Porto Colom

Dawn brought little wind and a smooth sea and we set sail for Cala Santanyi further north. Here we anchored alone in a inlet with a beach and tourist development around the hill tops. Again I set two anchors and adjusted the stern anchor to get the stern into an increasing swell entering the Cala. By nightfall the swell had risen and Malua was rock and rolling back and forth. It was not dangerous but sleep was impossible as Denny and I were tossed from side to side in our bunk. As the sun rose so did our anchor and we set sail for the calmer waters of a marina for a good sleep.

Porto Petro turned out to be rather small and full so we anchored in the bay and fell into a deep sleep. The following day we sailed north into a friendly marina at Porto Colom and berthed stern too at the marina wharf, surrounded by restaurants and overlooked by an old town with its white walled houses and red tiled roofs.

Cala Pi

The east beckoned and we up anchored at dawn to set sail across the southern part of Minorca to round the south eastern most cape of Point Salinas. While the sun was shining the wind was light and from the northeast so we tacked around the cape and northwards past the high desolate cliffs, destined for a secluded beautiful inlet called a Cala. These inlets may be large but frequently only a few boat lengths long with a width just sufficient to turn a vessel. One must anchor and then either drop a stern anchor or secure the vessel to the shore with a strong line. On entering Cala Pi we found another 40ft British yacht anchored at the head of the inlet but managed to turn at their bow where we dropped anchor. The skipper came over in his dinghy and offered to take out our stern anchor to restrict our swing. The water is crystal clear and one can see the bottom as well as your anchors securely embedded in the sand between the weed. We took the RIB ashore and scrambled along the cliff tops overlooking the Cala and Malua. As the sun set the wind dropped and the sea turned to glass and we slept the sleep of a contented traveller.