South of France, Menorca, Majorca - Nics diary part 5

Nics Diary – Part 5 – 16.9.12

Places visited:

South of France – St. Tropez, Isles de Poquerolles, Cassis

South of Spain – Roses, Cala de sa Riera, Palamos, Blanes, Llorret de Mar

Menorca – Fornells, Mahon, Cala Granalda

Majorca – Alcudia, Pollensa, Soller, Santa Ponsa, Magaluf

Well, to begin with I (we) must hang our heads in shame and apologize to Mar Menor for cursing the town for robbing us (Nics Diary – Part 2). We had a thunder storm a few days ago, and decided to hide all of our electrical items (laptop etc) in the microwave for protection, and you’ll never guess what was in there – Duh - the 2 cameras, our hand held radio, and a chart plotter that we thought was stolen from our deck in Mar Menor!! Yes, as mentioned before, we were very drunk that night!! (shame the dinghy that was stolen in Corsica wasn’t in there too).

So moving on swiftly, as usual, the last month has flown in. One of the last places we visited in the South of France was some beautiful Islands called Isles de Poquerolles. These islands had real character. It looked like a wee village from back in time. It had palm trees, crystal clear waters, everyone cycled, and a lot of the young children came out in the night to set up wee street stalls to sell all sorts, like jewellery.

Isles de Poquerolles with palm  trees!

The South West coast of France had fascinating cliffs and rock formations. We managed to find an anchorage between 2 cliff faces – certainly different from the normal views!

Stunning anchorage!

Breath Taking Rock Formations!

Our travels then became all about getting to Blanes (near Gerona airport) to collect my mum, who has now been traveling with us for 3 weeks. I was really worried about her coming as she has a big fear of deep water, and the last thing she would ever imagine doing was traveling, full time, on a yacht – that was until I decided to travel the world for 3 years, on a yacht!! She couldn’t resist the ‘once in a life time opportunity’, but I have to admit, she has been coping really well, and has shown no fear, even though we have seen some of the worst Mediterranean  seas since she arrived.

Mum enjoying being a tourist of the sea!

 It turns out that the Gulf of Lyon area (where the South of France meets the south of Spain, and also dips down to Menorca), is notorious for big storms and heavy seas – so we have recently learned, and fast!! We have basically become’ storm dodgers’ (instead of ‘storm chasers’!). 

Being on a deadline to collect my mum meant that we had to keep a close eye on the weather. Crossing the Gulf of Lyon had to be well timed, and still we hit some really thick fog at 3am. Stevie was on watch, and wakened me at 7am as his fingers and toes were all wrinkled up (like when you have had a long bath), and he needed a well-earned break. I was worried when he left me alone, as I have mentioned before, I hate the thick fog, as I always picture a massive boat emerging and not having much time to do anything about it! However, I was lucky, and the fog cleared quickly. I was just left to steer around approximately 20 fishing boats that charged towards me, as they must have been waiting for the fog to clear.

Layer of thick black fog under the sunrise!

When we finally arrived at Blanes we tied up (illegally) to a harbor wall for the night. As it was Saturday night, no one was around to move us on. A young boy in a boat further along said it was ok to use his water hose, so we waited until dark, then spent most of the night twin tubbing all of my clothes, taking showers, scrubbing the deck, then filling the water tanks – all ready for mum coming. Oh how I miss a never ending supply of water (we are still trying to get the water maker fixed). We taped some money to his hose to say thanks for the water!

Twin tub day on the boat!

When my mum arrived (on Monday 27^th August) we moved on to Menorca immediately, as the weather was due to turn again, introducing her to a 26hr sail on her first day with us!

Menorca is very different to Majorca, with far less British tourists, much quieter, and not much in the way of beaches. We assumed that Menorca is less popular due to the storms coming from the Gulf of Lyon. Our first stop was Fornells, which was nice and protected from the sea as it was situated in almost an inland sea, with only a small gap out to the real sea. This proved to be great for protecting us from the nasty sea outside, but also meant we were stuck there for a week, as once you get the boat in, it is really difficult to get it back out. We tried to leave one day, and had to turn around as there were rather large breaking waves (our rudder still hasn’t been repaired, so we have to take it easy). 

We have now storm dodged, our way back to Magaluf, Majorca, where my friend, Amanda, and her boyfriend, Steven, will be coming for a holiday tomorrow. Stevie’s mum, Lorraine, and her boyfriend, Kevin, will also be coming in a few days. It will be great to see them all. They both have accommodation on land, but I am sure they will be spending much time on the yacht. (Brace myself for yacht chaos as 2 on the boat can be cosy – never mind 7!!!).

Shreaded Scotland Flag from all of the storms

As so many visitors are expected, Stevie was anxious to buy a new rib that is a little bigger and more stable, than the wee soft deck dinghy we have been using since our last rib was stolen (Nics Diary – Part 4). We had a nice wee day out together, wandering in industrial estate trying to find a new rib, and success! We have a beautiful, smooth planing, extremely sparkly new rib called Snow White, and she is all ready to safely transport our guests (the 7 dwarfs!), and, of course, for Stevie to spend many hours playing on!!

Plans (time wise) are still coming along nicely for heading to Tenerife, to cross the Atlantic in November. When our guests leave, we plan to head to Gibraltar for some work to be done to the boat (including the rudder bearings getting fixed) and also so I can spend many days stocking up shopping at Morrisons!!

The new rib Ab VS9 well made and spacious (snow white!!)

We decided to buy (for a trial) a dried and cured full leg of ham to experiment using it in several meals for the Altantic crossing! (long life meat). We pigged (he he) out on it the first day, and sickened ourselves without trying it out for cooking. We then left it for a week, or so, in a sealed plastic bag, and when we went to get it, it was all mouldy. Lesson learned - as it must sweat! It was tasty though, so we will probably get one for our crossing.

I am a little worried about how much Stevie enjoyed carving it up!

Tastes really yummy - but you have to try not to think about what it is that you are actually eating!

My home baking has been coming along nicely. My soft dinner rolls turned our really tasty, as did my home made pizza. I just need to buy 100 bags of flour from Morrisons and we will be fine! (It will be handy to be able to read the writing in English and to know what type of flour I am using, as just now it’s a bit of a guess).

Anyway, I better get back to my final preparations for our guests arriving. It will be great to see some more familiar faces. I just wish everyone could be here too for a catch up. Luv to all, miss you millions, nic xxx

Stevie, me & mum

Some photos from our ‘stolen’ camera that match up with Nics Diary – Part 2 (Gibraltar & Mar Menor)

The Rock of Gibraltar - Cars and people crossing the runway!!

We took the cable car up the rock - scary!

Barbary Apes - the local residents of  'the rock'

Morrisons has a bar that you can smoke in - don't mind shopping here on a regular basis!

My wee tuna that I caught - was a bit yucky to eat though!

And extremely bloody to gut!

Draw Bridge opening to let yachts through - Mar Menor

Nics diary part 4 - Sardinia , Corsica & Monaco

Nics Diary – Part 4 – 17.8.12

Sardinia, Corsica, Monico and the South of France

We arrived in Alghero, Sardinia on the 20^th of July. Stevie had read on someone else’s blog that we would be able to tie up to the harbour wall for free for a few days. We were also warned to ignore the ‘harbour staff’ in dinghy’s who would try to get us to pay for a berth in one of the marinas. However, when we tried to tie to the harbour wall someone came along and tried to charge us 70 euros! We told him that it should be free, but he insisted that we pay, so we left immediately. This was our first hint of things not quite being straight down the line in Italy, and Stevie read more about corruption in Italy with regards to ripping off boaties……..

We left the harbour, and managed to find a nice spot to anchor. As no one else was around we decided that this would be a lovely place to have a BBQ and bonfire on the beach (Our own wee Loch Lomond – where we used to go, and what we used to do as often as we could in Scotland). This time Stevie got really drunk and I had to get us safely home on the dinghy!

BBQ on beach and our beautiful Runaway in the background

Just like Loch Lomond - Just a little warmer!

In the town we found a really cheap supermarket with 27 cents beer – perfect.

Yummy! Looks like it should be scottish?

 So we stocked up with several crates and then moved on to a small town called Bosa. I really liked this place, to begin with, as the water was beautifully clear, and turquoise!  We stayed here for a few days, and each day we went to shore and tied up our dinghy around a pole on the beach as there appeared to be no dinghy dock to lock it up on.  The pole was part of a small fenced off area, but each time Stevie locked it, I was looking around to ensure no one objected. On the third day of doing this, I decided to stay on shore myself and look around the shops, and Stevie decided to go back to the boat. The arrangement was that he would look out for me down a jetty, and come and collect me. However, when I got there, there was no sign of Stevie, so I decided to have a beer in a pub nearby. There were 2 policemen hanging around, but I thought nothing of it. 5 minutes later Stevie appeared, got off the dingy, and walked straight past me. I was shouting him, but he kept walking. He shouted back to me ‘What was it you said about getting a parking ticket for the dinghy?’, then I realised that the 2 policemen were waiting for him! The dinghy had been clamped on the beach, and we were issued with a 200 euro fine for parking the dinghy on the beach. I tried to explain that this amount was too much and that it meant that I wouldn’t be able to eat for a week but they didn’t care. The really annoying thing was that there was an option to give us a warning, but they decided to fine us instead. We were given 60 days to pay the fine, and for obvious reasons, we decided to depart Italy rapidly and head for Corsica, France.

Bosa Beach - very nice - shame about the fine!

Corsica turned out to be a beautiful island. We visited an isolated bay called Girolata, where the only access was by boat, as there were no roads. The streets were really narrow, and the buildings and restaurants were really old looking. It was like something out of an old movie!

Definitely worth a visit! 

We eventually moved on to the North of the Island, where there was a big city called Calvi. The anchorage was a wee bit out from the city, but still in the main bay by a nice beach. We liked it here as there as the anchorage was uncrowded. We had another BBQ on the beach here, and on our final evening, the wind became quite strong. After a few hours the anchorage was packed, as it appeared that every boat from the island had come here for shelter. We spent the rest of the evening watching other boats trying to anchor in the strong winds, and several boats dragged and almost collided. Every boat around us did not lock their dinghies, and even in the harbour in the town, they were not locked.  As locking our dinghy (a nice rhib) meant that it was close to the boat, and in the strong wind it would repeatedly hit off the back of the yacht, we decided it was safe to leave it unlocked for the night. Big mistake! (Funnily I had named this dinghy ‘runaway’, in case Stevie annoyed me too much, so I could run away! I think I jinxed it). We went to bed around 1am, and I woke to Stevie shouting angrily at 4am – Runaway had been stolen. We were raging! No one else’s was locked, and we came to the conclusion that out of 100 boats in the anchorage, we were targeted for being the foreigner. We felt awful – especially after being robbed less than a month ago in Mar Menor (Nics Diary – Part 2). Luckily we had a spare dinghy (unfortunately not a rhib), and I have decided to call this one ‘Stay Home’. Needless to say, first thing the next morning we left for mainland France.

We left with no plans of where we were heading (other than south of France direction), and decided to head where the wind took us! We arrived at 3am, dropped anchor and got some sleep. The next day we headed west and, when we found a good place to anchor, decided we should treat ourselves to a nice meal out. There was a full strip of restaurants by a marina, all with dinner for around 30 euros. Quite expensive, but we wanted to cheer ourselves up and treat ourselves. We wondered why it was so expensive, noticing all the Ferraris, Bentleys and Rolls Royces driving by, we realised that we were in Monaco, and not the south of France – Nice!

Very proud of our Scottish flag - but maybe the reason we were targeted?

When we were at anchor, Stevie swam over to a UK boat nearby and got talking to the neighbour. A very nice man called Jeff who offered to drive us to a real supermarket, as all of the coastal towns tend to charge a fortune for the simplest of groceries. We assumed he was going for himself too, but no, it turned out that he was going well out of his way to take care of us – thankyou! Very much appreciated after the bad luck and misfortune we had encountered in the previous days – nice to know there are still nice people in the world!

The same evening, when I was cooking dinner on the boat, I heard someone shouting ‘Hello’. We popped our head out, and it was a lovely German couple, Angelika and Christian in a tiny wee 25ft yacht called Xenia . They said that they had tried to get into the marina and it was full, anyway, we got talking, had dinner together, and a few drinks and discovered that they were the nicest people you could ever imagine to randomly meet when travelling. Christian was a physiotherapist, who was able to give Stevie some help with his sore shoulder, and Angelika worked with disabled people. They had towed their wee yacht on the back of a trailer from Germany for a 3 week holiday in the med. I think we were the perfect couple for them to meet, as Angelika had no experience of sailing (same as myself), and Christian hoped to spend the 3 weeks persuading her that ‘this was the life’! So, to meet us, doing the whole’ live in a yacht thing’ was great for them, and I really appreciated their nice company! We sailed together to Isles De Lerins. This was the busiest anchorage we had seen. It was located between 2 beautiful islands. One of the islands had a wee fortified town, and the other had a monastery on it. Lovely – but very busy.

Christian & Angelika 

Their wee boat rafted up next to ours

I saw the biggest ever spider plants, of which my friend Steve from home would be very jealous of!

Monsterous Spider Plant

Crazy Diamond (our yacht) is doing ok, although the rudder still needs the bearings replaced. We aimed to have this done in Sardinia, but after hearing and witnessing some bad experiences, Stevie ordered the parts online. They have arrived in the UK, so now we are looking for a place to have the work done.

Our water maker packed in, so we are on a wee bit of a ration.

My garden is coming along nicely, although, I got sick of waiting for the mint to grow (to make Mojitos), so decided to buy some  pre-grown mint!

I have had a wee go at some home baking – French onion tart and quiche. I now need to practice making bread and pizza bases in preparation for our Atlantic crossing.

Homemade Quiche

French onion tart

This month my skills have progressed from being Stevies hairdresser (Nics Diary – Part 3), to his dentist, as his filling fell out. He thinks that the temporary filling I gave him feels far better than the one his dentist gave him before we left – well, we will see how long it lasts for?

I have been learning how to exercise on a boat!

The odd wee snorkel!

and a little boogie on the deck!

We are doing well considering the small space to live in and the extreme heat!

So, apart from our nasty fine, and being robbed again, we are doing great. The south of France is beautiful, although very expensive! Next we are heading to Barcelona to pick up my mum, and then back to the Balaerics, as some more friends and family are coming to visit before we head to the Canaries to prepare for our Atlantic crossing in November. Still missing you all millions – would love to come home for a pint! I wish you all well, Nic xx

Stevie having a wash!