Canaries to Gibraltar advice

[PatrickG]

Hi, have friends who are considering wintering in the Canaries, then would like to return to the Med during spring 2019, if possible without making the Atlantic crossing and back. They have a big, comfortable offshore cat. Have looked in the usual cruising guides and also googled, without finding much on the subject of getting back from the Canaries to Gib when the time comes. Anyone done this or know anyone who has? All tips and thoughts appreciated. Thanks!

[rom]

Originally Posted by PatrickG

Hi, have friends who are considering wintering in the Canaries, then would like to return to the Med during spring 2019, if possible without making the Atlantic crossing and back. They have a big, comfortable offshore cat. Have looked in the usual cruising guides and also googled, without finding much on the subject. Anyone done this or know anyone who has? All tips and thoughts appreciated. Thanks!

That is exactly what I did last winter, and I ended up being rather disappointed. Not winter, not summer, somewhere in between. If they stay south of the islands it is usually sunny, but still not so warm and the water last year went down to 15°C and rose back to 18°C in april when I left for the med. (passing by Madere which is a very cool place for a short trip).


Appart from Arecife in Lanzarote and Las Palmas in Gran Canaria, I did not feel really welcome in most places. I should have spend more time south Lanzarote and north Lanzarote in la Graciosa island. Cool place for kiteboarding. Beware the wind get much much stronger than global forecast in between the island. I had 50kts close to La Gomera, when global was 20/25...


FWIW, this winter I decided to haul out the boat south of France and stay there for a while. Maybe next year I will cross the atlantic again, I have so many good memories from the Antilles...

[PatrickG]

Originally Posted by rom

That is exactly what I did last winter, and I ended up being rather disappointed. Not winter, not summer, somewhere in between. If they stay south of the islands it is usually sunny, but still not so warm and the water last year went down to 15°C and rose back to 18°C in april when I left for the med. (passing by Madere which is a very cool place for a short trip).


Appart from Arecife in Lanzarote and Las Palmas in Gran Canaria, I did not feel really welcome in most places. I should have spend more time south Lanzarote and north Lanzarote in la Graciosa island. Cool place for kiteboarding. Beware the wind get much much stronger than global forecast in between the island. I had 50kts close to La Gomera, when global was 20/25...


FWIW, this winter I decided to haul out the boat south of France and stay there for a while. Maybe next year I will cross the atlantic again, I have so many good memories from the Antilles...

Hi Rom, thanks for that response! So, that's really interesting - via Madeira. How did that passage work exactly - were there reasonable windows where the Azores high let up so you could head up that way? Were you bashing into wind and waves, or generally how was that on the voyage Canaries - Madeira - Gib? Thanks!

[boatman61]

Two choices really..
1/ Beat up the coast against wind and current or..
2/ Head for Madeira during a period of favourable winds.. then either try a straight shot to Gib or.. on to the Azores for a couple of weeks before heading to Gib.

[PatrickG]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Two choices really..
1/ Beat up the coast against wind and current or..
2/ Head for Madeira during a period of favourable winds.. then either try a straight shot to Gib or.. on to the Azores for a couple of weeks before heading to Gib.

Boatman61, As far as option 2, have you done that before, and if so what was it like - any idea how frequent those weather windows are in the spring? Thanks for the input!

[stewie]

I did a delivery from Lanzarote to Marbella. The trade winds are lightest in May, but it is still a hard slog to windward. We left Lanzarotte and docked for the night at Safi on the coast of Morocco. Charming small town with blue and white houses and friendly people. We found a sheltered place in the harbour and the harbourmaster sent us sweet tea and a boy to run errands for us. Out of there at first light as the wind got up by mid day every day. We also stopped at Agadir
(Good harbour) where the a local merchant took us home for dinner. We also stopped at Casablanca where two very polite plain clothes policeman boarded us to see if we were smuggling Levi´s !!! A bit of French helps.

The temperature difference between Marbella and the Canaries is only 2c warmer, so it is hardly worth it if you are looking for a warm winter. For that you need to get down to 14 degrees.

[Lionelsole]

We did this a couple of years ago, returning via Madeira and the Algarve with no great drama.
Check our blog:
Lionelandelsie.blogspot.co.uk
March 2016

[PatrickG]

Stewie and Lionelsole, thanks for the accounts, both very interesting!

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by PatrickG

Boatman61, As far as option 2, have you done that before, and if so what was it like - any idea how frequent those weather windows are in the spring? Thanks for the input!

Dont head N much before April as systems are still fairly S and Madeira has had some bad hits in March..
Madeira to Azores took 5 days if I remember rightly.. that was on a Bene 331.

[conachair]

Averaged wind speeds for every 2 weeks available here >

Climatology of Global Ocean Winds

[Conquilha]

I suggest via Madeira (Porto Santo island) and from Madeira to Algarve. Each leg takes about 2 nights / 3 days, you can guarantee a reliable weather forecast window in each leg. Swell can be strong near the Marrocos coast, and its generally against wind and currents.

[Malfoi]

I want to go as crew from Canary to Caribbean, Bahamas, Florida. Let me know if somebody wants to do such ride.

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by Atravan

I want to go as crew from Canary to Caribbean, Bahamas, Florida. Let me know if somebody wants to do such ride.

Have you considered starting a thread in the Crewing Subforum offering yourself as crew?

[Malfoi]

Thank you. I already did this. I am sorry for some inconvenient for people, but Canary items seldom here.

[PatrickG]

Originally Posted by Atravan

I want to go as crew from Canary to Caribbean, Bahamas, Florida. Let me know if somebody wants to do such ride.

Atravan, first, this thread is about Canaries-Mediterranean, not the route you are asking about.

Re: your question, unfortunately, although there are a lot of boats going that way this time of year, there are also a LOT of people who are looking for available crew positions on that route. In November and December, the harbor in Las Palmas, and Marina Rubicon on Lanzarote for example, are crowded with would-be crew, who put up signs advertising themselves at the local sailor hangouts.

In other words, if you really want to do that, just posting a note or two here at Cruisers Forum probably isn't going to cut it - there is too much competition and they are working hard at it. If you really want to make this voyage, my suggestion is to try next year (you're already a bit late for this year), and get a cheap plane ticket to Las Palmas in end of October/early November. The ARC leaves LP around the third week of November. Walk the pontoons and talk to the skippers - hang out at Sailor's Bay, the local sailors' watering hole - and try to meet people. There is definitely a need for crew there, but also skippers want to know for sure you can be useful, and will fit in personality-wise with other crew. Experience (for example, real sailing experience plus an RYA certification or similar), skills (cooking, engine maintenance, etc.) and even a willingness to share costs and or just outright pay for your spot are all a plus.

Alternatively, you could try to catch the returning boats on the other end in late May and into June. Nanny Cay on Tortola is a good place for that. Good luck!