La Bocayna

Last updated
La Bocayna
Bocaina Strait R02.jpg
Las Palmas-Loc.svg
Red pog.svg
La Bocayna
LocationBetween Lanzarote and Fuerteventura
Coordinates 28°48′00″N13°48′00″W / 28.80000°N 13.80000°W / 28.80000; -13.80000 Coordinates: 28°48′00″N13°48′00″W / 28.80000°N 13.80000°W / 28.80000; -13.80000
Type Strait
Native nameEstrecho de la Bocayna  (Spanish)
Ocean/sea sources Atlantic Ocean
Basin  countries Spain
Min. width11 km (6.8 mi; 5.9 nmi)
Islands Lobos Island
Settlements Corralejo and Playa Blanca

La Bocayna or La Bocaina (Spanish : Estrecho de la Bocaina) is a sea strait that separates Lanzarote from Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands. The island of Lobos is situated on the southern side of the strait, close to Fuerteventura. [1] [2]

Contents

In the 19th century, the strait was known as a safe anchorage with a sandy bottom, which shelved gradually towards Lanzarote with depths of up to five fathoms. The shore around Lobos was less hospitable, being ‘foul and rocky’. A steady trade wind could be found in the strait, although it was blocked by the hills of Lanzarote, becalming ships that were in their lee, tacking towards Lobos was needed to regain the wind. [3]

Large breakers were observed by one ship’s captain, produced by a heavy westerly swell. Waves up to 18 metres (60 ft) high were seen breaking on the northern point of Lobos, the sound of the waves could be heard up to six or seven leagues away. [3]

View of La Bocayna strait, with Lobos, and Fuerteventura beyond Lobos R01.jpg
View of La Bocayna strait, with Lobos, and Fuerteventura beyond

Lighthouses

The strait is marked by a number of lighthouses including Punta Martiño on Lobos, Pechiguera at the south western end of Lanzarote, and Tostón on the north western side of Fuerteventura. [4]

Ferries

Bocayna Express Ferry Fred. Olsen, Bocayna Express.JPG
Bocayna Express Ferry

A high speed ferry service runs across the strait, using the catamaran Bocayna Express . The crossing time is 20 minutes. The Fred. Olsen Express line has operated the service since 2003 between Playa Blanca in Lanzarote and Corralejo in Fuerteventura. [5]

Naviera Armas operates a competing service with its larger but slower vessel, Volcán de Tindaya , covering the same route in 35 minutes. [6] [7]

Open water swimming

The Travesia La Bocaina is an annual open water swimming endurance event that crosses the strait. Depending on the speed of the swimmers it can take between five and eight hours to complete the swim from Playa Blanca to Corralejo, over a distance of 15 kilometres (9.3 mi; 8.1 nmi). [8]

Related Research Articles

Canary Islands Archipelago in the Atlantic coast of Africa and autonomous community of Spain

The Canary Islands, also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in a region known as Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are 100 kilometres west of Morocco. They are the southernmost of the autonomous communities of Spain, and are located in the African Tectonic Plate. The archipelago is economically and politically European, having been colonised by Spain, and is part of the European Union.

Fuerteventura One of the Canary Islands

Fuerteventura is one of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the North Africa region, and politically part of Spain. It is located 97 km from the northwest African coast. The island was declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 2009.

Cook Strait Strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand

Cook Strait separates the North and South Islands of New Zealand. The strait connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast, and runs next to the capital city, Wellington. It is 22 kilometres (14 mi) wide at its narrowest point, and is considered one of the most dangerous and unpredictable waters in the world. Regular ferry services run between Picton in the Marlborough Sounds and Wellington.

Northumberland Strait Strait between Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia

The Northumberland Strait is a strait in the southern part of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in eastern Canada. The strait is formed by Prince Edward Island and the gulf's eastern, southern, and western shores.

Lanzarote Island of the Canary Islands, Spain

Lanzarote is a Spanish island, the northernmost and easternmost of the autonomous Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. It is located approximately 125 kilometres off the north coast of Africa and 1,000 kilometres from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering 845.94 square kilometres, Lanzarote is the fourth-largest of the islands in the archipelago. With 152,289 inhabitants at the start of 2019, it is the third most populous Canary Island, after Tenerife and Gran Canaria. Located in the centre-west of the island is Timanfaya National Park, one of its main attractions. The island was declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 1993. The island's capital is Arrecife, which lies on the eastern coastline. It is the smaller main island of the Province of Las Palmas.

Arrecife City in Canary Islands, Spain

Arrecife is a city and municipality in the Canary Islands (Spain) situated in the centre-east of the island of Lanzarote, of which it has been the capital since 1852. The city owes its name to the rock reef which covers the beach located in the city. The city also gives its name to the nearby Arrecife Airport.

Graciosa, Canary Islands Island of the Chinijo Archipelago in the Canary Islands, Spain

Graciosa Island or commonly La Graciosa is a volcanic island in the Canary Islands of Spain, located 2 kilometres north of Lanzarote across the Strait of El Río. It was formed by the Canary hotspot. The island is part of the Chinijo Archipelago and the Chinijo Archipelago Natural Park. It is administrated by the municipality of Teguise. In 2018 La Graciosa officially became the eighth Canary Island. Before then, the island had the status of an islet, administratively dependent on the island of Lanzarote. The only two settlements on the island are Caleta de Sebo in the southeastern part of the island and summer-residence Casas de Pedro Barba.

Lobos Island

Lobos is a small island of the Canary Islands (Spain) located just 2 kilometres north of the island of Fuerteventura. It belongs to the municipality of La Oliva on the island of Fuerteventura. It has an area of 4.68 square kilometres (1.8 sq mi). It has been a nature reserve since 1982.

DEV <i>Arahura</i> Former train ferry of New Zealand

DEV Arahura was a roll-on/roll-off train ferry that operated on the Interislander service between Wellington and Picton in New Zealand from 1983 until 2015.

Fred. Olsen Express is an inter-island ferry service based in the Canary Islands, Spain. It operates a fleet of six modern fast ferries on five routes. Its fleet includes a trimaran fast ferry, the Benchijigua Express, which was the first such vehicle in the world when it entered service in 2005. The company is owned by the Olsen family-controlled Bonheur and Ganger Rolf, which among other things also owns the shipping companies Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines and First Olsen Tankers.

Corralejo Town in Canary Islands, Spain

Corralejo is a town and resort located on the northern tip of Fuerteventura, one of the Canary Islands, facing the smaller islet of Lobos. It is in the municipality of La Oliva. It is surrounded to the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean, by dunes to the south and by arid desert land to the west that leads to the western coast and El Cotillo. Once a traditional fishing village, the town has grown significantly and today is one of the two main tourist towns on the island of Fuerteventura. Thanks to the large expat population, the town has a diverse population that varies from the local Spaniard, to the Irish, British, German and Finnish people who have settled in the resort.

LZ-2 road (Spain)

LZ-2 is one of the main roads on the island of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. It leads south from the island's capital, Arrecife, ending at the island's southernmost town of Playa Blanca. From here, ferries are available to cross the strait of La Bocayna, effectively connecting the LZ-2 to the FV-1 on the island of Fuerteventura. Lanzarote Airport is also accessed by the LZ-2.

Playa Blanca Town in Canary Islands, Spain

Playa Blanca is the southernmost town of the Spanish island of Lanzarote. It is the newest resort on the island, and is part of the municipality of Yaiza.

Naviera Armas Shipping company of Canarian origin, founded 1940

Naviera Armas is a Spanish company, founded in the 1940s, which operates a number of ferry services in Spain. The company mainly operates in the Canary Islands, with additional routes connecting the Canary Islands and the north African coast to the Spanish mainland. As of August 2019, the company operates a fleet of 11 ferries and 5 fast ferries.

Pechiguera Lighthouse Lighthouse on Lanzarote, Spain

The Pechiguera or Punta Pechiguera Lighthouse is an active lighthouse on the Canary island of Lanzarote. It is the second lighthouse to be built at Punta Pechiguera, which is at the south-western end of the island.

Punta Martiño Lighthouse Lighthouse on Lobos Island, Spain

The Punta Martiño Lighthouse is an active lighthouse on the Canary island of Lobos, near Fuerteventura in the municipality of La Oliva.

Port of Funchal Port in Portugal

The Port of Funchal is the port and harbour of Funchal and is frequently used as a stop-over by transatlantic ships, en route from Europe to the Caribbean, as it is the northernmost Atlantic island that lies in the path of the Westerlies.

HSC <i>Bocayna Express</i>

Bocayna Express is a catamaran fast ferry operated by the Spanish-Norwegian shipping company Fred. Olsen Express between the Canary Islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote in the Atlantic Ocean. It was delivered to Fred. Olsen in September 2003 and has been operating the route between the towns of Corralejo (Fuerteventura) and Playa Blanca (Lanzarote) since then. The ship is named after the Bocayna strait which separates the two islands it serves.

Strait of El Río

El Río is the name given to the sea strait that separates La Graciosa from Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. Río, in Spanish, means 'river'. At its narrowest point, the strait is just over 1.1 kilometres wide.

MS <i>Volcán de Tindaya</i>

Volcán de Tindaya is a roll-on/roll-off passenger ferry operated by the Spanish shipping company Naviera Armas between the Canary Islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote in the Atlantic Ocean. It was built and delivered to Armas in 2003 and has been operating the route between the towns of Corralejo (Fuerteventura) and Playa Blanca (Lanzarote) since then. The ship is named after the Tindaya mountain on Fuerteventura.

References

  1. La Bocayna can be found at GEOnet Names Server, at this link, by opening the Advanced Search box, entering " -386561 " in the "Unique Feature Id" form, and clicking on "Search Database".
  2. Google (7 January 2015). "Bocayna" (Map). Google Maps . Google. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  3. 1 2 John Purdy (1825). Memoir, Descriptive and Explanatory: To Accompany the New Chart of the Atlantic Ocean and Comprising Instructions, General and Particular, for the Navigation of that Sea. R.H. Laurie. pp.  213–214.
  4. "Museum of Traditional Fishing". Museums. artesaniaymuseosdefuerteventura.org. Archived from the original on 30 November 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  5. John May; William Mayes (1 May 2004). Ferries: Southern Europe. Overview Press Ltd. p. 65. ISBN   978-0-9547206-0-5.
  6. "M/F Volcan De Tindaya". The ferry site. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
  7. "Buscar ferries entre Playa Blanca y Corralejo con Ferries.es" [Find ferries between Playa Blanca and Corralejo with Ferries.es]. Ferries.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-04-04.
  8. "Travesia La Bocaina". Swim Crossing. b15active.com. Retrieved 11 January 2015.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to La Bocayna at Wikimedia Commons