2010 Cruisin', Boozin' and Snoozin' ..... May - Oct 2010

27 May 2010 - 08 October 2010


View Balvenies 2010 Voyage in a larger map

Mark on guitar with Liam.....sleeping??? 

So another cruising season has come and gone.  The seasons in the Mediterranean are reasonably short, but this year seemed very short indeed.  We started out later than planned from our last winter port in Valletta on the small island of Malta.  We had been busy painting the coach roof and wanted it finished, it was worth staying for and it looks just great.  Then the season ended sooner than we had hoped too, September and October saw the start of unsettled weather coming through, with the odd front bringing cooler days, longer nights and thunder storms. 

We had a choice - join many of our cruising friends and carry on out of the Med, into the Atlantic, visit exotic Morocco, explore the Canary Islands cross the Atlantic Ocean and be in the Caribbean in time to enjoy a rum punch while listening to steel drums sitting under a palm tree with the sand between our toes by Christmas.  Sure sounds appealing, still does - but there is always next year!!

So here we are, in the lovely town of Cartagena on the southeastern corner of Spain.  We will stay here for the European winter which we hope will be reasonably mild.  We will spend our time (in between boat jobs of course) exploring this wonderful country, trialing as many tapas bars as we can find, improving our somewhat appalling command on the Spanish language and taking as many siestas as necessary to blend in with the locals!!

But now a recap of 2010 ....... This is Cruising the Summer of 2010 -

Picnic in Corsica with the "Windies"

Before we left Malta we thought long and hard about the route we would take through the Western Med.  Several yachts that had travelled through Italy the summer of 2009 and said how extremely busy it was, that the anchorages were poor and often rolly, marinas expensive, how affected the weather is by the fierce Mistral wind, how expensive eating out was... the list was long with few positives.  Then when we were back in Auckland over summer we met with friends George and Merima off Moonshadow who had also cruised Italy in 2009, they agreed with most of the above but their advice - "don't miss it".  

So we took their advice and from the moment we arrived on the east coast of Sicily and anchored under Mt Etna and the stunning hilltop town of Taormina we never once regretted it, Italy was absolutely outstanding and we loved every minute (even the wet ones!!).  Nearly every stop was a highlight:  the bubbling live volcano, smelly mudbaths and beach happy hours at Vulcano, the opportunity to visit ancient buried Pompeii from Agropoli, the beautiful Amalfi coast towns clinging by their toenails to the steep to cliff faces surrounded by vivid green and yellow lemon trees, the pastel painted houses of Procida crumbling down but oh so "Italy".  Then we hit the busy part, crazy Ponza on a long holiday weekend with the armada of incoming boats seemingly endless but there was always room for one more.

Most expensive drinks with "Panthera"

We sailed overnight west to Sardinia, still Italian,  but with a definite independent island feel to it.    On long hot summers days we found deserted bays with clear water and sandy beaches, contrasting greatly with the wealth displayed in the compact area around Porto Cervo, where super yachts easily outnumbered little yachts like ours.  We had a day inland, astounded by the Stone Age ruins we visited, intrigued by the overgrown forests of cork trees. Maybe we should have explored more of Sardinia, we just touched the north east corner and it was beautiful, many anchorages in some sheltered waters, an excellent spot.

It was time for a change of culture and language and we hopped across to Corisca and dusted off the French phrase book.  The well preserved ancient walled towns of  Bonifacio, Porto Vecchio and Calvi and the frequent coastal battlements gave us a great sense of their history.  Our inland travel revealing the lush mountainous interior, sandy banked rivers, stone age ruins - this gem of an island had it all.  Combined with some gin clear waters in appealing bays Corisca was yet another highlight.

Time for a mudbath with White Rose and Sundancer II

Back to Italy visiting the Tuscan Island of Elba, some great anchorages, cute villages, sweet scented pine forests, good weather.   Time for the mainland again to our most secure anchorage weather wise of the season at La Grazie. This Cinque Terra area was jam packed full of interesting excursions - the famous Cinque Terra (Five Villages) coastal walk, a day out by train to Pisa, just a short hop over the hill to Porto Venere and a visit from our friends Helen and David.  Unfortunately the weather changed here after a dreadful long night of thunder/lightening storms and torrential rainfall, it was unsettled for a couple of weeks after and never returned to those long settled summer days.

The Italian Riviera was next, sophisticated Santa Margherita made an excellent base for a few days, nearby famous Portofino as quaint as all the postcards.  Our Italian sojourn was nearing its end, a few days in San Remo just 20 miles from the French boarder was an excellent way to end.  The covered market one of the best I have ever seen in any country.  Sadly it was arrivederci to Italy, we couldn't stay forever.  We enjoyed everywhere we visited, the locals were always welcoming, the food in general every good and pizzas and pasta dishes very affordable, drinks ranged in price from average to outrageous but they normally gave free nibbles with them to soften the blow!  Italy oozes history and  culture, it is a wonderful unrivaled country.  The people have a style and spirit that matches it perfectly.

Celeb spotting in Monte Carlo

I must add that we were extremely lucky for the most part with settled weather.  The west coast of Italy is all a lee shore and any westerly winds leave you with few places to run.  Any strong winds further out in the med will affect the swell so you need to look at a large weather picture on a daily basis.  That said, there are places to tuck in from most conditions but you need to always have a plan B, and often a plan C too. 

I can't move on further before I mention one of the most important factors of why all the above was also so enjoyable.  We cruised in company the entire time, not always with the same boats as we all go different speeds and have different agendas but there was a group of us going roughly the same way and boy did we have fun.  I hope I don't miss anyone but to the following - you made an excellent season even better.    Sundancer II, White Rose, Blue Banana, Eye Candy, Gone with the Wind, Threshold  and Panthera.  Once we left Italy we were on our own except for a couple of rendezvouses with Baracca.  Thankyou all for making our season extra special.

Next it was on to Monaco, what Italy oozes in history and culture, Monaco oozes in wealth.  Our 3 nights in the marina were a highlight of a different kind, never did we think we would be able to afford to marina Balvenie  in Monaco and spend time in this pocket sized Principality.  The wealth displayed just in the cars parked in Casino Square was enough to knock our socks off, then there were the dozens of enormous super yachts parked in a row in the marina, and one look in the estate agents window  indicated 8million Euro as a  'cheap' one bedroom apartment - this is definitely not somewhere the likes of us retire!!!!  But it was fun, not ostentatious or stuffy - just for rich people who like to enjoy showing their wealth.

Porto Cervo with Eye Candy and GWTW

It is was time to cruise the French Riviera and the Cote d'Azur, famous names that just roll off the tongue.  We started in Villefranche a popular anchorage near to Nice, a small scenic town ashore.  Relatives Neil and Barbara stayed a couple of nights and we had a chance to explore inland, visiting tiny rural villages located so close to the busy coast but a million miles away in reality. From Nice westwards the coastline was extremely busy much more built up than I had envisaged, huge apartment complexes lined the foreshore, marinas every few miles, very few nooks and crannies to anchor in, and often a swell from one direction or the other would sneak in.  Then there was more unsettled weather, it was only the beginnng of September but we never experienced those famous unbearably hot calm days on the French Riviera.

I fell in love with France over 20 years ago when I first backpacked there, and have returned several times since.  I had been looking forward all season to cruising its coastline, soaking up the culture, practicing my French and sampling the French cuisine.  Now I felt a traitor to France, this coastline didn't reflect the France I loved and we both missed Italy.  The cost of living was high, fruit and vegetables seemed especially so, eating out cheaply was almost impossible, happy hour drinks and coffees were almost affordable dependant on where you were!!  The weather wasn't kind to us, Mistrals kept howling.  We could see no value in heading along the coast further westwards and into the eye of Mistral territory so we took the opportunity of a short lull in the winds and headed south overnight to Spain's Balearic Islands.  We had spent only 12 nights on the French coast.

Can Mark get beer out of Threshold's steering system???

Our stay in the Balearics was slightly longer, just 3 weeks.  We spent time in Menorca and Mallorca and explored them both.  We enjoyed sleepy Mahon and found Palma a classic, interesting, very European city - with a central market to rival San Remo.  We only stayed one night on Ibiza, it is more of a beach/party island, and although still warm enough when in the sun and out of the wind, summer was on the wain.  There are many anchorages in the Balearics, most of them small calas (coves), often deserted ashore or maybe with a tourist development.  It is more of a summer destination than a touring one so we didn't experience them at their best.  More adverse weather, this time an extensive system lasting days was heading our way.  We considered marinaing in Ibizia for a few days to sit out the weather but heard rumours of yachts our size still being quoted 300Euro a night, and this was now October!  So here we are, back to the top where we started, Caribbean or Cartagena. 

Looking lopsided in Portofino

We have been in Cartagena on the south eastern corner of Spain over a week now and were feeling quite settled, until this morning.  I managed to tune into the "rum runners net", a HF Radio net our friends have started up and are checking into as they move westwards, Gone with the Wind and Moonshadow were about to arrive in Morocco, Beyond, Stardust and several others about to join Cristata in the Canaries.  Today we are feeling somewhat left behind, but we have Spain to explore and much more - that rum punch will just taste all the sweeter next year!!!

Countries and Principalities visited -  5   Malta, Italy, France, Monaco and Spain
Island Groups visited -  7   Sicily, Aeolean Islands, Bay of Napoli Islands, Sardinia, Corsica, Tuscan Islands, Balearic Islands
Nautical Miles travelled -   1742  (Distance had we gone in a straight line was 767!!)
Nautical Miles motored -   929   Only about 20miles was due to adverse headwinds, balance due to no wind
Nights at sea -   3   Ponza-Olbia,   French mainland-Mahon,   Ibiza-Cartagena
Nights tied up for free on a buoy -   4   Porto Pollo, Pollenca, Porto Petro
Nights tied up for free at a dock -  14   Scario, Agropoli, Olbia, Final Ligure, San Remo
Nights tied up in Marinas -  7   Amalfi, Monaco, Pollenca
Different Anchorages visisted -   60
Strongest winds -  46 knots at anchor in France, 28 knots at sea downwind across the top of Corsica
Fastest speed -   8.6 knots flying across the top of Corsica
Sleepless nights -  less than five (more than one is too many!!)
Rainy days -   Lost count really, but not that many that rained ALL day and this is Europe!!
How much did it cost? -  Done all the numbers and it averaged out at 385Euro per week (this season was 19 weeks).  That includes stocking up the food and drink supplies in Malta before we left there, and starting/finishing with full diesel tanks.  Our biggest expense was eating/drinking onboard 1888E closely followed by eating/drinking out 1545E, diesel ranked next as we did alot of motoring 1300E,  next came sightseeing/local transport 580E, Marinas 372E, small repairs/maintenance/spares 340E, phone/internet 240E, the rest is made up of odds and ends - souvenirs, clothing, laundry etc  

AND THAT WAS THE SUMMER OF 2010

Summer Season draws to a close ..... Oct 2010

Along for a free ride, 40 miles offshore! 

06 - 10 October 2010

We enjoyed our 8 night 'minibreak' anchored at Palmanova on Mallorca. Skipper had a tearful farewell with the owner of the 'Welsh Mosquito' having been camped there for three days watching the Ryder Cup. The strong sou'westerly winds had died away and the swell was down but there was more bad weather coming in a few days so it was time to head ever westward once again and make the long jump from Mallorca to the next island of Ibiza.  It was a 55 mile run so we were up at 'O dark hundred' (well it doesn't get light until 8am at the moment) and on our way by 7am.  We had a forecast for 12knots from the east increasing to 20knots late afternoon and building more overnight,  so we poled out the headsail and sailed downwind all day. Skipper was a happy bunny despite getting overruled once again when requesting a spinnaker hoist. This was champagne sailing running before the wind heading west but every now and again a yacht would pass us going the other way, bashing into a steep choppy sea towards Mallorca - at least we had the elements with us. 

We pulled into Portinatx,  a small cala on the nor'eastern tip of Ibiza.  Luckily there were only 3 other yachts in there as some of these anchorages are not very big, but it was a scenic little spot with a couple of hotels and a small town ashore.  Most importantly we had flat water, just tucked up out of the swell.  We didn't go ashore at night, we had had a long day and there was always tomorrow.  But sometimes tomorrow doesn't quite come, well not for going ashore anyway.  Overnight the wind had come around more to the north making the cove a little more exposed so we checked the weather again first thing, then sat down for a serious breakfast board meeting.

The Silver Fern might just last until Spain

The low pressure system we were expecting in 2 days was still coming but would pass through in a day and we should be able to find somewhere to shelter from it, but 3 days later the Balearics were due to get severely hammered by a series of thunderstorms and 40 knots winds lasting for several days, and from various directions. 

The seasons they were a changing, it was getting cooler, the sunny days were being outnumbered by the cloudy ones and the approaching thunderstorms did not look good.  On top of this I had been suffering from toothache for too long, no amount of painkillers was dulling the ache (but straight brandy does!!!) and I really needed to sort it out.  It did not take long for the board of Balvenie  to make the unanimous decision to use the northerly wind we had and head south to Cartagena our Winter base. The famous party island of  Ibiza and its small neighbour of Formentera sadly would be missed, but we can not see everything and the changeable weather is very hard to deal with when there are very few all round protected anchorages.

So we never did go ashore on Ibiza, at 8.30am on October 07 2010 we weighed anchor for the last time this season, motored out of the cala, raised the mainsail, bore away downwind, set the pole, rolled out the headsail and headed for the Spanish mainland. 

Glad to be tied up in Cartagena

It is around 160 miles to Cartagena and with the short weather window we had, we decided to go straight through and do an overnight passage.  We had wind behind us and besides having to gibe the pole had an uneventful and comfortable day.  We could see the bright lights of Spain as darkness fell, our 2nd overnight passage this season with a new moon - it sure was dark out there, "as black as the inside of a cow" as skipper says. But the stars were glistening and it was a clear night.

The lights on shore faded  as the mainland curved away from us and we ran down the outside of the shipping lanes.  We crossed the meridian at 1.35am on October 08 2010.  After 6 years we had made it to the Western Hemisphere phew!!  Just minutes later our northerly wind died and a southerly filled in, this was not in the forecast!  By the time we had dropped the pole and reset the sails the southerly too had eased and by 3am we were motoring with no wind.

The sea state was easing with the calming of the wind and shelter from the mainland but the shipping was busy and kept us on guard.  Dawn broke around 7.30am and as the sun peaked over clouds on the horizon it looked like it would be a lovely clear day.  I went below to switch off the navigation lights and radar and when I came back up, not a minute later we had been totally engulfed in heavy fog.  This is the first time we have experienced fog at sea, I knew there was nothing at all around us but it's a weird feeling not been able to see anything.  Even on the darkest of nights you can see something!!   I woke skipper for some moral support and to make sure I wasn't dreaming, then shortly after it cleared as quickly as it had arrived and the sun came out to play.


Diet? I don't think so!!!

 We motored in calm seas, those last few miles seeming to take forever.  At last at 12.30pm we entered the bay where the town of Cartagena is nestled.  We passed the refinery and naval yard and entered the inner harbour.  It's a working port so there are ships coming and going but it's small and not too busy.  We found our way to the marina and contacted Yacht Port Cartagena on VHF Channel 09, Alberto the marinero came to take our lines and to welcome us.  This will be home now for several months over the Mediterranean winter.  First impressions - it looks good.  I'll add more info when we have  settled in.

So that it is the end of our cruising season for summer 2010, it has been an outstanding season.  We have seen some wonderful places, cruised with some exceptional people, eaten and drunk our way across the western med and will now take some time to diet, exercise and sleep!!!   Stay tuned though - there will be more updates soon.

Minibreak on Mallorca ..... Sept - Oct 2010

Balvenie at Palmanova's busy beach

27 September - 06 October 2010

The wind is howling through so we are staying put here in Palma, the wind generator is whizzing away (noisily) but creating plenty of power for the laptop, Mark is ashore ensconced in a bar happily watching the final rounds of Golfs Ryder Cup, oh, and the sun is shining - what more could we ask for?

We left sleepy little Porto Petro and sailed in the seabreeze down to the bottom left tip of Mallorca and around into the bite of Ensenada de la Rapita. As expected the dreaded swell just kept on following us but eventually we managed to tuck behind most of it and anchored off the beautiful long white sand beach of Playa del Trench. There were just a handful of yachts, and although many sunloungers and umbrellas were onshore there was no accommodation or people and the immediate land looked like national park, it was beautiful. I had my first swim in Spain in gin clear water and could see the ripples of sand on the bottom, it was magic. For the first time since arriving in the Balearics we had not had any rain and at sunset we were treated to clear skies, long may it last! Next morning we took a long walk ashore along the sandy beach, unfortunately paradise can never be perfect - southerly winds were forecast and this did not have enough cover so we lifted anchor mid morning and had a great sail aft of the beam the 25 miles across to Palmanova in the Bay of Palma.

Leisurely lunch at Soller

This is "package holiday land" and my first impressions were not too positive. Ashore we were surrounded by medium rise hotels with names like the Honolulu, St Lucia, Waikiki. The wall to wall cafes - the Scotsman, Welsh Mosquito, Paddys Bar, Los Curries and the like!-  offer menus in every language but Spanish, and cater for all tastes but Spanish, but I think I was a little judgemental, its grown on me, and we had a great curry out one night! There is a lovely sandy beach, the weather is warm and sunny for the most part, and everyone is just here enjoying a warm break from their day to day lives. It's not so bad at all.

We have been out enjoying the sights. It's about 45 minutes by bus from here into Palma city. The first day we got all ready for a big day out and set off ashore, but there were strikes on protesting at the "austerity measures", no buses that day so it was back to boat chores instead. We tried again the next day, more successfully, we got a bus into Palma Station, then connected with the small narrow gauge tourist train through inland Mallorca's valleys to the beautiful town of Soller.  This vintage train has been running through the scenic Serra de Tramuntansa since 1911. Soller is in a stunning setting with high peaks around it, just a small town but with some handsome buildings and a large plaza area with many trees splendid in their autumnal colours.

Narrow gauge train to Soller

There is a tram that runs from the town down to the port area, it was very busy - sadly we had chosen a day with 6 cruise ships in Palma port (yes, VERY busy!!!), so we decided to walk down. Unless you really need to stretch your legs don't do this, we walk fast and it was over an hour, little shade and very hot, a bad idea but worth it when you are rewarded with such a beautiful harbour setting. If we had been here before leaving the northern coast we would have come down the west coast by boat and stayed a couple of nights.

After all our exercise we relaxed and had an excellent late lunch harbourside, the quality and selection of food we have experienced so far in Spain has been the best in Europe and it is the most affordable, we are enjoying Spain. We walked all around the harbour then caught the tram back up the hill, had a final stroll around town and headed for the bus station.


Inland Mallorca Olive grove

 It had been recommended by other cruisers to catch the No 210 bus back for more stunning scenery on mountain roads with hairpin bends, unfortunately the buses were busy so we ended on the express.  Had I looked closer at the timetable I would have seen that the buses start from the port, we didn't need to get the tram back and would probably have got on the scenic one!!! Ah, hindsight. At least the timing worked well and we connected with a bus straight away back to Balvenie.  

On another day we caught the bus into Palma again and explored the city. What a lovely European city this is, fine old buildings, spacious tree lined streets, open plazas with sidewalk cafes, all very clean and with no traffic pollution, a really agreeable place. We stopped in a vibrant plaza and sat in a street cafe enjoying the best coffee we have had in Europe, life is good.  Revitalized we hit the streets, exploring the side streets and little lanes, seeing all there was on offer.  The Municipal Market at Placa del Olivar was a great stop with an abundance of fresh produce, seafood and meats. The hundreds of hung smoked legs of pork dominated one corner, while the endless varieties of olives left us drooling.  There were a couple of great extremely busy tapas counters there too, getting close enough to order and choosing from all the delectable goodies was the hard part.    

Palma's spectacular Cathedral

Then it was off to the Palma Cathedral, as the photo shows it is an outstanding looking building both inside and out.  Religion may have, and still does, cause more tension and wars than anything else but the need to worship in holy surroundings has certainly, over the centuries left us with some fine religious buildings, and this is no exception.   Construction started in 1306 and took around 300 years, it has had many restorations since, a major one being after severe earthquake damage in 1851.  There are 61 stained glass windows and with the sun shining in the internal light was magnificent.  Many great architects and artists have stamped their mark on parts of the cathedral, Antoni Gaudi being one.  Most recently Miquel Barcelo reformed the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament, goodness me - what was he thinking? this is a cathedral not an underwater theme park.  Still, maybe we do not have a fine enough appreciation of modern art - each to their own.  

Cruising notes for Isla Gabina/Playa del Trench and Palma Nova, Mallorca:-
Anchorages -
Isla Gabina -   39 20.183N   02 59.118E   4.9m  clear sea, sandy bottom.  We anchored further south first to get more shelter form the swell and thought we were on sand, but when the sun came out we could see we were on a flat stone bottom with small crevices.  We moved further north to the sandy bottom, it was a little rollier but great holding
Palmanova -   39 30.931N   02 32.478E   4.0m  hard sand/weed.  Not great holding, several boats dragged in 20knots (some superyachts).  Morning breeze came in from the east (for 4 days) until around 11am then dropped off, nothing forecast from east.  Good shelter from NW to SSE, and can move to other end of bay for more N protection, or to little islands (2 miles away) for some E cover. 
Communications - Phone signal excellent, no unlocked WIFI but dongle worked well
Ashore - Just a shacky beach bar at Isla Gabina which closed at sunset.   Palmanova:  we left the dinghy on the small concrete jetty on the eastern (seaward) side as shallow as possible, not many cleats, a small ferry uses this dock so stay well in.  When full we left it on the tiny adjacent beach.  There are hundreds of eateries, dozens of little minimarkets selling (holiday) basics, the Eroski Supermarket is right at the northern end of the bay (take dinghy to tiny harbour and it's right there or walk along seafront), its on the road that goes inland and about the 2nd building on the right.  Good selection fruit, veg, meat at very reasonable prices.  Plenty ATMs, English newspapers, didn't see fuel anywhere, bus stops on road inland parallel to beach. 
Formalities - The large blue Spanish Customs (Aduana) Boat came into the bay most evenings.  We were boarded by 3 officers who asked to see our passports, ships papers and boat insurance.  They gave us a copy of their paperwork (which we showed to them the next night when they came again!!), they were polite and took just a few minutes.
Sightseeing - Buses 104, 105 and 106 run into Palma about every 20 minutes. 2.75E p/p o/w buy tickets on bus.  We stayed on till the station then went up to street level, turned right and a couple of buildings along is the Ferrocarril de Soller where you catch the tourist train. 10.00E p/p o/w. Times Mar-Oct 0800, 1010, 1050, 1215, 1330, 1510.  http://www.trendesoller.com/  Tourist office in Soller is by train station in Soller they can give you bus times for return, 210 is scenic and 211 express 2.45E p/p o/w (cheap).  Tram down to Soller port is 4.00E o/w p/p.  Palma Cathedral is 4.00E p/p.  When you catch the bus back to Palmanova the stop at the Cathedral gets very busy, we were leaving people behind in October!

Moving from Menorca to Mallorca ..... Sept 2010

Privately owned Fort at Pollenca

21 - 27 September 2010

We stayed 6 nights in Mahon, completed all the boat jobs, did all the sightseeing, even had the chance to socialize with an Australian Catamaran Catouse, and American yacht So Bella.  The mistral had died out in the Golf du Lyon (for the time being) so the swell had finally eased but our dilemma was now which way to go around the island.  We decided to head north and motored in very light downwind conditions up the east coast and around the top to the sheltered  harbour of Fornells.  We had already visited by car so knew we could tuck up out of any existing swell and were ready for evening shore leave, something we didn't do in Mahon with the 20 minute dinghy ride!

We settled into the anchorage and headed ashore for happy hour and dinner.  Well we enjoyed happy hour and were certainly enjoying the Spanish prices, drinking out had finally returned to an acceptable price (not that it had stopped us!!).  We didn't make dinner, those regular big black evening clouds were looking very threatening so we headed on back to Balvenie, just in case.   They skirted around us and didn't amount to anything, but we prefer to be cautious.

Next morning we were off as the sun rose, well it doesn't come up till 7.30am so it isn't too much of an effort .  We were leaving Menorca and heading to Pollenca on the next island of Mallorca.  It was a 50 mile run and we managed a comfortable downwind sail across for the first 30 miles, then the wind died right off so we charged the batteries and cooled the drinks for the remainder.  

Cobbled lanes of Alcudia

We arrived into the shallow harbour at Pollenca at 6pm, and hooked onto a free mooring buoy we had prebooked. The headland ashore was totally dominated by the most spectacular fort, now privately owned and converted into a mansion, the manicured gardens were terraced down to the waters edge, it was just beautiful and made for quite a backdrop, we settled down to a peaceful night.

Our morning check of the weather was now routine. The changeable weather conditions were causing us some problems as another front was due to come through in the early hours of the following morning with a switch from strong southerlies to northwesterlies. The large bay was enclosed but a fetch could easily build, we were in only 3.5 metres of water, the mooring buoy was rated to 16knots of wind and the bottom very weedy and shallow for anchoring. We consulted the cruising guide and found a nearby small marina with enough depth for us (not easy in some of these places), made a phone call, secured a berth on the visitors dock and we were tied up within the hour, we could relax!!!!

We took a walk into the ancient fortified town of Pollentia founded in 123BC, nowadays called Alcudia. It was rich in history with some excellent old buildings and parts of the town wall in very good order, it was an enjoyable spot to while away a few hours. We finally got to have our first Spanish dinner out at the local restaurant, and enjoyed mixed Paella for 2 that would have happily fed 4. It was a bonus just to be able to step back onboard at the end of a great day.

Alcudia's wall is still complete in places

The front came through; we were all secure and very happy we had chosen to marina Balvenie for a couple of nights. The clouds cleared away, we went for a long walk out towards the headland, the swell had set in again - it doesn’t seem to take much to get it going – and even in the marina we had a little surge coming in.

Our departure Saturday morning was delayed as the office did not open till 10.30am for us to retrieve our deposit. Again we were unsure of which coast to head down, because Mallorca lies on an angle the swell and winds seem to wrap around it. We headed back across to the north eastern tip in light winds but very rolly seas, and once we rounded the top sailed the remainder of the way in building tail winds to Porto Petro, we pulled in just before dark and picked up another free mooring buoy (these are just great), then opened the bar.

Next day was Sunday, the weather looked ok to stay longer so we went ashore to the tiny town, found a cafe with a big screen tv and settled down to an excellent lunch while watching the Formula One Grand Prix, what a lazy Sunday afternoon.  There's not much at Porto Petro but that is part of its charm, we knew we would be seeing many high rise hotels and built up areas soon enough so we enjoyed the peace.  Unfortunately that night the swell found us yet again, we were sitting beam on and had yet another rolly old night.  We had planned to stay as Baracca were heading our way, but when the easterly sea breeze started coming in late morning we decided it was time to move on.

Cruising info for Fornells on Menorca and Pollenca, Marina de Bonaire and Porto Petro on Mallorca:-
Anchorages -
Fornells, Pollenca and Porto Petro - Mooring buoys are available for all three of these anchorages.  We anchored at Fornells as we had 20knot bullets and could not pick up a buoy.  To book these free buoys visit www.balearslifeposidonia.eu you need to register online, they must be booked before 6.30pm the day before and are normally a maximum of 2 nights.  They seemed in good order, generally have an extra line with loop to put your line through and these should have a float on so you can pull it up with boat hook.  In Fornells they didn't have floats and as it was our first stop we couldn't work out how to connect it!!!  
Marina de Bonaire - 39 52.013N   03 08.614E   2.5m, side tied.  phone +34 971 54 69 55  Visitors dock just inside the breakwater, will place you further in if they can.  They are not happy to put boats on visitors dock in a strong north east wind because of the surge, we had a little surge (wore through our fender covers) but it was fine.  39E per night incl wifi, power and water.  Shower/toilet blocks, Laundry 3E, bookswap, very helpful small marina.
Communications - Phones: GYMSIM and Vodafone Malta on roaming both working.  Internet: WIFI at Marina (get code from office) and picked up unlocked signal in Porto Petro.  Dongle worked well for rest.
Ashore - 
Fornells -  Tied dinghy to a floating pontoon.  A few bars, cafes and restaurants for all budgets.  A small supermarket (English papers) inland back from Port office and excellent bakery on street out supermarkets back door.  Didn't see ATM but must be one as small touristy town
Pollenca -  Long way from mooring buoys to town area, we didn't go ashore here
Marina de Bonaire - Fuel dock and 30 ton travelift.  Paella great at restaurant by gate.  Turn right at gate for short walk to minimarket and a couple of bars then follow road inland from there to Alcudia, about 25 minute flat walk.  Well worth it.  ATM's in Alcudia
Porto Petro -  Either take dinghy to little dock/beach on right by beachfront cafe or into fishing boat harbour and tie to wall.  Small supermarket one block back (English papers), several eateries, no ATM
Formalities - none.  Marina checked our Boat papers but nothing else.

That was France - next stop Balearics ..... Sept 2010

Remote anchorage at Cala Taulera, Mahon

14 - 20 September 2010

Just when we were almost getting used to saying 'si vous plait' and 'merci' instead of 'per favore' and 'grazie' we were moving on, another country - another language, at least with the advent of the euro it wasn't another currency too!!!!

We left our final French anchorage of Anse de Gau at 1.45am (not really a favourite time of day to be getting up to go sailing). We had 220 miles to cover to Mahon on the Spanish Balearic Island of Menorca. We raised sails and headed south, the first 5 miles were lovely, we were still in flat water behind the headland, with 15knots just behind the beam, great conditions but we knew it wasn't likely to last. Sadly we were right. Once we cleared land we hit the swell that had been so tiresome all along the coast when the mistral was blowing. Still, we had wind and we roared away into the night making 8 knots some of the time. The swell was just horrible, for the first time ever on passage Mark rolled out of his sea berth and went crashing, along with the squab, onto the cabin floor. Sensibly the floor is where we rested while not on watch for the rest of the 37 hour journey.

We sailed all day making good time, but as expected the wind was easing and at dusk we reefed the main right down, rolled in the headsail and started burning diesel. If the seas had been flat we could have sailed on but we hadn't escaped the swell, although it was calming. It was an uneventful night, thousands of stars sparkling above, and just a couple of ships on the horizon - we motored on till dawn, the seas started to flatten but there was now no wind at all, we pulled into the harbour of Mahon mid afternoon, anchored in the very protected and flat water anchorage at Cala Taulera , welcomed ourselves to Spain, and in true Spanish fashion we had an afternoon siesta!

a small 'cala' under heavy cloud cover

This anchorage is rather an unusual spot, it is the only place in Mahon harbour where cruising boats our size are permitted to anchor without charge, but it is very remote. There is nothing ashore except for an impressive old walled fort high up on the headland, no signs of life in any direction and this is the capital of Menorca! We spent our first couple of days in Mahon doing boat jobs. We had broken several slugs that attach the mainsail to the mast on our passage south and only had three spares, we had also developed quite a vibration in our propeller and on close underwater inspection Mark discovered that our prop anode had come loose and needed replacing. We also needed to do the dreaded "dongle" for internet access, another country - another provider - all in another language! So we headed up the harbour in the dinghy, its a long way - we really should have commissioned the 8hp outboard for the job but ole faithful 2.5 Mary Mariner took a while to get there but she made it in the end, it's the longest dinghy trip ever but in sheltered enclosed harbour waters it was ok. We hit town with a list and after a fair amount of leg work successfully purchased everything for a busy day of maintenance the following day.

We got the chores out of the way, 5 broken slugs removed and new ones sewn in was my major task, while Mark changed the anode, normally about a 15 minutes job for him underwater. Except this time our new Maxprop anode (made in Spain, not Canada as our previous ones) just did not quite align properly. 90 minutes later, exhausted from all the deep breaths and purple from being in the water so long, he admitted defeat for the day and reattached the old one, deciding it was better to leave it than force the screws into the threads in the prop. The next morning he decided to drill bigger holes in the anode, and after two more attempts to fit it finally got it seated and screwed in - maybe having a dive tank or hooker onboard would really be a good idea!! For those of you totally unfamiliar with anodes (99.9% I imagine) they are pieces of zinc, made into different shapes and sizes for attaching to different boat body parts. Zinc is one of the softest metals and their purpose is sacrificial - to be "eaten" by any electrolysis in the water, then the metal bits we need on the boat don't get eaten, so they need changing regularly. (Any zinc experts out there will think this is a very basic explanation but that's what I understand them to be for).

our first tapas - we might put on weight!

Mahon is quite a small place, there is a long waterfront full to the brim with all manner of boats, from small local fishing boats, yachts and runabouts, large motor cruisers, inter-island ferries to cruise ships and naval vessels. This is a very large protected harbour with a long maritime history - everyone that ever invaded anywhere else in the Med had certainly been to Mahon too, and left their mark!!! The old town is set above the harbour, accessed by a fair amount of steps. It wasn't quite as cute as many of the old towns have been, but it was well laid out, had some attractive old buildings, a reasonable fish, meat and produce market inaugurated in 1927 and set in the old cloister of Sant Francesc church. Although quite touristy the big hotels are out at all the beaches so it still retained the feeling of a functional working town.

With most of the jobs out of the way, and some rather inclement weather around, we stayed a few more days. Although the weather had warmed up again we were getting nasty big black clouds, every day, a heavy downpour of rain in each one but generally very little wind. One day we hired a car and 'did' Menorca. It's not a very big island so we saw most of it. We travelled north up to the port of Fornells, a pleasant sleepy little place with just a few tourists around, ruins of an old fort, a watchtower on the headland and a good stop for morning coffee. We have moved on from our Cafe lattes in Italy to Cafe au lait in France, now it is Cafe con leche in Spain - and we have learnt very quickly to ask for grande ones! Next we headed inland to the highest point El Toro, at only 357m it wasn't too remarkable and somewhat spoiled but all the communications equipment up there but I guess they have to put it somewhere. There was a small monastery and chapel and a good view but the clouds were closing in, it looked like rain may well spoil our afternoon.

from La Mola looking into the anchorage

Back down onto the main road we headed west to the picturesque port town of Citudella. With a very narrow but long harbour, large open plazas, tiny alleys set in maze like fashion, grand old stone buildings, a mosque from the 1300's, an even older cathedral. Then there's an obelisk built in the 1500's in commemoration of the year 1558 when the Turks sacked the city - Citudella certainly has a real blend of architecture and history. We enjoyed a Menorcan lunch, sitting outside in a tiny lane and soaked all the surroundings in. Unfortunately there is no real anchorage here so we wouldn't be able to return and have more time to explore.

The rain had started, but we tried not to let it stop play! We called into Navetta des Tudons one of the oldest structures on the European continent, it had closed at 3pm - sadly we were saved from getting wet in the name of history!!! We carried on and took a couple of side roads down to 'calas' on the south coast. A cala is a bay or indentation in the coastline and the Balearics have hundreds of them, most very tiny and many have steep to cliffs, the larger ones have high rise hotels and buoyed off swimming areas, greatly reducing the anchoring possibilities for us yachties. We looked at the swell coming in, the few yachts at anchor rolling from gunnell to gunnell - maybe we will head around the north coast instead! The rain continued so we headed back to Mahon, dropped off the car then had a very wet walk to the dinghy and an even wetter dinghy ride back to Balvenie.

Cruising info for Mahon, Balearic Islands:-
Anchorage - Cala Taulera, Mahon    39 52.695N   04 18.487E   4.8m mud.  The guide book suggests this anchorage could hold up to 30 boats we thought maybe 15 would be tight.  All round cover, could get a little swell in strong southerlies
Communications - Phones: Both GYMSIM and Vodafone Malta on Roaming switched over to Spanish Movistar without any problem.  Internet Dongle:  We found a phone shop a couple of doors before the Tourist Information Centre on the waterfront close by the Ferry/Cruise Ship terminal.  The one staff member was helpful, spoke perfect English (as did everyone in Menorca) but was extremely busy.  She took all our details (need photo ID) and asked us to come back in 30 minutes, we did then waited over 30 more, then couldn't use until she phoned us much later in the day confirming it had been processed.  We purchased a Vodafone sim and 1GB credit that stays live for 3 months (works Balearics, Spain and Canaries), total cost was 85E think sim was 25E and 1GB 60E. (Update from 05 May 2011, if Sim not kept active either with credit on it or topped up it expires after 6 months, I know cos I've just bought a new one!!!, currently 15€ for sim, still 60€ for 1GB but €12 discount)  - I couldn't get it to work in my NZ Vodafone Dongle but it works in my Italian Wind Dongle.  Baracca reports the Vodafone data sim does not work in Italian TIM dongles.  Signal in Cala Taulera was very poor but has been excellent elsewhere. 
Ashore - We took our dinghy nearby to the AGIP fueldock which is just left of the new marina. Diesel was 1.16E p/l.  There is a small supermarket right there also.  Follow waterfront road around to car hire on left, then phone shop, tourist office on right (15min walk) then there are stairs opposite up to old town.  Binipreu supermarket is underground in central market place by the church.  Plenty ATM's. English newspapers.
Sightseeing - Hired car from Autos Mahon Rent phone +34 971 36 56 66 Renault Megane 40E day, there was a smaller cheaper one but not available.  Used 10E petrol or the day.  
Formalities - none