Heading along the Moroccan coast on our longest passage today

After a week in Morocco, taking in the sights and sounds of the souks and local markets, it was time to leave Tangier.

On 24 October, at 10:30, we slipped our lines in the marina. We shouldn’t have got too excited. It was another four hours before customs cleared us to leave, and so we finally departed at 14:10.

That was quite a bit later than planned. We’d wanted to get well offshore before dark, having heard reports from other sailors about the amount of fishing gear, abandoned nets and other things to avoid along the Moroccan coast.

I’d spent some time looking at MarineTraffic to see where the ferries and commercial ships travelled. My thinking was that fishermen would be less inclined to leave equipment somewhere it was likely to get run over by a ship. Not a guarantee, but it helped inform our route.

We headed about 30 to 40 miles offshore before continuing south.

Initially, the conditions were great. A Force 4 from behind gave us some good downwind sailing, and in our first 24 hours we covered 127 miles. We were quite pleased with that.

Unfortunately, we’d brought something else away from Morocco. We were all feeling ill to varying degrees. I’d already been unwell for four or five days and hadn’t shaken it off. Steph was just starting.

Add an uncomfortable sea and a few of the usual contributors to seasickness, and about 24 hours into the passage I was violently sick. Roughly 12 hours later, Steph followed.

Our carefully planned three-hours-on, three-hours-off watch rota became rather more flexible as we did what we could to support each other.

At times, the sea was very uncomfortable. Swell from storms far to the north was reaching us on the beam, so even when the wind was useful, the movement wasn’t always pleasant. This was going to be our longest passage so far, and there was plenty to learn.

After the second night, we found our first flying fish on deck.

We’d seen them aboard other people’s boats and in sailing videos, but this was our first. It felt like some sort of qualification. Apparently, we were doing proper sailing now.

Our second 24-hour run was 129.2 miles.

As we approached halfway, the wind dropped to a Force 3 from behind. There wasn’t much we could use, so the engine went on for longer than we’d have liked. Eventually, the wind filled in to a lovely Force 5 on the beam, and we had six to eight hours of good sailing before it faded again.

Back on the engine.

By the end of the third day, we’d covered another 140.1 miles and were back to a comfortable broad reach in a Force 4.

Away from the bouts of sickness, the passage down the Moroccan coast was fairly uneventful. I imagine that’s what a lot of longer passages are like. Watches, rest, occasional sail changes and visits from dolphins.

By day three or four, we were getting into a rhythm. We’d also passed the length of our Biscay crossing, making this our longest passage to date. From that point onwards, it was all new territory for us.

There were a few running repairs. One of the lazy jacks failed, so I used the spinnaker pole uphaul to hold it temporarily. That did the job for the rest of the passage.

Our fourth full day gave us another 140.3 miles, leaving about seven hours to reach Arrecife in Lanzarote.

We arrived having covered 581.6 miles. That also took Steph past 5,000 nautical miles, earning her first swallow.

There was one less welcome discovery after we arrived. When we went up the mast to inspect things, the main halyard was hanging on by a thread. It had only been replaced about a month earlier.

Looking at it, I wouldn’t have given it another five or six hours. We’ll need to investigate further up the mast to find out what’s caused that much damage in such a short time.

For now, though, we’re enjoying the anchorage at Arrecife after our longest passage yet. The outlaws are coming over as well, so a relaxing week should ensue, but I may mea that the boat jobs get a little delayed.