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STAGE III Closing the Circle the Return Crossing 1998 In May of 1998 we left Turkey and began the long slow haul out of the Mediterranean. If we were to catch the wind and currents that sailors have used before and since Columbus' time, which would carry us along the islands offlying Africa and down to the Caribbean at the right season (December), we needed to arrive in Gibraltar by October or November. It took real discipline to sail the 1800 miles west, and it took every minute of the five months we had. The winds were head on, with the waves high and steep, or the whole affair was zephyrless, and only the left over sloppy seas from previous storms prevented us from motoring when we couldn't sail in the faint breezes. We vowed that we would return only (if ever) in a big power yacht. I worked in a desparate race against time, often piling my gear onto the bow as the anchor dropped close to sunset, or again at dawn, before we took off. Since my meals were, as always, beautifully prepared and presented, there was no real reason to hold back, and so there are a great many titles "such-and-such place at dawn/dusk". November found us in a lovely harbor in Porto Santo, the small island near Madeira. We walked and talked on its beaches and hills with a group from 5 other cruising yachts, and after a short stay in Madeira, we all moved on to the Canary Islands. The first stop was Graciosa, a peaceful place which could be traversed in about 2 hours, and which had a small beach with campers in tents, a small village with one tavern, and a harbor with cruising boats and small fishing boats crammed in. On to Lanzarotte, then to Gran Canaria. Just before Christmas we left for the Cape Verdes. These are small Portuguese former slave colonies off of the coast of Dakar, and while a lot of yachts en route to the Caribbean bypass them as out of the way, we wanted to stop in. Mindelo on Sao Vicente was our protected harbor of choice continued

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