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Friday, May 4th, Alghero, Sardegna, Italy
I was afraid I'd be
sick of living onboard after spending a whole winter
cooped up inside our little home. It is amazing
what you can get used to and how much it really does
help to look for the positive in something rather than
the negative. As we are racing along on our way to
Sardegna, maintaining a steady 10 knot pace, I realize
just how much I love this boat, despite the occasional
inconvenience of our limited living space. Not
only have we been able to enjoy the incredible
experience of living in Spain for the last six months,
but we are also able to, at a moments' notice, pick up
anchor and make a beeline across 180 miles of sea into a
whole new country.
Our sojourn at Isla de
Cabrera was a little shorter lived than we anticipated.
It was a lovely place, full of rugged natural beauty and
unspoiled landscapes. We arrived around 4pm, one
of only three boats there.
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Perhaps the rough
conditions had kept everyone else in the harbor. When
we stuck our noses out from behind the protective
seawall in Palma, we found ourselves facing 6 foot
seas that were hitting us right on the beam. The winds never
reached 25 knots, but the sea state made the trip
extremely uncomfortable. Both girls were a little
green, as was I, I have to admit. It was the first
time I have ever really felt seasick on the boat.
I was amazed. I must also report,
that our youngest crew member, Hobie, also seems to be
somewhat susceptible to seasickness. He had a
little episode as we left Espalmador for Palma, which
we were just blaming on
some food that had gone bad or something, when Hobie
started the same sort of strident meowing that proceeded
his heaving the first time. Luckily, his poor
little tummy hardly holds any food and he fully recovers
after just one occurrence. It only happens when
the seas are rough. I'm betting that he outgrows
it completely.
The trip was blissfully
quick as Zia took the waves in stride, surging ahead in
the strong breeze on the beam. We were rewarded
with a little sunshine as we took up one of the fifty
mooring balls that are so ardently administered by the
Spanish National Park Service. They never actually
asked to see our paperwork, although we dutifully took
it ashore with us the following day as we dinghied in to the only designated disembarkation area in
front of the administration buildings. Visitors
are allowed to follow the road up to the castle
unsupervised, and can also get a permit to hike out to
the lighthouse on the opposite side of the island on
their own. Unfortunately, the office was closed by
the time we got back from the castle, so our plans for
the longer excursion were dashed. By the time the
office reopened at 4pm, Joe was up to his elbows in the
engine room, replacing a defective water pump on our
generator. By the time he finished up with that,
we were talking about moving on already. The limited
activities that were permitted onshore, the lack of
beach, and the cold and cloudy weather had all conspired
to dampen our enthusiasm for Isla de Cabrera.
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Besides, the breeze was
perfect for an overnight sail to Mahon, Menorca!
In fact, we had to slow down by reefing our sails to
make sure we arrived in Mahon during daylight. The
12 hour trip was an easy passage for us. The kids
are so much happier when we spend the nights traveling
rather than wasting a whole day underway. Joe and
I are content to accommodate. Night watch can be
boring and cold and exhausting, but that is nothing
compared to having a couple of cranky kids!
Actually, I love night watch. It's a great time to
think, out there alone with the moon, if you are lucky,
and the sound of the waves and the boat riding through
the water. Under sail it is a whole lot more fun,
but even motoring can be amazingly peaceful. Plus,
to keep you on your toes, there is always the exciting diversion of the occasional
huge freighter bearing down on your position! Deciphering the lights to figure out
which way this huge menace is heading, calculating its course
vis-à-vis your own, and second guessing your answers
until the danger has clearly passed, can really wake up
the sleepy watch stander!
Collisions with
freighters handily avoided, we pulled into Mahon at
sunup. We spent a while trying to figure out where
to anchor and finally decided to try one of the yellow
moorings that are laid for visiting yachts. By the
time we were hooked up, we had already scoped out the
available wifi signals and determined that we were going
to have to pay for our connectivity. No sweat.
Mahon looked like a really nice city, so we figured we
would stay for a few days at least. It was either
one day for 10 Euros or one week for 20, so we opted for
the 20 Euro plan. You can never have enough
connectivity!
Our first chore was to
check the weather. The
weather grib files
that we used reliably throughout the Caribbean and the
Atlantic, and are still using here in the Med, although
with a larger degree of skepticism based on reported
unreliability, had been showing a nasty weather pattern
starting next week. With guests arriving in
Alghero, Sardegna on May 12th, we needed to make sure we
left ourselves enough time to get there without running
into the heavy winds and seas that were forecasted.
Although the file only offers predictions up to a week
out, the picture was not pretty. Thirty to forty
knots of wind between Menorca and Sardegna, blasting
down towards us from the Gulf of Leon threatened to keep
us away from our rendezvous.
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It is a 180 mile trip
which we should allow about 24 hours to complete.
Our weather predictions went as far as May 10th, still
showing 30 knots out of the northwest, with higher wind
speeds further north. With the winds beginning on
the morning of the 5th and lasting through the 10th,
blowing up big waves the whole time, chances are the
conditions will still be ugly on the 11th, the very last
day we can leave Menorca and be assured of making our
deadline.
Although we had already
paid our 20 Euros for a week's worth of internet, we had
not yet paid for our mooring. Within an hour we
had headed back out to sea, hoping to continue to ride
the perfect breeze for another 24 hours onto Sardegna.
I'm disappointed not to be able to check out Mahon at
all, or any of Menorca for that matter. I hear
there are some really great little spots and that of all
the Balearic islands, it is the least touristy.
On the other hand, we
are excited to be heading to Italy finally. It is
hard to believe we have been in the Med for half a year
and haven't been to Italy yet! Joe can't stop
thinking about the pastas and the pizzas! We have
had some negative reports from other cruising friends
about their experiences in Italy, which really surprised
us. I think my Italian, such as it is, will be a
big help. Most of the negative comments
we've heard came from experiences in the big cities.
I can understand that. Although we always value other cruisers' comments and
feedback on the places they visit, we have learned to
take it all with a grain of salt. Everyone's
perceptions are based on a huge variety of factors that
might, or might not, have anything to do with one's own
experience. I can't tell you how many times we
have been someplace, on someone's recommendation, and
been disappointed. Or loved a spot that we were warned
against! I guess the lesson is: Go
to Isla de Cabrera and let us know what YOU think about
it!
Next Entry >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Many thanks to our friend Craig Homenko for his assistance in setting up the website.
We also would like
to thank our buddy Scott Brunner who has been kind
enough to host the website on his server.
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