Puerto de Pasito Blanco Gran Canaria

Anchored by Puerto de Pasito Blanc    

We had an almost windless, if somewhat rolly, night at anchor off Pasito Blanco. However, as all the yachts swung on their chains to the wind building from the northeast during the morning of Saturday 11 November it became clear that our chain had become caught around a rock and instead of sitting back behind Sea Wind, we were perilously close to ending up alongside her. We made a hasty move, retrieving the anchor without too much difficulty and relaid it, hoping that this time the chain would be clear of any rocks. [Ed: we later found out that Sea Wind’s anchor chain had also snagged on a rock overnight – perhaps the same one?]. It would  tempting to try anchoring a little further into the beach but Lars and Susanne on Sea Wind have been anchored here for about a month (relaxing after a 5500nm transit from Gotenburg via the Lofoten Islands, Iceland and the west and south coasts of Ireland) and had advised us not to go too close in because of rocks littering the bottom though they said that there is good sand further out.

Re-anchoring complete, we put together some kebabs, salad and wine for Agustín’s party and headed ashore.

As the Ocean Cruising Club Port Officer for Gran Canaria, Agustín had not only thrown his house open for a party but had also bought enough food in to sink a battleship. By the time we arrived after our anchoring shenanigans the party was in full swing and Agustín and Sonja (along with co-opted family members) were in full hosting mode and doing fabulous work.

It was lovely to see Agustín and Sonja again and it was also a great opportunity to meet some more OCC members. Most were planning to cross the Atlantic on the ARC and had driven down to Pasito Blanco from Las Palmas but there were also several couples who, like us, plan to cross independently. It was interesting to compare notes on when they were planning to leave and to where they were planning to head. Unsurprisingly, we found a lot of similarity in our plans, with slight variations in departure dates and routing.

The OCC gathering in Gran Canaria    

With luck, we may well end up crossing at the same time as one or two of the other yachts and so will stay in touch. And it is very likely that we’ll meet up with other crews as we all sail our individual circuits on ‘the other side’.

SY Sea Wind   

When the party broke up, we headed down to the yacht club at the port with Lars and Susanne before continuing the conviviality aboard Sea Wind, a lovely Fantasi 37.

Puerto de Pasito Blanco and the yacht club (L)   

The next morning was hard work but coffee in the fresh air with Lars and Susanne and Peter (from one of the other yachts in the bay), followed by a bracing swim, helped to spur us into action. And we needed to be spurred, as team Sea Wind/BV had arranged to meet up for lunch with Agustín at the yacht club to thank him for initiating the previous day’s get-together (we would most likely never have met all those OCC members without his impetus) and for his very generous hosting. After another very enjoyable lunch we bade adieu to Agustín, with whom we very much hope to meet up again when he’s on his own sailing adventure in a couple of years’ time. And we had a final, much quieter, evening with Lars and Susanne, this time hosting them on BV. All partied out, we discussed our plans for moving on westwards the next day; Lars and Susanne planned to stay put for a little longer before meeting up with family and then heading to Las Palmas for pre-crossing preparations. And that time’s getting closer for us too – and with too many of the Canary Islands still left to visit. We need to be moving on again!

[Party photos all from Agustín because I had left my camera on BV]

Puerto de Pasito Blanco, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands