Adios España: from Menorca to Sardinia by sailboat

Margriet KapteynUnderway6 Comments

The last days in the Balearics – in Spain even – we spent in Fornells, Menorca. First we filled up with water in Ciutadella. The charge was €6 for unlimited water and a 2 hour stay, which meant we could give the entire boat a good wash and still had time to dump our rubbish and walk the dog. Then … Read More

First time med mooring

Margriet KapteynUnderwayLeave a Comment

There are two major towns on Menorca: Ciutadella in the west and Mahon, the capital of the island, in the east. We had heard that both cities were well worth a visit, so we decided to move to an anchorage close to Ciutadella to check out this town first.  Cala Santandria It was a short hop from Cala Son Saura … Read More

Swedish Midsummer in Menorca

Margriet KapteynUnderway2 Comments

One of the main purposes of travelling is getting to know other cultures. Funnily enough, the last few weeks we have not experienced so much of the local culture of the Balearics, but instead we have learned a lot of Swedish customs – thanks to our friends on s/y Wilma. One of the most important holidays in Sweden is Midsummer, and this … Read More

Sailing North Mallorca

Margriet KapteynUnderway6 Comments

We really liked Cala Tuent. It was only a few minutes with the dinghy to go ashore and there were bins just at the top of the concrete pier we used as the dinghy dock, which meant it was very easy to get rid of our rubbish. People came to the beach during the day but it never got really … Read More

Sailing along the west coast of Mallorca

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The distance between Ibiza and Mallorca is about 50 nautical miles, which is a nice daysail. We did not have enough wind so we ended up keeping the engine on for most of the journey. So far this year we have been able to sail quite a lot, so we didn’t mind so much. We headed to one of the … Read More

Exploring Ibiza by sailboat and by foot

Margriet KapteynUnderway2 Comments

The few days we spent in Formentera passed by quickly with barbecues on Goodvibes, trips ashore with the Puppy and generally relaxing and hanging out with our friends. The water was as gorgeous as we remembered from last year, but the weather was a little bit disappointing. While Northern Europe was getting 30 degrees and had the warmest May on … Read More

Receiving a Mayday: immigrants at sea

Margriet KapteynUnderway6 Comments

We left Mar Menor to cross to Formentera in a fleet of 5 boats. We took the 10am bridge opening and from leaving Mar Menor up until later in the evening we had a lovely sail doing about 4 knots on average. Then the wind died down and we turned on the engine because the mainsail was just flapping around. … Read More

Sailing passage: Mallorca to Gibraltar

Margriet KapteynUnderway6 Comments

From the end of August onwards the weather in the Balearics gets more changeable: stronger winds and rain showers means you either have to spend more time in marina’s or constantly be aware of picking a suitable anchorage to be sheltered from the swell and wind. We already had decided to return to Gibraltar for the winter so we didn’t … Read More

Sandy beaches and rugged coastlines: south Mallorca

Margriet KapteynUnderway1 Comment

Playa d’es Carbó Compared to the east of Mallorca, the south coast was much more impressive nature-wise. Our first stop was a large bay to the east of a little town called Colònia de Sant Jordi. There were several places to anchor, but you had to look out for shallow rocks. We found a lovely spot off Playa d’es Carbó, where … Read More

What to do when the backstay breaks?

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Sunday the 13th of August we left Porto Colom for the south of Mallorca. At first there wasn’t much wind so we engined. While I was inside working on my laptop, I suddenly heard some noise: Jon had caught a fish! Actually 2 at the same time, and shortly after another 3. Keeping the big ones and releasing the little … Read More