Navigating Choppy Seas: Our Journey to La Graciosa

/ Canary Islands / By

Welcome back friends. In our previous blog we, together with Jelle and Selina, explored Paradise Valley with its natural swimming pools and medieval Essaouira, also referred as Windy City. It was time to leave enchanting Morocco behind and on July 22, 2024 we set sail for the 220 Nm SWW to the Canary islands.

Pictured above is a screenshot of PredictWind, the software we use for route planning based on wind and wave forecasts. The wind was forecasted to be 25 knots gusting to 35 from the North. That is a lot of wind, and it being on the beam promised a fast passage. To be prepared for the gusts we would leave Agadir with the second reef in the mainsail and full genoa. The latter can be reefed quickly (reducing sail area) during gusts without having to leave the cockpit which is an added safety, especially at night. A wave hight of 2 – 2.4 meter was predicted with a period of 6 seconds meaning an annoying short chop and not a nice long ocean swell. (Rule of thumb: period in s divided by hight in m < 3 spells trouble). People would get seasick but this choppy sea cannot be avoided this time of year. Jelle and Celina would stay with us for only two weeks and one week had already past. We discussed with them the expected conditions during the crossing and they were eager to leave, get some Atlantic sailing experience and to go to the Canaries, so we took the plunge.

Fishing vessel returning to Agadir.

We had to motor-sail for the first 3 hours to find wind away from the lee of the cape whilst keeping a keen lookout and zigzagging to avoid the many fishing nets and crab-pots along the coast.

The fishing markers are sometimes difficult to spot at a distance.

The trip went as expected with an average speed of 8 knots and a very uncomfortable sea. During the day and with eyes pried on the horizon, everybody still felt OK but when the sun went down and with the horizon no longer visible the crew went quiet and some went below deck, not to be seen again until the following morning. After 28 hours at sea we dropped anchor in the most secure anchorage in the Canaries just South of La Graciosa and North of Lanzarote.

Our first anchorage in the Canaries at Playa Francesa. In the calm waters of the bay the seasickness was quickly forgotten.
La Graciosa and our anchorage to the left, as seen from Lanzarote. The only settlement on the island "Caleta del Sebo" and its port in the foreground. This photo is made a week later.
Jelle and Selina enjoying the anchorage.

It was interesting to observe how the locals made a business out of the tourists. Every morning two ex-fishing vessels would come in from Lanzarote carrying “toys for tourists” like a water slide, a bouncy castle, kayaks, snorkels and other small stuff. Then, a bit later in the morning two big catamarans loaded with tourists would arrive.

The tourist boats would return to Caleta del Sebo around 3pm, the ex-fishing boats would collect the toys, clean up the beach and return to Lanzarote, leaving the anchorage peaceful and quite for the rest of the afternoon. Same ritual again the following day.

The two big tourist catamaran put on an entertaining show.
Stretching our legs while walking to Caleta del Sebo.
Isla La Graciosa (the graceful) is, with all other Canary islands, of volcanic origin, formed by the Canary hotspot which is still active. The whole island is a national park. You need a special, hard to get, permit to bring a car (which you do not need anyway) and Playa Francesa is the only bay where anchoring is allowed. The island has no water source and potable water is piped in from neighbouring Lanzarote. Pictured here is one of five! calderas on this small island.
The surprisingly colourful and well maintained cemetery, just outside the village.
The beach, smack in the middle of Caleta del Sebo.
The fishing port and yacht harbour, home of the tourist catamarans. We could not get a berth in this port, if we wanted to, since it is fully occupied by locals.
After enjoying a snack and a refreshing drink and with nothing else to see but sun worshippers we returned to the boat.
Later that night a curious fisherman was navigating between the anchored boats and also dropped anchor for the night. Early morning he was already gone.

We only stayed for two nights in this anchorage, mainly to recover from the overnight sail from Morocco and to make plans for the coming week. When we wanted to leave, it turned out that our anchor was stuck under a ridge. The water was less then 5 meters deep and in a coordinated effort where Liza gave some extra slag in the anchor chain and Jelle pulling on the anchor at the bottom we got it freed in no time.

Next stop is marina Lanzerote, but that is for the next blog.

Thank you for reading our stories. Liza and Frits.