I returned to Scotland in Titch and after making sure Conny was OK, planned my next adventure.
Tom and I had it in mind to spend some time together before the year end. Tom had finished his ‘A’ levels and was awaiting entrance interviews with the RAF and I wasn’t working! So what could we do together?... we could go somewhere hot….yep that sounded good, but where?
Tom wanted to do something character building that could be used to demonstrate to the RAF that he hadn’t just been ‘sitting around on his arse’. I had a plan! Bjorn had offered me the opportunity to join him for any part of his journey. He was now in the Canary Islands and was due to head off to Cape Verde (800 miles south) in a week or two. What if both Tom and I could go!
A phone call to Bjorn gave the green light. As soon as possible we should go. After a mad scurry of phone calls, Tom and I had some flight options. Unfortunately, half term was approaching and we had a flight in 2 days at £50 or one in 5 days at £700…NO WAY!
Next day there was nothing for it…we booked the flights and then Conny and I had to drive through the night to the midlands with the flight booked the following afternoon for Tom and Myself. Paul had lent us is van and the plan was for Conny to return with the rest of our gear which we’d left at Redhill earlier in the year….
One day in Scotland in rain and 10 degrees…. 24 hours later we’re in Las Palmas (Gran Canaria) in 25 degrees at 10 o’clock at night and it hasn’t rained for weeks!
The three and a half weeks spent with Bjorn were fantastic. I don’t want to spend too much time on the detail of it though because it wasn’t really a Tigertale, more of a Chilitale (www.bachili.blogspot.com)! And Conny wasn’t on the trip…
Nevertheless Tom and I had a great time with Bjorn. We spent the first few days in Gran Canaria where we met a load of Bjorn’s travel buddies (yachts also doing the Caribbean – crossing the ‘pond’ in November/December, then cruising up through the Caribbean Islands until May before crossing back over the Atlantic via the Azores before the hurricane season). Among the friends we made, the ones with the fondest memories were Siobhan, Stian and Solver from the Norwegian yacht ‘Uredd’ (http://www.uredd-oslo.com/).....
After a few days in Gran Canaria we set sail for the Tenerife, some 60 odd miles west… Tom had a slightly difficult crossing ( ) and I, having quickly downed a coke before setting sail, parted company with it over the side of Chili in no time at all! Apart from that it was a good introduction for what was to come….. a stunningly beautiful blue ocean with BIG waves! ….. It’s hard to put into words and impossible to imagine but the shade of blue seen from the 4 kilometre deep water is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen…..
Anyway…back in the box…. We spent a few days in Tenerife, did the Mount Teide bit… oh… and the Playa de Las Americas thing (ended up sleeping on sun lounges on a private beach having been in a foam party…), before heading off on an overnight sail to La Gomera alongside Uredd…
This was our ‘final port of call’ before the ‘biggy’… we had a great few days here spending time with Siobhan, Stian and Solver, exploring the islands and being taught some devastating (for Tom anyway) dribbling games…. I mean drinking games
The time to set sail for Cape Verde came round in no time. We said our farewells and set sail…
What to say! One of my lasting memories is from about three hours into the 8 day trip. We’d lost the protection from the Canaries and the boat had started to react to the full force of the Atlantic swell. The boat was pitching and rolling in such a way that to move around needed 3 points of contact at all times and even sitting still was tiring… It was at this point I remember thinking, with some trepidation, that surely it was impossible to live like this for a week!
Actually, more accurately, I thought….Fuck, what the hell I am doing here and how the bloody hell are we going to get through the next week and come out in one piece!
Well needless to say we did…. it’s amazing what you get used to, especially when given Bjorn’s vast sailing experience and his indifference at the conditions. However, some things are better in hindsight and this was one such memory, brilliant now… something else at the time! Eight days and 800 miles (nautical, that’s 15% bigger than normal miles) on a 30 foot boat! It’s a small place for three people to co-exist, especially when you’re 400 miles from land (4 days) so there’s no getting off. It was challenging at times but wow… I can’t think of a parallel in life….everyone should try it…you learn a lot about yourself!
Tom and I had it in mind to spend some time together before the year end. Tom had finished his ‘A’ levels and was awaiting entrance interviews with the RAF and I wasn’t working! So what could we do together?... we could go somewhere hot….yep that sounded good, but where?
Tom wanted to do something character building that could be used to demonstrate to the RAF that he hadn’t just been ‘sitting around on his arse’. I had a plan! Bjorn had offered me the opportunity to join him for any part of his journey. He was now in the Canary Islands and was due to head off to Cape Verde (800 miles south) in a week or two. What if both Tom and I could go!
A phone call to Bjorn gave the green light. As soon as possible we should go. After a mad scurry of phone calls, Tom and I had some flight options. Unfortunately, half term was approaching and we had a flight in 2 days at £50 or one in 5 days at £700…NO WAY!
Next day there was nothing for it…we booked the flights and then Conny and I had to drive through the night to the midlands with the flight booked the following afternoon for Tom and Myself. Paul had lent us is van and the plan was for Conny to return with the rest of our gear which we’d left at Redhill earlier in the year….
One day in Scotland in rain and 10 degrees…. 24 hours later we’re in Las Palmas (Gran Canaria) in 25 degrees at 10 o’clock at night and it hasn’t rained for weeks!
The three and a half weeks spent with Bjorn were fantastic. I don’t want to spend too much time on the detail of it though because it wasn’t really a Tigertale, more of a Chilitale (www.bachili.blogspot.com)! And Conny wasn’t on the trip…
Nevertheless Tom and I had a great time with Bjorn. We spent the first few days in Gran Canaria where we met a load of Bjorn’s travel buddies (yachts also doing the Caribbean – crossing the ‘pond’ in November/December, then cruising up through the Caribbean Islands until May before crossing back over the Atlantic via the Azores before the hurricane season). Among the friends we made, the ones with the fondest memories were Siobhan, Stian and Solver from the Norwegian yacht ‘Uredd’ (http://www.uredd-oslo.com/).....
After a few days in Gran Canaria we set sail for the Tenerife, some 60 odd miles west… Tom had a slightly difficult crossing ( ) and I, having quickly downed a coke before setting sail, parted company with it over the side of Chili in no time at all! Apart from that it was a good introduction for what was to come….. a stunningly beautiful blue ocean with BIG waves! ….. It’s hard to put into words and impossible to imagine but the shade of blue seen from the 4 kilometre deep water is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen…..
Anyway…back in the box…. We spent a few days in Tenerife, did the Mount Teide bit… oh… and the Playa de Las Americas thing (ended up sleeping on sun lounges on a private beach having been in a foam party…), before heading off on an overnight sail to La Gomera alongside Uredd…
This was our ‘final port of call’ before the ‘biggy’… we had a great few days here spending time with Siobhan, Stian and Solver, exploring the islands and being taught some devastating (for Tom anyway) dribbling games…. I mean drinking games
The time to set sail for Cape Verde came round in no time. We said our farewells and set sail…
What to say! One of my lasting memories is from about three hours into the 8 day trip. We’d lost the protection from the Canaries and the boat had started to react to the full force of the Atlantic swell. The boat was pitching and rolling in such a way that to move around needed 3 points of contact at all times and even sitting still was tiring… It was at this point I remember thinking, with some trepidation, that surely it was impossible to live like this for a week!
Actually, more accurately, I thought….Fuck, what the hell I am doing here and how the bloody hell are we going to get through the next week and come out in one piece!
Well needless to say we did…. it’s amazing what you get used to, especially when given Bjorn’s vast sailing experience and his indifference at the conditions. However, some things are better in hindsight and this was one such memory, brilliant now… something else at the time! Eight days and 800 miles (nautical, that’s 15% bigger than normal miles) on a 30 foot boat! It’s a small place for three people to co-exist, especially when you’re 400 miles from land (4 days) so there’s no getting off. It was challenging at times but wow… I can’t think of a parallel in life….everyone should try it…you learn a lot about yourself!
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