Sundowner II log – 2005 update 18 – Majorca to Sardegna

Saturday 23rd July Santa Ponsa – Campos. With an early morning rise we set off at 7.30 and just outside Santa Ponsa passed through a rather inviting gap between the small Isla El Toro and the coast surprising a fisherman as he came from the opposite direction. The wind picked up and we sailed into the wind tacking on towards the next headland taking 7 hours to cover only 28 miles but it was fun and we had plenty of time even carrying out a successful man over board procedure when the sail bag flew overboard which took only a matter of minutes and all under sail too, just passing Cabo Blanco Perkins was switched on and we motored the last 10 miles before anchoring for the night at Campos.

Sunday 24th July Campos – Cala Nao, Amer. The next morning we sailed away from the anchorage and continued to sail all day mostly under cruising chute passing Cala d’Or where Sandra had holidayed with her friend Helen over 20 years ago, also stopping at Porto Cristo but were unable to find a decent anchorage. We did manage to nearly wipe out all the mooring lines while motoring up the river which wouldn’t have been too amusing. The wind increased and blew too strongly for the cruising chute so we tried hoisting the genoa and used it as a shield which enabled us to snuff the cruising chute behind it, it was very successful and a trick we had only read about and not put into practice before. We then sailed down into the huge bay of Amer and anchored in Cala Nao. It was nice be tucked in under the shoreline protected from the strong wind but we didn’t realize we were actually in the run used by the local speedboats with their water skiers.

Monday 25th July Cala Nao – Cala Molto. With a short sail to take us to the north east corner of Majorca we entered the beautiful Cala Molto and rested ready for the trip across to Menorca. Once again we were at the most Easterly point for the crossing and the Cala was possibly the most beautiful and best that we had visited so far. It was well protected from most winds but we were later to hear some horror stories with boats dragging their anchors and having to head out to sea due to the conditions. The swimming was beautiful in the crystal clear and deep water we even got a walk ashore to a bar at the end of the neighbouring beach.

Tuesday 26th July Cala Molto Majorca – Santandria, Menorca. With a relaxed start we headed for Menorca determined to sail we used the cruising chute sometimes with the wind at 70-80 degrees but it was slow progress taking 6 hours to cover 16 miles averaging 2.5 knots so we motored for the next two hours and entered the town of Cuitadella which was far too busy. We did try, successfully, anchoring and tying ourselves to the rocky shore but with too much swell from the passing boats so close to the entrance decided to move on. Unsure of where to go next we passed the Cala of Santandria and were surprised at how sheltered it was and for only the second time we used our anchor and shore lines. This involves anchoring and dinghying ashore and tying lines to any available rock or nook, it’s quite amusing as we were to later find that a couple were watching us trying to pick up hints as this had also been their first time. We did have the aid of a large electrical cable holding our anchor which meant a dive for Dennis to release the offending cable - not a mean feat in 6 metres of water. With the good protection from the strong winds in this beautiful Cala and the main town a nice walk away we stayed for ten days. The first night was fun in the company of Tony and Chris aboard Red Star and Liz and Phil who were chartering a local yacht, the lovely bar Sa Nacro at the end of the Cala will see a huge increase in turnover when they do their books at the end of the season. The bar actually has a ladder where you can tie your dinghy therefore stepping straight from the dinghy into the bar and in the weeks to come this was quite a regular occurrence also with shopping and laundry trips. One day we followed the signs to the Blarney Stone Irish Bar in search of Guinness and with the resident guitarist playing as the sun set we made the most of the special offer of tokens for each pint bought and walked home with a pair of new Guinness flip flops each and before the end of the week had acquired two huge Guinness beach towels and a spare pair of flip flops.

Friday 5th August Santandria – Cala Covas. With Dave arriving in a few days we headed along the south coast towards Mahon on the east of the island. With a quick pit stop for lunch at Cala Talaier and a quick trip up the mast to sort out the genoa and wind speed indicator we then entered Cala Covas which we had looked forward to visiting for a while. Although sealed up now you could just imagine the hippy community living here in the caves and the surrounding hills in the 60s and 70s, sounds like it should have been fun.

Saturday 6th August Cala Covas – Cala Taulera, Mahon. With another lunch time stop over we then turned and passed inside of the Isla del Aire on the south east tip of the island before turning north into very strong head winds and rather rough sea and motored for a couple of hours before entering Cala San Esteban which was calm but developed since the printing of our 1980 pilot book. We did however, for a laugh, motor up and around to the very end of this picturesque narrow Cala and just managed to turn in the very shallow water before returning to the entrance where we anchored but once again the swell was too much from passing boats, it was then a short trip across the mouth of Mahon harbour to the Cala Taulera where we anchored to await the arrival of Dave. The first night it was nice to meet the owners of Twin Star which is an Ocean Winds – a sister ship to Sundowner, we had last met them in the winter in Portimao and oddly enough they will be wintering in Rome. A good evening was had on board and the next day was spent clearing the boat for the arrival of Dave who was in desperate need of a holiday. Nick on a neighbouring boat gave us a lift to the airport in his car and luckily Dave arrived in Menorca not Majorca where Dennis had originally mistakenly told him we were. A quick taxi ride into Mahon and the beers flowed. It was nice to have company and we moved up to Es Grau for a few days.

Tuesday 9th August Cala Taulera – Es Grau. We unsuccessfully tried to get fuel in Mahon, we couldn’t be bothered to wait any longer in the queue and were getting a little bit narked with the queue jumpers so we left to search for water before we suffered from boat rage. We did manage to locate some water at Cala Llonga from the charter boat company where Tom very kindly filled our tanks and containers with some good quality water. It was a short trip to Es Grau but made horrendous with the mass of powerboats charging around but luckily no major damage was sustained. A few good days were spent chilling out at anchor and in the local seafront bar also while snorkeling an outboard was spotted shinning on the sea bed and after three hours toiling in the sun was raised from the 6.5 meter depth which was tantalizingly a fraction too deep for the two smokers. Dave was to learn later that it’s best to wear a hat in the sun if you shave your head.

Thursday 11th August
Es Grau - Taulera With a nice sail back we returned to Taulera for the arrival of Tara and Lee. With Dave needing a call box he set of with Sandra to the next Cala hoping to find a bar with a phone where they could also phone for a taxi. They eventually found one in the middle of Mahon over 7km away but not before Dave had found a nice gay bar for a pint on the way. It was funny how Dave, far from being gay, hadn’t noticed the clientele. With just minutes to spare they arrived at the airport in time to meet Tara and Lee who then boarded Sundowner at midnight for their 12 day stay.

Friday 12th August
Taulera – Cala en Porter. We returned to Cala Covas to show our guests the caves but the swell was too much so we moved on to Cala en Porter which was rather busy but very convenient for the bar/nightclub in the caves in the walls of the cliff. A good evening was had with copious happy juice making the row back to Sundowner eventful in the large surf.

Saturday 13th August
Cala en Porter – Santandria. It was a welcome return to Santandria with it’s live football in Danny’s Bar which became our second home for the next 3 weeks and with the football season kicking off with Manchester United, Newcastle and Chelsea all on TV everybody was happy. Dave returned to Mahon airport via taxi but not before we had flushed out the outboard and it started with the third pull of the cord to much jubilation. We took the bus to Mahon for Tara and Lee’s flight home, it was nice to see the interior of an island for a change. We should really have been moving on again but spent another five days chilling and waiting for some post, which Danny the bar owner kindly tried to deliver to the boat but we were not on board at the time and so collected it with some more Guinness later, the weather having turned a bit rough further north causing the seas to build sending some pretty impressive swell into the Cala leaving just ourselves and another English yacht Wacky Wacky with Andy, Jane and young Will aboard. The last time we saw Will, who is a very competent crew member, he was rowing away with John Terry the blow up dolphin that Lee had given him before he left - we have since learnt it was sneaked back to England and now resides in the midlands. We also had the good fortune to get friendly with an Italian couple aboard a motor yacht who we hope to meet up with again as they live in Turin just 15 mins from the snowy mountains and by coincidence where the winter Olympics are being held later in the new year. We did feel sorry for them at times as their boat seemed to attract nearly every numptie incompetent vessel around which was quite a few but they had a large sense of humour. One boat in particular when asked why with all the sea to choose why pick on them the reply amongst the panicked screaming and scraping of broadsides was ‘you don’t own the sea you know’ marvelous attitude, mind you they did get their comeuppance later one night as they were ashore at a restaurant on a particularly rough night their poorly laid anchor loosened and the boat proceeded to hammer against the rocks for a couple hours, we did our best but it was a little to dangerous to put yourself at too much risk, they eventually returned amid more panicked screaming and shouting even managing to foul the props with the mooring ropes which a kind local spent two hours diving in the dark sorting out not even receiving a word of thanks but that is the exception definitely not the norm as usually everybody mucks in helping each other cos you never know it could and possibly will be you next. Back at the bar Sa Nacro Miguel kept us entertained with his particular brand of humour and we really hope to meet him and his wife Marcia again and as they winter in Cuba there could be a real opportunity one day to visit with good friends in residence as Cuba is definitely on our wish list to visit as long as the situation doesn’t get too catastrophic with the passing of Fidel as he is getting on a little bit. Back in the 50s a guy started converting the caves, which Miguel’s bar is now part of, and he, his wife and dogs have only recently vacated and it is now a small museum with many statues and carvings inside very colourful like the guy himself who holds a trophy after winning the across harbour swimming race earlier in his life he also has shells and fish bones on display as he used to be able to free dive down to an incredible 35 metres collecting as he went, amazing character all round.

Tuesday 30th August
Santandria – Maccarella. Having been told of the beauty of Maccarella we anchored for the night in the beautiful crystal clear water.

Wednesday 31st August
Maccarella – Taulera. A return to Taulera for a few days to stock up for the trip to Sardegna.

Tuesday 6th September
Taulera, Menorca – Cala di Bollo, Sardegna. After six weeks chilling in Menorca’s calas and visits from friends we had set out on the 190 miles and 48 hour trip to Sardinia with a good forecast of south east 15 – 20 knot winds we were totally ready if not a little apprehensive for the long trip and even though the wind was blowing from ahead, the east, the main was hoisted. A little surprised at the size of the waves that had built up overnight as we passed through the red and green buoys into the open sea with the genoa double reefed tight and storm sail the main pulled so hard and flat one of the webbing straps to the boom broke causing a repair to be made. After two and a half hours sailing nearly south then north into the headwinds and seas Perkins was running again and after calculating on the chart we had only traveled 6 miles hardly 4 to the east Sundowner headed back to the tranquil anchorage. Last year we would have carried on or maybe not set off in the first place but having gone a bit soft island and cala hopping also feeling a little rough we just had to go with our instincts and turn back. With the two day trip making it the longest passage undertaken so far there are also force 8 or 9 storms to the north in the next sea area the Gulf of Lyon known as the Gulf of Lions so as the wind blows we have to just sit and wait for the sea to quieten down and hope for some fair winds and if Dennis can manipulate the situation there is always football with Ireland v France tonight with the prospect of Keane and Viera doing battle in mid field, that little gem of information coming from the new paper given to us by Adam and Alison on a neighbouring catamaran. They had kindly invited us aboard yesterday evening and a good night was had chatting depleting and annihilating their recently purchased wine stock. The wind is now howling they now forecast severe gusts so decision vindicated as we would now be mid way between islands. With the hurricane in America upsetting the weather systems we could be in for a bit of bother trying to cross and make the 400 miles to Rome in less than a month – oh well FCUM won again 4 0 Saturday. It has rained for ten minutes this morning making it the sixth day in nine months when it has rained to some degree. The sky is full of dark patches of cloud, rumbling thunder and yesterday evening lightening flashed continuously over the horizon for most of the evening. Oddly enough having run out of books I have been re reading a book on the life of Admiral Beaufort who among other things created and introduced the Beaufort scale and in one of the squalls yesterday the wind peaked at 63 knots, one knot off a hurricane which was pretty hairy, although not quite F12 it did have the required characteristics of the Beaufort scale ‘the air was filled with foam and spray, the surface was white and visibility was badly affected’ making the tranquil anchorage with it’s surrounding rocky walls resemble the set from the film Perfect Storm and with the odd red flare and spotter planes crossing the sky later in the night it was all rather dramatic maybe there should be a book on survival tactics at anchor followed by a film titled ‘Catastrophic Kilometre’. One bonus though we have plenty more prospects for the Bob club after an afternoon of everybody and helping each other as some boats dragged their anchor one boat in particular a large Lagoon Catamaran the type mad in Sables d’Olonne Sandra noticed was quite happy drifting along slowly towards the rocky edge. So Adam and I loaded our spare anchor Dan into his tender and along with Bo from a neighbouring Swedish yacht boarded the catamaran. After laying out the anchor and for a while it held her, but with no-one of board we couldn’t start the engines and the wind gradually took her on the beam and being such a large and high sided boat it was too much and she rested on the sandy bottom against the bank luckily a metre from the rocks. Eventually we manage to open the anchor locker and using the spare anchor set an anchor of each bow with the aid of the winches pulled her away into the wind not before a kind Dutch man who had arrived to help returned to his boat to dress the cut on his head after hitting the bimini, definitely the wrong type of claret spilt on the decks. The owners arrived shivering and wet after their long 2 mile journey from town the engines were started and original anchor lifted and we moved to the top of the cala to re-anchor which we did once which was unsuccessful and it was whilst repositioning that the wind increased and a near hurricane swept into the anchorage, an awesome sight, as a line of white spray created by the wind approached the deluge of rain forcing us under cover. With the wind taking hold of the catamaran and the possibility of it sweeping through the boats at anchor Adam and I looked at each other in horror as the owner headed and drove her straight into the bank with it’s rocky edge where she stuck fast. Bo then returned having to collect Adam as his tender was now loose and drifting as was his boat and all I could see of Sundowner was Sandra at the helm, Tilley hat on she had started the engine and was driving against the wind taking pressure off the anchor. With the rain so strong when Adam was at the helm of his boat re-anchoring he had to use his diving mask to see. After the wind had settled down a bit with full engine power the Lagoon eased away from between the rocks and was re-anchored and when she was inspected later only a few scratches below for her ordeal. With and invitation to return for champagne later Bo, who had returned again, took Dan and me back to Sundowner only to see an identical Lagoon Cat aground a few metres past Sundowner but after a couple of unsuccessful attempts at winching Dan had had enough and as Bo said with so many people too much French was being spoken and he offered us back to his boat for some beer which we did and had. Later we noticed the solar panel which was still sat happily on the coach roof held by its few pieces of string – amazing! The wind died sufficiently later to venture out and take up the offer of champagne, which was very nice of the owners, who it turns were both called Robert better known as Bob – so there you have it, Bob rescue party rescued Bob’s boat! They were very nice people and Maria joined us from her bunk after spending most of the afternoon shivering on the harbour front in Mahon where she had been left at the start of the storm. With the champagne exhausted it was while half way through a rather nice bottle of French Claret that the party was broken up as the wind increased again and everybody returned to their boats. A few more days were spent in the company of Adam and Ali visiting the area in our dinghies a great time was had with beer and meals on the waterfront walks and on the last day finding the lovely town of Es Castell a short motor across the bay where they had a veg shop, supermarket and internet café. We even caught the fiesta with its prancing horses in the streets of Mahon along with the copious amounts of local Gin and lemonade with the local witches. The highlight was the chips mushy peas and curry sauce!

Sunday 11th September
Taulera, Menorca – Cala di Bollo, Sardegna – again! With time passing and winter around the corner we managed to set off for Sardegna at midday having been held back by the rough sea state which was a shame as the wind was just right from the south west but it seems to build the sea up rather uncomfortably. After a few hours motoring the north of Menorca disappeared from view behind us under a large black front the next few hours were spent running away skirting around it then another from the south this pattern carried on through night into the morning quite eerie as the lightening flashed over the horizon from all points of the compass and when caught by the fringe of cloud the wind would increase building the seas into confused pinnacled waves the visit of some very large dolphins was a welcome relief along with a pod of pilot whales who returned in large numbers the next day as we were sailing under cruising chute. The second day was spent with a mixture sailing and motoring and in the second evening we exchanged courtesy flags from Spanish to Italian. After night fall all sails were dropped and we motored into the night with more lightening in the distance, it was a long dark night as the auto helm had broken down and the seas had again increased reducing our speed and after a few ships crossed our path I the dark all adding to the tension. At 3 in the morning with the wind increasing the genoa was hoisted making a better motion in the lumpy short sea shown in all it’s horrible glory as the sun rose. Having to back away from a large container ship on a collision course didn’t help and messing up another tack we learnt how to hove to and later just after 9 o’clock, with a further increase in the wind, the main was hoisted. And with an increase in speed Sundowner powered sparking a faint hope that we might make landfall before dark as we had already been resigned to another night at sea hour after hour passed at the wheel fighting for control in the ever increasing wind and the land ahead rising so we could actually see our land mark just a few hours and breaking seas ahead and between. With our wind speed indicator not working again we had no idea of it’s speed and could only judge by it’s feel and the whistle it gave in the rigging the tone increasing by the hour until all of a sudden it was screeching. Sometimes the wind can flatten the sea but not on this occasion the seas increased and with it being too dangerous to reduce the sails we powered on sometimes over 6.5 knots with full sails stretched aloft slowing a little as we rose up the larger sets in controlled terror. Eventually we managed to find time to get Perkins started and ready for action should he be needed incase we should make a mistake reefing the sails. It was odd how sometimes one wave would catch up with another leaving behind a big hole best avoided when possible. With reduced sails we engaged Perkins to give us the same speed making landfall before dark possible and a rise in the spirits with the sun and seas lowering the land rose and eventually we turned a more direct course towards our destination but without the aid of the wind slowed but still made Capo Cacchio as the sun set and rounded into Cala del Bollo with a bit of anti climax and anchored in the dark right in the middle as directed by our C-map. Welcome Vodka, bubbling cheese toasties, glass of wine and a salty sleep.