On the island of Lanzarote, I met many people, including the Frenchman Steve, who got tired of the way of life in France. He traveled almost the whole world on business. He was involved in arranging the lighting and light shows that you had the opportunity to see at Eurovision and also in a shot of some fireworks that was entered in the Guinness Book of Records.
Steve bought a used Elan Impression sailboat a month ago, which has sailed the world once before. During the voyage, the former owner and the crew had many inconveniences with the boat, including the rudder, because the control sheet broke off, leaving them with only 30 cm of the control sheet, and thus tried to sail 400 nm to the first port. , which fortunately they also succeeded. After that, the owner lost all love for his boat and, out of disappointment, sold it as it was – without a rudder.
Steve bought a boat, repaired the rudder, and decided to sail around the world with it, even though he had no knowledge of sailing. He sailed to the Atlantic with his friend George, who had considerable knowledge of sailing, having sailed all along the east coast of America years ago. Together they sailed to Lanzarote, where we met. We agreed to sail together to Gracioso, an island north of Lanzarote. Early in the morning I set off from my boat to the anchorage in front of the Grand Hotel, where Steve was waiting for me by dinghy, as we had agreed. As we left the anchorage, they asked me to look at the mainsail, which seemed too long for this boat and genoa. When Steve raised the sail as always, I immediately noticed a mistake: he never rubbed it with a boom and so the sail was too loose. It fluttered and thumped against the mast. The sail was original and it would have been impossible for it to be too big, only the ignorant Steve couldn’t fit it well.
We sailed in an orco and somehow I tried to explain to them the philosophy of sails and wind: every thing moves with the wind, even if you have a wooden stake instead of a mast and a cloth hanging on it. Sailing with the Impression was very comfortable and nothing exciting. When we arrived at the anchorage, I observed the French way of anchoring and said to myself quietly, “Something like that! I thought I had seen it all …! ”
That evening I enjoyed French cuisine, which of course includes excellent wine. Steve and George each had their own cabin, and I slept in the saloon. There was a little wave on the side at the anchorage, so the boat swayed pleasantly and I fell asleep as if in a flash. I wake up first, of course, and this early in the morning, I move from the boat to the cockpit, where I continue my awakening. Meanwhile, I observe a sailboat approaching the anchorage: a double-hulled boat with an American flag. It seemed familiar to me somewhere. I take the binoculars and find that this is one of the most famous sailboats – the sailboat Delos, which publishes its voyage around the world on the Youtube channel and which has just sailed from Europe
At this early hour, everyone was still asleep at this anchorage, and I was tempted to fish while looking at the fish swimming around the boat. I knew that fishing was forbidden here, as this area is a national park, but I also knew that this bay is visited by the police every morning, so I waited for them. They soon arrived, but also sailed very soon. While I was watching them disappear behind the cape of the island, I was already dressed in neo-equipment and when they were no longer visible, I jumped into the water. At first I was just diving and observing the beauty of the seabed, but then I decided to catch some fish for dinner anyway. Turns out I caught fish for the whole week and with these fish I prepared an evening feast for friends at the bar two days later.
When I got back to the boat, I cleaned the fish all the way to lunch. After lunch, I swam to the shore and walked across all those dunes on the island to a small cozy village where I got distracted by taking photos and observing there. On this island, it is known that after the end of the tourist season, only the locals remain and everything becomes very barren – like from a movie Ghost town. I still laugh at an event from this village: I was sitting on the terrace of a small local bar and smoking a cigarette. I had a box of cigarettes and coffee on the table. An older man approaches my table and sits down. He asks me if I could get one cigarette, which I offer him, of course. The man lights a cigarette with pleasure, but a few moments later a friend turns him around from the next table, saying that he should not smoke because of lung surgery. At that moment, the man lifted his shirt and showed his belly, which had been cut along its entire length, and the stitches looked very fresh as he had surgery only seven days ago. He says he only smokes one cigarette a day now. Well, I guess, and of all the people, he found just me for that cigarette! And I say to myself again: “Well, I thought I saw everything already!” They barely saved his life, and he just keeps going … Well, each in his own way, we say.
I got back to the boat and it was time to start making dinner. My sailing friends were thrilled with the delicious fish.After dinner, like the day before, I fell asleep quickly and woke up first again in the morning. That night I was constantly bothered by the creaking of the ceiling just above my head. In fact, I noticed that the boat creaked at all ends and I thought about how it is even possible to sleep in a cabin while sailing. “So much money, and everything squeaks?” I thought quietly. There is only one floor creaking on my boat, which I solve by sticking one flip-flop under it. How many flip flops would you need here ???
I’m thinking about whether I’m capable of sailing with more people on a boat. Once you get used to being alone on a boat and your own master, the company can be very uncomfortable after several days. Maybe I haven’t met such a person yet or is the problem in me? To be fair, after two days of staying on a foreign boat in the company, I wanted nothing more than just my own boat and my own peace. You can have the most comfortable bed, warm water on the boat and all the comforts that Impression gives, but I don’t think it’s all worth as much as freedom is worth. On my boat, I know exactly where I put something and I know exactly where I can find something. Exceptionally, of course, this is not the case …
This morning I went for a morning swim all over the anchorage, this time without a rifle. And of course, when you swim without a rifle, you meet the most beautiful and biggest fish. I went back to the boat and had to raise the anchor. I don’t know why Steve didn’t raise the anchor and left that job to George, who had only one hand functionally, as the other was left lame after a motorcycle accident. I pretended not to notice, he owns the boat and I can’t interfere with it, even if it looks really stupid. Then we sailed with a light wind and the sailing was downright fabulous: dolphins were constantly swimming in front of us and every now and then the biggest dolphin from the flock was thrown out of the water. We waited for the sunset at sea and then sailed back into the harbor. I loaded the fish and moved them to my friend’s fridge where they waited for a hot grill.
Sailing with a Slovenian boat impressed me and it was nice to read an inscription in Slovene after a long time. For example, a warning at the bonnet. Sailing was very comfortable and completely different than, for example, with my little yilon, which I would not otherwise exchange for anything, as it is mine and I know every inch of the boat. On it, I feel very comfortable in the Atlantic, even if the cockpit is sometimes underwater.