Windlass Woes

After our stay in Mahón marina, it was time to move on. We motored out through the enormous natural harbour, passing the waterfront buildings, marinas and fortifications before eventually reaching the open sea.

Just outside the harbour was a beautiful little bay called Es Clot. Surrounded by towering cliffs, with calm, crystal clear water, it was a stunning spot to drop the anchor. When we arrived, there was only one other boat there, so we almost had the place to ourselves.

That didn’t last long! Throughout the day, more boats arrived, along with several trip boats bringing visitors to enjoy the spectacular scenery and turquoise water. Fortunately, as the afternoon wore on, the trip boats disappeared and some of the other boats moved on. By evening, there were just a few of us left, and the bay had returned to being a peaceful anchorage.

Unfortunately, the weather forecast had deteriorated and was now predicting more thunderstorms the following evening, so the next morning we had to decide what to do. We considered staying put and riding out the storm in the bay. The cliffs offered some shelter, and it was certainly a lovely place to spend another night. However, there was one concern, the bay was relatively small, with rocks all around us.

If the wind picked up and our anchor dragged, we wouldn’t have much time to react before finding ourselves dangerously close to the rocks. With thunderstorms forecast, and the possibility of strong, unpredictable gusts, it wasn’t a particularly reassuring prospect.

One by one, the other boats left, which helped focus our minds! We decided that heading back into the shelter of Mahón harbour was the sensible option. We planned to moor on one of the floating pontoons and sit out whatever the weather had in store, in the protection of the harbour.

Of course, nothing on a boat is ever quite that straightforward! As we started to raise the anchor, the chain kept jamming in the windlass every few inches. The water was quite deep, and we had 50 metres of chain out, so this was not exactly ideal!

It soon became apparent that the ‘Fleming’ in the windlass had broken. Fortunately, it was still capable of lifting the weight of the chain and anchor, but the chain wouldn’t feed through properly without jamming. This meant we had to feed the chain through by hand (very carefully), a few inches at a time, to keep it moving.

With 50 metres to retrieve, it was a slow and frustrating process. Not quite the effortless departure we’d had in mind!

Eventually, we managed to get the anchor aboard and could head back into Mahón harbour with yet another job to add to Paul’s maintenance list!

We definitely made the right decision to leave Es Clot when we did. Had the wind picked up during the night and our anchor started dragging, trying to retrieve it in the dark, with strong gusts and rocks nearby, would have been quite a challenge with our windlass playing up!

The floating pontoon was very sheltered, and we hardly experienced any of the strong winds at all. While the weather did its worst elsewhere, we were safely tucked away with very little to worry about.

These pontoons are a great alternative to the main marinas. They are slightly cheaper, although you don’t get water or electricity. They’re also known for being quite sociable, with everyone moored together on a relatively small pontoon. There’s even a little swimming pool in the middle, open air showers and a handy dinghy dock close by, which makes getting ashore easy.

With a couple of extra days in Mahon we went back to explore more of the town. Now that the festivities were over, the streets of Mahón looked completely different, the sand and debris had been cleared away. It was hard to believe that these same streets had recently been filled with crowds and celebrations.

The Museum of Menorca is housed in a former Franciscan convent, dating mainly from the 17th and 18th centuries.

Since the Friars departed in 1835, the building has served as a nautical school, public library and secondary school before becoming a museum in 1978

Its most distinctive feature is its three storey cloister, a peaceful central courtyard surrounded by covered walkways. 

The museum was very informative and gave us a chronological tour of the island’s history and culture. Unfortunately, about half of the museum was closed during our visit, so we didn’t get to see everything, but it was still well worth a look.

Afterwards, we stopped for a drink in a traditional Spanish bar with an interesting a collection of vintage televisions and radios.

It looks like these guys have had one too many, I’m not sure that they should be driving!

The 18th century Church of Santa María stands in the main square. Although fairly plain from the outside, the interior is impressive with high vaulted ceilings, ornate chapels and a magnificent organ. It also has eight bells, donated by a German couple in gratitude for the kindness shown to the crew of a German ship detained in Mahón harbour during the First World War.

The organ dates back to 1810 and stands 15 metres high and 9 metres wide. It has 3,210 pipes, three keyboards of 51 keys and a 12 note pedalboard, which was later increased to 30 notes in 1955. It is still in perfect condition and continues to be played regularly.

After wandering around all day we had worked up an appetite. The old fish market has been transformed into a food hall, with a variety of places to eat and drink, making it a great spot to enjoy a relaxed evening. There was such a variety of different tapas and pintxos dishes to choose from, it was a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach. We selected several to try, always a good way to sample a few different dishes, and enjoyed the lively atmosphere.

Sometimes the best sailing decisions are the ones that don’t seem quite so exciting at the time. However, heading back into the harbour and being tied to the dock meant that Paul could give the windlass some attention. Luckily, he had some spare parts onboard, so he was able to fix it relatively easily. One less job on his ever growing winter maintenance list! It was a relief to have it working again, we could finally leave Mahón and continue our journey south around the coast of Menorca.

We started off in light winds, with a gentle breeze behind us, so we unfurled the Genoa and settled into an easy downwind sail. We were going fairly slowly, making our way along at 3-4 knots, but the conditions were lovely and there was no particular rush.

As we rounded the corner of the island, we had to gybe to change direction, and with the wind now on the beam, we were able to bring the mainsail out as well. ZigZag was sailing comfortably, making steady progress along the southern coastline.

It was a lovely sail, with just enough wind to keep us moving along nicely without making things too uncomfortable.

Gradually, the wind began to build, and our leisurely sail turned into something a little more lively. As the breeze strengthened, it was time to put a reef in both the Genoa and the mainsail. We were soon making much faster progress at around 6 knots.

After our extended stay in Mahón, the storms and the troublesome windlass, it was good to be back out sailing again.

Our destination for the night was Cala Son Saura, where we dropped anchor and settled in for the evening. A beautiful Menorcan anchorage with clear water and a low level coastline. Having visited previously we knew that it had plenty of sand to anchor in with good holding and was well protected from the northerly winds which were due to blow through the night.

We started making plans for our next passage, as this was to be our last stop in Menorca.