The Canary Islands: The Atlantic's Premier Passage-Making Base

Destination Guide · Atlantic Islands · Canary Islands, Spain

Every November, the marina at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria fills with sailboats. They come from northern Europe, from the Mediterranean, from the Baltic, from the UK — some with professional deliveries, most with amateur crews who have been planning this crossing for years. They spend weeks in Las Palmas completing boat projects, calibrating watermakers, installing new rigging, provisioning for three to four weeks at sea, and attending the briefings of the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers. Then, on a Sunday in late November, the ARC fleet departs in a mass start watched by onlookers from the sea wall — and the boats turn southwest into the trade winds, bound for St. Lucia, roughly 2,700 nautical miles away. The marina empties almost overnight. The process repeats the following year.

The Canary Islands occupy this role in Atlantic sailing not because of any particular organizational decision but because of their geography. They sit between 27 and 29 degrees north latitude, on the eastern edge of the Atlantic's trade wind belt — south far enough that the northeast trades blow reliably, north far enough that they are a practical destination by boat from Europe. The islands are Spanish territory, which means European infrastructure, familiar provisioning, and the legal simplicity of an EU port for the majority of the blue-water fleet. And they have decades of accumulated maritime infrastructure — marinas, boatyards, chandleries, riggers, diesel mechanics — that know exactly what offshore boats need before a crossing.

The Seven Islands: A Sailor's Overview

The Canary Islands divide naturally into two groups: the eastern islands (Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, closest to the African coast) and the western islands (Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Gomera, La Palma, and El Hierro). Each has its own character and its own sailing proposition.

Gran Canaria and its capital Las Palmas is where the offshore sailing community concentrates. Marina Las Palmas occupies a purpose-built harbor on the northeast corner of the island, within walking distance of a large commercial district with full provisioning options. The marina has dedicated transient berths for passage-making boats, a boatyard with haulout and antifouling services, several chandleries, and a community of live-aboard sailors who have been there for years and know where everything is. In October and November, the population doubles as ARC boats arrive. The social scene becomes entirely sailing-focused. If you need a rigger, an injection-pump technician, a watermaker membrane, or a sail repair in the Canaries, Las Palmas is where you find it.

Tenerife is the largest island and the one with the most non-sailing infrastructure. Santa Cruz de Tenerife has a large commercial port with a dedicated marina area, excellent shopping, and direct air connections to most of Europe. Tenerife is a mass tourism destination — the resorts in the south of the island around Playa de las Américas handle millions of visitors per year — which means the provisioning options are good and the airport is accessible, but the island is less focused on the offshore sailing community than Las Palmas. Sailors who need to swap crew or fly someone in for a passage often use Tenerife's international airport (TFN or TFS) rather than Las Palmas.

Lanzarote is the northernmost island and arguably the most beautiful for sailors. Puerto Calero, on the southwest coast, is an upscale marina with excellent facilities, clean and well organized, set against a lunar volcanic landscape that is genuinely dramatic. The island's volcanic geology — Timanfaya National Park covers much of the interior — gives it an otherworldly character. The sailing from Lanzarote is good: the island sits far enough north that the trades are somewhat less reliable than at Las Palmas, but the approach to the inter-island passages and the trip south to Gran Canaria is a fine sail in the right conditions. Many sailors arrive at Lanzarote from the Azores or from the Portuguese mainland and work their way south through the islands to Las Palmas before the crossing.

La Gomera, a small island west of Tenerife, is the traditional last stop for many boats before heading west — its position makes it slightly further into the Atlantic than Las Palmas, and the anchorage at San Sebastián de La Gomera has hosted boats clearing for the Atlantic since Columbus stopped here in 1492 on his way to the New World. The symbolic resonance is not lost on offshore sailors, many of whom consider La Gomera an important if brief stop before their own Atlantic departure.

Trade Wind Geography: Why the Canaries Work

The northeast trade winds are the dominant feature of tropical Atlantic meteorology. They blow from the northeast, reliably and persistently, between roughly 10 and 25 degrees north latitude, driven by the pressure gradient between the subtropical high and the equatorial low pressure trough. For a boat departing the Canaries at 27–28 degrees north and heading for the Caribbean at 13–14 degrees north, the passage involves a transition from the variable winds at the northern edge of the trade belt into the reliable trades in the deep tropics.

The optimal departure route from the Canaries to the Caribbean is not a straight line west. It is first south — sometimes well south of the direct track — to get into the reliable trades before turning west. The classical offshore sailing wisdom, still valid today, is to "go south until the butter melts, then turn right." The latitude where the trades are truly reliable shifts seasonally: in November-December, going to 20–22 degrees north before turning west is often recommended. The boats that do this have fast, comfortable downwind passages. The boats that try to sail the rhumb line from the Canaries and stay at 27–28 degrees north often find the winds lighter, more variable, and the passages slower.

The ARC: Timing and What to Expect

The Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, organized by World Cruising Club, is the largest offshore sailing rally in the world. Roughly 200–250 boats participate annually, departing Las Palmas in late November and arriving in Rodney Bay, St. Lucia, typically 16–25 days later depending on boat speed. The ARC provides daily weather routing advice, a safety network of SSB radio check-ins, and the social infrastructure of a shared passage — which matters more than it might seem when you are three weeks offshore. The pre-departure briefings in Las Palmas are genuinely useful even for sailors not officially entered in the rally.

Solo and independent cruisers who are not part of the ARC typically depart in October-November or December-January. October departures catch favorable conditions but arrive in the Caribbean early in the season; January departures miss the ARC social scene but often get good trade winds and arrive in time for Carnival in various islands. The window between Christmas and New Year is traditionally busy with boats departing independently.

The Sea Between the Islands

Inter-island sailing in the Canaries is not the relaxed daysailing that the descriptions of island-hopping might suggest. The high islands — Tenerife and Gran Canaria especially — create a Venturi effect in the channels between them. Wind that is running at 20 knots in the open ocean can accelerate to 35–40 knots in the channel between two high islands, with a corresponding steep, short sea. The passage between Tenerife and Gran Canaria is notorious. The passage from Lanzarote south past Fuerteventura to Gran Canaria is frequently rough. These are not dangerous passages for a properly equipped offshore boat, but they are not pleasant ones either. Plan them for settled conditions, check the local forecasts — not just the offshore synoptic — and do not rush.

The Canaries as a Destination

It is worth noting that for non-sailors traveling with offshore crews, the Canary Islands are an excellent destination in their own right. The climate is genuinely year-round — warm, dry, and comfortable without the summer heat of the Spanish mainland. The food and wine quality is high and the prices are significantly lower than mainland Europe. The beaches — black volcanic sand in many places, white sand in the tourist resorts — are good. Gran Canaria and Tenerife have major international airports with direct flights to most European cities. Flying in a replacement crew member, flying a tired crew member home, or arranging a rendezvous for someone who does not want to do the whole passage is logistically straightforward in a way that it is not in the more remote Atlantic waypoints.

← Atlantic Islands  |  Azores →  |  Bermuda →  |  Cape Verde →

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do thousands of offshore sailors use the Canary Islands as an Atlantic crossing base? The Canary Islands sit between 27 and 29 degrees north latitude on the eastern edge of the Atlantic trade wind belt — south enough for reliable northeast trades and north enough to be a practical destination from Europe. They are Spanish territory, providing European infrastructure and legal simplicity as an EU port for the majority of the bluewater fleet. Decades of accumulated maritime infrastructure — marinas, boatyards, chandleries, riggers, diesel mechanics — know exactly what offshore boats need before an ocean crossing.

What makes Las Palmas de Gran Canaria the primary base for the ARC and independent passage-makers? Marina Las Palmas occupies a purpose-built harbor on the northeast corner of Gran Canaria with dedicated transient berths, a boatyard with haulout and antifouling, several chandleries, and a community of liveaboard sailors who know where everything is. In October and November the population doubles as ARC boats arrive and the social scene becomes entirely sailing-focused. If you need a rigger, an injection-pump technician, a watermaker membrane, or a sail repair in the Canaries, Las Palmas is where you find it.

What is the optimal departure route from the Canaries to the Caribbean? The optimal route is not a straight line west but first south — sometimes well south of the direct track — to get into the reliable trade winds before turning west. The classical offshore wisdom is to 'go south until the butter melts, then turn right.' In November-December, going to 20–22 degrees north before turning west is often recommended; boats that try to sail the rhumb line from the Canaries at 27–28 degrees north often find winds lighter and more variable.

What should sailors expect from inter-island passages within the Canary Islands? Inter-island sailing is not relaxed daysailing — the high islands of Tenerife and Gran Canaria create a Venturi effect in the channels between them that can accelerate 20-knot open-ocean wind to 35–40 knots with a steep, short sea. The passage between Tenerife and Gran Canaria is notorious. These are not dangerous passages for a properly equipped offshore boat, but they are not pleasant ones, and local forecasts — not just the offshore synoptic — should be checked before departing.

What is the historical significance of La Gomera for Atlantic passage-makers? La Gomera is the traditional last stop for many boats before heading west, its position on the western edge of the island group making it slightly further into the Atlantic than Las Palmas. San Sebastián de La Gomera has hosted boats clearing for the Atlantic since Columbus stopped there in 1492 on his way to the New World. Many offshore sailors consider La Gomera an important symbolic and practical stop before their own Atlantic departure.

How large is the ARC fleet and what does it provide to participants? The Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, organized by World Cruising Club, is the largest offshore sailing rally in the world with roughly 200–250 boats participating annually, departing Las Palmas in late November and arriving in Rodney Bay, St. Lucia 16–25 days later. The ARC provides daily weather routing advice, a safety network of SSB radio check-ins, and the social infrastructure of a shared passage. The pre-departure briefings in Las Palmas are genuinely useful even for sailors not officially entered in the rally.