Sailing across oceans, exploring exotic islands and living a life away from the daily grind is the dream of many. A couple who I met through sail training two years ago bought a boat in Europe and got one step closer to this dream.

Over the last year, they meticulously prepared their boat Shanty to get her ready for a delivery across the Atlantic to the Canary Islands.

Last month, the owners and I met in Portimao, a sleepy town in Portugal’s Algarve region. The Algarve is famous for its rugged coast and steep cliffs. Wind and waves relentlessly chisel away the sandstone leaving a jagged coastline, towering cliffs and free standing rock formations.

Portimao itself is probably best left out of any travel itinerary. It’s a town full of German and English retirees and clearly a victim of the unchecked construction boom in the ’80s and ’90s. In anticipation of our big adventure, I overlooked the sterile condo developments and unfinished apartment buildings that were abandoned by their developers years ago during the economic downturn.

The marina, on the other hand, is a new development; full of big, shiny boats. The Shanty was probably one of the smallest boats around, but very seaworthy. We spent the last day checking out the boat thoroughly. Climbing the mast for a last inspection of the rig, checking all engine systems, loading the boat with food, water and diesel; these chores are part of any offshore passage.

We left the marina and headed out into the Gulf of Cádiz. The wind was light, but there was a swell as a result from a low-pressure system farther offshore.

We steered southwest seeking more wind. The line between Cabo San Vincente on the southwest corner of Portugal and Gran Canaria divided the zones of wind and no wind. The problem was that the line between calm and gale force winds was very fine. I have been watching the weather for weeks and there seemed to be pattern of low-pressure systems coming towards Lisbon, generating favourable but strong winds along our path.

The winds picked up to a pleasant breeze during the first night and we turned the boat south towards our destination of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. To our joy, the cloud cover broke and we sailed under a starlit sky.

As we had some issues with our communication system to get up-to-date weather information, we had a friend giving us updates over a satellite-based text-messaging system. This worked like a charm.

During second day, the wind steadily picked up and eventually reached a full gale.

The waves became quite formidable. I don’t dare to estimate their height, but they were bigger than anything I have ever seen. They would heave the boat up and I could look down into a trough so deep our boat all of a sudden felt very small.

Then we dropped into the valley between waves, only to look up at the towering waves caped with foaming white caps. Most waves were not breaking, but some hit us with full force right over the boat, sending a wall of foaming white water over the deck and into the cockpit to drench whoever was at the helm. I was in state of being fascinated and feeling apprehensive.