Las Palmas to Portugal

[Heli]

Hi there,

I am considering buying a boat in the canaries and sail it over to Portugal via Lanzarote and Madeira, in the middle of April. Would love to hear your opinion on this adventure. I don't have to much experience and understand that I need to find a crew. Is this doable or is it just plane stupid to sail against the current on open water for 5-6 days (Madeira - Portugal?)

Where to find a crew? Doable? Crazy? Adventure?

Boat is a 2006 jeanneau 42 ds.

Cheers!

[Darksyde]

Not a crazy adventure,

But on most days you will sail against the wind or max 90 degrees .
If you have time it should be a beautiful adventure

A crew you will find in the forums or in the canaries

on the way you can make a stop in the Savage Islands

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savage_Islands

Second option is to motor close under the African coast to the strait of
Gibraltar.
Mostly you are protected from the waves because of the North Easterly winds

M

[boatman61]

It can/has been done often.. fail to see why you wish to sail to Lanzarote first but there ya go..
I'd not recommend close into the Moroccan coast as the swell is predominantly N-NW and the sloping coastal shelf makes for some bad sea's with few places to run for shelter if you get caught..
I'd wait for a window of S'lies or E'lies then run across to Madeira then from there up to the Azores before heading East to Portugal.. Madeira's still to far South to easily make the run for Portugal as you'll be pushed South by currents and winds from the North..
I've done the Portugal-Madeira-Azores-Portugal circuit a couple of times, also a few runs down to the Canaries so have some idea of the conditions..
The main thing is Do Not try to sail to a schedule, you'll come unstuck.. be prepared to wait for favourable weather windows and it should be a great trip.. Azores to Portugal being the longest leg.. around 750nm so maybe 5 days on a near beam reach in a nice N'ly.. have a grand trip..

[lve0200]

Well, I have done this, transferring boats from Las Palmas to Mallorca. Although, I cooked 2 hot meals per day, everybody lost 2-3 Kg! A friend of mine, who sailed the other ship (50") lost balance and crashed a door from the kitchen lockers.
I was asked to present a High Sea license to the Spanish authorities.
My friend went directly to Gibraltar, I went via the cost of Marocco. Going via Marocco means, be prepared for a lot of "Presents", the local habor authorities expect. In Agadir, we had an attempt to steal our life raft at 5 AM, while we were sleeping inside. I can confirm the swell along the coast; in the shallow waters before Casablanca, we were like in a "pater noster elevator".
The regular waves on the Atlantic are higher then the average sailor is used to. You are most of the time close to the wind coming from NE. There is a high chance that unexperienced crew will thry to make too much hight and drift slowly, than sailing the optimal speed vs hight. Be aware, when you select your crew.
Regards
hk
PS: would eventually be interested to do it again.

[bil56]

look to pilotcharts :
http://msi.nga.mil/MSISiteContent/St...106/106apr.pdf