The Balearics - Menorca

20th - 23th May 2022 - Port de Pollença

Our first day in Pollença was spent exploring the town and catching up with Tony and Miles. We’d made contact with Mark and Helen too and had arranged for them to come out to visit the boat for a cuppa the following morning.

During our meander around town we spied a dive shop. We’d always discussed having dive gear onboard. Not only was it fun to be able to go underwater exploring but useful to have the gear for cleaning the bottom of the boat or investigating a fouled anchor. On one of our previous charter holidays a friend of ours had caught their anchor on something and we had to call a diver out to untangle it. Luckily we managed to get a guy to come out the following morning but we were a 100 euros lighter. The thought of being somewhere remote and not being able to get hold of someone and having to just dump the chain and anchor was a bit of a worry so we thought it prudent to have the gear onboard. We didn’t really have an idea of how much it would all cost but after having a chat with Steve and Carol from Innamorata II, who were both keen divers, we had a new idea of what a fair price would be. We spoke to a lovely guy called Tim at Scuba Mallorca in one of the little side streets of the port who was very knowledgeable and agreed to put together a quote for us. We therefore retired to a bar to contemplate whether it was a good idea to do this now or not. I had recently sold my motorbike back home (sob) so the extra cash was there if we wanted to go ahead with it.

That evening we had a lovely meal with Tony and Miles. We didn’t only talk about our boats and who’d done what to them, there was some social chat too! Miles often contributes to our Lagoon UK owners WhatsApp group but it was great to exchange stories and make a new friend.

The next morning the wind had picked up and the bay was pretty choppy. Mark and Helen were due to come over for coffee. Their boat Kismet was on a mooring ball much closer in to the port. I messaged Mark to say that it was a bit lively out here but they were more than welcome to give it a go or we could meet later on. They opted to try but halfway into the journey, with Helen soaked through, they turned back. When it had calmed down and they had finally made it over to us, they explained that they had been in the bay for about a month and were using it as a base to explore the island. We’d last seen them in La Linea the previous year so it was great to catch up and exchange stories of how our crossings had been. Whilst they were there I received a message from Tony inviting us to a bbq on his boat. Miles had flown home and it would be a few days before his next crew arrived. He invited Mark and Helen too and I cheekily asked whether there was room for Lucy and Jig if we all brought something along. He replied with ‘the more the merrier’ so we had quite the gathering that evening on GM2. Jig even went back to collect Darcy from their boat Falkor. She had been looking pretty forlorn left on the boat on her own so after a few moments of excitement saying hello to everyone, she settled down and sat next to Lucy. She really is a well behaved dog!

The following day we were off bright and early. We had hired a car to do a bit of exploring but also we had ordered some tape reels for the boat which were being delivered to our boat broker’s office in Palma. It is a common thing in the Med to anchor out but reverse the boat towards the shore and attach a long line on either side of the boat to a rock or tree. It allows more boats to get in an anchorage as you don’t swing about. If the anchorage is narrow where there isn’t really room to swing at all it is also a great solution. We had done this quite a bit on charter but the long rope usually got tangled in an almighty mess in the locker so we opted for a flat webbing that was on a reel for easy deployment and retrieval. I thought I’d have another go at getting a SodaStream too. On our way to Palma we took the scenic drive down to Sa Calobra. We’d obviously seen it from the sea but Carl had said the drive was spectacular too with its switchbacks all the way down. It really was.

Whilst in Palma we also chose to go and get another quote for dive equipment. Scuba Mallorca had got back to us and said they could order everything in except for the dive tanks. It turns out that Tim’s quote was very reasonable so we picked up 4 dive tanks in Palma and gave him the go ahead to order in the gear in Pollença. Around this time we got a bit of a worrying message from Lucy saying that the wind had picked up in the bay. She was seeing 26kn. We were two hours drive away. She told us that Rockhopper hadn’t moved but they were keeping an eye on it for us. Tony was onboard GM2 and he also confirmed we were ok, so whilst a tad uneasy, there was nothing we could do about it. By the time we got back to Pollença the wind had died down and all was calm. Thank goodness as we had four dive tanks to load onto a dinghy and get onboard!

24th - 27th May 2022 - Still in Port de Pollença

Tony was picking up his new crew mates, Charlie and Martin, and was keen to get off round to Andratx but the weather was just not playing ball. We had seen 20-25kn in the anchorage every afternoon that week but outside the swell was pretty large. At least the bay was protected from the swell and the holding was good. But that night, no one got any sleep. The wind picked up to over 30kn and there was lightning and thunder directly overhead. It absolutely hoofed it down as well. For the first time since getting the boat, we took the precaution of placing our laptops, iPads and phones in to the microwave in the hope that it would act as a Faraday cage. It’s never a good idea to be in a lightning storm attached to something that is effectively a lightning rod…aka our mast! One strike can take out all of the electronics on the boat, including the engine starter electronics and, worse case, blow a hole in the boat, as the charge escapes to ground. It is a little bit scary to be honest. That little game we used to play - counting the seconds between the lightning flash and when the thunder rolls equalling the number of miles it was away - took on a bit more of a sinister feeling. We were also on anchor watch again, not only concerned about whether we were dragging but if any other boats around us were. If we started to drag in the direction of GM2 it would be less than a minute before we hit it. There was also this little dilapidated boat anchored on the other side of us that looked like it been abandoned so there was a lot going on. At around 4am, I messaged Lucy, knowing full well they would be awake. ‘Having fun?’ She replied straightaway with ‘No fun being had over here at all!!’ Turns out their iPads were in the oven too.

The next morning the lightning had moved away without incident but the rain and wind was still there. I messaged Tony to see if all was ok on GM2. He told us that one of his new crew members had brought a litre bottle of rum as a gift for him and had proceeded to drink it all himself. He had then passed out leaving the hatch overhead open and the blind pulled over so it was sagging under the weight of all the rain water that had come down. Not to mention everything being wet. How he slept through that I will never know. Must have been good rum. He almost kicked him off the boat that morning. Apart from that, all was good. We were all just a bit sleepy but then we weren’t going anywhere with the wind still howling so it was a snoozy day.

The weather was finally starting to ease up out there and, after one last dinner out with Tony, Charlie and Martin, and Lucy and Jig, we waved goodbye to GM2 as they opted to get as far as Soller that day. Tony said it was a bit confused and lumpy out there but at least they were making progress. The crew of Rockhopper and Falkor opted to wait it out one more day before making the crossing to Menorca. We wanted the swell to die down a bit and our dive gear had just turned up so we needed to go collect it. Very exciting!

28th May 2022 - Port de Pollença - Cala Santandria, Menorca (35.6 nautical miles)

We left Pollença at 8:30am the next morning, shortly after Falkor. After all that wind it would be fairly light for our actual crossing so we rigged the Code 0 again. Within the first couple of hours the wind had filled in enough to sail on the Code 0 and the main. It was fairly frustrating at the start as it swirled from SE to WNW and finally to NW which meant a fair bit of gybing. A bit more of a pain with the code 0 as it needs to be fully furled, then the main gybed, then unfurled on the other side. Once the wind direction settled down though, we had a lovely sail with 6kn SOG in 13kn of wind. We were also visited by a huge dolphin. Many dolphins in fact but I won't bore you with all of the videos we took...just one:

Lucy took some lovely photos of us as we sailed past. It's always lovely to buddy boat with someone. As we approached Menorca the wind eased off and the starboard engine came on. We had opted to anchor in Cala Santandria which was not too far away from the beautiful town of Cuitadella. We’d be able to dinghy round to it for a wander. As we approached Santandria it wasn’t immediately obvious where the entrance to the anchorage was. We had obviously consulted our trusty Navily app and seen that it was a narrow anchorage and we might need to take a line ashore. A first outing for our new tape reels which Carl had mounted to the side rails of the boat. Didn’t think we would be using them that soon but there you go. As we came into this crystal clear water we were in luck, there were no other boats there. Although another cat was on its way in. Previously when we took lines ashore, I would jump in and swim to the shore with one line in my hand and tie it off. We had found that taking a dinghy in wasn’t always easier as it bobs about around sharp rocks and you end up trying to manage the dinghy whilst also tying the line round something. A decent pair of water shoes is really all you need if the water is warm enough to swim. However, when we looked at the surface we would be tying to hear it was a sheer rock with some holes half way up it. Swimming to it would not have worked so it was definitely a dinghy job. We dropped the anchor in 4m and whilst I made sure we didn’t hit the other catamaran that refused to wait for us to sort ourselves out, Carl lowered the dinghy and took the lines ashore to try and find somewhere to tie us on to. Our first long line ashore was a success. Unfortunately as we were sorting all of that out, Falkor had come round the corner, took one look at our faffing and decided long-lining it was not for them. They opted for another anchorage a bit further away. In fairness to them , they had not done it before and deploying their dinghy which was up on deck was not really that easy whilst the boat was bobbing about. It had been a long hot day and Carl was just about to hop in the water when we saw our first jelly fish. Then another, then another. They were everywhere and, after a bit of research, we found out that they were highly stingy. Brilliant. We hoped the following morning they would bugger off.

For the most part, they did. Enough to have a swim, keeping an eye out. We had decided to spend the day around Santandria and then head into Cuitadella that afternoon for a wander and then dinner. Good job we did stay by the boat. As early morning turned to mid morning, the bay filled with day tripper boats. They were everywhere. And considering the bay was fairly narrow they did not want to bother with taking a line ashore. They simply dropped the anchor and barely enough chain to reach the bottom and then kept an eye out. If their boat drifted a bit too close to another they would just start the engines, lift the anchor and move a bit. We had to get fenders out a couple of times as a few boats came pretty close to us. As we sat on the bow with a beer I watched as this little speed boat with a couple having a snooze on it started to drift across. It had moved at least 30m before coming to rest about 15m from our boat but directly in front of us. They were blissfully unaware of this. We figured their anchor had got stuck on our anchor chain which is why they had stopped moving. I donned my mask and snorkel to go have a look and sure enough they had laid just enough chain for their anchor to reach the seabed and it had therefore dragged across and was stuck on our chain. At this point they had woken up and I tried to explain but they did not speak any English at all. With me in the water, trying to dodge the jelly fish, the guy started the engine and then started to yank his anchor up, lifting our chain in the process. We were concerned he would unset our anchor and us, attached to the wall would drift backwards. I told him to stop lifting it and move the boat backwards so as to disentangle his anchor. He then started to wildly rev the engine moving the boat all over the place to the point that Carl yelled at me to get out of the water as he might run me over. I moved back towards our boat but then yelled at him to stop and slowly move his boat back. Of course yelling in English to a non-English person is more understandable to them than just speaking it. He eventually got it and when I could see his anchor free itself I then motioned to him to raise the anchor. With the woman just sitting there he moved to the front to lift it but then the boat drifted back over and trapped the anchor again. This went on for a bit before she finally realised that she needed to help him. Once they were freed they sheepishly scarpered.

After the days excitement things started to calm down. One thing that didn’t calm down was our long line of tape to the rock. It seems that if the wind picked up the tape would started to whip up and down making a ‘whup whup whup’ sound. We’d twisted it round on itself to try and stop it but it didn’t seem to make much difference. So…pros of having a tape reel over a long line: lightweight and dead easy to furl and unfurl; cons: prone to wobble and bloody noisy! Carl tied our pilfered small fender (the one we found in the Hamble the previous year) to the line to dampen it down. It seemed to work well. We finally felt comfortable enough to leave the boat and take the dinghy ride to Cuitadella. Apart from a bit of a swell as we came out of our little bay we followed the river all the way up, past the marina with boats on either side and up into the old town. We tied up our dinghy along what looked to be a free dock just past a bridge. Another lovely old port city with narrow streets and beautiful buildings. We decided to have dinner down by the river that evening before heading back to the boat. Whilst we were waiting for our drinks to arrive we noticed that the couple sitting just behind us were the two on the boat who’d caught our anchor. They were studiously attempting to not catch our eye.

30th May 2022 - Cala Santandria - Cala de Algaiarens (13.6 nautical miles)

The next morning as we were having our cup of tea we noticed that the small fender was gone. Either the knot had come loose or someone had decided that they could provide a better home for it than we could. Ah well, its time with Rockhopper was short. Luckily there wasn’t too much wind so getting the long lines off the rocks could be done at a reasonably sedate pace without the boat swinging about too much. Falkor had decided to head along the south coast whereas we had opted to head out round the west side of the island and up onto the north coast. We left at 9:30am with about 10kns of wind with enough of an angle for us to have full main and jib up and achieve around 5kn SOG. It was a lovely sail along the coast and by 1pm we were heading into our anchorage for the night. It was a large bay with a beautiful long sandy beach and plenty of space for us. We anchored in 2.7m of sand. Once settled we looked around and saw that one of the boats in the bay was Toodle-Oo! We hadn’t seen them since Soller. They weren’t onboard so we opted to have a swim and catch up with them later. It wouldn’t take long though, as we sat down to have some lunch we saw a dinghy in the distance making a beeline for us. We caught up over a few G&Ts that evening with them. They were leaving their boat in Mallorca in June to attend a wedding back home so didn’t want to venture too far away but thought they’d see a bit of Menorca beforehand. We would be heading on the next day as our goal was to get to Mahon by Thursday as our friends were flying out to meet us for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee bank holiday weekend.

31st May 2022 - Cala de Algaiarens - Arenal d’en Castell (15.8 nautical miles)

The next morning we weighed anchor at 9:20am and motored the 15.8nm towards the bay of Arenal d’en Castell. It was a flat calm day so the sails stayed wrapped up. We came through a narrow entrance surrounded by rock into a beautiful sandy bay with large beaches either side and holiday accommodation. And swimmers…everywhere. After a bit of meandering around trying to find a good spot we anchored in 3.1m on the western side. That afternoon we walked up the steps to see what there was and found several really good restaurants, bars (including an Irish one) and some well stocked supermarkets. Since we had been moving pretty much every day for a while we made the decision to stay put and have our friends get a taxi to where we were rather than slog it round the Mahon. The island isn’t that big and we figured they might want to have a swim as soon as they got here. If we had met them in town they wouldn’t have been able to jump straight into the water. We could have a meal out here and provision for the weekend. The following day was spent going for a walk and loading up the fridge with breakfast and lunches for the next few days. Meg’s mum and dad, Malcolm and Mary, were flying out, along with their son George, and his girlfriend Amelia so we’d have a full boat. Meg inherited her chilled out vibes from her parents and George was just the same. They’d booked their flights the week before and in fact Malcolm and Mary hadn’t even figured out the return journey yet. We’d been on a skiing holiday with the Algars and always caught up with them when we were home. Malcolm has a Princess V50 motoryacht back home and was always inviting us out on trips to Ramsgate or Harwich. It was great to be able to return the favour and have them onboard for a while.

Thankfully their taxi from the airport knew where to come although kept asking them which hotel they were staying at. Eventually it was made clear that they just wanted to be dropped off at the beach. In true chilled style, George had done us a huge favour and brought with him our second paddle board. Not the smallest of luggage to bring but he just shrugged and said ‘sure, no problem’. We had not found a better deal than the Bluefin one that we bought in the UK so opted to get it delivered to them for them to bring out. Always a fee for coming on Rockhopper! As we surveyed the luggage and how we’d squeeze it all on the dinghy we opted to delay the ordeal and all sat down for a holiday beer to two. After a bit of a catchup we ferried our guests to the boat and swimming costumes were soon on and everyone was in the water. We had made the right choice to stay put. By 4pm every single one of them was asleep. Malcolm on the trampoline, George and Amelia on the coach roof sun pad, and Mary on a sugar scoop! After all, they had had a very early start that day.

We had a lovely dinner at a restaurant overlooking the bay that evening and agreed that we didn’t need to rush off the next morning as our next port of call was only 11 nm away. We opted to anchor between the main island of Menorca and Illa d’en Colom on the eastern side. Time to enjoy the water for a bit longer and pick up any last minute groceries before we weighed anchor.

3rd June 2022 - Arenal d’en Castell - Illa d’en Colom (11.5 nautical miles)

We set off at 12:10pm the next day with 6kn from the NNW. The forecast was about 15kn so we thought we’d get a nice sail round onto the eastern coastline. Well, 6kn picked up to over 30kn necessitating three reefs in the main and a second one in the jib. Not the gentle sail I’d hoped for with new guests onboard. The Algars loved it though. I guess they are used to bombing around at 25kn. We managed 9kn on the way which was pretty decent for us. Luckily as we came into the stretch between the two islands the anchorage was well sheltered. There were several day tripper boats heading in that direction too so we hoped there would be space for us. Tucked in to the most sheltered spot there were laid mooring balls with a few boats on them. There were several free but we opted to anchor a bit further away. The anchorage was quite busy and the seabed was mostly Posidonia so we had to hunt out a sandy patch to anchor. We found a spot and set the anchor down in sand but by the time we had laid out the chain the boat was over the weed. I dove in to go check it out. Remember the Balearics are touchy about damaging the Posidonia. I swam to the front of the boat and headed out to where the anchor was laid. It was dug in nicely in some sand but as I followed the chain back towards the boat it entered the weed just as it was raising towards the boat. When I got back to the boat I mentioned that we were dug in but pretty close to the weed. This was confirmed when we saw a guy come over on a rib to explain that we were too close to the Posidonia patch and had to move. He said we could pay for a mooring or head further in to the anchorage. He was very polite about it, more a conservationist rather than someone using the situation to gain some money. We looked up and the Menorcan day trip boats had all rafted together and were giving it large with music and dancing. Check out the video. It looked like fun. We’d have to try and find a spot near them. We raised the anchor and gingerly motored round, it was quite shallow in places. We eventually settled on a spot which was not quite as sheltered but it was well away from the area they were trying to protect. We anchored in 1.4m. As we had our post passage beers (in fairness we had started those earlier than that) Amelia attempted to assist Carl in increasing his tally for the number of fish caught on the boat. Bless her, she tried every bit of food we had on the boat as bait but to no avail.

After an hour or so the rafting party broke up and they all left. We all piled into the dinghy to head to the small town of Es Grau for a drink and some dinner. With six of us on board and a fair amount of chop it was a bit of a wet ride. At least it was light so we could see the shallow patches (shallow even for the dinghy) and the isolated outcrop of rocks that we had to navigate round to get there. Poor Amelia was sat on the bow and copped a big wave all over her back. She was soaked by the time we got to the dinghy dock. After a short walk around we settled on the only restaurant that was open and serving food. Nearing the end of the meal the dread of having to do the journey back in the dark loomed. With me and George at the front with a torch, we attempted to spot the rocky outcrop again so that we could navigate round it. A bit closer than we would have liked but we managed to get round and slowly work our way back through the shallows to the boat. Somehow when there are two of you its worrying but when there are more it just becomes a laugh.

4th June 2022 - Illa d’en Colom - Mahon (8.93 nautical miles)

It was time to head to Mahon. This was a place that Carl had wanted to go back to on his own boat for many years. In fact he told me he remembers walking along the promenade looking at the boats and thinking how he’d never be able to do that. This was way before he met me and way before he had even started to sail. It is funny how life twists and turns.

We left at 10:30am and motored the 9nm to the anchorage. Both Steve and Carol on Innamorata II, and Lucy and Jig on Falkor were there. Thinking back to why we didn’t head into the marina I guess were were still smarting from the Ibiza experience, perhaps we felt that the weather was fine so there was no need, or perhaps it was because Falkor and Innamorata II were there so it would be a nice opportunity to just say a quick hello given that Steve and Carol were skipping Sardinia and heading straight for Sicily soon so we wouldn’t see them for a while. Either way, as we made our way into the anchorage Steve gave us a call and told us that there was not much room in the anchorage but that a boat had just left and he would guide us in. Mahon is about two miles inland from the eastern coastline in one of the largest natural ports in the world. One of the only authorised places to anchor is in the small bay created between Illa del Llatzeret, a small island within the port, and the peninsula opposite a large fort, the Fortelesa d’ Isabel II. Cala Teulara is very shallow towards the beach and what looks like plenty of room for boats is in fact no deeper than half a metre. Steve had already watched a catamaran come hoofing in at speed and run aground with enough force to fling the lady on the bow onto her arse, so wanted to give us the heads up as to where was safe to anchor. He came out on the dinghy to meet us, tied up and hopped onboard. As we came round the corner we saw at least 20 boats crammed into the area and unfortunately where Steve had seen a boat leave, another one had repositioned themselves there. Since we only draw 1.26m we crept forward to see if there was enough depth for us to anchor just beyond them. It seemed ok so we dropped anchor but dropped back too shallow so opted to try again. We then settled in 2.5m which seemed ok. We didn’t dare put the bridle on the anchor chain as that would have dropped us back further so we used a small line and shackle that usually just holds the anchor in place on deck when underway. We just looped it through the chain and back to the cleat to take the strain off the anchor windlass. Over the next 20mins the boat swung round and our depth gauge was reading 1.4m under the keel. The sensor is at the front of the boat so Carl took our handheld depth gauge and measured at the back of the boat. It read 1.2m at the back. Errr. Since no-one (apart from me as usual) seemed bothered about it and we seemed to be floating, we eventually said a quick hello to Steve and Carol and Lucy and Jig and then piled everyone into the dinghy to ride the 25mins from the anchorage to the town of Mahon. Another beautiful historic town with lots to see and do. Whilst George and Amelia went to do some shopping we had a walk around and ended up having a cocktail looking out of the water.

Later on when we had all reconvened we had a lovely dinner at a seafood restaurant over the water. The dinghy ride back was again in the dark but we managed to find the narrow channel back towards the anchorage and our boat.

I very rarely sleep all the way through onboard. Not really an issue now that we don’t have to get up early to go to work. So at around 3am I was awake, lying there and listening to what sounded like a light scraping noise and a bit of a creak from the boat. None of it sounded right to me so I woke Carl up to inform him that I thought we were aground. We got up and sure enough our boat was not facing the same way as anyone else, it was not moving at all. Whilst there is not much of a tide in the Med it can drop by about 6 inches which is important when you are only about that above the seabed! We raised the anchor a bit to try and drag us off. It laboured quite a bit but then suddenly popped us off the mud and we could see the boat moving again. Oops. Rockhoppers first grounding. We’re told it happens to all serious cruisers…honestly. There are two types of sailor - those that have run aground and those that lie! There was just enough light to see that a few boats had left whilst we were away at dinner and there was a space a bit further out in deeper water. We opted to start the engines and re-anchor ourselves there. By this point we had woken Malcom and Mary up but they were not too bothered. We settled ourselves no problem in 4m of water and went back to bed. Luckily it was soft mud and there was space to move to. No harm done.

5th June 2022 - Mahon - Cala de Binibeca (8.9 nautical miles)

A bit of a slow start the next morning but after looking at the weather we decided to head to Binebeca, a lovely sandy beach with turquoise blue water on the south of the island. Falkor had been there the previous week and said it was lovely. Malcolm and Mary would be leaving the following day so we wanted to give them one last place to have a swim. We weighed anchor at 11:40am and sailed the 8.9nm round to the bay. There were a few boats there but looked to be room enough for us in the sandy section. Again, the seabed had Posidonia in the deeper sections so everyone was crowded into the sandy patches. We spotted one and anchored in 2.5m. Yet again, our anchor was in a nice sandy spot but the chain came up near the weed. As there was little choice we opted to stay and see if anyone came out to move us along. We had already seen this happen to someone else there but they seemed to be ignoring us. After a bit of a swim and some lunch we decided to head ashore. Mary and Amelia took the paddle boards across to the small dock and the rest of us opted to go in the dinghy. It was a bit choppy making it interesting for the ladies on the boards but we all arrived relatively dry. We found a bar to have a few beers in and a good old chat. Malcolm did his usual and had a snooze half way through. We decided that we would have a bbq on the boat that night and so us ladies took the paddle boards back to the boat and started the prep. We left the guys having a few more beers. An hour later I messaged Carl to say that we were prepped and ready to go for dinner. It was then that he realised that I had taken the kill-cord for the outboard on the dinghy. Without that bit of plastic locked in place the outboard won’t start. Ah. Just as I was getting ready to go back on the paddle board I saw them come round the corner. They figured something out and got it going.

I always enjoy eating on board. Especially in such a beautiful setting. We could have even passed over a chicken kebab to our new NZ neighbour who had anchored incredibly close to us. When we indicated thus he just shrugged and didn’t care. Between him and another boat that had anchored behind us whilst we were preparing dinner I again didn’t get much sleep. We came very close but luckily the wind stayed reasonably consistent and we avoided a collision.

6th June 2022 - Cala de Binibeca - Mahon (6.79 nautical miles)

The next morning we decided to move to the other side of the NZ guy. Yup, we had been bullied out but we were going to spend another night there and thought it best. We dropped the anchor but ended up far to close to the rocks behind us. As we were debating what to do we saw a boat in the centre of the sandy spot up anchor and leave. We chose to go over there instead. We raised the anchor, manoeuvred over there and dropped it again. We settled into a good spot away from other boats but then a woman in a kayak came over and explained that we were too close to the beach and the swimmers. She was one of the lifeguards. She told us we just needed to move 10m further away. So we raised the anchor again and moved the 10m further out. When we settled we seemed a bit close to another boat but it seemed ok. We were fed up by then so couldn’t be bothered to do it again. Malcolm and Mary would be getting a taxi to the airport that afternoon so we decided to concentrate on having a swim and chilling out. George was the first person to jump off the top of the helm roof into the water. Unfortunately it is a bit slippery up there so as he leapt his feet went out from under him and his dive turned into a belly flop. At least he cleared the decks though. He got a cheer from the boat next door though.

All to soon it was time to take Malcolm and Mary to shore. As the wind had picked up a bit we asked George and Amelia to stay with the boat and let us know if we were getting too close to the boat called Jomo next to us. Their flights were booked for a few days away so were going to stay onboard with us however a weather window was opening up for the two day crossing to Sardinia. We’d been looking out for one and the following day was it. Otherwise it would be another week in Menorca. Clock ticking…George and Amelia were absolutely fine with it and opted have a few nights to themselves in a hotel in Mahon.

By the time we said our goodbyes to Malcolm and Mary, waved them off in a taxi that we flagged down, and dinghied back to the boat the wind had picked up and we were about 5m away from Jomo. It was time to move. There wasn’t any space in the anchorage and we decided that instead of George and Amelia having to get a taxi back to Mahon, we could just sail back there, drop them off in town and set off from there to Sardinia in the morning. Falkor and Innamorata II were still there and said that there was room for us. They were heading off the following morning too. Innamorata II down to Sicily and Falkor with us to Sardinia.

So at 4:10pm we set off back to Mahon. As we were motoring and the wind wasn’t too strong it took us only 6.79nm to get back to the anchorage in Cala Tuelara. This time there was no issue, we anchored in 4.6m next to Falkor. Once we were settled we took George and Amelia back to Mahon with their bags and had one last drink with them before they went to check in to their hotel. All in all it had been a great time with the Algars. Lots of laughs. Mary is a seasoned hostess on her boat so it was so relaxing to be able to share lunch prep with her and Amelia. One can feel like you are running a B&B at times but not with them. They helped out and just got stuck in. In fact I barely had to do anything. They can come again!

We had a early dinner out and then headed back to the boat. It would be an early start the next morning for our near 200nm to Sardinia. Our longest passage yet with just the two of us onboard.

OUR ROUTE: