Skip to content

Reaching the Canary Islands in January

  • by

When a weather window finally opened in January, we left Rabat, Morocco behind and set sail—450 nautical miles to the Canary Islands. The year hadn’t started the way I’d imagined. Morocco was colder than expected, and somewhere along our road trip I picked up a nasty bug that left me wiped out for more than a week. But once I was on the mend, we replaced the through-hulls and pointed Santana toward the open ocean… Read More »Reaching the Canary Islands in January

Sailing to Rabat: Leaving the Med and Entering Morocco by River

Childhood Stories and Quiet Crossings I always imagined adventure would feel bigger. As a child, I loved stories about explorers—the wild west, the Amazon, the North Pole, and, of course, Africa. I wanted to read about people heading into the unknown, discovering things they hadn’t even known to look for. Now, when I find myself in some of those places, it doesn’t always feel the way I expected. Less like an expedition, more like a… Read More »Sailing to Rabat: Leaving the Med and Entering Morocco by River

Sailing into the Unexpected: From Melilla to Morocco

Changing the Plan Mid-Course When I first mapped out the journey west, Morocco wasn’t even on the list.In my mind, the route was straightforward: stop in Gibraltar or maybe La Línea, the Spanish town next to it, then find a good anchorage somewhere along the Spanish coast before crossing to the Canary Islands. I had been to Morocco before—several times. And from a sailor’s perspective, it had never felt like an easy place. Regulations, unclear… Read More »Sailing into the Unexpected: From Melilla to Morocco