Cruising
Notes Canary IslandsWeather The Canaries are not far enough south to be in the Trade winds. That means, starting around Oct 1, you can get southerlies caused by depressions moving west to east, north of the Islands. The wind can change direction and strength in minutes and is not predictable. Usually, though, the wind prevails from the north east. The best time to cruise here is in the summer months. But if you are using the Canaries as a jumping-off point for the Caribbean, you will probably be here in Oct-Nov.
There are also well-documented wind acceleration zones around all of the islands check any cruising guide.
Charts & Guides We used the Imray Atlantic Islands guide and it was good for describing marinas (and in many cases out of date), but was short on, or inaccurate for information about anchorages. There is a new edition out, so it might be better.
Formalities
It is difficult to check in or out. Try Arrecife, Lanzarotte or Las Palmas Gran Canaria.
Provisioning
The Canaries are good for provisioning if you have not done all your big, non-perishable provisioning in the Med. The anchoring situation is not good near large cities. They are either not secure (holding), open to a southerly wind, or crowded. But it is possible to get everything you need here if you need stuff.
If heading west, this is your last stop for cheap wine & beer between here and Venezuela so stock up if you have not done so already on mainland Spain. In fact, even if you have already stocked up in Spain, stock up more here.
Medical/Dental:
This is also (if heading west) your last stop for medical and dental work (being non existent or unreliable in Cape Verdes or West Africa). Also, if you have not updated your medical kit in mainland Spain, the Canaries have the same low, low prices for medical supplies antibiotics especially are cheap. Efudix, the miracle cream to burn off those pesky pre-cancerous melanomas costs only 3 Euros here ($80.00 in the USA) so stock up. You can get your tropical diseases and vaccination shots done in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria.
Boat Stuff for boat stuff, the best place is reported to be in Porto Naos, Lanzarote. We checked it out (near the waterfront in Porto Naos, walking distance from Arrecife) and there is a great selection of chandlery, paints, rope etc, and hardware. However, many things are behind locked glass cases, nothing is priced, and there is almost no in-store help, so we found it very frustrating. La Palmas, Gran Canaria was reported to us to be disappointingly short on stock and selection.
Anchorages
General The anchorages in the Canaries are not very good. They are almost all open to the south. In most, the holding is poor, being a thin layer sand or stones over rock. The swell from the Atlantic works in. There are no anchorages that I know of that are protected from all directions except possibly Las Palmas Gran Canaria. If you really want to be secure, you might just have to bite the bullet and reserve a space in a marina. The Canaries get very crowded with boats in Oct-Nov migration season, so if you have your heart set on a certain popular spot, reserve ahead for a marina. Having said all that, we were there in the busiest season, and always found an anchor spot, mooring or marina slip wherever we went.
The islands are all well-connected by ferries and airplane.
Graciosa
:Playa Francesca - Anchored at 29 13.078 N / 13 31.716 W coarse sand over rock. Beautiful clear water and nice beach. Definitely swim on your anchor here because the holding is very hit & miss (rock, thin sand). Best we found is in the center of the bay to the east & west sides is just rock and you will drag. If there is a strong southerly wind forecast, it is a dangerous lee shore. In that case, go into the marina at La Sociedad, or anchor north of its northern breakwall. The dinghy is quite safe left on the beach.
La Sociedad - Just nearby to Francesca, luckily, is a little marina with two long pontoons and finger docks. Room for 50-60 boats. We came in here when the locals warned of strong southerlies coming. The marina manager goes on holiday during the month of September, and for that duration, there is no charge, otherwise about 3-10 Euros per day depending on boat length. No power or water on the docks. Water is available by jerries from the beach showers, (not very close or convenient), or at the main breakwall when the harbourmaster is there to turn on the hose. There is a travel lift and hard stand area if you really need to come out of the water.
The town has 3 little supermarkets with fresh produce, a bakery, butcher, phone-card phones, post office, ATM, an internet cafι, a few restaurants, free clinic and inexpensive pharmacy, bicycle rental. There are sand streets, no shoes necessary. Just a couple of 4X4s real nice and quiet in an eerie sort of way. The tourist season ends in Sept here so the town goes quiet. Ferry to Lanzarote 13 Euros return per person.
Lanzarote :
Arrecife
picked up a mooring at 28 57.216 N / 13 32.994 W 14 ft. Swim on the mooring
and check it because some are not very good. 8 Moorings. You can anchor, but
feel your way over near the building that looks like an old castle, and
definitely put out a trip line there is much old junk on the bottom. If no
room at the moorings, or the wind is south, it is best to go to Porto Naos and
anchor (again a trip line essential). The best place to anchor in Naos is near
the north end near the Castillo de San Jose marked on the chartlet in the
guide book. In the south of the harbour, there are many local boats and too
crowded for a yacht.You can do all your big provisioning here and bypass Gran Canaria if you want.
There is lots of dinghy theft in Porto Naos dont leave it anywhere. The dinghy is safe on the Arrecife side tied to the breakwall or at the town waterfront.
In Arrecife there are 2 big supermarkets, ATMs, medical and dental, internet and computer stores and all the other shopping that a big city can provide. The chandleries are on the Porto Naos side.
Reported good anchorages by others:
Playa Blanca anchor east of the harbour entrance. Also reported to be a good (cheap) place to haul out.
Papagayos beach rocks & sand. Check the chain to make sure it is not fouled by rocks. Good snorkelling just west of the point. Take the dinghy there, not the big boat.
Fuerteventura:
Playa do Pozo Negro anchored at 28 19.372 N / 13 53.626 W 17 ft sand. Great holding, sheltered (north thru west), lots of room. Small beach bar and some houses ashore but nothing else, no tourists, very quiet and nice.
Puertito
at the extreme west end of Fuerteventura. - We anchored at 28 04.236 N / 14
30.023 W 20 ft sand with rock patches. Great holding in 30 knots. A little
nothing village there, just a staging area to go to Gran Canaria.Reported good anchorages by others:
Isla de Lobos anchor on the southwest side of the island. Hike to the top for a great view of Lanzarote.
Las Playitas reported to be really great, there is a little jetty to leave the dinghy, can taxi to Gran Tarajal for provisions.
Reported not so good: Corralejo - small, bad spot , Puerto del Rosario - shallow, no room. Puerto del Castillo - very expensive, Gran Tarajal - not recommended to anchor, rolly and rough, tie to the wall - need chafe guard - until they can find you a berth. Morro Jable - anchor to the north west of the breakwalls in sand, town is touristy and not good for provisions but a good staging area for Las Palmas, Gran Canaria