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Note to reader: The below updates were originally posted to a group chat that I was using to keep my family and friends updated on the progress of my sea adventure.
Update 24-October
It is now Tuesday and we are now one day into our 5-day nonstop passage from Tangier to the Canary Islands. We have limited data this far off the coast, so I’ll have to upload photos/videos a bit later.
SUNDAY IN TANGIER
We were docked at the marina in Tanja Marina Bay in Tangier all day Sunday. But since it was raining off and on all day, I only went out for a Moroccan tea (black tea with mint and sugar served in a tall narrow glass), saw the Kasbah Museum, and ate a tajine at a restaurant frequented by locals.
After that it was a scramble because the storm we were waiting out arrived while we were docked (as expected). So all four of us had to hurry up to re-secure and tighten up the mooring lines to ensure that the boat would not be blown onto the rock or into neighboring boat or the rocks. Crisis averted, we settled in for an early night since the plan was to head out very early the next morning.
MONDAY AM: PREPPING FOR DEPARTURE
Wow! The boat’s all-white fiberglass deck was COMPLETELY covered with mud and dirt from Sunday’s storm! Must have been a sand storm combined with a rainstorm? Who knows?
Anyway as Captain handled our checkout and customs clearance to leave Morocco, we did two full soapy swab-and rinse jobs, and all the stains still didn’t come out. No worries, the bulk of the cleanup was done and we can finish the rest once we are settled in the Canaries.
MONDAY PM: SAILING SOUTH
Seas were fairly rough, with off-and-on rain, but nothing too alarming. Mostly the boat has huge up and down swings, which can get you seasick quickly if you’re not careful. 1st mate Vanessa made a homemade chicken soup for lunch, accompanied by a homemade sourdough foccaccia bread made on board by the Captain himself. Not bad for a meal made while underway!
NIGHT SHIFT
Once night hit, we started on our 3-hour shifts. My shift is now 2AM-5AM. This is not too bad because I can get a few hours’ more sleep in after my shift and still get up in time for breakfast. Before my shift, I managed to finish baking sourdough loaf that I helped get started, we’ll see how it turned out tomorrow. Night shift was fairly uneventful, save for a cargo ship I had to slightly alter course for to allow a comfortable passing distance.
TUESDAY: SUNNY START!
Now it’s morning and we are heading south off the west coast of Morocco, just a bit northwest from Rabat (Morocco). We have not yet made it as far south as Casablanca. We have sunny skies, so this should be a great day!
Our current location:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/YZNCbPSEdsnXLrsX9
Update 25-October
It’s now Wednesday, day 3 of our planned 5-day passage from Tangier, Morocco to the Canary Islands. We are still travelling south off the West coast of Morocco. Last night we passed Casablanca, and at late morning we are about 14 nautical miles west of Dra ed Drossa (Morocco).
Compared with Monday’s rain and choppy seas, yesterday (Tuesday) was an amazing day to be out on the water. I woke up to sunny skies and relatively calm seas!
So far we have been using the catamaran’s dual motors to make progress, as there is not enough wind in the right direction for us to move forward on wind power alone.
With our night watch schedules set, we try to keep to similar shifts for watch during the daylight hours as well. So before my 2pm-5pm shift I was able to sneak in a chess match (I got my butt whooped, will need to get my revenge :), and also could make progress on this online celestial navigation course I signed up for.
Keeping watch at daytime is so much easier than at night for obvious reasons, so with not a lot of traffic around I was able to continue to study off and on.
I’ve started to try to go straight to bed at 8pm now, to try to get much sleep as possible before my 2am-5am night shift starts. Night shift was not too bad, only one ship came close enough for slight concern, but no major issues.
Now it’s Wednesday, another beautiful sunny day out in the ocean. Onwards!
Here is our current location:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/r8ADgkxAwzA5MJJw8
Update 26-October
It is now Thursday, day four of our planned 5-day nonstop passage from Tangier, Morocco to the Canary Islands. At 11:30 AM we are travelling south and slightly west down the west coast of Morocco, about 37 nautical miles west of Essaouira (Morocco). It’s a straight shot to the Islands now.
Man what a beautiful sunny day out on the water that we had! The only issue, in fact, was an extremely light wind that prevented us from sailing on wind power alone. We ended up motoring most of the day. Which was fine though, as it is real nice to just cruise along in fairly calm seas.
Right at about sunset we had some dolphins come visit us who were very playful, we even managed to capture some of their antics on video!
As for night shift, the crew did manage to do some motor-less sailing for a few hours…but by the time my 2AM shift started, we were forced to drop the sails again and fire up the engines to keep us moving at a decent pace.
For Thursday we should be able to do more sailing, we shall see!
Here is our current location at 11:42 AM on Thursday 26-October:
https://goo.gl/maps/yzvuhpJ1wyGGpvzM9
Update 27-October
This is day 5 of our planned 5-day nonstop passage from Tangier, Morocco to the Canary Islands. We are sailing southwest in a straight course to the northeast-most island in the chain.
Our destination is about 73 nautical miles out, which means we can make it there at night time if we can keep a good speed up, but can have a bit later arrival if we slow too much.
The good news is that since early afternoon yesterday, we have been sailing on wind power alone, and at a real good clip! 🌬️⛵🥳
With wind at about 15 knots coming from our side and both of our engines shut off, we were gliding through the water at 6-7 knots on average– which is actually better time than we can make while under engine power. And even better, the weather was sunny and the waves not too high or rough. So just an amazing day of real sailing.
With winds that high and boat speed up to 6-7 knots, the feel is very exhilarating…maybe the same effect if you are going like 40-50 mph in a convertible?
In any case the wind was truly welcome as we are able to make much better headway towards our destination.
Night shift was uneventful, just business as usual but with sails out and engines off.
It’s now Friday, we are sailing at 7 knots, and the clouds are now dissipating to reveal the sun off to the east. Looks to be another great day on the water!
We are here currently:
https://goo.gl/maps/neCSn1ywPq1TrXQs7
Quick update
Plans have changed slightly. Instead of trying to anchor tonight at the first island in the chain, we will do one more night sail to get us directly to Gran Canaria.
It is safer to sail offshore at night, than to try to navigate a crowded, foreign anchorage at night.
So this is a better plan, and safer too. 👍🏾
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