Port Napoleon, France to Cartagena, Spain
Via Rosas & Cadaques (Spain) and the
Balearics (Menorca, Mallorca, Ibiza & Formentera)
The Green Line denotes our route
Places we visited ordered by time sequence:
Algeciras
Our To-Do List / Post-Launch Exercises
Test Water Maker
|
Continue working on new APT Satellite system to get better pics & S/N ratios
|
Update WxToImg on Dell
|
Reprogram NavTex unit for Atlantic crossing
|
Get Furuno Wx-Fax unit programmed and operational for Atlantic crossing
|
Polish SS
|
Clean & polish deck
|
Load Maptech charts onto new Nobeltec software (10.1)
|
Get new vodaphone USB modem working with computers (Determined that modem can only be configured for Vista or XP and not both - Vodaphone tech's & sales reps did not know this.)
|
Varnish teak toe rails
|
Replace 16 Amp shore-side connector for AC Power cord
|
Rosas and Cadaques
Our First Stop in Spain
Rosas and Cadaques was more of a exit strategy from Port Napoleon than anything else. We did enjoy both. Cadaques was more of an anchorage that was very full, and despite the apparent availability, day after day, of a mooring that was large enough for Dakare, the mooring tender kept telling us maybe tomorrow. Finally we got the message and left. Our departure from Cadaques was precipitated more by the weather than the lack of a mooring as the weather was deteriorating and the waves from the bad weather were coming straight into the harbor. The only places available to anchor in Cadaques, places that were not covered with mooring buoys, had poor to bad holding in strong winds. Several times we dragged and each time we pulled up our anchor, we hauled up 3 to 4 times as much weight in seaweed as we did our anchor, The very first time that we pulled our anchor in Cadaques, operating on the belief that the mooring would be available, we hauled up a fisherman's detritus. Not sure what to call it but it was 3 sequential rings of metal disks (awesome and deadly looking) about 10 feet in diameter. They were impaled on our anchor. I am truly surprised that our windlass could lift that much weight. Fortunately for us, a 2 man dive boat was coming by and we were luck enough to get there help in extricating ourselves from this nasty situation. We were subsequently told that what we had hooked were illegal fisherman traps and that the fisherman, rather than being caught with them when the marine police show up, dump them overboard and abandon them. It is said that there are many of these traps abandoned in the bay. We were very lucky to obtain help.
We then went to a very small cove around the corner where we took refuge from the building wind behind a small reef. Dakare did well and we had a good night sleep. In the morning, we met our Spanish neighbors, Giaco and Elizabeth Ventura on their 46 foot power boat. It was clear that these were nice people and we invited them over for cocktails the next night. Unfortunately, our genset started to misbehave and we decided, the next morning, that it would be more prudent to go to Rosas where, if necessary, we could obtain help - it turned out that there was a Kohler (our genset manufacturer) there who could be of help if necessary. The big issue for us was - how big was the marina at Rosas and did they have space for us. Elizabeth came to the rescue and made a reservation for us;. Thank you!!! and we left. We were under the impression that they were going to go North but as it turned out, they also came to Rosas because of the bad weather. So we were able to visit with each other and had a nice opportunity to get to know one another. We agreed to stay in contact with one another and in the process of discussing details we discovered that we live about one hour apart. It truly is a small world!

Menorca, Balearics
We anchored pretty much in the same place that we had during our previous visits to Mahon. We were surprised how deserted the harbor was. During our previous visit there, in the height of the vacation season, it was very difficult to find a place to drop the hook even in a harbor as large as Mahon. We were told that the last 2 weeks in August are typically not as crowded as the previous weeks and then, there is one last surge in the beginning of September. Not sure how true all of that is, but we were surprised none-the-less to see how empty it was. Someone else also hypothesized that Menorca is pricing themselves out of the market. This may be even more true. Previously, we had called ahead from Rosas and asked for prices to dock on a pontoon when we thought that we might have some work done in Menorca to our genset. Fortunately, as it turned out, it was not necessary to work on the genset which was a great relief to both Karen and I, especially when we found out the price to rent the space on a pontoon was 146 EU / night (that is over $200 (US Dollars).)
While there, we went (finally) for a tour of the Queen Isabella II fortress at the mouth of Mahon. It took us 2.5 hours to cover mostly everything. It is a very large fortress (See the chart below.) Our favorite places there were the 381 mm cannon emplacement and the Gallery.
Built by the Vickers Company out of England, 6 were purchased by Spain to protect their coastal shorelines. The gun emplacement at the fortress has been turned into a museum. There is a very nice tour which lasts about 20 minutes, explaining the history and functioning of the cannon. The cannon is immense. To clean it, a soldier would actually be inserted into the barrel of the cannon. It was said that people would faint inside the cannon barrel while cleaning it because it would get too hot inside. The soldier would have a rope tied around his feet to pull him out in case he did faint. We were also told that the cannon was only used in practice exercises and never in anger. This cannon could shoot a 2 ton, 381 mm shell 35 kilometers.

The Gallery, as it is called, is a 385 meter long enclosed shooting gallery to protect the fort from invaders. It overlooks the moat and provided a very protected environment for the fortress defenders. One is always impressed with how much work goes into the building of such defensive fortifications. In many ways, this fortress reminds us of Brimstone fortress in St. Kitts. Both are worth seeing.
The Moat with the Gallery in the background
Upon returning to Dakare from our tour of the fortress we found another American owned boat sitting close by. We stopped to say hello and were invited over by fellow New York City cruisers Lilyan and Joel Chinman. Their boat, Maurader, is a 62 foot C&C. We had a delightful time visiting with them and shared a few glasses of wine. Joel explained how they, after several years in the Med, were heading back to Barcelona where they would put their boat up for sale and return to the US. Sorry to see them go, they are exactly the type of people that makes for great cruising friends.
Panoramic View - Queen Isabella II Fortress (Mola), Menorca
This is a 360 Degree panoramic view of the area surrounding (and including) the Queen Isabella Fortress (Mola) on Menorca.
This picture is a composite of 25 pictures stitched together to make 1 picture. You can see part of the Fortress
if you scroll the page to the right.
See the chart below for a perspective of where the picture was taken.
The area highlighted with the purple circle is the Mola (Fortress) where the panoramic picture was taken.
|
|
|
Fortress entrance overlooking the Port Town of Mahon
|
Fortress Coat of Arms at the Entrance
|
|
|
|
The Barracks (Right) and the Prison (Left) where many political prisons were kept. Not a pretty thought.
|
Protective Emplacements NW quadrant of the Fort
|
|
Some of the best times in cruising is meeting up with people... We were planning to leave Mahon on Thursday morning and when we got up in the morning we saw that our friends, Liz and Harry on Junica from Port Napoleon, were nearby. What a nice surprise! Harry and Liz had been supportive while we were going through our nasty gyrations with the Port Napoleon manager (forgive me for misusing that word) Maarten Berings. Harry also came to our rescue with the proper tools when I finally reattached the forestay that Port Napoleon had removed and never put back in place when they put us on the hard.
Harry and Liz had done the trip to Mahon over the previous day and a half and had a somewhat difficult trip with what they estimated to be seas approaching 4-5 meters and very high winds, Harry related that this was the worst of the sailing that he had experienced in the Med. Karen and I remember looking at the wind and wave forecasts from Rosas before we made our departure. Many of the forecasts were not pretty and so we delayed until we thought we had a good weather window. Even with that, we experienced higher winds and bigger seas than those forecasted and so it is not hard to believe that the conditions were at least as bad as reported by Harry. He had waves that were breaking from behind (he was basically running) and when the waves broke they were pushing his dinghy that was attached to the back of his boat up from their suspension points. He also reported that the top third of the waves were just being sheared off into spindrift. Their two cats, like Josh, did not have a good trip and got seasick. Ziggy, their dog, seemed to brave the conditions well.
Having made it safe and sound to Mahon, they graciously invited us to their guests at Nicki's in (I believe) Cala Font.. I had always referred to it as The Restaurant Nische, where the entire cala is lined with one restaurant after another. Nicki's was the first restaurant that offered to seat Harry and Liz after so many other restaurants had turned them down because they had brought Ziggy along (how non-European?)
That evening we invited them to a farewell dinner aboard Dakare. We were still stuffed from that great lunch at Nicki's, but how can you deny yourself a good hamburger! So we ate more and drank more and had some great discussions. What a nice way for us to spend our last day in Mahon. We have very fond memories and we thank Liz and Harry for their kindness and friendship.
Cala Son Saura: Our next and last stop in Menorca.
Mahon Harbor to Cala Son Sauna on the Southern Coast of Menorca (4 Hrs)
Cala Son Saura was our last stop in Menorca. It is a small cala (Inlet) on the southern coast and unlike most of the other callas that we considered visiting that were chock full of boats, this cala was virtually empty. We go a very good holding spot in 18 feet of beautiful white sand, back'd the engine down at 2,000 RPMs and we held securely the first time with an unprotected southerly exposure. We expect continued Force 2-4 winds out of the South today but the waves are miniscule. The wind is supposed to shift tonight to the NE and in this direction, we will have very good protection.
Mallorca, Balearics
45 NM from Menorca to Mallorca
The Green Line is our course to Mallorca from Menorca in 2008,
the Black line is our course to Menorca in 2007
Notice the freighter Nura Nova crossing the Straits between Menorca and Mallorca, taken
from our AIS system.
In Mallorca, we stayed at Porto Petra and then we moved on to Santa Ponsa where we had stayed during our last visit here. Porto Petra had free moorings and in Ponsa we anchored.
Ibiza, Balearics
OK, so we didn't do what we said we did!!! In fact, we tried, but the winds and the bureacracy conspired against us. Anchoring in Ibiza Town is no longer allowed and you must take a birth at the marina. Not only are they very expensive, but they were, as they put it, complete... meaning that they had no more slips for boats our size. So we anchored in a cala on the North side of the island.
This was a very nice harbor, somewhat, but not obnoxiously full of boats. We spent one evening there and headed out to see if we could find a place near Ibiza Town to spend a few days. BBecause the wind was from the NE, there were no tenable harbors to stay. So we decide to truck on, and go to Formentera, the only place in the Balearics that we hadn't been.
Formentera, Balearics
The Anchorage off Formentera
Someone got it wrong!
On the beach in Formentera at 10 AM in the morning, the shadow tells the truth!
Cartagena
It was on our trip back to Cartagena that we crossed back into the western hemisphere!
We visited Cartagena a little over 5 years ago. We were stuck there for about 5 days with unfavorable winds, so we got a good chance to get to know the town pretty well. On our return trip out of the Med we stopped here again and were very surprised to see so many "good" changes. The marina has been expanded and now there is an old and a new part. We stayed in the new marina and to our delight they had finger piers, such an unusual but very welcomed occurrence in the Med. We got in just as the forecasted winds began to increase. The town has been upgraded too. When we were there last, several buildings were undergoing massive facial surgery and were somewhat masked by scaffolding. All of that has been finished and much more. Not that Cartagena was ever in the state of Baltimore, but much of the new building that we saw reminded us of the Inner Harbor revitalization program that Baltimore underwent. Now there is a nice walking promenade along the marina and they are in the process of building a cultural / convention center there too. We were impressed.
We don't think that Cartagena would be a good place to Winter since the marina is open to the swells from the South and they get pretty good storms from that direction. Perhaps the old marina would be a better bet if you were going to spend the Winter there.
An Evening Stroll in Beautiful Cartagena
Puerto Genovese
Not much here accept a well protected anchorage from West, SW and Southerly winds. A slight roll in the harbor with SW winds at 12 -15 knots, comfortable and well protected all night. This was a 70 NM trip SW from Cartagena.
Puerto Almerimar
180 degree Panoramic View of the Harbor
Never accuse sailors of not being flexible. Our plan, after arriving at Porto Genovese had several options:
1. Sail all the way to Gibraltar (Overnighter - about 165 NM)
2a. Sail to Aguadolce and wait out the bad weather
2b. Sail to Aguadolce and leave the next day for Gibraltar
3s. Sail beyond Aguadulce to a place called Motril, anchor in the harbor since there was no room the Club Nautico marina and wait out the bad weather there
3b. Sail beyond Aguadulce to a place called Motril, anchor in the harbor since there was no room the Club Nautico marina and leave the next day for Gibraltar.
We had downloaded a 5 day GRIB file - a weather report showing wind and pressure gradients prior to our departure. The outlook for 3 -5 days out was bleak with gale force winds predicted coming directly into our path to Gibraltar. We amended our plans with the idea of leaving at 3AM from either the 2nd or 3rd options above with the idea of beating the bad weather. Further complicating the issue was that our friends and the guide books indicated that one could anchor in Motril, but all that information was several years old and we weren't sure if we could trust it. Like our recent experience in Ibiza Town, we were concerned that they may have subsequently changed the regulations and anchoring may no longer be allowed. The problem was, where would we go and do it we couldn't anchor if we chose the 3rd option. Our leaning was to go to Motril, hope that we wouldn't have a problem with anchoring and leave very early the next day for Gibraltar. But we understood that was a risky proposition.
So, at the crack of dawn we left Porto Genovese with all these options, some modified as explained and with no clear idea which one we would pick. Complicating the issue, strong winds were predicted around Noon UTC, 2PM our time, 20-25 on the nose. Fortunately the GRIB files indicated that the wind would abate. to 10-15 knots about 3 hours after it started. Getting an early start was a good idea.
Which option did we choose?
None of them!
Our new cruising buddies, Pam and Tom on Imagine, a 58 foot speed machine, who were in the last throws of their world circumnavigation, called us on VHF to let us know that they found another marina, just 29 NM from where we were, that they had room for both of us and were 1/3 the price of Agaudulce. We bit the hook and just before the strong winds appeared, we were safe and snug in our slip at the marina.
Almerimar's Capitainerie & Imagine with Pam & Tom Aboard
Imagine is a 58 foot sled that weighs half (16T) the tonnage of Dakare (33T) - the only time we could nail them on speed was when we were both powering as Dakare had almost double their horsepower, which we were disinclined to use to its full extent when deisel is running at $8.70 / Gallon.
La Linea
La Linea is adjacent to Gibrlatar, just on the other side of the airport. We wound up leaving the Marina Bay marina in Gibraltar, and going to La Linea as a staging point for going through the Straits. The are some pics and details of La Linea in the Gibraltar webpage.
Rhonda
Having spent a lot more time in Gibraltar / La Linea then planned, we took a day trip via train to the mountain town of Rhonda, just a bit NE of where we were anchored. We went with Joe and Michelle on Perigrine, hailing from Michigan and Greg on Carina. Rhonda is now a cute little fortress town catering to tourists, with many trinket shops and restaurants. The town was built on top of a mountain plateau and has chasms of pinnicle-like rocks eminating downward from the town to the valley below, reminiscent of many we had seen in Greece.
Algeciras
We went over to Algeciras Harbor, the southern harbor, for a day. There is nothing aesthetically redeeming aout the place and it smells too. However, they have just dredged the harbor to depths of 13-15 feet, which was not reflected on any charts we had. They have also built an outer breakwall not shown on any charts yet and about 1 mile out from shore just inside the channel buoy shown on the charts. The harbor is bullet proof. This is where I would want to stay if there was a storm. There is 360 degree protection with high walls. Otherwise, it is industrial with 2 marinas. You really need a car to stay here or you must enjoy long bicycle rides. One of the marinas caters to small boats and the other can handle a very limited number of medium to large sized boats (17 meters is probably max.)
|
|
|
Port Traffic Control Tower in Algeciras
|
Algeciras' Traffic Circle
|
|
|
|
The Rock of Giraltar & Dakare (Far left)
|
Algeciras' Harbor View
|
Our Guest Book
(Please note that we can only check the guest register when we have access to a land line while in )
(Nov 28, 2008 - CY200808)
|