After our short haulout at Arricefe (and checking that the sail drives seals weren’t leaking afterwards), we headed off on the overnight down to Las Palmas Gran Canaria.
We arrived at the main anchorage outside the municipal marina about 7.45 am, and were requested to anchor, and dinghy to the reception dock to check in. The marina and anchorage were inside a big busy port with oil dericks, a container terminal and cruise ship port. The anchorage was almost at capacity so the premium spots were taken. It was hard getting the anchor dig into the very firm bottom. Fortunately there was no wind, so I hung out on the boat ( trying to stay busy cleaning up and not worrying about dragging!) while Todd buzzed in to see if we could get a slip.
The stars aligned and we were given a slip assignment on T dock which was the first one facing the entrance. It was the 2nd slip in from the gate, and beside an older generation ocean racing monohull with big outriggers. Apparently this boat was a drug runner that was confiscated 2 or 3 years ago. While we were waiting for the marinaros to assist us into the slip, the wind increased to 20 knots. The outriggers were downwind and uncomfortably close to our stays. We decided it was not a good spot to put the boat, especially as high winds were due in another day or so. Fortunately they found another slip on S dock, and this one was closest to the gate ( and nearest the rocks!)
As soon as we were tied up Todd left to clear us in with customs and the port police. I was washing dishes and looked up to see a guy on the dock looking distraught and indicating he wanted to come aboard, pointing to our port bow. I turned in that direction and saw a 40ish foot monohull getting blown onto the rocks.
They got a line to our bow and Oscar, the guy who came on board, grabbed it and tied their stern to our port bow cleat. Apparently the skipper then got the boat in reverse and backed right into our bow with a nauseating crunch. After a few more wild turns of the helm the boat got turned into the wind and was able to motor off. It probably took 3 minutes total. Oscar turned out to be a lovely guy who worked for the main chandlery and boat yard Rolnautic, and it was his boss Juan Carlos that was at the helm. Oscar was shaking like a leaf with adrenaline and apologized profusely. He made sure that he left phone numbers and contact info, and said they would make any damage “right”. He planned to come by later on and check over the area on our port bow with us.
Todd got back an hour later having missed all the action. Funnily enough, he had been emailing Juan Carlos who had ordered some parts for us, and Todd had just seen him when he stopped at the store. Todd had no idea that Juan Carlos had run into our boat, and Juan Carlos didn’t realize that Todd was the owner of the boat he hit. After washing the area and inspecting it closly from the dinghy, we couldn’t see any damage at all, so the crunch I heard must have been their fiberglass.
We washed the rest of the boat off, had showers, dinner, and headed to bed early..
The next day was Christmas Eve and we had to pick up a few days of supplies. There was a fantastic Central Mercado about a 30 minute walk from the marina, that was well stocked with local and Spanish products. It had lots of fresh produce stalls, carnicerias, fresh fish stalls, and a lively atmosphere.
We were busy prepping and organizing lockers and making meal plans and provisioning lists, checking safety gear, and checking bedding for friends that would be arriving on the 28th. Todd still found time to make our traditional Christmas brunch of potato pancakes with sour cream, chopped onion, caviar and lemon wedges though!
LOVELY! Made me smile to see the Christmas caviar!!