Debi and Jack sailing on SV Iroquois

They stacked up a bunch of shipping containers around the stage to create a back and sides. It's an interesting way to create a stage in a harbor. The other Christmas preparations are also well underway here. We see lots of buildings getting a fresh coat of paint, gardens trimmed and spruced up, more decorations every day. It's December. The days are short, the air temperature is pleasant  But the sun is super hot. We picked up some cheap tshirts at the Carrefour but I'm afraid the one pair of shorts I wear every day might not last until it gets cool again.

At the market today we tried to get enough food to last at least a week or so until we get to La Gomera. Some things will last much longer, but we hesitate to fully provision fresh food here with probably 2-3 more weeks before we leave for the Caribbean. We'll just have to take what we can get in La Gomera because we really want to go there and we don't really want to come back here just to get produce.

Santa Cruz is full of boat hitchhikers, also known as volunteer crew. We've been seeing them since Lagos. Some ports have more than others. Mostly the older ones put up a flyer on the marina office board with a synopsis of their cv and contact information.  Mostly the younger ones make a cardboard sign and hang around the dock meeting people and asking for rides. There's one guy here who is trying to get back to Australia. He hangs out and plays guitar. I saw him teaching another kid how to juggle.  We also saw him potting an aloe plant from the office landscaping. The police sometimes come through and shoo them away. There's also a couple wanting to go to Morocco. I think they are in the wrong season for that trip. Most boats now are either staying in the canaries or heading west.

We were invited aboard a catamaran yesterday for drinks. It's the first time either of us has been on one and we were appropriately impressed by the space. It was like two of our boat plus a good bit, with a big center in between. There are two big cabins, three heads with showers, a freezer, multiple refrigerators, big watermaker and all the power is generated by solar panels laid out on deck. Really a very nice boat. Clearly a better choice for living aboard with more people. They just can't sail upwind like we can. Everything's a trade off.

We think our sail probably ripped because we left out too much of it in too much wind. We have been through some heavy weather this summer and maybe should have rolled it up sooner than we did. We have perhaps become a little too comfortable with strong winds. We contacted our sailmaker back home who made it and he said the top 12 inches of luff aren't that important, if the webbing is good then we don't need to worry too much. But we are having it repaired just to be sure.

We plan to leave here tomorrow for San Miguel, where we will pick up the sail. After that on to La Gomera.