a good and full day on the water.

Miles sailed - 45

Day 4 – Thursday

Sailing

Weather warm / sunny.  Wind F4 rising to F6, gusting F7 generally South westerly but varying to westerly between the Rubicon headland and Fuerteventura. (11 – 27 knots with gusts up to 33knots)

With two days remaining the plan was to sail down the coast to Rubicon which had a large marina and where we would spend the night.

Setting out from Purto Calerno the wind was a good force 4 / 5 which quickly rose to a steady force 6 with the occasional force 7 gust. The initial plan was to anchor in a bay beside Lobos Island which lies just off the north tip of Fuerteventura, however the wind direction rendered it too exposed so it was decided to keep sailing and head for Rubicon.

Robicon Marina is a fair size of place with a development of marina shops and restaurants along one side – all very artificial. Rubicon itself is appeared to be a typical seaside town with lots of hotels and apartments. All very well for a one night stop over but that was about it as far as we were concerned.

For dinner we went to a local restaurant that Gordon had recommended – while no one died as a result of going there it is not on our “must go back there” list!

More interestingly, I saw a derelict boat with potential but Kathleen said No!

Miles sailed – 25

Day 5 – Friday

Sailing

Weather warm / sunny. Wind F4 Southerly (11 – 21 knots)

We spent the morning working the boat in the marina as we practiced coming alongside and docking manoeuvres in the basin at the entrance. Lunch was taken on the pontoon in lovely sunshine and sheltered from the wind.

After lunch we set off on our return sail with a pleasant run from Rubicon back to Purto Calerno with a bit of a dog leg thrown in to the east to lengthen the passage.

Boat tied up alongside by 16.00hrs

Miles sailed - 23

Day 6 – Saturday

Weather warm / sunny

With the course over we hired a car for the day to see the island. Our car – a bright yellow Fiat 500 was compact to say the least, however it had a soft top which is always a must for a holiday car and it was cheap. The added advantage was that we could pick it up at the Marina and drop it off at the airport the next day thereby saving us the cost of a taxi for our transfer.

Kathleen as usual had found something cultural to visit so we headed north east towards Arricife where we turned inland to find the home of the now dead Cesar Manrique who is was a famous artist who latterly lived on Lanzarote and who was a major influence on the planning regulations in Lanzarote, when he recognised its tourist potential and lobbied successfully to encourage sympathetic development of tourism. One aspect of this is the lack of high rise hotels on the island. Those that are there are in keeping with the use of traditional colours in their exterior decoration.

Manrique died in a car accident on a roundabout that he designed near his home in Lanzarote at the age of 73

We were going to visit the César Manrique foundation which was set up in 1982 by César Manrique and a group of friends but which wasn’t officially opened until 1992 after Manrique died. The foundation, based at Manrique's home, is a private, non-profit organisation set-up to allow tourists access to Manrique's home.

Manrique's home itself is built within a 3,000 m² plot, on the site of the Lanzarote eruptions in the 18th century and was created upon Manrique's return from New York in 1966. The rooms on the first floor, including the artist studios, were created with the intention of keeping with Lanzarote traditions, yet making them more modern with open spaces and large windows. The "ground floor", more appropriately titled the "basement", contains five areas situated within volcanic bubbles, the rooms bored into volcanic basalt. There is a central cave which houses a recreational area, including a swimming pool, a barbecue and a small dance floor.

The foundation is also an art-gallery featuring art created by Manrique himself as well as that acquired during his life. The gallery includes original sketches by Pablo Picasso and Joan Miró. The money the foundation takes from ticket sales goes toward raising awareness about the art of Lanzarote, as well as being used to fund the foundation's "artistic, cultural and environmental activities".

Of particular interest to us were the tile mosaics, samples of which we had seen before. The mosaics are very simple and are used to decorate a number of the white garden walls

One of the foundation's fundamental missions is to oppose the spread of high-rise concrete across the Spanish coastline and her island. The foundation recently brought attention to 24 illegally erected hotels in Lanzarote.

As usual Kathleen had picked well and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the foundation.

By now it was late morning and we decided to concentrate on seeing the spectacular landscapes on the south end of the island so we headed west to the “other” coast to find somewhere for lunch.

The small village of Caleta De Famara is reached by a small local road (LZ401) which runs down a wide valley towards the sea. Caleta De Famara is home to a number of surf shops and schools which use the adjacent beach to give surfing lessons. We walked for a mile or so along the beach before returning to the village to find somewhere for lunch. The village itself was quiet and relatively unspoilt. Apart from the surf shops and a few local fishing boats, most of the locals we assumed worked on the surrounding farmland which looked to be reasonably fertile. Lunch was eaten at outside of a local cafe complete with plastic tables and chairs.

Heading southwards around the coast after lunch we passed the large commercial La Santa Sport – a sports development which dominates a short section of the coast and which attracts athletes from a number of sporting disciplines who want to train in the pleasant Lanzarote climate. Reaching the small town of Mancha Blanca we drove into the “Parc Natural Los Volcanes” or Timanfaya Natural Park where we entered a truly remarkable landscape formed by the lava which had flowed out of a number of volcanoes.

The park was formed in 1974 and covers an area of just over 51 square kilometres.

The volcanic landscape was formed over a six year period 1730, no one was killed but villages were lost as well as fertile land bringing hardship to the locals. The last eruption on Lanzarote was in 1824.

Deciding that the park itself was really worth a visit we paid our entry money and set off down the single track road that leads through the lava field before rising steeply to the visitor centre. Leaving our little yellow car in the car park we got onto one of the tour buses that take your on a amazing trip through the main lava field and up to and around the volcano craters.

After our tour we enjoyed a quick coffee and the view over the moonscape features of the land below us that extended all the way to the sea   some 15 – 20km away.

Leaving the National Park behind us we continued south east / eastwards to complete our anticlockwise tour of the southern part of Lanzarote via El Golfo (The Green Lagoon - a naturally formed pool of water that shines bright green. The effect is caused by minerals from the volcano. Water flows in from the ocean by an underground channel and mixes with these minerals to give it it’s green colour) and extensive and still active salt pans at Salinas De Janubio.

We arrived back at Purto Calerno in time for dinner after a great and very interesting day out and about!

Day 7 - Sunday

Weather warm / sunny

With our flight leaving in the morning we ate breakfast and headed for the airport in our little yellow car

So how did we do?

I am please to say that we are both now Day Skippers! The course was excellent and I think we would both recommend Endeavour Sailing to anyone looking to do their Day Skipper practical or simply just go sailing

Total miles sailed - 137

A Bit of History

Lanzarote was probably the first Canary Island to be settled. The Phoenicians may have settled there around 1100 BC, though no material evidence survives. The Greek writers and philosophers Herodotus, Plato and Plutarch described the garden of the Hesperides, a mythic orchard at the far West of the world, which some like to identify with the Canaries.

The first known record came from Pliny the Elder in the encyclopedia Naturalis Historia on an expedition to the Canary Islands. The names of five islands (then called Insulae Fortunatae, the "Fortunate Isles") were recorded as Canaria (Gran Canaria), Ninguaria (Tenerife), Junonia Major (La Palma), Plivalia (El Hierro) and Capraria (La Gomera). Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, the two easternmost Canary Islands, were only mentioned as the archipelago of the "purple islands". The Roman poet Lucan and the Greek astronomer and geographer Ptolemy gave their precise locations.^[6] After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Canary Islands were ignored until 999 when the Arabs arrived at the island which they dubbed al-Djezir al-Khalida and other names.

Geography – thanks Wikipedia!

Lanzarote is located 11 km (7 mi) north-east of Fuerteventura and just over 1 km (0.62 mi) from Graciosa. The dimensions of the island are 60 km (37 mi) from north to south and 25 km (16 mi) from west to east. Lanzarote has 213 km (132 mi) of coastline, of which 10 km (6 mi) are sand, 16.5 km (10 mi) are beach, and the remainder is rocky. Its landscape includes the mountain ranges of Famara (671 meters (2,201 ft))^[1] in the north and Ajaches (608 m) to the south. South of the Famara massif is the El Jable desert which separates Famara and Montañas del Fuego. The highest peak is Peñas del Chache rising to 670 meters (2,198 ft) above sea level. The "Tunnel of Atlantis," the largest underwater volcanic tunnel in the world, is part of the Cueva de los Verdes lava tube.