Mallorca to Menorca and onto Sardinia 20th --25th September 39:53.28N 004:16.59E
Tioram 4
Tina & Tony
Fri 24 Sep 2010 22:26
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At 10.30am on 20th September we slipped our warps from the
marina in Palma to head north around the east coast of Mallorca and to Porto
Colom. The weather was cloudy and some light drizzle and due to the light wind
and direction we were only able to motor sail ( engine plus large
mainsail).
We arrived in Porto Colom around 7pm and after several
attempts to anchor in a sand/ weed seabed we managed to hook in for a restful
night at anchor.
Porto Colom is a pretty cala surrounded by many individual
villas with a small beach and a marina.
We lifted anchor at 07.20 on 21st heading for Mahon,
Menorca. We watched the low sunrise and Porto Colom fall away behind us.
Unfortunately, we were motoring again in light 3 to 5 knots of wind on the nose.
After 43 nmiles we saw a brief glimpse of what appeared to be small pilot
whales approx 10ft long. Dolphins tend to be quicker to play and often
approach the boat and play around the bow. The larger, all black and
bulbous headed pilot whales which we have seen in the Caribbean and the med
have all tended to float in family groups on the surface of the water---
spurting high plumes of spray when breathing and splashing/nestling
together. We have needed to steer quickly around them, once near St Lucia
and another time off Malaga in the Med.
The sad fact is that we have only seen
one dolphin in the Med this year--- about an hour after seeing the
pilot whales en route to Menorca. The greatest number of dolphins and
whales we have seen has been on both Atlantic trips. The last whales
we saw were pilot whales off Malaga in June on our return to the
Med.
At 52 nmiles we motored through a channel between Menorca
and Isla del Aire in only 6 metres of water. The clarity and colour of the water
was not unlike the Caribbean turquoise.
A classic yacht called 'Mariette' approximately 100ft
long approached us from behind and passed us closely in the channel-- slowing
probably because of the shallow water. It passed gracefully under
motor-- with its blue British ensign dipping in the
water.
We continued into the natural harbour of Mahon and decided
to anchor just inside in a Cala called Taulera. The cala is not pretty and is
surrounded by fortress walls and a barren landscape and vegetation--
strangely not feeling Spanish. However, it is fantastically protected from wind
and swell and there are some times where you really just want an undisturbed
night at anchor--- so not pretty but restful. The next morning we went
onto deck and both agreed that if we were beamed down into the bay and asked
where we were we would have guessed somewhere in a Scottish loch--apart
from the warm temperature.
On the 22nd we moved into the lovely harbour of Mahon and
decided to go into a marina for one night to enjoy some time ashore and to pick
up fresh food for the 200 nmile trip to Sardinia. However the one
night stay has turned into three due to a low pressure system passing over
Menorca and through to Sardinia with some strong winds-- including the phenomena
of the Tramontana wind pushing down from France.
Our slightly longer stay has allowed us to
explore Mahon, the capital since 1722 and to also spend a day in
Ciutadella .
Mahon's seafront area is pretty with
many cafes, bars and restaurants--- together with numerous berths for yachts and
motor yachts. The town of Mahon is modern and developed but with a central
heart, old town and cathedral. In contrast Ciutadella (Ciudadela), the
historical capital is a delightful port on the west coast of the island.
The old centre has lovely cobbled narrow streets --not unlike the area around
the cathedral in Palma---- beautiful period architecture and tranquil squares
for local people and tourist cafes.
The island has a varied history. Menorca is strategically
placed in the Mediterranean and was colonised through the ages by
Phoenicians,Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Visigoths and
Moors. It has been successively occupied by Turkish, Spanish, British,
French.
In fact the commander of the French invasion in 1756 had
his chef make a sauce for the victory banquet and called it 'Mahon'--esa. The
sauce was based upon the Spanish garlic alioli sauce still served across Spain
today. The French version invented on the island has of course become the well
known Mayonnaise.
The island was returned to the Spanish by treaty in
1802.
The barren landscape and British
looking fortified walls and fortress surrounding the Cala Taulera where we
anchored ,obviously could tell a story of the history it has seen.
We intend to explore a little more tomorrow to find the
local distillery which produces Mahon 'gin'--- to be drunk at a later date
!!
Tomorrow afternoon the 25th will hopefully see us on our
way to Sardinia as the strong winds we have had are decreasing. There
appears to be a small window of opportunity to sail south east with the
northerly winds before they come around veering onto the nose. Hopefully we
should get into Sardinia in the early hours of Monday--- followed by a
couple of days rest and then push south to Sicily and Malta for our winter
berth.
We hope to see more of the beautiful bays of Menorca and
the other Balearic islands on our way west again next year. But for
now we can say that the islands are a real pleasure by boat and worth
seeing.
Love to all
Tina and Tony x x
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