SEA & SUN - In distress off La Graciosa

Who: Jola & Piotr
Where: La Graciosa, Canary Islands.
Multihull: Sea & Sun, prototype built in Poland in 2003 – 28’ x 15’
www.facebook / Piotr Przezdziecki

After a week’s crossing, we felt tired as we cautiously approached La Graciosa. The night was very dark. We finally entered the port. We felt safe. When we engaged reverse, it didn’t lock in. There was a lot of noise and it didn’t push as it should. We spotted a stretch of quayside. Someone was waving at us with a flashlight. We approached the dock hoping that the person would show us where to tie up. I was extremely surprised when he told me that we would have to leave again until the morning. We tried to explain to him that we would take care of everything first thing in the morning, that we were tired and were experiencing engine problems. All he said was: «Leave the port immediately»! So we headed out towards the anchorage - at least we thought that was where we were going. Jola tried to find out which bay it was. We thought that we were returning to the strait. We were in shallow water, surrounded by rocks, and soon we were stranded. The catamaran was still floating, but it refused to tear itself free from the small rocks that were sticking out a few inches from the bottom of the water. I fired red distress rockets, one of them directly towards the port. I waved a light around and cried for help. Jola screamed too. We were finally helped by local inhabitants. The first hole occurred in the port hull. The tide was coming in and it was becoming dangerous. Our boat was dying on the rocks. Each wave destroyed it a little more. Unfortunately, we only have civil liability insurance. We tried to save as much as we could from the catamaran. It will not be repairable. We are now looking for a sailboat that is not too expensive, preferably a catamaran. But we have limited means.