41. Groundhog Day

I have spent seven weeks in Marina Rubicon on Lanzarote. One of the best marinas that I have ever been in. It is well protected, well maintained and it has a very good shipyard and chandlery on the premises. As well as numerous bars and restaurants. Most of them offer live music every night. The marina is filled with people that live parts of the year on their boats, tourists from the local hotels and cruisers waiting for the trade winds to get established so they can sail to places like Cape Verde, Senegal, Gambia, South America and the Caribbean. In short, a nice place to be stuck.

Nevertheless, I am stuck. Waiting for the delivery of my new sails that are being shipped from North Sails in Italy. They are actually on the island. In the safe hands of local customs officers. They have some sort of issue with the shipment and will not release it even if it is marked ‘Goods in Transit’ and full VAT has been paid in Italy. And as I understand it, I can’t even pay duty without having a Spanish ID Number so it will be interesting to see how this turns out.

In the meantime, every day here is pretty much the same. Some boat work, chatting to the neighbours on Pontoon B, dinner at some restaurant in the marina and wrapping up with a couple of beers and live music at the Flagship. All in 25 degrees and sunshine. Great for a while, but ultimately both circumnavigators and their boats rot in marinas. I really need to get away from Pontoon B before it turns into Cell Block B. Even if I really like my inmates.

I particularly want to mention two English couples that spend parts of the year on their boats on Pontoon B. Michael and Pat, my immediate neighbours that have given me numerous lifts with their car and have only been repaid with my Brexit rants. And Dave and Anita. The heart and soul of the pontoon. Nothing slips by this couple. They also know everything you need to know about deep sea fishing and painting/varnishing and have had to suffer all my stupid questions on both subjects. They even made sure that I was OK when I felt ill following my second vaccine injection.

Today though, I finally managed to rent a car. There has not been a car to rent on the island since I turned up. I am told that the reason for this is that rental companies sold their car fleets during the pandemic lockdown and they are now struggling to replace them. Having a car will certainly make provisioning for the Atlantic crossing much easier and it will allow me to see some other parts of the island. I can’t wait to do some exploring. This inmate is due for a parole!