Welcome to the sunshine center of Europe...

The Canary Islands are a Spanish archipelago nestled just 67 miles from northwest Africa in the Atlantic Ocean. They consist of the main islands of Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, La Palma and Tenerife but also include less visited destinations of La Graciosa, La Gomera and El Hierro. There is rich nautical history here too. The port of San Sebastian la Gomera was the last stopping place of Christopher Columbus on his first transatlantic voyage in 1492. Today it is a port of call for the Fred Olsen Benchi Express, a small catamaran ferry that serves the various destinations on the island. El Hierro, also known as Ferro once served as the prime meridian, as it was the most westerly place known to ancient geographers.

Today the Islas Canarias (as they are known in Spain) are a bustling tourist destination with Tenerife and Gran Canaria being busy maritime hubs for cargo and cruise shipping as well as offshore oil drilling operations. You will find all of that represented in this scenery with the ports of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria being especially alive with nautical traffic.

MOVING, LANDABLE SHIPS

The scenery includes many ferries from the various operators in this area with all but one having helidecks that you can land on as they move from port to port. We have also included landable, moving supply ships, cruise ships, drilling ships and a semi-submersible oil platform (that is being towed) to maximise your helicopter fun (see map below for starting locations of these).