28 – La Palma, Isla Bonita part 1 – panpan

Isla Bonita – and how beautiful she is ! However, we can’t really say which of the 6 visited Canary islands (of the total 7) we liked best, because we enjoyed all of them very much, but La Palma is certainly in our top ranking.

But it all started with more than a little fright…

PANPAN, PANPAN, PANPAN

If you’ve heard anything about navigation stress situations, to do, hear or receive a “PANPAN”-message over the VHF radio means definite trouble and draws attention to anyone with a VHF radio within 25 miles! … It’s the step before MAYDAY!

But let’s start at the beginning: we had a fantastic crossing from La Gomera to Santa Cruz de La Palma, 45 miles upwind, 20-25 knots of wind, at a steady speed of 6.5-7.5 knots. Arriving in front of the harbour of Santa Cruz, we furled the genoa (foresail). And as always, before bringing down the mainsail, we started the engine in neutral gear for safety reasons (the boat can more easily be kept steady in the wind with the engine, and can help during manoeuvres). All was fine until then.

Call for assistance

So we turned into the wind for the manoeuvre of bringing down the main sail, and as the wind was strong, we wanted to help with the engine. But there was no way of changing gear, neither forwards nor backwards: the command which, at the same time, applies the throttle with either forward or reverse gear, was stuck in the neutral position and we couldn’t unblock it in any way! That’s when the stress started!…

With the wind getting stronger and stronger, we were drifting rapidly towards the shore. The mainsail, which had been reduced to 2 reefs for the crossing, wasn’t providing enough speed to tack. In the meantime, we had already called the commercial port to announce our arrival and requested authorisation to cross it to access the marina, which is at the back of it. Then, stressed out, we called again, first asking for help because we couldn’t control the boat to enter the harbour. They answered with lots of questions in English that were difficult to understand… We ran out of time for questions, so I insisted that it was a “PANPAN” message and that we needed a TUG (a towing boat).

The safer open sea, escort and red carpet (well… orange, see photo!)

We knew that waiting for help would take too long and that we’d end up stranded on the rocks before the TUG arrived. So, less than 100 m from the rocks and thanks to Jean-Luc’s clear head, we unfurled the genoa a little to pick up speed, tack and head out to the open (and safer) sea… The towing boat arrived within 15 minutes, well off the dangerous shore, and professionally towed us into the commercial harbour and then alongside through the lock into the marina. It was the easiest docking we’ve ever had – they did it all!

Finally docked in La Palma

When all moorings were organised, the adrenaline level back to normal and papers for the assistance had been signed, we were happy to leave the boat for a while. Hence we headed into town for some tapas. Later that evening, on the way back to the marina, we couldn’t resist following the sound of music and ended up humming and dancing to jazz played live by a local band in the historic centre of Santa Cruz. What a fright it had been and how welcoming this music was!

There will be a part two about La Palma, which we will enjoy sharing with you very soon, insha’Allah!