At Menorca we anchored just outside Cuitadella as the harbour there was too full.

 But on the way we experienced a traumatic event that has changed our lives forever. Whilst watering the decks to protect them from  temperatures higher than 30 degrees, Dave accidentally dropped the black bucket, which has been a close friend of mine for the whole trip. With lightning speed we deployed our man-over board skills to rescue our semi submerged, longstanding and faithful crew member. But due to a little excess enthusiasm and speed we rammed it and watched bereft as it sank to depths in excess of 100m. Our replacement is just not the same.

From here we had one of our fastest sails right along the Menorcan coast, spotting turtles swimming by and stopping only once at the crowded Cala Covas for a swim and snorkel, before finally anchoring in the very busy, Mahon harbour. The larger cruise liners can seem a little scary when viewed through a port hole of a 9m boat.

 But the amount of traffic in and out of this port only adds to its charm. Small houses are clustered along both sides of this natural harbour decorating it like lace on a table cloth.

In order to tour the island by hire car we tied to a mooring buoy in Cala Llonga for peace of mind that Kluut would be safe. The Menorcan interior is full of history and well worth seeing. Pre historic monuments litter the countryside and have invited generations to ponder on the reason for their construction. Although there are few sandy beaches the rocky calas (bays) offer lots of snorkelling opportunities and are just perfect picnic places to sit and eat the famous Mahon cheese with fresh bread. With a car we were able to see the entire island and meet up with a yachting couple we had met in Aguadulce who live in Addeya. From the highest point we could see most of the island and were told that it is even possible to see Mallorca on a clear day.

Because we were delayed for two weeks in Mahon waiting for the radio and our laptop to be eventually replaced, we missed many favourable weather windows to sail to Sardinia, which was a great concern as it is a 200nm trip that would take 2 days, my longest-ever trip in Kluut.

Pip and Dave