Some holiday!

Some holiday!
Originally uploaded by rosailither.

Well it’s nearly December and we’re still in Tenerife. After much deliberation, we decided to take the boat out of the water for our latest visitors, Dave’s Mum and brother, who came for a week. The initial idea was to give them a stable base for the week without rocking on anchor but it also gave Ian the perfect chance to admire the bottom of the boat. And to help with the sanding… Oh, and while you’re down there, you might as well help paint it!
We had mixed weather for the week, with lots of cloudy skies and even a sprinkle of rain. This suited Rita down to the ground but further reduced Ian’s chances of getting a suntan. We did manage to cram a lot into a week, with a trip up Mount Teide and to the north of the island along the terrifying coast roads. We ate in a typical Spanish restaurant (where one lady was tucking into a whole cooked octopus) and visited the much-publicised but overrated ‘Dragon tree’. It is big…. We had a trip out to sea once the boat was launched (sadly no dolphin or whale sightings) and even squeezed in some windsurfing lessons.
The weather is definitely getting cooler here, down to the low 20’s, still not a patch on Britain, where we were amazed to hear you’ve been having snow. Even in Exeter… We have also had unseasonal weather here, with a ‘tropical storm’ blowing through last night. After one boat had a near miss from dragging onto the rocks (pulled away at the last minute by Dave’s dinghy), all the anchored boats took shelter in the fishing harbour. One guy wasn’t so lucky and his boat ended up wrecked on the beach – a sad sight this morning.
Today brought a return to blue skies and calmer seas. We are making good progress with the square sail and still hope to be on the move soon.

Look at that blue sky!

trapeze artist
Originally uploaded by rosailither.

We met up with more Devonians in Los Cristianos, this is John Knight from Tool Care Hire practising for his new job as a trapeze artist!
The sun is still shining here, we are beginning to take it for granted that the weather will be dry enough to work on deck. We took the bus to the north side of the island and were amazed at the difference in climate. Where the south is hot, dry and barren, the north is cool, cloudy and green. The hillsides are full of banana plantations, which we were surprised to see grow upside down.
We have also been catching up with odd jobs on board and are currently investigating the possibility of making a square sail for the Atlantic crossing. This should be easier to handle than our current main sail, and safer - it would eliminate the risk of an accidental gybe.

More visitors

Dave's babysitting method
Originally uploaded by rosailither.

Our second lot of visitors were Hazel´s sister and nephew. During their stay, Dave perfected his babysitting technique, ideal for keeping kids safe on the beach!
We took the trawler out to sea to test out the new shaft, all seemed to be working fine but we then had trouble re-anchoring. The bottom of the harbour is flat volcanic rock with just a couple of inches of sand on the top, not enough to make the anchor grip properly.
We have since been catching up on a few odd jobs on board under the shelter of our sun cover. It´s hot out here...