Gib to Canaries

[rigpigpaul]

Hi All, I am leaving Gib the end of September and heading down to the Canaries. There will be my wife and myself. She has sailed in the eastern Med lots (always calm) but she is worried about weather, big seas. The plan is to hop between marinas down the Moroccan coast and then across to Fuerteventura. Questions- which pliot books do you recommend for Morocco and the Canaries. Is it best to leave Gib and go cross the straights to the Moroccan side or go out into the Atlantic and then turn south. Thanks in anticipation. RPP

 

[KellysEye]

Haven't done that route so can't help but I would strongly recommend you work your way up sailing Force 5 then 6, then 7, then 8 to see how your wife gets on. We know many ladies who don't like heavy weather and who flew UK to the Canaries and then to the Caribbean, each time sailing locally only in light winds. We have also seen one wife walk off the boat and never return followed by a divorce.

 

[Gerry]

Some years since we did that route but here goes!

We left Gib and headed across the straits toward the African coast, then kept heading straight for the Canaries, didn't stop until we got to Lanzarote six days later. Some big seas in parts, quite usual from talking to others, if it got uncomfortable we hove to for a few hours which made me(the wife) much more comfortable with the whole experience.

Puerto Calero in Lanzarote made up for any discomfort with lots of great restaurants and other facilities.....

Best of luck with the trip

www.gerryantics.blogspot.com

 

[capnsensible]

Imray North Africa pilot. As good as it gets.

Pit stops...

Mohammedia, nice yacht club with a few berths in a big industrial harbour.

Rabat, new marina, difficult seas near the entrance, call ahead for advice.

Safi, berth alongside pilot boat on port authority dock. Sounds messy but ashore is fab, Busy port and fishing harbour but well worth it.

Essouria, couple of berths sometimes available. Bustling fishing harbour, bit smelly, local wooden boatbuilding fascinating.

Agadir, brill full service marina, lovely beach. Try British Sport Bar for footie.......

When leaving Gib I usually nip down to Tafifa and cross the Scheme there, easy. Then stay fairly inshore past Tanger to Cabo Spartel. Once rounded, be prepared for zillions of poorly marked lobster pots and willy nilly fishing boats with odd lights.

Hope this helps

 

[rigpigpaul]

KelleyEye-sound advice. I met two families on a charter boat in the Aegean. I was stuck in a harbour, gale force 8, day and night for five days and not a cloud in the sky. The lady of one of the families was so scared they used to take a ferry to the next island and meet the boat. That was for the second week of their holiday. The problem was the skipper who was a bit Gung Ho and just went for it.
Capn. I have looked at your website so you will have all the local knowledge. I have read that their can be some big swells along the Moroccan coast which I would like to avoid. What weather patterns should I be looking for before I set off. My dates are very flexible and I have a three week slot to get to the canaries. Rgds RPP

 

[capnsensible]

Hiya.

I always use passageweather.com as it also gives wind and sea state too. I reckon its a great site. Mostly, the wind is going down the coast towards Canaries, I think its the odd SW wind that gives the worst swells. Continental Shelf style. Its a good coast to close in daylight to check out the sea state...any doubts just crack on.

Have avoided night entries due to the huge number of pot markers. Thats been more of a problem than swell.

Done it both ways a few times. Feb, March, September and October have been ok. Oh and November. Late season, just wait for a good weather report, not the Straits that puts people off leaving, its south of Rabat that counts!

Hope this helps!

 

[mandlmaunder]

Rigpigpaul

I would be very careful about marina hoping the north African coast as it can be very shallow for 12 or more miles out to sea so if or when bad weather comes you can be stuck in port for many days or do what someone we are friends with did and leave because of a scheduled pick up in the Canaries, the end result was total loss of their boat and the end their marriage.

When we did the direct route from Ohlao to Madeira we were hit by a huge SW'er that kicked up huge seas and caused us to detour to Grasiosa in the Canaries. 3 days hove to in our cat, not an experience we had planned on.

So my advice is watch the weather as the SW'er that hit us was not forecast and we had no long range HF radio at the time.

Mark