¡Holá Menorca!

Posidonia seagrass is protected - with good reason - it contributes in large part to the clear waters and sandy beaches of the Mediterranean and it is home to a large number of species. It is forbidden to anchor on and we also learned that the anchor won’t hold on to it anyway.

When the wind on Porquerolles turns 180 degrees due to a thunderstorm, we have to rush through the lashing waves with the dinghy to Mirabella after the anchor alarm has sent us a warning. Our ship is intact, but it’s in quite a different place and a little closer to the rocks! We were very lucky and we have certainly learned a lesson.

We don’t like Posidonia, but we love Posidonia anyway! With a rosé wine called ‘Posidonia’, we have reconciled our relationship with the seagrass. Sand is and remains our favorite ground for anchoring.

On September 4th and 5th we sail to Menorca in a suitable weather window for around 30 hours after exploring the ‘Port De Porquerolles’ and other beaches.

We leave early in the morning and can make good use of the moderate wind from the north with our code zero (a large head sail). The waves come from slightly abaft, which leads to a course that it at times quite rocky.

The children don’t seem to mind it one bit and play all day long above and below deck. We surf the wave at speeds of up to 9 knots, only to be slowed down and swayed by the next one shortly afterward.

The steady wind stays with us until the morning hours. At about 4:00 a.m. it suddenly dies down. A rain cell slows down the wind and us too, and so we motor through the calm for half an hour. After that, it remains unstable for a few hours.

Around noon we can sail at a constant good speed again and are the ‘Menorca Express’ again for the last 25 miles.

When we want to anchor in the first bay and douse the mainsail, it suddenly jams. The sail refuses to drop more than 1/3 the distance from the masthead. After a little cursing and back on a safe course, we discover the cause of the problem: On our main halyard, the mantle tore and it is now slipping on the core and jamming in the guide in the mast.

Luckily Mirabella has a second halyard on the mainsail side of the mast. In just such circumstances, this is extremely valuable. We salvage the sail by attaching the second halyard on the sail at a height of 21m (while the waves are quite high), relieving the defective one, unhooking it, and then letting down the sail on the spare halyard.

We decide to sail to Fornells and, exhausted but full of joy, moor to a buoy and toast our first passage with Mirabella.

Fornells is a pretty village on the northeast of Menorca’s rocky coastline. A fine paella and always tapas, a great playground right by the sea, the big ‘Torre de Fornells’ and calas for swimming - we get stuck in Fornells for a bit. This is also because the bay is well protected against swells from the north, winds from all directions and there is mistral for several days.

We find a very well assorted chandlery here and buy a new halyard for our mainsail and replace it while at anchor.

Joséphine celebrates her fifth birthday on September 7th on board. What joy as she unwraps a few presents that traveled from Switzerland to Mirabella and had been hidden until now.

With cake and gifts, a few video calls with family and friends, and a dinghy trip where she gets to steer, the day goes by in a flash. We make up for the desired kayak trip with a four-person kayak on one of the following days because of too much wind.

We spend a wonderful day a little further west at ‘Platja de Cavalleria’ with snorkeling and bathing and actually want to stay there overnight. This corner seems to us to be well protected from the northeast, but in the middle of the night, when the swell becomes unbearable, we decide to move back to Fornells.

What an unforgettable experience sailing around the northern tip at ‘Far de Cavalleria’ under a bright moon with high waves and only a shred of the head sail, seeing the lighthouse of Fornells again, and then surfing with the swell into the narrow bay. Relieved and tired, we go back to bed in Fornells after uncomplicated anchoring.

We want to continue to the capital Mahón. On the way, we stop at ‘Es Grau’ for one night. Very beautiful! This sizable bay, enclosed by Menorca and a small offshore island, will remain in our memory as a highlight of Menorca. In the middle of the bay we are well protected against the wind and swell and explore the beautiful beaches, snorkeling, and swimming by dinghy in the evening and again in the morning.

On the 13th of September, we dock in port for the first time in over a month. Mahón welcomes us with a long entrance through the entire natural bay to the very back where we moor in the Marina de Menorca.

The girls find it exciting to observe what is going on around them. A smaller cargo ship is unloaded and brings all kinds of goods to the island. In the shipyard right across the street, ships are pulled around with a tractor and there is also a lot going on on the neighboring ships.

Thanks to the southeast wind from North Africa that has been blowing for the last two days, the ships are all covered with red sand the next morning. The boats are cleaned - unfortunately despite the water shortage - until they are sparkling clean again. We don’t indulge in such activities and just clean our solar panels.

We look for the Lavanderia and wash almost all of our laundry, which has become almost impossible to dry over the last few weeks with all the salt water. What a blessing it is to sleep in freshly washed bed linen. We explore Mahón and meet Swiss families in the old town. Joséphine is very happy to finally be able to play with a child who speaks her language and is not quite as young as her sister. Finding other children and children’s boats has been a challenge for us so far. When it comes to the Canary Islands and the Caribbean, this should become easier according to many stories and experiences of other sailors. Here in the Mediterranean many charter boats go out for week and day trips. The needs of children who are on those types of boats are not so much playing with others from other boats. Joséphine and all of us are looking forward to receiving a visit in October.

After two nights in Mahón in port, we move further west and we land in Cala Macarella for one night. This again with quite a lot of swell and the corresponding rocking at anchor. At least, it’s a very pretty bay and we all visit the beach with the SUP.

The next morning set sail for Mallorca and pull out our gennaker for the first time. Gennaker weather, Olé!