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We are now back in Andraitx after a funny old month of September.
We were stuck in Mahon for a week or so at the end of August at the same time as the Classic Yachts Challenge was on. This was like a step into the past with these huge yachts setting out each day for racing. There was quite a variety ranging from large working boats like Baltic Traders to “Lulworth” which is a classic Fife design about 150ft in length. All very interesting but on September 1st we set off in settled weather to explore the North coast of Menorca. First port of call was Cala Addaya which has a tricky zig - zag entrance. We passed a grounded yacht which had zagged before it zigged and had to be towed off. We anchored in a lovely spot which was like a Scottish loch with heat!
Next day we headed on Fornells to via a swim stop at Arenal de Castell. The water in this part of the Balearics is spectacularly clear over a sandy bottom, water temperature is about 22C, what more could one want. Fornells is an enormous Cala with a narrow entrance, which filters out any swell, and we had a calm night.
The Northern coast of Menorca is spectacular but the weather is unstable. Any storms in the Gulf of Lyon come hammering down with strong Northerly winds and a swell, which makes the whole coastline untenable. With caution in mind, we pressed on next day to Ciudadela and indeed , the swell was beginning to build up. We had a lumpy night in Cala Santandria and in the morning we set off for Porto Cristo on Mallorca.
The crossing (35nm) was calm and we popped into the last berth on the public quay at Porto Cristo.
We stayed in Porto Cristo for a couple of nights (@25euroes per night) and then moved down to Porto Colom where you can anchor for free. We met up with a German couple we had got to know in the spring: Christian and Christiana on “Pegasus”. We then popped back to Porto Cristo to top up with water and charge the batteries from shore power but became trapped by strong onshore winds and an impressive swell. Eventually we set off for the west coast on September 25th and had an overnight stop in Cala Portals (lovely spot) before going on to Andraitx and getting the last spot on the public pier.
There was drama but we missed it (thank goodness). On the morning of September 24th there was an ice storm in Andraitx. At 8oclock in the morning people awoke to golf ball chunks of ice thundering down. Well not so much down as across as they were being driven by an 80mph wind. The storm lasted for about 15minutes but caused extensive damage. Cars, which had been parked in the “wrong” place, had their side panels transformed into Dimplex radiators. A vintage yacht, “Southern Cross”, with freshly varnished masts had all the good work undone in seconds, windows of houses and cars were smashed and sun canopies were punctured.
Anyway we were back in Andraitx to take up our winter berth, which we had booked back in April. So we go along to the office usual pleasantries but no trace of us on the LIST. After some protestation we are now in a temporary berth beside the Travel hoist where we get a close-up view of the marine growth on the boat keels as they are lifted out. We are waiting patiently for a proper berth to become available.
Pleasant things that have happened are, an unexpected linkup with John McNeill who was having a short break in Santa Ponsa. We also have met up with my cousin Richard and his wife Pat and sorted out the family history-again.
The weather is cloudy with bright patches and a pleasant temperature of 28C. Hector has taken to night patrols which is pretty irritating. I’m back to the UK for 10 days on Oct 16th and Anne´s parents and nephew Colin come out for a week on the 13th October. That’s all for now Adios
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