Mohammedia

The festival of the Eid was at its hight when we decided to leave Morocco but being the very serious religious festival nothing, and I mean nothing, was open or moved in the streets of Sale or Rabat.  It is a three day two night close down.  The evening of the first night the richer families slaughter a sheep/ram.  They give one third to their neighbours, one third to the poor and the rest they eat as a family.  People return to their family and spend the time with them.  If you live in a high rise and are unable to kill a sheep you can give money to an organisation who will distribute it to the poor.  All the shops are shut and no transactions take place. 
When we asked the marina if we could leave, they very politely said that the entrance bar was too rough so the pilot would not take us out but tomorrow would be OK. 
I took Malua over to the fuel dock to put fuel in. 344 litre which cost Euro 283 but they would not take payment until the following day.  I also checked out and tried to pay for the stay Euro 296 and again they would not take payment till the next day. 
Piers and I set out to try a fill the camping Gaz.  WE found nothing open.  We were walking along the road and a fellow and his wife where loading empty gas canisters in to the boot of their car.  We asked if they were going to get it filled and they said yes and we could come along.  We drove for some time then reversed up o the front of a small “shop” the driver got out had a few words with the shop keeper them unloaded his containers.  Initially they would not take mine but after the wife intervened they took my 11 dirhams and give me a battered but full camping gaz container.  The only reason was the shopkeeper was a relative of the driver.  Many thanks to the Moroccan generosity.
Sunday dawned with rain again and we checked out, settled our accounts and proceeded to the Customs dock.  The officials fill all the forms, asked about the crew change and spent some time checking the ins and outs of the new and old crew.  Then after much discussion and phone calls we got the required blue form to leave subject to the drug dog sniffing the boat.  A black Labrador arrived with a number of officials.  While they shook hands with everybody the dog proceeded to roll in a very large pile of seagull droppings covering his head and side with white shit.  The officials then climbed aboard and the dog jumped all over everything covering it with white.  The smell was overpowering but I kept a straight face. I think it is their party trick for departing boats.  Finally we where handed a form and informed we could leave. 
We followed Sundancer and the pilot out the river mouth along with Charm Offensive taking up the rear. 
It was then set a course south into a very slight wind to see how far we could get.  At sunset Mohammedia was off the port bow and we turned in expecting the wind to come up to 25 knots on the nose the following day.  The same bureaucratic routine followed with multiple offical arriving on Malua filling in multiple forms with the same information.  All very polity, speaking French.  The marina is very small and we are now Med moored to the end of a pontoon with heavy lines set in expectation of the blow. 

Leaving Rabat

The preparation to leave Rabat for the passage to the Canaries was us usual planned and in this case a joint effort.  We unpacked all the stores, made a list then set off to the local hyper market to clear the shelves.  Piers negotiated a good rate in a grand taxi which we required for Ian and Helen came with us and we were going to cross the bridge into the city of Rabat.  The supermarket turned out to be just like the best in Europe but with no booze.  We filled a large trolly and ticked off all the items on the list.  The credit card took a bash with the final tally 14500 dirhams.  We then had to find a taxi to return to the marina.  Being on the eve of the festival of Eid there were nil available however Piers convinced a petit taxi to take his sign off and take four of us across the bridge into the marina area.  he required payment 80 dh before we left just in case he was stopped by the police.  The walk onto the boat was weighed down with large bags full of provisions.  Now to store then in boxes under the sink cupboard. 

The festival of the Eid was at its hight when we decided to leave Morocco but being the very serious religious festival nothing, and I mean nothing, was open or moved in the streets of Sale or Rabat. It is a three day two night close down. 
When we asked the marina if we could leave, they very politely told that the entrance bar was too rough so the pilot would not take us out but tomorrow would be OK. 
I took Malua over to the fuel dock to put fuel in. 344 litre but they would not take payment until the following day. I also checked out and tried to pay for the stay Euro 296  and again they would not take payment till the next day. 
Sunday dawned with rain again and we checked out, settled our accounts and proceeded to the Customs dock. The officials fill all the forms, asked about the crew change and spent some time checking the ins and outs of the new and old crew. Then after much discussion and many phone calls we got the required blue form to leave subject to the drug dog sniffing the boat. A black Labrador arrived with a number of officials. While they shook hands with everybody the dog proceeded to roll in a very large pile of seagull droppings covering his head and side with white shit. The officials then climbed aboard and the dog jumped all over everything covering it with white. The smell was overpowering but I kept a straight face. I think it is their party trick for departing boats. Finally we were handed a form and informed we could leave. 
We followed Sundancer and the pilot out the river mouth along with Charm Offensive taking up the rear. 
It was then, set a course south into a very slight wind to see how far we could get. At sunset Mohammedia was off the port bow and we turned in expecting the wind to come up to 25 knots on the nose the following day. 
We are now Med moored to the end of a pontoon with heavy lines set in expectation of the blow. 

Frenetic Fes

Piers arrived as the new crew for the Atlantic crossing and we immediately left for the desert! More land travel to see the country but this time we took the train, second class to Fes.  Only three hours away.  We arrived and on this occasion walked away from the station to find a petit Taxi to take us to the Kasbah where we had booked a riad.  It turned out more difficult that it first appeared so we called the hotel owner who told us to go to the blue gate and wait to be shown the way to the hotel.
Just as we stepped out of the taxi the fellow came up to us and greeted me by name and we were off to the hotel which was a converted house.  Beautifully decorated but being renovated.  We were the only guests.  Our host lived in the two rooms on the ground floor.  As is the custom we were given mint tea on arrival and shown the room and roof garden.

After a quick rest we ventured out into the souks.  Much narrow lanes than Marrakech, with more side alleys and far fewer tourists.  The Kasbah is within the walls of the city which is built on a hill.  The blue gate at the highest point.  If you get lost walk down hill, find a gate and take a petit taxi back up to the blue gate.  Fortunately Piers and I have a good sense of direction and over the two days we spent following the twits and turns we never lost our bearings.

The first afternoon I set about finding a sister carpet to the one I purchased in Marrakech only smaller.  I found a carpet shop and a similar Berber colour and pattern.  The seller who spoke good English soon dropped his price to half the asking price even before I put in a bid.  I was not convinced that the two colours would be the same so I promised to return the next day with a picture of my first carpet.  
We continues in search of a set of tiles with Arab calligraphy on them.  Nicola had purchased a set when she was last in Morocco.  After many approaches to “come to my store I have such tiles” we were finally led up a narrow staircase, four floor to a large room full of pots and tiles.  They were not quite what I wanted but were very nice so the long process of haggling started.  After the normal back and forth I established a fair price for two sets of tiles and paid in euro – the preferred currency.
The next day Piers and I packed up and headed off in search of the famous tanneries of Fes, passing on route the carpet store.  The owner saw us and called us back into shop to conclude the deal.  I showed him a picture of the large rug and the bartering started.  The final price was more than fair – about 1/3 of the larger rug.  I now have a fully carpeted saloon floor, of wool which can be washed it it gets wet.  I will roll them up when on passage.

We eventually found the tanneries with the help of a self appointed guide.  We were able to look down on the tanning and dye pits – thankfully away from the smell.  We looked in at a few shops which were clearly orientated towards rich tourist.  We followed our guide back to his shop where he had set up a loom to spin the fabric Rayon (or “pure silk”) made from the local cactus leaves.
By this stage we had both had enough of the souks, bartering and the frenetic pace of Fes so we returned to the train station and caught the next train back to Sale/Rabat.

Not enough time

I have been so busy doing land travel and sailing that I have not had sufficient time to update this blog BUT I have been updating the new satellite phone blog which you can reach here  http://blog.mailasail.com/harryws20

Marrakech

A great part of long term cruising is the ability to get off ones boat and travel inland.  The disadvantage is that if you spend a night in a hotel you are in fact paying double – once for your boat and once for yourself.  In Morocco the cost of marinas is quite inexpensive and the cost of reasonable hotels about the same so land travel doesn't break the bank.
Malua arrived in Morocco at the port of Rabat and I had a full itinerary of where I would like to visit after spending some time here in the mid '70.  The place has not changed in more than 40 years  - in fact more than centuries.  Malua teamed up with Sundancer and we arranged aa tour from Marrakech over the high Atlas Mountains into the desert then a long way back to Marrakech, two nights and three long days.

We took the train from Rabat to Marrakech – choosing first class and a compartment to our selves for most of the way.   On arrival we were accosted by the taxi drivers all wanting to take us to their favourite hotel.  After a while when the crowed had dispersed we sought out a fellow and negotiated a price.  We piled in and I directed with the use of my smart phone to the large square in the Medina then down the few lanes right to the door of our chosen Riad.  It was a lovely house with a court yard onto which the rooms faced.  Unfortunately my room had a window onto the alley next to the Riad.  It was quite noise during the day but  went quit towards midnight only to come alive when the street sweepers and garbage collectors started soon after dawn.
On the evening of our first night I went out into souks adjacent to the square Diemaa el Fna to look around then returned later to the many eating places or Djemaa offering a range of foods.  I has sampled some spicy sausages earlier in the evening from one place but luckily for our group there were no seats available so we chose another.  We had kebabs and Helen had her usual tagine of chicken, lemon and olives.  It was a great meal.
That night I woke with a very bad case of jippo belly.  It lasted the whole night and in the morning I was totally cleaned out.  No one in our party suffered any ill effect so it must have been the spicy sausage I had eaten.  By noon I was reduced to flat coke only to bring that up in front of everybody when they visited me in the room.  By nightfall I was well again just in time to move on.

Our Sahara Services tour operator collected us at the Riad and we set off  in a landcruiser, after paying the boss-man in euros and dirhams.  An interesting transaction in the middle of the busy square.

We headed south along the main road N9 towards Ouarzazate which is after the twisty, windy pass through the Atlas Mountains.  I remember these well from Denny and I previous visit in our VW combi.  We had travelled up into the mountains all day to be faced with on where to stay so we pulled off the main road and took a side road up into the mountains. Stopping at the end of the single track.  We closed the curtains, made some supper and went to sleep.  The following morning I opened the door to find that it had snowed and we where completely snowed in.  The track down the mountain was not visible.  By afternoon the sun had melted the snow sufficiently for us to see the track and we carefully navigated our way back to the main tarred road.
We were not alone on this occasion as we followed other land cruisers south into the desert.  We stopped at a purpose built Sahara Services hotel near the town of Mohammedia.  A great dinner – which by this time I was staving and a good nights sleep capped off a great day.

The next morning I was up early to walk in the desert and hopefully get some pictures but no-one was up that early so returned to the hotel for breakfast and to be kitted up for a ride on a camel in the Sahara.  Ian and Helen had ridden camels while in Sudan and Egypt so they where less enthusiastic.  After and hour and a half easy stroll through a flat flood plain we dismounted anticipating to be sour for the rest of the day but that was not to be.  The landcruiser met us and we were off, first through a stony desert then a sand desert with moderately high sand dunes.  We arrived well after noon at a prepared camp-site with sleeping tents with en suite and a larger dining tent.  The food for lunch and dinner was good, more than adequate but rather ordinary.

First light saw the full party up with cameras ready for a shot of the sun over the sand dunes but the low cloud spoilt that opportunity.  We all climbed into the cruiser, taking turn in the front and middle seat as the driver chose the best route either between the boulders or over the loose sand.  It was a long drive towards Marrakech not helped by the many large lorries grinding their way up and round the sharp curves of the Atlas mountains in the heavy rain and dark.  We were all relieved to arrive back at Marrakech.  We then had to find our way to the new Riad down the unmarked lanes of the souks.
It was at this point Pete spat the dummy and stomped off to his own room.  The full rush of blood to the head would come when we arrived back at Malua when he did a runner not settling his outstanding kitty account for the boat.  The bottom line was I paid him about $20 per day to sail with me from Spain to Portugal, Madeira and Morocco.  The result however is that Malua is now a safer boat without him because his seamanship was dangerous and erratic.  

Passage to Morocco

At this point I asked myself why we had decided to sail to Madeira because the round trip from Portugal, Madeira then Morocco (Rabat) is almost 1000nm.  The main reason was it was a shakedown cruise to see how crew and Malua would work on an ocean passage.  As always the crew broke down first before the vessel.
We set off with the clear knowledge that there would be little wind and if it came it would be on the nose.  We set off on a course that would put us in a good angle to Rabat if it came up.  After four nights, flat calm seas and no wind we approached Rabat river mouth as the sun rose on the fifth day we where off the bar but the pilot would only lead us in at the high water mark around noon so we stood off in the small swell.
The passage was easy in relative terms because we had no wind or swell – just a flat sea – so flat you could see the stars in the water.
Again sleep deprivation played its part as Pete tried to figure out the different lights from the starts.  At one point I was called to see a red and green light not more than a mile away as a large freighter bore down on us.  Some quick evasive action ensured we passed ahead but at that point I realised even with the three on board we would only be able to have a two watch system – 3 on 3 off and Pete and Peirs standing together.

We were led up the river past the old fort at the entrance and into a new marina and development.  The usual bureaucratic wait and formalities had to be endured before we tied up to the dock at Marina Bouregreg.  It is on the north side of the river from Rabat in the town of Sale.  A great place to purchase fruit and veg especially olives and dried fruit.  A supermarket under the train station supplied us with the essentials plus very good turkey breasts which we made into pre- prepared meals for the passage.

Madeira Levada or water canals

On Sunday we set off on the local bus for Machica which is down the coast from Quinta de Lorde Marine to find a levada – water canal.  I had first come across them in Portuguese Timor in the ‘70 when we were leaving Australia.  (The water still does not run up hill even today – note to friend).  We boarded a local bus which took us up into the hills behind the town.  The driver dropped us off at a point that the road crossed the levada.  These are water canals which start high up in the valleys and channel the water along the contour towards the sea.  Because they follow the contour they go into the smaller gullies and valleys, usually above the house line and below the tree line.  The trees generally give you shade as you walk along the path next to the canal which is only half a meter wide and about a meter deep.  While we where walking the levada was only half full.  Where is meets a river they have built a bridge for the rive which now flows over the canal with only a small inlet to add water to the canal.  There are openings closed with a stainless steel gate that can be raised to allow the water to escape the canal and flow down onto the fields below.  At many points the land owners had placed garden hose in the canal and syphoned water out of it to water their vegetable patch.

Our walk was 15 kn along the levada all at about the same level.  We stopped at a convenient bar for a refreshing drink just ahead of a 20 strong party of German trampers along with all the correct gear including walking sticks.  We left them behind drinking their coffee and discussing the merits of the walk.

After a steep walk down the last part of the valley we stopped in at a restaurant to sample the local Portugese sardines -rather larger than I expected but very good taste.  We stopped in at the supermarket to get some supplies then boarded the bus at Machico for the trip back to the marina.
The next day it was time to head north before the winds filled in on the nose.  The journey is expected to take five days to cover the 560 nm to Morocco.

Madeira

The Madeira group of island is about 450 nm from mainland Portugal and out in the Atlantic off the coast of Morocco.  Some say it is the garden of Eden.  There are two main inhabited island – Porto Santo and Madeira lying 30 nm south.
Malua pulled into the large American built harbour at Porto Santo and went alongside amongst many other cruising yachts mainly going to the Canaries.   
I took a local bus tour of the island visiting the ex USA airbase and all weather runway plus the radio masts and the northern coast. An interesting trip well worth the 3 euro bus fare.
After a few days it was time to head south to the main island of Madeira.  We stopped at the new marina Quinta do Lorde which is just west of a Baia du Abra which we had hoped to anchor in but is untenable in anything but a northern wind.
The Marina Quinta do Lorde is a new development based around the marina.  The houses, apartments and rooms are not yet finished but they expect to open the huge complex in December.  Only 20% of the units are sold but at a starting price of 420,000 euro I am not surprised.  The quality is good, the design great as is the location but at this stage there is no sole in the place.

The marina is a good walk to the small town but close by a wonderful nature reserve extending north west to the cape we had rounded on the way in.  A four hour walk to the summit of the island and to the tip of the cape is well worth the effort however if you are scared of heights and walking on a narrow path between a steep drop off – get someone to hold your hand although the s/s rail is secure and well tested.

We took a local bus to Funchal to try and source a few parts for the boat and spent a fruitless day walking the streets and backstreet to find a supplier.  A two hour bus tour of the island gave me a sense of the town which has been a tourest destination for many many years.  There are many large resort style hotel and apartment complexes crowed around the Funchal harbour.

  

Nowhere to go but Madeira

After travelling westwards along the Spanish and Portuguese coast it was now time for Malua to turn the corner at the south western cape of Portugal and head north to Lisbon and the planned rendezvous with our friends Sundancer. The wind Gods had other plans with a persistent strong northerly blowing down the coast.  Our options where to wait for better winds, return along the coast we had just traversed or sail down wind to Madeira.

The last option was chosen as a shake down cruise for Pete who had never spent a few days far from land.  We prepared Malua for the passage however the wind increased and the sea state deteriorated with a nasty chop on top of a long swell on the quarter.  Not a pleasant passage.  The watch system was three hours on and three hours off during darkness and no watches during daylight.
After three days Pete was very sleep deprived having only sleep a few hours.  He started to make stupid mistakes.  Going forward at night unattached with out a PFD to reattach a block without releasing the sheet.  I woke with the noise and called Pete.  No response, rushed out into the cockpit to find it empty.  I swung the torch towards the foredeck and there was Pete on his knees, sheet between his legs, sail flapping just ready to be lifted over board. He did not see what was wrong!

After four nights and five days we were both releaved to come alongside the marina dock and tie up.  But there the same story as before – poor seamanship but that is a story which will eventually be told but not here.