Crossing from Corsica to Menorca
Sunset at sea
Over my birthday coffee and a pain au chocolat in our favorite café, the Café of plane trees, on the main square of L'Ile Rousse, we study the 10th weather report. Like the 9 previous reports, the wind looks favorable for the crossing, but the risk of thunderstorms on arrival in Menorca looks less good. After consulting the local Spanish weather forecast and also looking at the medium-term forecast - strong, persistent mistral for the whole of the next week, which rules out a crossing for us - we decide to set off. Back at the boat with our friends Julia and Gugi, we brief them over breakfast, have a safety briefing, swim one last lap in the turquoise water, stow everything safely and weigh anchor. We have at least 285 nautical miles ahead of us, which means about 50 hours at sea with our boat. This is also a new experience for us, as our longest trip was just one night, 100 nautical miles, 18 hours.
Under light wind sail, we set off westwards in good conditions. As the wind increases towards evening, we take down the light wind sail, reduce our sail area and turn south-southwest along the west coast of Corsica. The first night is varied with a short wind hole off Corsica's capital Ajaccio and a sporty wind before dawn in the Strait of Bonifacio. Two of us manage the first night in 3-4 hour shifts. From the morning shift onwards, there is no more land in sight, and it stays that way for the next 24 hours. Just the four of us, our boat, the wind and the sea. The day flies by with no special events and good progress. Our 18-hour old weather forecast predicts dying winds, which turns out to be true, so we motor-sail the second night on a direct course to Mahon, Menorca. We receive the first Spanish weather report on the VHF radio. To our reassurance, no unfavorable conditions are forecasted. Only a meteotsunami that raises the sea level by 70 cm - a weather event unknown to us until then, but which, according to later research, occurs relatively regularly on the Balearic Islands. Differences in air pressure cause the water level to rise locally. We will not notice the meteotsunami since the phenomenon is over by the time we arrive.
After a night characterized by the monotonous nailing of our Diesel engine and lightning flashes on the horizon, which fortunately remain distant, we are able to sail the last 3 hours to Mahon in the early afternoon of the next day.
Due to the clouds, the "land ho" moment requires a very good eye. On the last few nautical miles, we have a race with another sailing boat. The outcome is not entirely clear, however, as our competitor lowers the sails relatively early.
We enter the spectacular natural harbor of Mahon with a mixture of joy at finding solid ground and a little melancholy because we have just become accustomed to our sea legs. With a length of over 4 km from the entrance to the end, it is the largest natural harbor in the Mediterranean. First we sail past uninhabited land and can watch the cows grazing, later the whole town passes by until we moor at our berth at the very end of the bay.
Our crossing in numbers:
Distance: 284 nautical miles, of which under sail: 193 nautical miles
Time: 2 days 5 hours 18 minutes
Average speed: 5.3 knots
Number of sunsets seen: 1
Thunderstorms missed: 2
Wildlife: one supposed turtle sighting (low probability), one swallow that accompanied us for 3 hours
Number of seasickness pills taken: half a pill (Julia)
Seasickness including vomiting: 0
Initially motivated to explore the city, we don't make it any further than the shower that evening - at least a few steps on land. It is so quiet at our berth that some crew members claim to still be feeling land sickness on the boat. After a few after-work beers, we sleep like babies.
Parade of the Giants
The next day, Mahon welcomes us with the end of the harvest festival. After a day exploring the city and indulging in the delights of land, we experience the parade of giants through the city. Afterwards, we have tapas for dinner accompanied by various local live bands and a brilliant finale with fireworks at midnight.
