A problem in Menorca and another in Mallorca

Cala Teulara

With a small window of easterly winds forecast before the next Mistral made its way down from the Gulf of Lion we set off on the 200 mile passage to Menorca. Having experienced non stop strong winds in Sardinia it was typical that we ended up having to motor sail most of the way. We dropped anchor before dawn in the very crowded Cala Teulara, just outside Mahon, planning to move to a better spot in daylight and after the morning exodus. As we were about to re-anchor it was suddenly apparent that the boat was stuck in forward gear! A quick turnaround confirmed our worst fears - we were not

Mahon harbour

able to put the boat in neutral or reverse, the gearbox cable had clearly snapped. A quick thinking captain managed to control the boat by turning the engine on and off. The anchor went down but we were unable to bed it in. Fingers crossed that we didn't drag or another yacht drag onto us. Instead of catching up on sleep we spent the rest of the day clearing out the back cabin and freeing the broken cable. We even had a visit from the Mahon Port Authority telling us, and the other yachts at anchor, that the anchorage was now forbidden and only to be used if all marina berths were full. How times have changed since we were last here in 2005. Of course we now had the perfect excuse - we couldn't move! The next morning we went on a long

Mahon

dinghy ride into Mahon with the broken cable and thankfully Pedro's Boat Yard came to the rescue. With a promise of a visit to the anchorage the following morning we went off in search of a Spanish telephone sim and data card followed by a well earned drink. We just had to survive one more windy night without an engine... Luis from Pedro's was a star. He turned up as promised the following morning and within an hour the new cable was fitted. We just had the mammoth task of putting the boat back together again.

Cala Teulara

At anchor in Cala Grau

Cala Grau

Old fisherman's cottage, Es Grau

Despite the overcast weather we were happy to be on the move again and our next stop was Cala Grau, a few miles up the coast. Our brand new cruising pilot was already out of date. Instead of a large free anchorage, mooring bouys were now in place in the bay. We still managed to find a nice spot a little further out. We went ashore to have a mooch around this once small fishing village. It is now mainly freshly whitewashed holiday homes with a smattering of bars and restaurants. The beach is part of the S'Albufera des Grau nature reserve and therefore protected from overdevelopment.

Sunset from Cala Grau

Cala Fornells

Fornells, The calm before...

...the storm

Fornells harbour

Fornells

Fornells

Fornells

The next day we continued north to Cala Fornells, a large, inland area of water some two miles long, so lots of anchoring space. As usual the mooring bouys had sprouted everywhere but we found a quiet spot away from everyone and enjoyed the wonderful views of the unspoilt pine forests. It didn't last for long. We were approached by a red RIB and a moorings warden politely told us we were anchored in a Poseidonia (sea grass) area and had to move to the centre of the bay. We'd only been in Spain a week and had been told off twice! We duly did what we were told and stayed put for a few days as a Mistral blew in from the north. While the wind howled, with nothing better to do than peer through the binoculars the beedy eyed captain spotted a yacht in the distance beam to the wind and heading for shore. Its anchor was clearly dragging. We called the nearby Club Nautico. "We can't do anything" was the reply and suggested we tried the harbour. "Not our zone" was the reply but thankfully they said they would contact the moorings warden. By now

Fornells

the yacht was clearly aground. Finally we watched the red RIB race to the rescue and tow the yacht to safety. The wind eventually abated and we launched the dinghy for a trip ashore. Fornells is a pretty whitewashed fishing village with a picturesque harbour filled with Ilauts, the traditional Minorcan fishing craft, used for catching lobsters. The summer brings lots of tourists to Fornells and it is also well known for its restaurants serving caldereta de langosta - a delicious lobster stew. We walked to the defence tower which afforded magnificent views back down across the bay.

Leaving Cala Fornells at dawn

Ciutadella harbour

Ciutadella harbour

Ciutadella cathedral

Former 17th century palace, now Ciutadella town hall

With the weather calm again we took a bus across the island to Ciutadella. We enjoyed being inland for a change crossing the undulating Menorcan countryside which is surprisingly undeveloped. Ciutadella is an attractive town and used to be the capital of Menorca until the British arrived in the early 18th century. We had a lovely lunch in the picturesque port before exploring the beautiful historic centre.

Ciutadella old town

Ciutadella old town

The entrance to Ciutadella old town

Cala Santa Ponsa

With friends due to meet us in Ibiza we needed to keep moving. Our next stop was Mallorca. With diesel and water running low we had a pleasant day sail across to Pollenca where we were able to fill up with both. We set off again early the following morning for the long passage along the dramatic west coast of Mallorca. We had explored a lot of the island ten years ago so decided to continue on south to Santa Ponsa. We dropped anchor in a quiet bay close by and enjoyed a refreshing swim. The next day we limped into Cala Santa Ponsa with yet another problem. The starter motor had started to make a depressing clunk, clunk noise instead of roaring the engine into life. It finally started but clearly needed to be fixed. We dropped anchor in the sheltered but busy bay, leapt into the dinghy and went in search of some help. Once in the boatyard adjacent to the marina, despite being a Friday, we soon discovered

Santa Ponsa beach and anchorage

everything was shut as it was a public holiday. It was clear that nothing was going to happen until Monday so we decided to relax over the weekend. We contacted old friends, Mandy and Gra, whom we'd first met when we wintered in Palma twelve years ago and spent a lovely Sunday catching up with them. The conversation soon reverted back to our problems. Gra very kindly offered to bench test our starter motor and helped remove the offending piece of machinery. So, for the second time this summer we were left at anchor without the use of our engine! Gra returned the following day unable to find any fault and of course the engine started first time....

Southern Sardinia

At anchor in Porto Giunco

The strong westerly winds were forecast to veer to the north giving us a small weather window for the 200 mile passage to the south eastern tip of Sardinia. We left Ponza before dawn and with the wind on the beam we had a fast but lumpy sail across the Tyrrhenian sea. We dropped anchor the following day in the crystal clear waters of the large sandy bay south of Villasimius. Perfect for catching up on our sleep. Just as predicted the winds turned westerly the next morning leaving us exposed and bouncing around with the increasing swell. We motored back around Capo Carbonara and dropped anchor in Porto Giunco another beautiful bay the other side of the headland. At least we had a couple of days this time before the winds changed again and we were able to explore ashore and say hello to the pink flamingos living in the large lagoon behind the beach.

                                                           Porto Malfatano

Cagliari

Sardinia is beautiful but my goodness the wind does blow here. Since arriving we have experienced daily winds of between 15 and 30 knots causing the boat to constantly swirl around as it is buffetted every which way. Not a relaxing way to spend our time at anchor! We continued west and on round to Cagliari, Sardinia's capital. We anchored off Poetto beach, one of the longest stretches of sand in Italy. The wind was howling here too and the next morning with more than 30 knots blowing we ventured into Cagliari harbour. We had last been here twelve years ago and had found a free place to moor alongside an old wreck in the commercial port. This was long gone so we opted for the cheap and cheerful Marina del Sole for a couple of nights and some peace and quiet. We stocked up with food, diesel and cleared the laundry pile.

Porto Pino dunes

Porto Pino

With the winds predominantly coming from the west, the direction we were going, and picking up considerably in the afternoons, we were going to have to make some very early starts if we were going to make any progress at all. We continued along the rugged coastline and dropped the hook in picturesque Porto Malfatano. With the winds turning briefly easterly we continued west navigating around the danger zone of the Military and NATO firing range and up

Porto Pino

to the fabulous beach at Porto Pino. The incredible white dunes at the southern end of the beach lie in the no go military zone. We have read that they are only accessible in the summer months. A quick look with the binoculars showed people climbing them so we launched the dinghy and went to check out the towering 30 mt high sandy dunes ourselves.

Anchorage with old tuna factory, Sant'Antioco island

Tuna long boats, San Pietro island

Carloforte

Carloforte

Carloforte

Carloforte

We woke the next morning to winds of over 20 knots but this time from the south so we were able to sail the final leg round to the south western tip of Sardinia. From here we were going to have to wait patiently for favourable winds to help us on our way to the Balearic islands, our cruising spot for the summer months. We sheltered from the southerly winds on Sant'Antioco island, before crossing over to San Pietro island the next morning. By now we had discovered our salt water engine pump was leaking. We needed to get this fixed before our long passage to Menorca. We limped into Marina Sifredi in the delightful fishing port of Carloforte with its busy waterfront lined with palm trees. We had also stopped here twelve years ago and were happy to spend a few days reacquainting ourselves with this picturesque town. Unfortunately we just missed the island's annual tuna festival but there were still plenty of fabulous fish restaurants to try while waiting for favourable winds to send us on our way.

Carloforte

                                                            Colourful Carloforte