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.
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| 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!
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| Stunning anchorage! |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| Twin tub day on the boat! |
When my mum arrived (on Monday 27th 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!!!).
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| 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!!
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| 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.
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| I am a little worried about how much Stevie enjoyed carving it up! |
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| 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
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| Stevie, me & mum |
Some photos from our ‘stolen’ camera that match up with Nics Diary –
Part 2 (Gibraltar & Mar Menor)
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| The Rock of Gibraltar - Cars and people crossing the runway!! |
