September 2024

Menorca, Mallorca and the eternal mistral

Text: Christian & Carola / Pictures & short films: Carola

New country, new happiness. We are looking forward to arriving in Menorca. The wind was not our best friend on the crossing. It simply didn't want to decide whether it wanted to work or sleep. As a result, our engine had to kick in several times.

We sail into the beautiful bay of Fornells and head purposefully for the anchor field at the back. But our anchor doesn't want to hold, the bottom is soft mud. After three unsuccessful attempts at “steaming” the anchor under engine power, we realize that we are drifting aft each time. With little wind, this would certainly be enough, but we want to leave the boat with a clear conscience and take a look at Fornells. We decide to drive to the buoy field and moor there with the help of the marinero.

Fornell is a quiet, touristy town, mainly visited by British tourists. It offers beautiful walks along the coast and a medieval watchtower.

Entrance to Fornells

First trip ashore and exploration of Fornells

A toast to a successful crossing

All the houses are white and exude a certain charm

Walk to the “Torre de Fornells”

From the tower you have a wonderful view over Fornells

Blue Wave safely moored at the buoy

Musical sounds

Between Fornells and Ses Salines

The weather is already looking autumnal with changing, sometimes strong winds and predicted thunderstorms. We decide to continue westwards along the north coast.

The wind is a long time coming. But eventually we can set the headsail and let the wind push us again. The coast is breathtaking - cliffs, lighthouses.

Chris keeps checking the weather and sees that a storm front is approaching. The view of the sky doesn't bode well.

The bay we initially chose is in front of us. In view of the weather development, we look for another bay in the south of the island, which offers better protection and where the thunderstorm should pass. So we step on the gas, in the truest sense of the word. Engine on, sails in and off we go.

Now the storm front is also visible to us. Menacingly black, it approaches us from the north. Literally at the last minute, we turn into the Son Saura anchorage. We drop anchor in the gusty wind and shortly afterwards the thunderstorm starts. The engine is running to relieve the anchor. 

Just don't drift, because there's a rock sticking out of the water behind us. Good, it's far enough away. But if we drift, it's not so good. So we remain sitting carefully in the cockpit with our jackets. Yes, we have our oilskins on - just the jacket, because it's damn cool and rainy and of course windy.

We are not the only ones in the bay. Various other yachts are moored in front of us, all the skippers at the helm ready to intervene. No one drifts off, all anchors hold, luckily. After half an hour, the whole spook is over again. The sun comes out as if nothing had happened and invites us for an evening swim.

Son Saura is just a stopover for us, as we have booked a place in the marina in Ciutadella. We leave the bay a little wistfully the next morning and head north again. Maybe we'll come back here again sometime, it would be nice.

Along the beautiful coast of Menorca

Clouds are slowly gathering

Many caves adorn the coast

Something is brewing

Nevertheless, everything looks exciting with the clouds and the light

Lightning - how quickly the weather can change

Now it's getting serious

Now it's time to persevere

It's clearing up, the sun is shining and everything has calmed down again

Blue sky, as if nothing had happened

What a blaze of color

We leave the bay of Son Saura

Ciutadella is spectacular. We enter the deep, rock-lined natural harbor and are greeted by a historic little town.

To our surprise, we are not greeted by a marinero as we are used to. Something new awaits us, because we are mooring at a finger jetty for the first time. We can handle the lines ourselves as we moor sideways, to starboard. We look at the other boats to see how they have managed and secured the lines. In the end, it looks very good for us too.

We spend a few relaxing days there, weathering strong winds and enjoying a stroll through the beautiful alleyways.

Entrance to Ciutadella

Berth with a nice view of the old town

The first time on a finger bridge

View from the bridge into the harbor

Ciutadella with its beautiful old buildings

Cathedral of Santa Maria de Menorca

A look inside the cathedral

A different perspective of the harbor

Castel de Sant Nicolau

Always on the move

We are on the west coast, where the many caves were visible when we came along here by boat

Signposts in the night

A few boats further along the jetty, we meet a friendly sailing couple from Germany with whom we get on well straight away. It's nice to be able to talk to other sailors again. They also give us good tips, as they already know the sailing area well.

Once again we have to say goodbye to Ciutadella and to our new sailing friends, the crew of SY Arista. We part ways here in the harbor, but we want to stay in touch. We are both sailing over to Mallorca, but to different places. Our destination port is Cala Rajada.

We leave Ciutadelle and with us the crew of the Arista, which sails ahead of us

We leave Menorca behind us

On the crossing to Mallorca we are accompanied by lots of dolphins

Mallorca

Welcome to Cala Rajada

A beautiful day at sea comes to an end

Cala Rajada is a very touristy place with lots of restaurants and bars. However, we don't like the crowd here as much. However, the walks along the beautiful coast are nice and we really enjoy them.

Of course, we also have to make the area unsafe here

Lighthouses magically attract me (Caro) - Faro de Capdepera

We put on a long-sleeved sweater for the first time in a very long time - it has become a bit chilly

Powerful waves crash against the rocks

The coastal landscape is beautiful

View over the coast

We are drawn back to nature and plan to visit the island of Cabrera. We continue to Puerto de Cabrera via Porto Cristo and Sa Rapita, where we spend a few nice days each.

Our mooring maneuver in the Sa Rapita marina was full of excitement. Excerpt from the Diary of the Blue Wave:

“The wind has already picked up. Before we enter the marina, we have to wait another 10 minutes because the sailing and surfing school are about to leave.

Then we can drive in. We are immediately allocated a space at the front. It seems to be easy to handle. So, we make plenty of headway, reverse and aim for the spot. Everything seems to be going well until something suddenly holds us back - a mooring line gets in the way. Too bad. So we get stuck.

Quietly and with the support of a marinero in an inflatable boat, we get free again only to get stuck in another one. But we also manage to get out with some help.

New maneuver. New approach. This time it works much better and we are now safely on the quay.”

Porto Cristo

Hams' Cave - A beautiful stalactite cave. It is over 10 million years old but was discovered in 1905 by speleologist Don Pedro Caldentey Santandreu (1886-1950)

Musical entertainment

“Room of hooks”

Porto Cristo was a short stopover that we enjoyed

Farewell from Porto Cristo

We anchor in front of a wonderful beach at Es Trenc

We stay here for a few days and marvel at the sunsets

Perspective from the water

While snorkeling I come across these Common eagle ray also known as the “duckbill ray”. The picture is from the internet, as I didn't have the GoPro with me of course 🤷‍♀️

Sa Rapida - we leave here and stay in the marina for one night

The next day the wind is right for the trip to Cabrera

Cabrera is what we were looking for, a wonderful large bay in the middle of undeveloped nature. We decide to head for the south-western corner of the bay and see our friends from Ciutadella moored on a buoy through binoculars from afar. There is enough space and so we choose a suitable free buoy, which Caro heads for. On the second attempt, I was able to lift the buoy with the boat hook and pull the line through the eyelet.

The island of Cabrera is a nature reserve and is ideal for hiking. There is an information office and a bar in the small harbor. We spend two relaxing days here and, among other things, weather a torrential downpour.

Entrance to the bay of Cabrera

A thunderstorm atmosphere in the air

What an atmosphere

Despite the dark clouds, we drive ashore only to see a heavy downpour sweep across the bay. For a moment, we can't even see the boats.

The spook is over, but we postpone our planned hike until the afternoon when it stops raining.

The afternoon isview of the bay from the castle perfect for the hike. We have a sensational

View of the small harbor

End of the bay with a view of the open sea

Varied nature

We are not allowed to go any further. There are only a few paths that you are allowed to walk alone on this island.

There is a museum with a garden on Cabrera where we learn a lot about the island.

At the end of the hike there are delicious tapas

A weather window is opening up that will take us back to Mallorca. It allows us to sail to Port de Soller. With a stopover in Sant Elm, where we spend a rolly night at a buoy, we continue on to Port de Soller the next morning.

Cabrera in the wake

The south coast of Mallorca passes us by in perfect sailing conditions

Keep checking that everything is OK and that there is no danger.

Sant Elm

Dragonera island is visible on the right

After a rather restless night, we continue to Port de Soller the next day in the best sailing conditions.

Excerpt from the Blue Wave diary:

“A beautiful green cliff passes us by.

The waves and wind continue to increase during the course of the day, so that we get up to 21 knots of wind on the plotter. Our speed: 6-7 knots. Wave: up to 1m, which gently pushes us along. However, this also means managing a mooring maneuver in strong winds.

Chris radios the IP port Marina several times, but nobody answers. He tries another channel and is told to use channel 8 - which he had been using the whole time.

Meanwhile, I try to keep our dear floating home under control in the narrow harbor basin. The wind has enormous power and keeps pushing us where we don't want to go.

I drive back to the entrance of the marina, where the anchor field is. Meanwhile, more and more boats are coming into the marina. It's a challenge to keep the boat under control and not let the wind “take over”.

At some point we are able to pull in and moor at an assigned spot. I'm really struggling with the wind and the gusts. I aim for the gap, reverse in and... the wind pushes us with the bow towards the neighboring boat. The owner is already sitting there ready to help us and push us away.

I come close to the other boat on the port side with the stern but don't touch it.

Chris throws the lines, takes the mooring and we are moored. That was pure excitement.

We have received positive encouragement and an encouraging thumbs up from everyone who has helped us. We are grateful for the support of everyone who helped, especially our boat neighbors.

My legs and hands are shaking. It's always a challenge to moor in a marina, especially when the wind is blowing as hard as it is today.

Nevertheless, we are proud to have managed it without leaving any damage to our or other boats ☺️.”

Port de Soller is a large natural bay with an old vacation resort. The historic streetcar connection, which continues inland to Soller, is well known here. We decide against anchoring here and book a berth in a marina. We didn't want to put up with the predicted wind and swell pushing into the bay. The decision is the right one, we spend quiet nights on the jetty.

Of course, we also take a streetcar ride up to Soller and explore the historic town. We enjoy a wonderful coffee and cake in a secluded garden. Afterwards, we stroll through the small botanical garden.

On the way back, we decide against the streetcar and walk along a beautiful path through pine forests to Port de Soller.

Another extensive hike along the mountainous coast will follow in the next few days. The nature on the north coast is wild and mountainous, the view down to the water breathtaking.

Shortly before the entrance to Port de Soller, the fenders are attached under difficult conditions.

Arrived in Port de Soller

Another beautiful day comes to an end with a breathtaking sunset

We take the streetcar to Soller

Sant Bartomeu

In the alleyways of Soller

Coffee and cake are a must

The botanical garden is well worth a visit

Fantastic view to Soller with the Tramuntana mountains in the background

The route back to Port de Soller follows well-marked hiking trails

We can start wonderful hikes from Port de Soller

The landscape is changing more and more

Animal encounter

We are now “climbing” along the “coastal path”, which is not always easy to recognize.

Searching for the purple dot

We are always amazed by the wonderful view

Our circular walk is almost done - view to Port de Soller

Leaving Port de Soller

Once again, it is the wind that shapes our further planning. After all, we want to continue on to Ibiza. To do this, we first have to head back to the west coast, to Port d'Andratx, to wait for a good wind window.

We set course for Port d'Andratx under engine power

There is enough wind to set the headsail

Passing the island of Dragonera (left) and Sant Elm (right)

Our spot in Port d'Andratx for the next few days until the wind window for the crossing to Ibiza passes.

At the end of the day - a beautiful sunset

Port d’Andratx

In Port d'Andratx we will see friends from Switzerland again who are spending their vacation here. Perhaps we'll also meet our Canadian friends from Lefkada here again, who are currently on the crossing from Cannes to Mallorca.

Who knows if it will work, but it would be cool. But we'll report on that in the Montas article “October 2024”.

The route we covered in September. We definitely took more time at the various locations than usual.

Part 1

Part 2

This Post Has 4 Comments

  1. Gerold

    Danke für den interessanten Bericht und die schönen Bilder. Ihr habt gute, aber auch einzelne dramatische Momente erlebt, diese jedoch meisterlich geschafft. Mit den Naturkräften lässt sich nicht spassen.
    Dies habe ich auch erfahren, jedoch nicht auf See, sondern im Gebirge. Wir hatten die Pickel und Schlosserei beiseite gelegt und gewartet bis Blitz und Donner vorbei waren.
    Nun wünsche ich euch weiterhin gute Fahrt und immer eine Handbreite Wasser unter dem Kiel.

    1. Caro / Chris

      Lieber Gerold
      Es ist für uns auch immer wieder spannend, welche Erinnerungen und Erlebnisse du zu berichten hast. Danke, für diesen netten Kommentar. Bis bald und herzliche Grüsse
      Caro&Chris

  2. Dennis

    Danke, dass ihr den Anleger eurer Nachbarn in Porto Cristo nicht erwähnt habt 🙂
    Tolle Geschichten, die ihr noch auf dem Rest der Strecke erlebt habt!
    Viele Grüße und immer eine handbreit Wasser unterm Kiel 🙂
    Dennis
    (spricht gebrochen Holländisch)

    1. Caro / Chris

      Lieber Dennis
      Danke für deinen Kommentar (alles verraten wir hier auch nicht 😉). Wir hoffen, ihr hattet noch eine schöne Zeit. Ganz herzliche Grüsse Caro&Chris

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