Voyage from Sardinia to Mahon,Menorca, 28th July 2011

We left Sardinia early in the morning to face a strong NW wind; we avaeraged 7+knots for the first 24 hours and then the wind died away; so we had 2 options; use the motor and arrive at Mahon in the middle of the night (not recommended) or sail at 0-3 knots and spend another night at sea. So we chose the latter although must admit the lack of wind and the rocking and rolling in the swell was a bit frustrating and at times made us feel a bit seasick. However the spectacular sunset and sunrise  made it all worthwhile. Luckily on my sunrise watch the wind strenghtened to 15 knots.

 We arrived early in the morning at Capo Teleura a small cove inside the narrow entrance to Mahon Harbour  which the locals say is the second biggest after Sydney Harbour. Luckily we managed to find an achorage amongst the 30+ boats; it is August and the locals are on holiday and they love this bayas do the cruising yachts as it is very sheltered from all winds, so it is quite a playground and a great place to people watch; yesterdaywhen a strong SE blew some of  boats dragged thier anchors and one of the motor launches ran aground and had to be hauled off by the water police.

It is  2km dinghy ride in to the old town of Mahon then a 100 + step climb up from the port. It is a very picturesque town with narrow windy cobbled streets, colourfully painted medieval buildings and treelined placas (piazzas).

Dave as always fiddling with his eye pod trying to get wifi; at least it keeps him happy while I go shopping and exploring.

Dave enjoying the views



Yesterday we spent many hours wandering around La Mola a huge fortress spread over 80 acres, built in 1850 on a headland at entrance to the port of Mahon to protect the Baleriacs and Spain from the British and the French. It was used by the military until 1975 and sadly  most of the buildings are now in a state of ruin.Dave was fascinated by design and workings of  the 15" Vickers gun which were brought from England and put in place in 1930. They are manily used on battleships and weigh 250 tons, have a 17 metre barrell and a range of 35 kms. 

Dave was fascinated by design and workings of  the 15" Vickers gun which were brought from England and put in place in 1930. They are manily used on battleships and weigh 250 tons, have a 17 metre barrell and a range of 35 kms.