140613

39:43.033N 4:18.214E

Friday 14.06.13

Menorca ( Cala Macarella), Balearics to Sardinia (Alghero), Italy ( 224 nm)

Crew: Frank & Jackie

Weather: Fine and sunny; no cloud; Visbility: Good Light SE winds up to 10kts;   

Distance: 212nm ETA: 16:00 Saturday 15.6 based on average speed of 7kts

Water: 800L Fuel: ¾ full ( say 450L)

10:00 39:56.166N 3:56.229E Cala Macarella: Left Cala Macarella,anchorage and headed around corner to try to pick up wifi in Cala Galdana without success. Departed to follow coast of southern Menorca for 20 nm before setting a course of 78 degrees for Alghero some 224nm to the NE. With light airs necessary to motor sail at 2,000 rpm giving a SOG of 8 kn.

16:30 39:55.35N 4:46.88E Wind E 5kn (T) SOG: 7.7kn ETA 13:30 Sat.

20:00 40:03.123N 5:20.426E Motor sailing very close to wind. Wind: E 5.5kn SOG: 7.9 – 8kts DTG: 139nm ETA 13:30 Sat. As the sun drops toward the horizon bringing to a close what has been a glorious day, J prepares a light dinner in the form of a tasty salad.

21:00 40:05.529N 5:32E. J takes 9 – 12 watch;

23:00 40:09.49N 05:50.04 E Light easterly airs, sea calm with swell from N. Barometer down 2 hp since yesterday to 1030. Furled genoa as not pulling anymore.

Saturday 15.06.

00:00 40:11.403N 5:59.142E : FN Watch On engine – RPM 2,000 with small amount of main out to steady boat. Wind: E 3.5 – 4 kn (T) SOG: 7.6kn DTG.107 nm. J advised nothing to report from her watch. Seen nothing visually or on radar.

Had cuppa J had made before turning in.

VHF radio traffic: S/Y Spring Dawn called up tanker vessel MV Aegean Blue (passing 20nm ahead of us on a COG of 308 degrees) to advise they were 7nm off Aegean Blue’s port bow and what was intention of Aegean Blue? Should he, Spring Dawn alter course or was Aegean Blue going to alter course? Latter advised if there needed to be a course change he would make it.

Called up S/YSpring Dawn and chatted on VHF channel 72. He advised Aegean Blue had altered course for them. Like us they are on passage to Alghero with an ETA of around 14:00 hrs.

02:00 40:14.127N 6:18.5E All present boat data as midnight entry apart from position plus DTG now 93nm and ETA 14:30. Nothing happening on this watch which makes for boredom and tiredness enhancement. These past two hours have really dragged.

03:00 40:14,95N 6:28.52E J’s Watch. Speed dropped to 7.2kn whilst wind speed slightly increased.

06:00. Beautiful morning and sunrise. Just 1 kt of wind, the pale blue sea separated from the sky by a pale pink horizon, is like glass broken only by thousands of sails of the velella velella cnidaria (not a jelly fish as we learn later and not a dangerous Portuguese man o’ war cnidaria as we feared).The sunrise which J and I witness together with our coffee was truly magnificent with the sun a strong orange red. We pass a lone yacht to our port, headed in the opposite direction.

J on watch at 09:00h as F hits the sack in the darkened aft cabin.

10:45 40:26.21N 07:39.57E Glorious morning in spite of the missing wind. Spotted a turtle probably feeding on the many velella velella. No dolphins or fin whales in spite of ideal conditions to spot them.

13:15 40:31.51N 8:04.51E Darnn! Missed taking the noon position. Now just 10.4 nm to our waypoint set for Alghero. Still a beautiful day. Had a lovely salad lunch in the cockpit. Not too hot today so very pleasant as J reads out about the economic, political and historic aspects of Sardinia.

15:00 40:33.659N 8:18.682E FWE. Arrived Alghero, Sardinia;. Berthed in Marina Aquatica. Passage time 28 hrs. We had arrived in the outer harbour at the same time as Spring Dawn with whom I had chatted on radio the night before, which was accompanied by another Amel SM2000 – a ‘red’ one called. They both chose to anchor off the harbour outer wall.

Checked in at marina office; nightly rate; 63 €. Took walk ashore. Clearly a lot of history in this most attractive old town with its fortifications protecting the harbour together with San Giacomo’s statue overlooking Bootlegger. Many historic buildings and narrow cobbled streets.

San Giacomo	Fortification of Alghero	View from the wall

After a walk around the old town we finally had Jackie’s birthday dinner at the Miramar restaurant which looks out on the sea from the wall fortifications with their massive cannon ball catapults and coastline beyond. A great place to view the sun set behind the distant hills. The restaurant was recommended to us by an elderly lady we found sitting on a bench near the marina. She had told J she was an artist and that she was off to Dublin in September as part of an exchange programme. Dublin artists had recently been to Alghero.  

Ideal place for a catapult and...	...to watch the sunset