For three days the Mistral blew and we were boat bound in Addaia bay in the north east of the island until 5th September. We had two anchors down and luckily did not move despite gusts of 40 kts.
Mistral in Addaia
We had shelter from the waves but not all that much from the wind. On the 5th the wind finally settled and we had a lovely day out with Sam and Gilly exploring the delights of Menorca on land with wheels. The island is very well manicured with miles of beautiful dry stone walls and farms with curious curvy gates. We explored Alior, Cuitadella and Mahon over the next few days and had some excellent meals.
On 7th September the Peacocks arrived for the Royal Yacht Squadron rally the following week. We hired a car to meet them at the airport and then took them up the Torre, the highest point on the island where there is a magnificent view of the whole coastline.
View from Torre highest point in Menorca
We all had a very enjoyable farewell supper with Sam and Gilly as they were going to Majorca by air for a week’s sojourn there on land. The RYS rally started the following day in Mahon so after two hours spent pulling the two anchors up we finally set sail for Mahon around the east coast to meet the other Squadron boats who gave us a warm welcome even though our own Squadron member Hugh Laing was absent.
The following week we made a circumnavigation of Menorca cruising in company with the boats in the rally and enjoyed some excellent dinners and cocktail parties arranged by the Squadron. All very well organized ,great company and wonderful cuisine to say nothing of the champagne and local wine sampling …..Thank you very much Hugh!
Hugh on board our host for the RYS rally
On Friday 14th very early in the morning Vanessa finally arrived in Cuitedella having missed her flight connection in Barcelona. Her friend Kate Llewellin had arrived late the previous night on schedule but after a rest Vanessa recovered her energy and they explored Cuitedella, a truly beautiful old town of narrow alleyways and a magnificently restored church.
On Saturday we left Cuitedella and sailed around the south west of the island and had a good anchorage that night, we had a nice supper on board under a starry sky after a refreshing swim ..this is what it is all about!
Anchorage in Menorca
Hugh left the next morning and David Surman arrived to join us sailing to the Canaries in preparation for the ARC. We returned to Addaia again completing our circumnavigation and were able to see the girls off and provision for the next leg to Gibraltar. The marina here is excellent the best since Turkey ! We had thought of going to Port Leucate to assess the copper antifouling which had been badly applied inTurkey but one look at the weather and we changed our minds there was a strong mistral blowing again which made the journey north impossible. We finally left Menorca on 18th September heading for Gibraltar.
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