Archiv
KW27 2001
01.07.2001 – 07.07.2001
Today is sunday, the 1st of July and we will continue our journey, although we will travel only a short distance, the weahter forecast announces wind – more than necessary for sailing.
We expect mistral! This term stands for storms with strong north- northwesterly winds. Therefore we sail "just around the corner" and anchor in Golfo di Saline. It soon turns out to have been the right decision to stay put and let the mistral pass. It is not difficult to imagine what takes place along the coast when we have winds of 34 knots in this safe bay. Unfortunately the evenings in this bay are quite noisy. We have to listen to any kind of dance music and animation coming from three dircetions until late at night.In spite of that we raise anchor after a good night’s rest on monday morning at 7:30 a.m. and leave for the Balearic Islands, for Menorca.Yes, it means we are on a night sail!Just a second, that is not correct, we will be on two night sails.
| Off we go! First of all we get thoroughly shaken, the mistral has left quite a heavy sea. But after three hours we have rode it out and can enjoy best sailing weather.Tom bathes his bait a bit, but has no luck today.Therefore we sail comfortably the whole day and into the night.But I am not all alone, the sun’s invariable partner is fortunately also on nightshift. We enjoy an almost full moon and it is very nice to be on our way at nighttime.It seems that there is hardly anyone on their way other than us, it is really very quiet.It is 3:00 a. m. in the morning and change of shift, so it’s my turn to go to sleep.Now it is up to Tom to enjoy a beautiful sunrise. But not only that, he also spots the first dolphins; we haven’t seen those for a while! |  |
Tuesday we are less lucky with the wind, because there is none, unfortunately, which means we have to use the motorThe weather is anyways very strange, very hazy and oppressingly humid with a completely flat sea.Didn’t I see something there, something jumpingDolphins again. It is such a pleasure to watch those animals, how they glide through the water, how they play, so exuberantThey even shriek when they jump out of the waterAnd it is so funny, when they play with the hull; at first they swim next to the boat and later they accompany us between the bows, occasionally up to 6 dolphins splash around. (picture: „dolphins") A month ago we wrote into our log that dolphins greeted us as we entered italian waters.
Now they either see us off or it is a welcome to spanish waters. I do know that this sounds strange, but it is 3:30 p. m. when we leave italian and enter spanish waters and at exactly this moment we see these gentle animals for the third and last time this day.Suddenly interest shifts to the stern of our boat. Because, after all, where you find dolphins, you also find fish. And Tom still has his fishing rod out.Now we witness something unbelievable: Tom and a tuna fish fight a long battle over a distance of 9 nautical miles and a period of 2 ¾ hours.Finally Tom seems to succed, the fish is in the net and almost aboard. A huge animal; but still strong and struggling wildly.
Again the unbelievable happens: the fish has disappeared – together with the bait! What a pity! We are both standing around and cannot believe it. Especially not, as Tom realizes why his quest failed: the steel line support broke.For all non-angling people (such as me) the stell line support is a reinforcement between bait and fishing line.So it’s merely faulty material that cost us this fine specimen of a fish!And not only the fish; no – even the brandnew superduper bait is gone. So irritating!
Time has passed, in the meantime the evening set in and we await our second night sail. I am again on the first shift and Tom takes over around 03:00 a. m..
It’s Wednesday and after 260 nautical miles and 52 hours we reach Menorca at midday, Puerto de Mahón. HolaAfter Pearl Harbour ( Hawaii ) Mahón is the second largest natural harbour in the world.Since this is also a commercial port with ferrylines running, the traffic is quite heavy and it is astonishing to have a huge steamboat pass you especially when she is using her horn. Other than that glass-bottomed boats, crowded with tourists, permanently cruize around the harbour, which means there won’t be much peace and quiet for us.Additionally there is not much room, particularly not for landing, so we anchor again.We squeeze in with other boats in between the two harbour entrances and are happy for the time being since we don’t plan to stay here for long.After some refreshment, a kind of „breakfast and lunch in one go" we face formalities such as clearing and then it’s high time to take a short, but badly needed nap. In the evening we go for a short stroll along the harbour and after a small dinner early to bed.
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On Thursday we proceed on our journey to Cala Fornells. This bay is located at the short distance of 20 nautical miles of Mahón, so we can take it slowly. Once there it takes some time to find a suitable spot to anchor, because there’s quite a lot going on here and it’s apparently bad anchoring ground.But we do find a nice spot and will probably stay for a while.Fornells has a small harbour and is originally an old fishing village, but there is not much left of that. The thing Fornell is most famous for is its fresh rock lobster and its Caldereta, a kind of stew containing rock lobster. |
Friday morning we wake to a bad surprise. During the night we had a Scirocco. This is also a term for a special kind of wind. A warm and humid south- southeasterly wind coming from the Sahara and containing red desert sand.
It brought us a lot of red desert sand, which spread evenly on the whole boat. That means a lot of work. But at first we have other important things to do. Our generator has died. That’s bad: no generator no electricity. We are lucky and find the much needed spare part in a small shop in the harbour. Tom repairs the generator, and while he is at it, he takes the opportunity for an oil change. In the meantime I keep myself busy with sanitary repairs. As a result the hours of the day fly.We use the evening to have a look at Fonell from above a tower outside the small town and reward ourselves with a comfortable dinner.
Today is saturday, the 7th of July and fortunately there was no other Scirocco during the night, therefore it’s clean ship for today. And since there is no connection for a pipe we have to use the buckets.First we scrub the salt water off. Again there is a lot going on around us, there are several surf- and sailing schools around, and you find dinghys and surfers everywhere.We finished cleaning the ship and now are finished off ourselves. So that’s it for today and this week.Isn’t there something missing?! Exactly, the culinary commentry. OK, whoever comes to Fornells and wants a real good meal with a nice ambiente: go to Cranc Pelut, a wonderful restraurant we can recommend warmly. And your best bet: the paella!
To see what the next week has brought us...... see us here next week, same place same wave!
so long
Greetings
Diana + Tom
