1st June; Cartegana to the Mar Menor
Our alarm was set for 8.30am, as we have lots to do. We aimed to be leaving at 10am, but it was actually 11.50 when we finally slipped our lines. We all felt a little sad to be leaving Cartagena – but we are also looking forward to some new adventures! Our new autohelm calibrated itself perfectly and it worked brilliantly! It was amazing! Rob was very pleased. The sea was dead calm and the wind was in the wrong direction! Its what we expected and so it was a motor journey, but we were still hoping to sail. We had stunning coastal views all the way and the sea was a stunning blue! We motored past the Mar Menor bridge and we entered the bay. There was just few yachts here, so loads of room! We dropped our anchor at 5.30pm and settled down for the evening. What a calm and peaceful anchorage!
Our 1st journey of the season, of 5.5 hours, went very well!
2nd June; Mar Menor to Santa Pola Marina:
Unfortunately, we had a disturbed night last night, what with the anchor alarm going off twice (even though our anchor hadn’t dragged) and a damn mozzie! Rob finally killed it at 4am! Our alarm woke us from a dead sleep at 8.30. Ouch! After breakfast in the cockpit (nice!) Jack lifted up the anchor under dad’s watchful eye. We left just after 11am and met another calm sea, with little wind. The wind picked up to 8 knots soon after. Ideally, we need 10knts of wind before it’s strong enough to sail, but Rob unfurled her sails anyway. We switched the engine off and we were sailing gently, between 4 and 5 knots. We can’t complain about that! We had a wonderful couple of hours sailing before the wind dropped and we had to resort back to the engine. All in all, we had a lovely journey to Santa Pola! We arrived here at 5pm and we were met by a marinaro (always helpful). Unfortunately we found out that our passerelle doesn’t fit in our bows!! oh no! But we are close enough to the pontoon to clamber on and off – but what happens next time? We checked in at the marina office (presented our passports, insurance docs and Hoopla’s registration documents) and paid for tonight, €33 – not a bad price! We were given 2 key cards for the showers and the pontoons and then all 3 of us popped next door to toast our safe arrival! Jack went back to Hoopla while Rob and I walked around the quay. It is a lovely place. We spent a fair bit with our eyes in the chandleries hahha! We were back on-board for the evening meal. Unfortunately I’ve burnt my feet today, which are now a little sore.
We plan on leaving at midday tomorrow and going straight to Formentera! A 20 hour passage! Gulp! Watch this space to see how we get on!
Fri / Sat 3rd / 4th June; Santa Pola Marina to Formentera:
We all had a much better sleep than last night, hahha! There wasn’t any anchor alarms to go off! Our alarm went off at 8.30am and it was breakfast at 9.30. We aim to be leaving here at 12pm, so it was showers all round in the morning, before The Crossing Prep. I prepared a spaghetti bolognese for tonight’s tea last night, so that will just need heating up (and to boil the pasta). The recycling & waste bins were emptied, the water tank topped up, my bikini exchanged, the galley cleared, the electric unplugged and the engine levels were checked. Phew! We slipped our lines at 12.15. BUT one line got caught on next doors line(!) So Jack had to jump ashore, release it and jump back on! That was a little nail biting! Well done Jack! We exited the Marina without any more dramas until we saw 5 SUP’s (stand-up paddle boards) in the shipping lane! Really? One got tooted at by an actual passenger ferry! It was a calm sea but the wind was fluky. So it was engine on, engine off, engine on, engine off, for a good while. The sea state changed when the wind moved from head-on to side-on, which led to 1mtr rollers, height and width. Ugh!
The prepared spag bol worked well for our tea at 7pm, and it was very nice. Unfortunately, I got quite sea sick when the sun went down and I spent the rest of the night in the main cabin leaving, Jack and Rob on helm/watch duties.
I was still poorly at 3.45am next morning (ugh) and Rob said he was fine to carry on (Jack had gone to bed at around 1am). I was more myself at 6.30am and joined Rob in the cockpit – and we saw a dolphin! It swam passed us so elegantly. We could also see our destination quite clearly! Hurrah! Slowly the island became clearer and clearer and by 7.30, we had picked up a bouy. The water is so clear here and we can clearly see the posidonia grasses on the sea floor (we are in 2.5m depth). The engine and instruments are switched off and its now time for some breakfast for all, and for some well deserved shut-eye for Rob! Rob reports that the crossing was a mixed bag of weather and sea conditions, none of it forecasted. He did get in a few hours of very swift sailing, though, which he really enjoyed (he even overtook a couple of other sailing vessels!) We woke up ready for a cup of tea at midday We are effected by the wash of the ferries going past but the roll is not too bad. Rob & Jack took the GoPro swimming to test it out. It still worked and so they will charge it up fully for next time. The water was freezing apparently! We took the dinghy to town for a nice lunch, after which we had a walk around the town. We hope to catch a bus around the island tomorrow. Back on board Hoopla and lots more GoPro filming! Rob finished off the mosquito net before making a tasty shepherd’s pie for tea. A man of many talents! Jack was fast asleep, though, when it was ready, so we let him sleep on. It’s been a weird day for us all because our nights sail. Hopefully tomorrow we will have our body clock back.
5th June; Caló de S’Olí, Formentera:
No alarms were set and we slept very well! We had a very peaceful, lazy morning. Well, we are on holiday and it is a Sunday! We took the dinghy to town, again, at around 12pm for lunch – which was delish! We caught the 2.20 bus to El Pilar, at €2.55 each of us (cheaper than bike/car hire, easier travelling PLUS it had air conditioning!) An hour each way gave us fantastic views from the bus of the island. We saw some stunning beaches and we saw our next anchorage! We also saw that petrol here is €2.10 per litre! Ouch! We arrived at El Pilar and a walk around the “top of the world” was enjoyed, AFTER a beer & Baileys of course! We then caught the next bus back. All in all, a really lovely day!
Both Rob and Jack were straight in the water with snorkels and the GoPro!
Rob & Jack took the drone to the shore (taking full advantage of the lack of wind) while I prepared dinner – a nice Sunday roast. We plan on moving on tomorrow morning, to an anchorage about 3 hours away.
We have had a fantastic couple of days at this anchorage; yesterday and today. It’s €30 per night for the bouy, for us, it was at 10m that a man in a rib came out to the collect the payment and its cash only. Its about a 15 min dinghy ride to the dinghy park, then a 2 min walk into the town. We are affected by the wash of passing ferries – but it was ok.
6th June; Caló de S’Olí to Playa de Tramontana, Formentera:
Well, our alarm was set for 7.30, as we wanted an early start, so we can arrive at our destination early. We left Jack in bed and slipped our bouy at 8.15. Unfortunately, it was a damp and clammy start to the day.
We left the anchorage and went straight into a head wind – so no sailing for us!
We saw 3 dolphins right in front of us, heading our way! It was lovely to see but as they didn’t try to avoid us, I steered a hard right and held my breath! But they slid past us without any problems! We were following the coastline of S’Espalmador and enjoying the views, when I dropped my sun-glasses over the side! I couldn’t believe it! I dropped them and then the wind blew them over! I am gutted! Luckily, we have a bimini for shade and a baseball cap helps. But, still, so disappointing!
We continued on and around a headland, which meant that we could finally get the sails out! Hurrah! She sailed brilliantly! But I had to put a fleece on as I got a bit chilly! Another dolphin swam beside us for a minute or two, which was wonderful! They are quite big dolphins here! Now we are following the Formentera coast right to our anchorage. We arrived here at midday and we set our anchor in the crystal clear, turquoise sea! We are tucked away near the cliffs and we have a nearby beach, plus a cave, to explore this afternoon!
Rob lowered the dinghy from the davits and we rowed to the cave. We couldn’t go in though, as it was a little small for the dinghy. We carried on to the beach next door – and it was just us there! Rob & Jack swam to the cave, but said it was very smelly LOL! I only had a paddle as the sea is still a little cold for me. Back onboard Hoopla, I started to prepare our tea. We are affected by a roll unfortunately. Because of this, we might leave for Ibiza tomorrow.
All in all, this is a very nice anchorage! If it wasn’t for the roll, it would be perfect! The katabatic wind arrived at around 9.30pm, for an hour or so. It was quite strong and howling through the rigging, so we secured the dinghy on its davits and cleared the decks of all loose cushions etc.
We have had a really wonderful time here on Formentera! This is a beautiful island with fantastic beaches and beautiful seas. Hopefully, we can swing past on our return journey for another stay, at the end of this season
7th June; Playa de Tramontana, Formentera to Cala Llonga, Ibiza:
Again, no morning alarm and its lovely just to wake up naturally! Interestingly, at just after breakfast, two motor boats came and anchored a tad close to us. We thought that this will make the lifting out of our stern anchor fun! Just before we made to move, at 1pm, Rob let them what we would like to do. We got a tad close, but we succeeded! We even received a round of thumbs up hahha!
We tried to sail, but the wind died after half an hour or so, and so we motor-sailed instead. We had a very calm and beautiful blue sea. At 4.30pm, Rob swapped our Formentera flag for the Ibiza one and, at 5pm, we had set good our anchor. There are quite a few boats here but there is more than enough room.
We had a relaxing couple of hours of downtime before going ashore for our Usual. We were back on board for a lovely evening and, in bed, we can hear the crickets on the shore. Its wonderful!
8th to 10th June; Cala Llonga, Ibiza:
We stayed here for a total of 4 days (incl the 7th) and we found it very peaceful – but it could be a rolly anchorage at times! It did make for a tidy Hoopla, though, as we couldn’t leave anything out! There were also regular passenger ferries from nearby towns that weaved through us boaties – but they didn’t really disturb anybody. Also, with its large sandy seabed, there was hardly any posidonia, which meant that there was plenty of room for anchoring – alwasy a bonus! and, nearby, there is a Spa supermarket.
We didn’t have any alarms set during our stay here, which is always appreciated! We had plenty of much needed downtime to recharge our batteries. Very nice. But this place can turn into a rolly anchorage when the winds died down,which they did. We saw two men, with snorkels, putting down a mooring bouy near us. Rob spoke to them about it and they said that they would be bringing their boat here in the morning. They assured us that we don’t have to move, as we would be fine. We moved anyway hahha! We thought that best as a) we don’t know how early they would be here or b) how big their boat actually is! This turned out to be a good move as they brought round a yacht similar in size to us!
The following afternoon, we took the dinghy to shore and met up with the family that we sailed with for a while last year, on Floss. It was a lovely to catch up with them and to see that they’re all doing so well! They are possibly heading to mainland Spain and then France, while we are making for Sardinia. But we all promised to keep in touch, reporting each others progress, and, possibly, meeting up in Scotland in November.
The next day was another lazy day. We found a Spa supermarket close to the beach, so we stocked up for a few days. Some friends from Cartagena arrived in the bay at around 3.30pm! How lovely to see them! We took the dinghy over for sundowners and catchups. It was a lovely afternoon / evening. We were back onboard for tea and then the roll started! Oh. My. Life! But even with the bad roll, we all slept soundly! It eventually died down by the next morning, and we had another lazy day.
Our friends left in the morning, not impressed with the roll, heading for Formentera. We hope that they have a lovely time. A day of down-time (again) for us. Rob and Jack were looking at their drone footage on the computer and it was Kindle time for me, in the cockpit! We were slowly swaying on the anchor, so my view kept changing from the hotel terraces, back to the beach! Can’t argue with that! The boys went swimming after. Now, after a lovely dinner, we’re just getting Hoopla prepared for our jump over to Mallorca tomorrow! It’s an 11 hour passage, so we want to be leaving by 8am, if possible. Its been rolly here at times (sometimes very) but all in all, a very enjoyable stay.
11th June; Cala Llonga, IBIZA to Santa Ponca, MALLORCA:
Well, we set our alarm for 7.30am and Rob & I had a quick breakfast. He lifted the anchor up at 8.30, while I took her out (we left Jack in bed!). This was followed by a motor, as it was flat calm. This journey took us about 12 hours, which sounds looong but it was quite a good passage. Unfortunately, no dolphins swam beside us, but we did see one a leaping and a somersaulting at a distance. Awesome!
We finally arrived in Mallorca and set our anchor in Santa Ponca, at 7pm. We have just had a small panic attack(!) about our main sail – it got stuck!! Rob managed to eventually free it by pulling the reefing line from a different place, which was odd. When he looked closer, later, he found out that one of its pulleys was worn. These are easily replaced. We were very relieved about that! Sardinia wouldn’t have been possible if we had had a serious problem with our main. Phew!
During dinner, a bottle of wine was opened and our arrival on island no.3 this season, was toasted.
12th June; Santa Ponca, Mallorca:
Today, the 12th, is our wedding anniversary. 18 years ago today we said “I do!”
Rob managed to replace the damaged pulley (and another that was a bit small) on our main sail after breakfast. We then popped to the supermarket for a more supplies, via a cafe for a nice lunch. Gosh it’s hot! 39°! Thank goodness for supermarket aircon! It was a very pleasant 27° inside
There is a fiesta going on here in town, which includes fair rides, lots and lots of stalls, and a stage which had Spanish singers and dancers on. We wandered around, taking in the atmosphere, before finding a restaurant to celebrate our anniversary. A very pleasant evening
13th June; Santa Ponca to Port Soller, Mallorca:
There was no alarm for us this morning, so a very nice and relaxed breakfast at 10am was had by all. Rob discovered that our holding tanks’ “full” light is not working! Not good! Hopefully it’s just a loose connection “Fingers Crossed”. Rob quickly inspected it – and it was! It is now working. Phew!
Jack lifted up our anchor at 11.15 and we followed the stunning coast. We saw a castle/fort all on its own amongst the cliffs and Rob and I planned it’s renovations ! Jack joined us on deck and we had a geography quiz. Jack did really, really well! Later, we saw a flying fish take of and glide for ages! How amazing is that!
The entrance to our planned anchorage is hidden! We can’t see it and we’re only half hour away! It’s here somewhere! We found it and, at 5.15, we dropped our anchor. We were just checking its hold, when a yacht arrived and anchored right beside us! It was one of our neighbours from Cartagena! But we didn’t recognise its skipper. Hmm! We called over, and apparently he has gone back home for a few weeks and his friend is looking after the yacht. So all is good! Rob decided to clean Hoopla’s stern as it was dirty from the engine.
So, all in all, we had a good 6 hour journey today – and now its time for a swim! Not for me though, just yet! Not quite brave enough hahha!
14th & 15th June; Port Soller, Mallorca:
Both Rob and I woke up with lots to do today, Jack not so much hahaha! Peter (Robs brother) is due here later this afternoon, so while I prepared his bunk and spruced up Hoopla, Rob & Jack dived under her, to clean her bottom! Early afternoon, Rob took the air & gas bottles to the local dive shop to be refilled, while I went to the laundrette. Pete arrived at around 5pm and had had a good journey. Rob met him at the bus stop and they both had a most deserved pint, while I was finishing up in the laundrette. Rob took Pete to Hoopla in the dinghy and I waited in the cafe. As if by magic, a bowl of piping hot, salty chips appeared, with a piña colada!! Amazing! Hahaha! Later, we ate out in the very good curry restaurant that we remembered from last year. I ordered a coke and I was given a glass with water, ice and a slice with my bottle of coke. That’s weird we all thought. Ah well. I’ll have your water says Jack. As he takes 2/3 large gulps, the penny drops and before I could say “VODKA!”…….he had drunk the lot! Bad Mum hahaha!
At 4am the next morning, the winds picked up! I popped up on deck to check and secure everything that was loose, when the anchor alarm went off – and I was quickly joined by Rob and Pete. Suddenly there was a PJ party going on in the anchorage! Everyone was on their decks, checking their anchors. Ours dragged a little, but Rob managed to reset it without any problems. We saw that two yachts had twisted their anchor chains together (gulp) but they eventually managed to free themselves. Another yacht got a tad close to a catamaran but, thankfully, that was it! No bumps! It gradually calmed down so, eventually, we all had a cuppa and then went back to bed. We were back up at 9.30am to see lots of yachts leaving(!) while Rob put away all the diving equipment. The boys had a quick swim before hopping in the dinghy to collect the air and gas bottles dropped off yesterday (I had the laundry to put away). Just after lunch, we left Jack onboard Hoopla while we caught the bus to a supermarket. We bought four days worth of supplies and caught the tram back to port. It was a lovely tram too!
Rob & Pete went for a pint while I prepared dinner and after, Rob topped up our water tank and water containers. We are now all ready for our onward passage tomorrow. But what an exciting 24 hours Pete has had! No rest for him! Anyone would think he was on holiday! 😀
16th June; Port de Soller to Cala Pi de la Posada, Mallorca:
No alarm for us all again this morning. Noice! We had a lovely, leisurely breakfast at 9.30.
Rob & Pete then prepared the decks while I prepared the main cabin and galley for our next 6 hour passage; up the coast and around the corner. There was a quick swim for Rob & Pete before Jack, at 12pm, lifted out our anchor. We followed a fantastic coastline for what felt like absolutely ages before we approached the headland. Just 40 mins later, we were at our anchorage!
It was at 6.30pm we that we “dropped the hook” as they say, into another stunningly beautiful bay! It goes without saying that all 3 boys went in for another swim! Happy Days 😀
17th June; Cala Pi de la Posada, Mallorca:
There was no alarm again this morning. We’re all liking this – AND the lazy breakfast that goes with it! We have two or three glass bottom ferries that dock here regularly, so its quite rolly at times as they pass us.
Oohhh, we’ve just passed a posidonia police inspection! A chap came over to us in a rib and we saw as he checked out our anchor and its chain, but we were OK.
Later, we all went swimming – me included!! See, miracles do happen! I missed having a snorkel though. So next time! It’s still quite windy here, at 20knts, which made our swimming interesting!
I am now reading in the cockpit and it feels like I’m sitting in a hair dryer hahha! We had another visit from the posidonia police again – but he didn’t chat this time. After lunch, Rob & Pete swam to the shore for a pint, while I prepared us a lovely dinner.
No photos today as we were all busy doing nothing! 😀
18th June; Cala Pi de la Posada to Cala Mata, Mallorca:
We all had a rather lazy morning, waiting for the wind to kick in, so we could finally sail instead of motor. So, just after midday, Rob and Jack lifted out our anchor and Pete steered Hoopla out of the bay. Soon the engine was off and the sails were out! Its so lovely to be finally under sail after motoring for what feels like a long time! It’s so peaceful!
We have 18 to 20knts of wind, which is giving us a speed of 6knts. This equals to one very happy skipper! For info, under engine we normally have a speed of 5knts.
The winds died down when we started approaching land, so on went the engine. The first anchorage was all rocks, so this was unsuitable. We moved onto the second and this was much better, so we dropped our anchor at around 5.15pm. All in all, a lovely sailing day. All the boys jumped in for a swim in the turquoise waters, but I have a date with my kindle. Another great evening was had. But, at 9pm, the strong winds kicked in. We cleared the decks of any loose items and took down the bimini and the sprayhood. The average wind speed was 15kn, with gusts up to 26knts. They had calmed down by 11pm but we were still having the occasional strong gusts – but not so frequent. Luckily we have a very good anchor, a Rocna, which gave us a good holding on the sandy bottom. Rob also put out 30m of chain too.
19th June; Cala Mata to Platja Sa Canova, Mallorca:
Not much sleep for Rob and I, last night, because as the wind died down, the Rolling began (note the capital R!)
We were up and preparing breakfast before the alarm went off at 8am, as we were awake already. No hint of the strong wind or the roll from the early hours, thank goodness. We’re booked into a marina tonight, in Menorca, and we have all agreed that if the conditions are in any way rough out there, we will turn back.
We turned back hahahha!
Unfortunately, we had 20knts on the nose with a 1mtr swell in all directions! Yuck! We carried on for another hour or so, before deciding to call it a day. The conditions were yuck to say the least! Unfortunately, this means that we’ve lost the €45 for tonight, as you have to pay when you book and it’s always a non-refundable booking. But we made the right choice. As soon as we had the wind behind us, it was a different sea! We still had the occasional strong gusts but nothing like it was.
We are now anchored out alongside a beach, all cosy like. Rob and Pete put out a stern anchor to help with the roll and now its much more comfy. I think we are going to be here until the 21st, because of the strong winds. We (Rob, Pete and I) popped ashore early evening and we discovered that the beach was lined with knee-deep dead posidonia! Ugh! This made entering and leaving the dinghy interesting…
20th June; Platja Sa Canova, Mallorca:
Well, we all slept really, really well! We all had a lazy morning, with breakfast being at 10.30. The weather is lush, with a warm balmy wind. We still have the beautiful turquoise sea, which is lovely. Unfortunately, it’s starting to look like Pete might be returning home before we get to Sardinia, as we can’t see a long enough break in these strong winds we are having 🙁
At around 5.30pm, Rob, Pete & I decided it was time to visit the bar and then the supermarket. The wall of posidonia looked relentless. We saw a slightly less high section and so we headed for it. Pete rolled up his shorts, took a deep breath and stepped onto it, followed by me. Yuck! Yuck! yuck! Rob lifted up the dinghy engine before joining us on the shore, and we all pulled the dinghy to on to the sand. We didn’t buy a lot at the supermarket and our bill was still €33! Getting back in the dinghy was interesting hahaha! Rob fell in! Ugh! Back on board Hoopla, Rob, Pete and Jack went for a quick swim (which helped clean off all the weed).
21st June; Platja Sa Canova, MALLORCA to Fornells Bay, MENORCA:
Well, we we’re up at 8.30am but we left Jack in bed while we prepared Hoopla for her 10 hour journey. Rob lifted out the anchor at 9am and we had breakfast underway. It’s a yucky, misty and clammy start to the day, so we’re all hoping that the sun will burn this off.
At 11am we had the sails out and the engine off! But only half an hour later, the engine was back on! And then off again! Sigh, and then back on hahha!
Its now 5.20 and we are motoring past Cala Tirant but “Pyrex Bay” to us! It’s now so called because this is where we dropped our Pyrex dish overboard last year! We had to leave it behind when we had to leave the bay in a hurry, due to strong winds. We returned a few days later, dived down approx 4 metres to retrieve it. Good memories!
When Menorca first came into our view, we were all still surprised at how low and flat this island is, compared to the others. At 6.10pm, we arrived and dropped our anchor in Fornells Bay, as the marina is full. But we do have a booking from Sat 25th. Rob & Pete took the dinghy to the marina for a beer and they were back at 8.30pm, for dinner. We toasted our safe arrival on Menorca 🙂
22nd to 24th June; Fornells Bay, Menorca:
4.30am (ouch!) saw Rob & I checking that the decks are cleared, as 20kn winds woke us up! But then we didn’t wake up again until 10am! It’s another lazy day for us – but quite a gusty one! Our anchor dragged again(!) but we managed to reset it quickly, unlike the other poor Spanish chap. He took about 4 attempts. The 5 minutes of rain that we had yesterday had sand in it, and It. Is. Everywhere! Rob and Pete cleaned and washed the decks and Pete also fixed our trolley! Yay! One of the wheels needed another bracket. That’s really helpful, thanks Pete, as we use it a lot. It’s now obvious that we won’t have a clear weather window for our crossing to Sardinia with Pete, before he has to head back, so he has changed his flight from leaving from Sardinia to leaving from Menorca instead, for the 29th. Unbelievably, this is only the date that we now have to do the crossing! Such a shame! We took the dinghy to shore (in two shifts) as we decided to eat out tonight. No vodka for Jack this time hahhaaha! Fornells looks so pretty as the sun went down. We had a great time with delicious food, before heading back. Unfortunately the wind had picked up (again) which meant that we all got soaked in the dinghy. We all agreed that this was NOT very pleasant!
We woke the next morning to winds at 25kn and a very choppy sea. We are not going ashore in this and risk getting soaked again! Rob & Pete looked at the solar panels and they replaced a fuse holder, and now we are receiving a stronger charge. Later, it was Larder Dips for tea, as we couldn’t go shopping today!
Fri 24th brought another lazy morning; myself on Kindle duty and the boys all had a swim. Later, Pete, Rob and I took the dinghy to shore, as we had a date with the chandlery and the shops, which was followed by a very nice, tapas lunch. We asked in the marina office about fuel (as the fuel berth is being renovated). Apparently a fuel lorry arrives on Wednesdays, but then we established that it is only for local fishermen. Sigh. Back to the drawing board! But, we had a nice explore of the town and we looked at the nice beach for a while.
When we were back on Hoopla, Rob, then Pete, took the dinghy out for quick sail before all the boys were in water the again. The sea is quite clear but you can’t see the bottom, at 9mtrs deep.
25th June; Fornells Bay to Fornells Marina, Menorca:
We were up at 9am, having breakfast at 10am and Rob spent the morning splicing the ropes onto our new dinghy fender. We cannot head into the marina before 12pm. So, it was 1pm, when Jack lifted up our anchor before Pete steered Hoopla to the marina. Rob took over the helm duty as we entered the marina, while Pete climbed into the dinghy (no mean feat!) to take it to the shore. This was because we were mooring up ‘stern to’. Both Jack and I are on lines duty. But would you believe that the winds decided right then and there to pick up? This made the mooring tricky – but we did it! I made us some lunch while the others set Hoopla up (plugged us in, topped up our water and fitted the passerelle). After lunch, Rob, Pete and I caught the bus to Mahon, for much needed supplies! One Lidl, Eroski and cafe later, we were back on the bus. Each way was an hour! But the views from it were spectacular! All for only €3 each! Not bad. We were back on board at 8.45pm, when Rob decided that we needed to turn Hoopla around! He had noticed that our rudder had taken some knocks against the quay while we were away, and we don’t want a damaged rudder! I quickly put the fridge items away while Rob unplugged Hoopla and took down the passerelle. Turning Hoopla around went like clockwork! Our neighbour said that Rob is a master! Rob put the dinghy on the davits while Pete and I plugged Hoopla back in again! Getting on and off Hoopla isn’t as easy now; climbing over the bows, stepping on the actual anchor, before stepping onto the quay, but definitely do-able! Rob then prepared a lovely fajitas meal with garlic bread for 11pm hahhaha! We’re definitely on Spanish time now! What a busy, busy day!
26th to 28th June; Fornells Marina, Menorca:
A lazy day is needed after yesterday! So that’s what we had! Both Rob and Pete went for a swim at the small beach, which was just a 2 minute walk up the road. I cleared up after our breakfast, put the shopping from yesterday away and finally emptied the recycling. I was just packing up my swim bag when Pete and Rob returned. No matter, I decided to go anyway! They said it was lovely. The beach looked really stony but to the left, there were two large ladder/steps going into the sea. It was indeed lovely! Unfortunately, I’d forgotten my goggles, so I only had about 10/15 mins before I got bored hahha! But it was was lovely swim. Back at Hoopla, I saw that our passerelle was fitted! Rob and Pete had designed a way for it to work from the bows (front) of Hoopla! Brilliant! It’s so much easier getting aboard now!
Rob, Pete and Jack took the drone out for a couple of hours after lunch. They made some lovely videos – but it did mean that dinner was not started until late. A nice roast pork was cooked on the Cobb cooker with roasted veg. DELISH!
We need to top up our fuel tank for our crossing to Sardinia. Rob & Pete went to hire a moped each the next morning, but only one was available. Sigh. The other should be back by 1pm. So Rob took the one that was available and headed for the petrol station. 3 journeys was needed, each lasting just under an hour for a round trip. On trip no.3, Pete went to collect his moped.
A spot of lunch onboard followed, before taking the bikes to Cuidiela. It was a long 16k trip! But worth it! We saw the marina that we should have stayed in the other day, and it looked beautiful! We had a wander around the city and its cathedral and, of course, a coffee stop or 6! Pete suggested eating out that evening – and who are we to argue! A very nice meal was had by all. None of us will need any rocking tonight! But at 1.30am, the winds picked up (again) and so I checked our decks and moved any loose items to the cockpit floor.
The following morning, after a quick breakfast, Rob & Pete went to buy the last container of fuel, fill up the dinghy Jerry can (and the mopeds) as they both had to be returned at 10am. All four of us then caught the 10.40 bus to Mahon, for a very pleasant afternoon wandering around the shops, markets and cafes! Such a beautiful city!
It’s a very warm 29°! We caught the 5pm return bus to Fornells. After dinner, we all wandered into town for farewell pints in bar. Hoopla will not be the same without Pete.
29th June; Fornells Marina returning to Fornells Bay, Menorca:
Its a sad start to the day today, as Peter is going home and we have to leave the marina 🙁 Our alarm woke us all at 8am and he had his last breakfast aboard Hoopla. Rob walked with him to the bus stop in time for the 9.05 bus. We hope his journey goes to plan!
When Rob returned, he topped up our fresh water tank while I emptied the bins and recycling. Our fees were €45 per night for here and we will definitely come back one day. The facilities were always nice and clean and we have excellent access to the town! We have decided to keep the shower cards until we leave Fornells Bay (naughty!), in a few days time. We slipped our lines at just before 12pm (when we have to leave) and at 12.30, we dropped our anchor in the bay. We noticed immediately that it is SO much cooler out on the water. Nice! Later, at around 7pm, our old neighbours from Cartagena (Dranach) arrived! We haven’t seen these guys for about a year and we are all now heading for a restaurant at 8.30pm. The two teenagers went skateboarding after, while we enjoyed a coffee and another beer. It’s so lovely to see them again and to catch up with their news. We all had a lovely evening! It’s such a shame that Pete missed them by just a day! But, he had a good journey back, walking through his front door, without any problems en-route.
30th June to 1st July; Fornells Bay, Menorca:
Well, we didn’t wake up until 10am! I think we needed that obvs! We motored over to our friends for a catch-up, before continuing onto Fornells, and catching the 2pm bus to the next town, for supplies. We were back at around 4.30 and Rob took full advantage of the bay and took the dinghy out for a sail, while I put the shopping away. Jack, meanwhile, had rowed over to meet his friend on Dranack while we were shopping and he was there for the afternoon.
More strong winds were forecasted early next morning, and so, before turning in at 2am, Rob and I cleared the decks, secured the water containers and took down the bimini. Rob has a great anchor watch app now (that doesn’t go off every 5 minutes). After, from our cockpit, we saw that 3 boats had slipped their anchors around us (between the hours of 2 and 3am) but ours held! The winds were constantly at around 20knts, with 28knt gusts. So not that bad and we did get some sleep! We, again, woke up at around 10am, to find that the winds had eased, but we were still having the occasional strong gusts. This has led to quitea choppy sea – but the wind surfers are happy! At 3pm, Jack rowed over to see Clara and us adults took the dinghy ashore for a swim at the beach. I remembered my goggles and snorkel this time, haha. It really was fantastic! We all really enjoyed it. I swam with Rob and we saw fishes, the grasses and we even heard the popping of the shrimps. As we still had the shower cards, all 4 of us used them after our swim. We returned them to the marina office after, and we received our deposit back, without any problems. A slow meander through the town was had, followed by chips and a caña, which was enjoyed by all, before we decided to eat out! Rob went out in the dinghy to fetch our teenagers (plus skateboards, of course) and we had another lovely evening. Plans were made to move to a cove tomorrow, that is only a couple of hours away, which has lovely, swimable sea. The bay was very calm for our dinghy ride back to Hoopla, thank goodness.
2nd July: Fornells Bay to Addaia, Menorca:
We had a lovely lazy morning 🙂 before preparing Hoopla for her next passage. At 12pm, Jack and Rob pulled up our anchor and we said our goodbyes to Fornells. It feels like we have been here for absolutely ages. We will miss this lovely town but we are pleased to be moving on – and we are all looking forward to being able to jump off Hoopla into the sea again.
It was just a small hop, skip and a jump before we were setting down our anchor again, at 1.45. Rob was on the helm as we approached Addaia, before he passed it to me so that he could go and release the anchor. We sometimes have a channel markers: red and green bouys, that we have to follow, which guide us to the entrance of the anchorage/marina. It is not always a straight route, there can be some twists and turns, especially if there are shallow patches. Or rocks. Well, I saw the next set of bouys up ahead and I started heading towards them. But it wasn’t until we were opposite a red and green set, that I realised I had missed them one set out completely!!! To go through these, I would literally have to do a hard left (not that easy in a yacht) I noted that we were in 3 metres of water (which is ample for Hoopla) and the next set of bouys were just a little further ahead, so I headed for them. And hit a rock! Damn! Rob ran down the deck as I switched the engine off and he lifted up our keel! We are now in 1.3 metres! Uh oh! Rob taught me lots of new words hahaaha! One hard left and slow moving forward later, we were soon back in the marked channel. Whoops! We lowered the keel again and we continued on to the anchorage. I am not going to be allowed to forget THAT one in a hurry!
A delicious lunch was eaten soon after, before taking our dinghy to town, where we had our last drinks in Menorca! Next stop: Sardinia! How very exciting!
