Landfall at Gran Tarajal on Fuerteventura

I am writing this message in the marina at Gran Tarajal on the island of Fuerteventura. My friend John Climaco and I sailed here from Lagos. We launched on 26 Jan and landed on Saturday the 1st of February. He will fly home from here.

I flew to Portugal on 17 Dec with food, clothing, books and supplies in four duffels. The food was mostly left over freeze dried packets from my former ocean rowing expeditions… The plan had been to fly here with Nancy to give her a chance to experience Portugal over the Christmas but holiday pricing of airfares proved prohibitive. With so many pieces and only two hands, it made more sense that I drive a rental car than take the train to Lagos.

Five duffels were impressive!

Nancy had arranged my flight date for the cheapest airfare; the timing worked perfectly for me to attend the Christmas Party organized by Don McIntyre for the 5.80 Mini Globe Race (MGR) skippers. They gathered at Lagos, completed their preparations and launched on 28 Dec to meet others at Marina Rubicon for the Globe Mini Transat race to Antigua. The transat started on Jan 11 which you can follow on their website. The leaders are already approaching Antigua and the rest of the fleet should arrive this week.

All of the effort by the skippers to reach Antigua serves as qualifying passages for the upcoming inaugural Mini Globe Race. The MGR will take these tiny 5.80 meter long sailboats around the world in stages. It will start from Antigua on 23 Feb and the MGR calendar suggests that MGR should conclude in late March in 2026.

Fun around-the-world race in small home built vessels; this may be in my future.

Of course Don McIntyre will provide his storied social media coverage throughout. We are well accustomed to receiving regular updates from Don who will similarly tell our story in my upcoming 2026 Golden Globe Race.

Don and the team at McIntyre Adventures professionally manage and promote the MGR, the Ocean Globe Race and the Golden Globe Race. The 2024 OGR reenacted the original 1974 Whitbred Yacht Race on its 50th anniversary, just as the modern GGR was initiated in 2018. Sir Robin Knox Johnston who is its patron, was the only finisher out of nine in the original 1968 GGR.

OGR is a multi stage race among teams on large vessels. In contrast, the solo nonstop GGR requires 32-36 ft full-keel vessels built before 1988. These two retro races now take place every four years, requiring classic vessels with restrictions on the use of modern materials and technology including carbon fiber, dyneema, desalinators, GPS and chart plotters.

Except for a brief and joyful visit to meet my friend Susanne Williams and her husband over the New Years Eve at her parents’s home in Vilamoura, also on the Algarve coast to the east of Lagos, I slept on my boat at the Sopromar Boatyard.

I first had to climb the mast to rearrange the way my genoa halyard was threaded at the masthead. That task required two climbs and the rigger thinks the changes that we made will prevent the halyard chafe which both Simon Curwen and I observed. During my sail on the Atlantic over the next few months, I will bring the genoa down periodically to inspect for chafe. Depending, additional modifications may be necessary before the race…

A parade of boatyard technicians came to help shorten my task list in January. I repeatedly had to move things around in the cabin to provide access; the inside looked chaotic all the time.

New solar panels on foredeck.

We installed new Solbian solar panels on deck. These are the light walk-on type with an adhesive back so they lay flat on deck; their cables lead underneath through the deck, so there is no cable clutter underfoot. The wiring inside had to be threaded in creative ways after removing the headliner and other internal finish. The Notice of Race requires a minimum total of 210W, out of which 160W has to be permanently installed and an additional 50W has to be mobile, ready to be quickly connected to the electrical system. Once the installation was complete, I had 350W of permanent solar energy potential at peak performance.

Custom solar panels around the hatch housing.

Only my masthead tricolor navigation light worked, so we had to rewire my bow and stern lights. With those now in working order, I can safely navigate in close quarters or inside a marina at night and be seen.

We traced wires so my compass in the cockpit has a working light once again. The electrician also wired the countdown timer and the fire alarm that I had brought. The GGR requires a flashing 100 decibel alarm with a timer programmable up to four hours. They found that common wind up alarms, were not loud enough for GGR use. When sailing alone, I will need to wake up at short intervals to check the horizon for collision avoidance.

I have a Watt&Sea hydrogenerator on the stern the use of which I wanted to minimize. With my new 350W peak solar capacity, I may achieve that goal. Having some spare power will also allow me to support suitable science that I may take onboard.

The new position of the Watt&Sea hydrogenerator. The black scar that the rubbing turbine left earlier is visible on the Hydrovane rudder blade.

I used new brackets on the Hydrovane rudder housing to reposition my hydrogenerator vertically. It originally was attached to the overhanging transom. The device needed to turn freely with the flow of water, however that same turn introduced a pendulum motion due to the overhanging mount, putting the turbine in contact with the Hydrovane rudder blade, destroying the turbine in the process. The now vertical alignment of the hydrogenerator mount, will protect the turbine.

New water separator and lift pump assembly.

The technicians serviced my shaft seal, replaced the worn cutlass bearing and pressed new grease into the feathering propeller hub. The diesel in the fuel tank was polished, meaning they filtered the fuel as they vacated it into a barrel outside. Then they cleaned the tank itself, installed new water separator, fuel filter and lift pump, changed engine oil. I felt that this was all essential given the age of CLARA. In addition, about 80 liters of the diesel that Simon had received when he stopped in 2023 at Puerto Montt in Chile, remained in the tank. I simply had added another 40 liters last summer at Lorient on top of what could be dirty diesel by then. This complete service of the fuel system at Sopromar gives me confidence. I will start noting engine hours now for scheduled service.

New cutlass bearing.

I installed cheek blocks midship along the toerail to better position the guyline for my spinnaker pole. I will practice flying my spinnakers to tweak my kit further before the race.

The final task to complete was to replace the AIS unit. My new vessel documentation in the US meant that a new MMSI number was assigned to CLARA. This had to be programmed into the unit. However, corrosion in the USB terminal of the old one rendered it unserviceable. The AIS system sends and receives navigation information among nearby vessels within VHF range. This is done over the VHF radio antenna. Inspecting the antenna at the masthead, revealed massive corrosion in the antenna socket as well. When we replaced the antenna and fed new cable down the mast to the AIS unit, both that and the VHF radio came to life.

Now I can sail confidently on CLARA with the service that we completed at the Sopromar boatyard in Lagos. The moderate winter in southern Portugal allowed me to live on my boat, significantly reducing project costs. An electric space heater at night was all it took. It makes sense for me to return there in the spring of 2026 for any additional work to be completed before I commit to the race calendar.

John Climaco arrived with his signature smile, lifting my spirits at Lagos.

My friend John Climaco was enthusiastic to join me on this short passage until Fuerteventura, which took just about a week to complete. He and I first met in the Yosemite Valley in 1989 when I responded to a note that he posted on the bulletin board at Camp 4, the traditional campsite where climbers gather. We were both there alone, looking to climb a big wall. With youthful optimism, we partnered to climb the regular route on the Northwest Face of Half Dome, an imposing chunk of granite which sits high off the valley floor. It took us 4000 feet of scrambling up from the valley floor with loaded packs, wrestling past the downward pointing manzanita branches. With the added weight of our extra gear, it took us three days and two nights to climb that 2000 foot rock wall. This was my first big wall climb and our friendship with John remained since then. I feel blessed that he could take a break from his busy schedule and commitments running a biotech drug development company.