Grounded in Menorca

 

Writing the blog with Ione out of action and awaiting repair in Menorca is somewhat depressing, however for the record:

 

After leaving Ione in Valencia for 4 weeks, we returned on Sunday, 23^rd June delighted to be back in the Mediterranean sunshine.

 

 

The first couple of days were spent doing the usual domestic chores, provisioning etc. Tony also tried out for the first time our new ‘Sea Breathe’ diving equipment. This consists of a 12v air pump connected by 20 metres of hose to a diver’s mouthpiece allowing one to dive to depths of up to 5 metres. The marina water was less than crystal clear but inspection showed that we had not garnered the growth of barnacles which plagued us in Valencia last year.

 

 

We also spent a day cleaning the teak decks with AGlaze. This is a two part cleaner recommended after tests by Yachting Monthly. Rubbing in the first solution deep cleans the wood then the second solution neutralises the first and restores the colour. We were delighted with the outcome. It did what it said on the bottles and restored the decks to their condition 4 years ago.

 

By Wednesday we were ready to leave for Mallorca. A delightful passage of 24 hours. The SSE wind of 11 knots gave us a reach until sunset when it died completely but then at dawn a new breeze came in from the NNW giving us a good sail to Soller arriving at noon.

 

The next day we motored the short distance to the beautiful anchorage in Cala Tuent where we were able to enjoy our first swims and listen to Wimbledon on the iPad.

 

We spent one night only in Cala Tuent before heading for Menorca. Leaving at dawn we had 4 hours under engine before the wind built giving us a superb sail of 7 hours, seeing dolphins en route, to Cala de Talé on the SW coast of Menorca.

 

 

Cal de Talé is one of our favourite spots. The beach can only be reached on foot or by sea, there are no beach bars so it is always peaceful.

 

 

And by night it is deserted with usually no more than one other boat at anchor.

 

 

After 48 hours relaxing at anchor we headed into Ciudadela.

 

 

Since we were last in Ciudadela in 2000, a new ferry port has been built outside the town and the ferries no longer come up to the head of the cala. The old ferry terminal has now been converted into a Ports IB marina with finger pontoons and it is only a short walk into the centre of this attractive town.

 

There we met cousins Dennis and Dereka Boas. Dennis has lived on the island for over 45 years. Having run a yachting service business for several years there is little that he does not know about the island, the waters around as well, it would seem, as most of the inhabitants.

 

 

Dennis and Dereka were with us for two nights and on the first we sailed to anchor in Cala Alguyrens on the north of the island.

 

 

However on the second day, Wednesday 3^rd July, disaster struck. We sailed from Cala Alguyrens towards a cala on the south of the island. We passed Cap d’Artrutx on the SW corner at 1650 and were sailing close hauled along the coast in SSE 8 knots of wind at about 5 knots when at 1705 we came to a shuddering halt. There was a rock, immediately under us about 1.5 metres under water. Position 39°55.27N 003°50.60E, not shown on the Navionics Platinum chart. Indeed the plotter showed 10 metres here.

 

The impact was violent – Dereka was thrown forward and cracked her cheekbone on the wheel, Dennis cut his forearm on the hatch. After the immediate shock of the crunch we put the mark shown above on the chart and checked for any leaks. Luckily we found none. A day charter ketch stood by us for a while to check we were safe – he later told us that boats had been sunk from hitting this rock.

 

We obviously needed to check the damage more thoroughly, so motored on a couple of miles to anchor in the clear water of Cala de Talé and swim under the boat. This revealed a dent – bigger than a fist – in the front of the keel at the very bottom and some crazing in the antifouling at the junction of the stub keel and the lead bulb. Obviously a more thorough inspection would be needed so we motored gently back to Ciudadela.

 

Then followed several frustrating days. We contacted our insurers to arrange for a surveyor to inspect the boat. We arranged for the local yard to lift us when needed. Here Dennis came up trumps. The Ciudadela yard, Llomparts, is owned by a very old friend of his and Dennis had put a lot of work their way many years ago so they promised to lift us at a moment’s notice when needed.

 

Unfortunately the surveyor was away on the mainland and so could not see us until the following Thursday, eight days after the accident. However on the positive side he lives on the island and so can visit the boat whilst under repair. He is also a good friend of Dennis’ sons! Also on the positive side we were able to get away from Ione for a couple of days to stay with Dennis & Dereka and take the opportunity to listen to him playing the piano over a meal at Wey’s Chinese & Japanese restaurant on the waterfront in Mahon.

 

 

The survey showed the bad news with cracking on the inside of the hull around the stringers.

 

 

And, on lifting, the extent of the damage to the lead bulb of the keel was revealed.

 

 

 

Internally the cooker had also been forced forward, putting a crack in the corian and woodwork of the galley. Sadly we recognised that major repairs would be needed and that we would be out of action for probably a couple of months.

 

We went back for a night with Dennis & Dereka before returning to Ione on Friday for a long discussion with the Llomparts, father and son. This was encouraging – old Jaime Llomparts has nearly finished building a wooden 6.5 metre boat with traditional materials. The craftsmanship is superb and he clearly knows and loves wood, so we are hopeful that a good job can be done. We spent the rest of the day clearing the main cabin, moving everything into the stern cabin and forepeak, so that the dismantling and fibreglass grinding can begin.

 

 

We returned home on Saturday 13^th and are awaiting developments. The next stage is for the surveyor to prepare is report, for the yard to prepare estimates of cost and for these to be submitted to insurers for approval. The surveyor has yet to decide whether the keel needs to be removed. This is not simple as the keel bolts are under one water tank which in turn is glassed into the hull and this would also require unstopping of the mast with complicated disconnection of the electrical wiring. He will be trying to inspect the keel bolts with an endoscope type instrument next week.

 

So here we are at home and grounded! Our plans to head to Sicily for the winter will obviously not happen but we are hoping that everything can be sorted and repaired so that we can get back to Ione and be sailing again in a couple of months.

 

Best wishes and fair winds to all.

 

Tony & Sarah

 

Winchester – 19 July 2013.