Back on board

Christmas is over for another year … and preparations for the Ruby Cruise are in full swing. We arrived back at Follyfin on Christmas Eve, both Skipper and First Mate suffering from a bad cold and cough. However work had to go on: re-commissioning Follyfin into sea-going mode, bending on the fore sail, checking out the mast fittings

fitting extra clutches on deck for numerous additional lines, fitting extra lee cloths in stern cabin and a plethora of other repairs and small jobs. One that was not anticipated, and not exactly small, was removing the thick layer of red Saharan dust that had settled over the entire topside of the boat. Simple hosing down was not enough … much elbow grease also required! Would much rather have gone swimming. The sun shines hot, sea is still warm (I am told) and the daytime temperature hovers around 25 degrees. Cooler at night though.

Needless to say and notwithstanding colds, cough and punishing work schedule, Christmas dinner was taken out with sailing friends at “Lilium”, renowned for its Canarian haute cuisine. Starters included octopus tentacle,

followed by grilled ox for main course, winding up with pineapple carpaccio with coconut ice cream. Nice change from roast turkey and plum pudding.

With our experience last summer after leaving Follyfin in the water for 6 weeks in Lisbon and finding the propeller thickly encrusted with barnacles, it was certain that plant and animal organisms would have latched on to her hull again after 3 months in the water. Our usual method for cleaning the hull is to beach the boat then go round at low tide manually removing all unwelcome visitors. This of course costs nothing. In Spain (and Canary Islands), however, beaching a boat is illegal and carries a heavy fine if discovered.  A clean hull is essential for maximum speed and could save 2-3 days on a long passage such as the Atlantic crossing. So we bit the bullet and arranged for Follyfin to be lifted out and for her hull to be pressure washed.

And boy did she need it! Much quicker and saved a lot of elbow grease as well.

Now we were ready to roll. Even though not all jobs on the list have been ticked we decided it was time to transfer to our official departure port on Tenerife. Moorings were slipped at 11:00 on 30/12/15. The passage was 132 miles as crow flies and should have taken only 27-30 hours max. But as we have discovered in the 5 years we have now been doing this sailing lark, the wind is never exactly where you want it. We finally made it into Marina Santa Cruz on NE tip of Tenerife at 21:00 on 31/12/15, well after dark and absolutely shattered. Skipper being unwell with persistent cough and an awkward swell combined to ensure not much sleep was had on passage. Thank goodness we have 3 more crew joining us for the Atlantic! We heard the NYE fireworks, and I gather it was a good display…