Menorca to Sardinia
Posted at 8:49 PM, Jun. 24, 2006
One thing about boating is the need for flexibility – so after trying to enter the harbour at Puerto de Ciudadela the police boat standing at the entrance again denied us entry to the port although all we wanted to do was top up the diesel tank. Language a definite barrier as although the ferries had gone back in as well as a local charter yacht it was not to be for us. We had planned to go clockwise around Menorca to the north eastern port of Fornells however the cruising guide said there was no fuel facility there so we were left with no choice but to head south to the capital town on the island Mahon about a 50 mile trip. The good thing was that it was more or less in the direction we wanted to head. See we have had a posting on the blog from Olive Oyle telling us of a similar experience they had in Croatia last year. To Olive Oyle whoever and wherever you are thanks for the comments – nice to know that others are also reading our blog!
The entrance to Puerto de Ciudedela
So the afternoon of Tuesday 20th saw us pull into the magnificent harbour of Mahon. We quickly found that Mahon is obviously the anglicized version and it is actually Mao – I suppose hence the origin of the word mayonnaise as this is where it originated from. Probably the police at Puerto de Ciudadela did us a favour as Mao was an wonderful place to visit. The harbour is very imposing with plenty of evidence of earlier occupations. The port has a huge naval history and changed hands six times between 1708 and 1802. The British seemed to enjoy occupying Mao and Lord Nelson was there when he was in command of the Mediterranean fleet in 1799. After topping up with diesel and water we tied up stern to at the yacht club quay which basically is the waterfront road and in our case right opposite a number of bars and restaurants and also a Timberland shop. They did pretty well out of us!! John as a great newspaper reader quickly tracked down the nearest newagent so we had a complete collection of English papers (and the July issue of Yachting World) to read and also catch up on world cup results.
Fishing basin and cafes in Mao
Pam and I were later treated to dinner by the Russell’s and Morton’s and had a fantastic fish dinner just metres away from the boat after a few beers. Gitana 4 the 28 metre 1963 Italian owned and built Sparkman and Stephens ketch was also nearby for the third night in a row (and dressed in flags and lights for the owners birthday). They were having dinner at the same restaurant. Afterwards the brother-in-law of the owner came aboard and helped us demolish a bottle of port before departing at 0200 hrs. He also told us that Gitana 4 was a very famous yacht in Italy and and had won the Fastnet race in 1970. Guilio was a very nice guy and invited us to call in later this year and visit them at their holiday home on the island of Panarea in the Aeolian island group north of Sicily where co-incidentally we had cruised on Lionheart a few years ago. He said the house was the best house in the whole Aeolian islands and from it you can see the volcano on Stromboli erupting every night. Unfortunately I think they will not be there in September which is when we are likely to be passing by.
The morning of Wednesday 21st saw us variously running, walking or cycling (for Pam and me) around the old town of Mao. It is a delightful place and we would like to have stayed for a few days but we needed to move on. So after another round of provisioning we were ready to leave when the bow thruster fouled the mooring guide line - so after a quick swim, no knives needed, I freed it and we were away at 1400 hrs for the 195 mile passage to Sardinia. The passage was completely uneventful with fine weather, very little wind, four ships and two yachts, 100 litres of diesel and 28 hours later we pulled into Cala del Bollo on the northwestern end of Sardinia just in from Cabo Caccia. A 10 knot northwesterly finally came in about 25 miles out and we got the genaker up for a fast 8 – 9 knot run into the coast on a gloriously fine day. Hoisted the Italian flag for the first time and packed away the Spanish flag – we have enjoyed Spain very much and will no doubt return to some of the same spots when we head out of the Med in a year or two.
Cabo Caccia - our arrival point in Sardinia
Cala del Bollo is a beautiful bay with spectacularly high limestone cliffs and a couple of modest resort hotels at its head. We anchored close in off the beach in dead flat calm water (probably the calmest night for the last month), had a jug of Pam’s Sangria, cooked stuffed squid on the BBQ (prepared by Pam) and listened to some good music in the cockpit.
It was an eventful day as once we got within mobile coverage Liz learn’t that a very good friend who she had caught up with in London last week had died unexpectedly and Pam and I found we had our first grandson – Luke Michael Goodall. At 0300 hrs we caught up with Sarah in hospital and then Richard called up a short while later. Congratulations guys and we look forward to seeing you all in Sydney at the end of next week.
So today we are motoring, yet again, around the NW tip of Sardinia and planning to overnight at the town of Castelardo where we can again top up with diesel and also gas. So instead of Barcelona to the south of France and then Corsica it has been Menorca to Sardinia – got to be flexible!
Cheers
Keith