FIONA Docked at Marina Atlantico
07/19/02I am finally getting to update the log again after departing from Tenerife. I am so happy to be able to leave the boat and walk around that I don’t want to spend time on the boat writing. I figure I’ll have plenty of time to do this when I’m underway. As I sit here, I feel a very painful blister on the bottom of my right foot, acquired from constantly walking during the last three days.
Our landfall at Santa Cruz was quite spectacular, as we had rounded the NorthEast corner of the island at dawn. I had the 0600-0800 watch, so I was on duty when we made the approach.
When I awoke for the watch, we were in the middle of a wind acceleration zone, a spot near the point of the island where the wind speeds are amplified. It was blowing 20-25 knots and the seas were pretty big. Luckily we had dropped the main the night before, and were motoring because the wind had died. As soon as I started my watch the wind died again, and the waves flattened out as we moved into the protection of the island.
The northern part of the island was lined with steep, irregular mountains with scrubby vegetation, not very hospitable looking. As we proceeded further south, Santa Cruz came more into view. It was quite a big city, with many high-rise buildings. There were a few small fishing boats running around and some freight ships that did not appear to be going anywhere.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, this hydrofoil ferry came out of the harbor and crossed our bow at a high rate of speed. The hydrofoil has special attachments on the hull that allow the ship to lift out of the water, enabling it to go very fast. Then, coming from east, the direction of Tenerife’s neighbor island, Gran Canaria, came another high speed ferry. This was a very modern boat, a catamaran that is about the size of the Port Jefferson ferry, and also traveling quite fast.
We finally worked our way down to the entrance to the southern harbor, Darsena de los Llanos. At the north end of this harbor is a well protected marina, Marina Atlantico, where there were 20-30 boats, and many slips were empty. A little more than half of these boats were power boats, including some Sea Rays, which I was surprised to see. We did not see a marina attendant, so we pulled into the slip at the end of the dock.
Eric went to check in with the authorities while David and I hooked up the hose and gave FIONA a much needed fresh water bath. The pounding we had taken from waves over the last week had left a thick layer of salt over the entire boat. Once this was done, Eric and I set out to find the chandlery and David set out to explore on his own. I picked up a pamphlet for the chandlery at the marina office that included a city map showing the location, and another pamphlet showing an internet café. I called Sue to let her know I was safe on land. As we walked through the parking lot next to the marina office, I noticed a stage being set up with tables and food booths all around. I did not think anything of it, since we had seen a similar setup in Horta.
We found the chandlery, stopping for lunch along the way. Santa Cruz was a very modern city. At the chandlery, Eric purchased more line for the Aries, and spare jib sheets. We then had them give us directions to an electronics supply shop, where Eric went to get a replacement capacitor for the broken SSB radio. He was to spend considerable time over the next days trying to fix it, to no avail. We finally bought a portable SONY shortwave radio so we could listen to BBC broadcasts. No more talking to Trudi, or receiving weather faxes.
For the afternoon I explored the town and sent out an e-mail update for my trip. That night we looked for a restaurant and settled on an Italian place. I had veal marsala, which was strangely served with French Fries. After dinner we went back to the marina to see what was happening with the festival that was being set up. There was quite a crowd of people there, and we noticed a large crowd gathered at the south end of the commercial harbor, which is directly to the north of our harbor. I went to look, and there were all sorts of boats, ranging in size from jet ski to 80-foot fishing boats, all festooned with flags and palm fronds, zooming precariously about the harbor. It was quite a sight.
I went over to the festival for a while and checked it out. The food being sold was either grilled or fried sardines or chicken brochettes. The stage had been occupied by a choral group of about 30 people, led by a Spanish guitar player in the center. They broke into song, singing something that seemed religious, but it being in Spanish, I could only guess. I decided to walk back over to the commercial harbor. There was a footbridge that went out to a large concrete platform in the middle of the harbor. I decided to walk out there and join the crowd. When I got to the end, I noticed all the boats that had been careening around the harbor were now all corralled up at the north end. Some of them were shooting flares.
Boats Racing around the Harbor
Once the fireworks were over, all the boats were let loose once again and came flooding into the harbor. As it turns out, the central boat in all this was a large commercial boat loaded with people. On this boat was riding a statue of the patron saint of the fishermen. It is a tradition on every July 16 the statue is taken from the local church, put on a boat and taken out to sea, and this festival is to celebrate her homecoming. David and I didn’t know this at the time. We just noticed that this statue appeared, coming from the harbor, followed by a marching band playing a somber drum roll. We decided to join the procession and see where it went. They went across the highway and stopped in the plaza in the city. At that time we were treated to a second, much more spectacular fireworks show. After this was over, we followed the procession again to the church. Along the way I spotted a pub named “J. C. Murphy’s”, which I pointed out to David. Once the statue was back in the church, the priests had a short ceremony, and it was all over. David and I went to Murphy’s and had a Guinness, and I called Sue again.
The Procession
The rest of the time in Tenerife I spent walking around town, shopping, and exploring. The town generally shuts down in the afternoon, with most of the shops closing from 1300 to 1600 or 1700 for siesta.
Before we knew it, it was time to hit the sea again. We left after lunch on Friday, and spent the morning cleaning up everything, folding up the awning that we had set up to protect the boat form the sun’s rays, and disconnecting the power.
We met a nice couple from England, Ken and Jo, who were on their boat, AMIKECO. They were in their seventies, and had been cruising on their homemade Tahiti ketch since he retired from the police at the age of 47. They had attempted to cross to the Caribbean a month or two earlier, but shortly into the trip, Jo developed Glaucoma and lost sight in one eye. She is now working with a specialist in the UK to prevent losing sight in the other eye.
Our departure from Marina Atlantico went very smoothly. From there, we first went north to the Darsena Pescada (Fisherman’s Harbor) to get diesel. We picked up 100 liters of fuel and departed. This time, I did everything right when I raised the main! Unfortunately, there has as of yet been no wind to drive us. We have motored most of the way and are now south, well out of sight of land. We are feeling a breeze coming up from behind, and are preparing to try again.
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