Gibraltar to Tenerife
Destination has entered the Atlantic! The weather was very forgiving out of the straits, however anything below 15 knots is difficult to notice on this girl, she is a big aluminium chugger with a very cosy deck saloon from which we survey the water on watch. We have yet to sail her properly but the few times we brought the 300m2 reacher out has made a noticeable difference to our performance and efficiency. I have not given in to dubbing her a ‘motorsailor’ yet.. time will tell.
The trip down the African coast was relatively action-free. We have had a sleepless three nights , the atlantic swell sweeping our beam at an unfortunate angle makes for very uncomfortable rolling, when we can bring it out we have the Blade sail stabilising the boat. Last night I woke up with a start when the engine suddenly stopped, running up in my boxers I found Mike and Rory (First Mate) lashing down the baby stay, the stainless cap rusted through the cable and ripped off, a PBO rod flying around the deck was not ideal but Mike had already changed course to go with the wind and tame the thing. Aside from that we had some dolphin sightings and only the daily routine to focus on. Of course, much of the conversation is building around our upcoming adventure at Cape Horn and beyond.
My routine is starting to take shape, as I learn the mechanics of the boat a little better I am more comfortable in my daily engineering tasks, mostly consisting of monitoring the mammoth engine and two generators, now and then fiddling with the water makers and fuel supply valves. Every hour I am down there filling in my checksheet.. exhaust temperature, oil pressure, gearbox temperature etc etc. Once we arrive at our berth in Tenerife I will be changing the oil on both generators and main engine, along with fuel and oil filters.. a task I need to get comfortable with doing at sea too.
All this experience is simply increasing my mechanical capabilities, something I was always quite apt at, but the trust that my friend Ish has in me has brought me to this place of new and bigger responsibilities in the engineering field. I am a Captain really, that means overall management on a macro scale.. mechanical engineering, plumbing and electrical engineering included, always at arm’s length. Focusing on boosting my engineering skills is only going to improve my future aptitude in problem solving.
It’s uncanny how much of what we learn is intertwined with who we are and how we are; I can extrapolate a lesson learned in patience while changing an oil filter to interacting with a crew member in the future in a calm and collected way. If we keep ourselves open to all avenues of learning, one lesson gives a multitude of wisdom.
The interpersonal dynamics on board are very healthy, no bad vibes to speak of. Most of these guys have been working with each other for a while and I still have to slip in to the same comfort that they seem to have with one another, every boat has it’s own social nuances. I am closest with the captain (Mike) for now as he appreciates my experience and we have worked together before, the best way I can communicate it is that if he falls in, I will be expected to take control, which can cause some awkward tensions with the rest of the crew who are always vying for that attention, but I know one night of a couple of beers and laughs will level the playing field.
Finally the northern tip of Tenerife’s mountains landscape guards us from that persistent swell. On our port aft quarter Gran Canarias monitors our entry into the channel. The craggy beauty of these islands pervades through the image of ‘Tenerife lads innit’ culture that is often associated with the area. We have to hang out in Tenerife until next week, lying in wait for the new baby stay to arrive. Once it does we will cruise down to Cape Verde if the weather allows for it.