Reset search
Bringing Eureka homeBringing Eureka home
SatelliteEdit route

Bringing Eureka home

May - July 2016
Having purchased Eureka, now all we had to do was bring her home! 😳 Read more
  • 57footprints
  • 4countries
  • 48days
  • 344photos
  • 0videos
  • 2.2ksea miles
Follow Calendar Share Bucket list
Date ascending
  • TravelerBringing Eureka home
    Day 7

    A day off in Mahon

    May 31, 2016 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    I decided that today that we’d spend it wandering around on our own, basically a day off for the crew.

    Tomorrow we were setting off for an overnight voyage to Cala Pi in south east Majorca and I didn’t want any cabin fever building up onboard.
    Sometimes if a group of people are cooped up aboard for a length of time, things can sometimes get heated and tempers short even among the best of crews and I have found that leaving people to do their own thing for a few hours every few days can take all the pressure out of things.
    While the crew hadn’t been together long enough for that to happen and there was no signs of it anyway, I still thought it would be a good idea to let them be tourists, however that meant I ended up on my own.
    Maybe that was good for the crew?

    Paul and Laura headed off in one direction and Chris and Máirín in another.
    I closed up the boat and headed off with my camera and Phil’s backpack.
    Phil my mother in law had given me a backpack one Christmas. It has been one of the best presents I have ever got. It goes most places with me, sailing, trips to the shops, library etc etc. Thank you Phil.

    I had found out that the British had occupied the island between 1708 and 1802 following the war of Spanish Succession and used the harbour as an anchorage for the British fleet, even Nelson was stationed there at one time.
    As a result some British influences in architecture are still seen today such as bow and sash windows that you find nowhere else in Spain.

    Most of the town is high above the harbour so there is a bit of a climb to get to the main sights.
    There were good views of the harbour and Eureka from the top.
    Menorca is known for its gin, again a British influence, so I bought a bottle and when I arrived back at the boat I was presented with a second larger bottle by Laura and Paul.

    Paul and Laura had taken a boat trip around the harbour and were able to give us chapter and verse of the various buildings and their histories, that we had sailed around the previous day.

    Máirín and Chris did their own thing and whatever that was, they weren’t telling!

    Máirín had picked up a bug probably on the plane and or while swimming yesterday and was beginning to feel unwell so she and Chris ate onboard that night while the rest of us eat ashore.

    Tomorrow I was looking forward to heading back to sea and the next leg, shortening the voyage home.    Read more

  • TravelerBringing Eureka home
    Day 8

    On passage to Mallorca

    June 1, 2016, Western Mediterranean ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    We had arranged to leave at 10.00 for Majorca where we hoped to reach in the early morning of tomorrow.
    All the crew were ready to depart as arranged except for . . . . . . . . . . . . . Máirín, who appeared at the bottom of the companion way with a bowl of cereal in her hand asking to know if she was needed, just as we were about to cast off
    She got some slagging once we were able to stop laughing. The rest of us had to wait till later for our breakfast.

    We motored out and put up the main.
    We had problems hoisting the sail until Máirín redeemed herself by appearing with a can of silicone spray in her hand to lubricate the slides on the sail.

    Once outside the wind was a little fresher than we had been led to believe by the forecasts. We headed south on a close reach in 12 knots of wind down the east coast to the SE point of Menorca, the island of Isla de Aire.
    There we wanted to change course to the SW towards Majorca but due to the wind direction we could only make a westerly course towards the NE corner of the island instead of the SE corner where we wanted to go.

    As the hours went on we made a few tacks to try to keep south of our course and we were making a bit of ground until the late afternoon when the wind increased to 16-18 knots and with it came a confused choppy sea.
    Máirín became sick and Chris didn't want to go down below. I couldn't blame them.

    About 19.00 I decided to turn on the engine and furl the genny to make things easier before we had diner and also to be able to head in the direction we wanted to go. Unfortunally the main began to flog soon after so that had to come down too.

    We had dinner about 20.30 but due to the conditions Máirín and Laura did not partake and we began the watches after dinner by which time we were about twenty five miles east of the coast of Mallorca.

    With the lumpy sea we were only making 3.5 knots on a course towards Cap de Ses Salinas, the southern tip of Mallorca but as the night wore on, the winds dropped and we were able to gradually increase speed until by midnight we were up to our cruising speed of 6.3 knots.

    We were hoping to arrive at our destination of Cala Pi on the south coast just east of Palma bay shortly after dawn.    Read more

  • TravelerBringing Eureka home
    Day 9

    Cala Pi, Mallorca

    June 2, 2016 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    After a few hours we throttled back to avoid arriving too early.
    Paul and I had been there on a charter holiday a few years before and we remembered the entrance as being a narrow cleft in the cliffs. We didn't want to enter until after dawn when we could see exactly where we were going.

    Paul and Laura were on watch when we arrived off Cala Pi and Paul did a few laps of the bay while waiting for dawn before he called me.
    I couldn't have a better first mate!
    After it brightened up, we entered slowly before dropping the anchor on the sandy bottom. We then blew up the inflatable, again a first timer, before going to the cliff face to tie our stern, preventing Eureka from swinging.

    The cliff face has some ancient loops cut into the rock for ropes to be passed through. In our case we wanted our stern to be tied to the cliff to prevent us from swinging around as space was limited and while we were the now the only boat there, other boats would be expected to arrive later in the morning.

    We were moored up by 07.00 and an hour later the ladies decided to head ashore in the dinghy leaving Paul and myself to catch up on some sleep.
    Nobody was left aboard to complain about our snoring!

    Later mid-morning when I woke up, I put up the bimini for some shade in the cockpit and fitted the wind scoop to the fore hatch.
    It was after getting very hot and some other yachts had arrived and moored outside us, closer to the mouth of the cala.

    By midday the ladies were back having explored someplace for dinner and made some purchases for lunch.
    We settled down for the afternoon, had lunch, swam, read and did other things that didn’t use much energy.

    I got bored and when the next yacht to us got it’s anchor caught on the bottom, I jumped in the dinghy and went over to assist.
    The crew consisted of an elderly couple and their grandson.
    The grandson had a hook and was trying to slide it down the chain to the anchor in order to trip the anchor.
    It wasn’t easy from the deck with the glare from the surface of the water and it was much easier for me in the dinghy as I could get right over it using my body to create a shadow and trip the anchor.
    Job done, thanks from the grandfather etc. and back to Eureka.
    Now what to do with the rest of the afternoon?

    As the sun started to go down we headed ashore, this time using the outboard yet another first. It needed a good couple of pulls of the starter before it started as it probable hadn’t been used in a while like lots of other things on the boat but we’re putting that right bit by bit.

    The dinghy only took three so we had to make two trips but the distance was short.
    We headed up the long stairs to the cliff top and didn’t have to go too far before we came to where the ladies had chosen for dinner.
    First of all we had a large G&T’s as pre dinner drinks. We may have had a second, I can't remember?
    At first we were going to have dinner outside but with the sun going down it was quickly cooling down, so we ended up bringing the cutlery and placemats indoors and finding another table. The staff were very understanding.

    On our way back we couldn’t get the engine started so had to row in the dark.

    Fitz’s nightcap came out for medicinal purposes after an awkward boarding when he temporarily lost control of his leg and shortly afterwards we headed down below to sleep after another enjoyable day.

    Leg 3 - 88 mls. Total 491 mls.    Read more

  • TravelerBringing Eureka home
    Day 10

    Cala Nova, Mallorca

    June 3, 2016 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    This morning I discovered the reason why the outboard wouldn’t start last night. I stuck my hand in my pocket and found the kill cord for the engine.
    We forgot all about it last night and of course the engine won’t start without it being attached. Dumb or what?

    By 10.00 we were all up, had our breakfast and were preparing the boat to depart.
    We raised the anchor at 10.30, motored out of the cala and half an hour later hoisted the main and began motorsailing downwind to Cap Blanco. Shortly after we entered Palma Bay we unfurled the genny, turned off the engine and sailed towards Palma on a broad reach.

    At times we goose winged with the sails on opposite sides but eventually for safety sake we just ‘tacked’ downwind keeping the sails to one side or the other.

    Máirín and Chris took turns on the helm. With the winds being light the sailing was slow but we were not in a hurry and it was less than twenty miles to our destination anyway. We were in holiday mode rather than passage mode.

    We arrived at Palma harbour and having dropped the sails we motored in and called up the various public marinas on the VHF but got no answer.
    Chris who had become our communications expert used the phone and finally discovered that there was a regatta starting that weekend and every berth was booked.

    Disappointed, we got out the pilot book and looked along the coast to see where the next harbour was.
    A few miles to the west was Cala Nova, on the western suburbs of Palma city.
    There was a national sailing school there so we didn’t know for certain if they were public berths available.

    Chris got on the phone and within a short time had arranged a berth for two nights. However they were all apologies…..it was not a Mediterranean berth but instead alongside one at their waiting berth.
    Yipee!! No problem for us, this is what we do every day at home.

    In no time at all we had entered this lovely new marina, tied up and the crew were preparing lunch while I went to the office with the paperwork.
    It wasn’t cheap but then Palma is the sailing capital of Spain and even the King has his yacht there.

    Mairín was still sick and now had a bad cough. She had picked up a bug in Mahon and unfortunally she had not been well since then with the lumpy sea while sailing to Majorca doing nothing to help.
    She went off to visit a pharmacy and if possible a doctor for the cough.

    The rest of us had a light lunch and an obligatory bottle of wine.
    Chris who isn’t sleeping very well due to the heat went down below to catch up on the zzzz’s, joined by Máirín when she came back.

    That evening Máirín decided to stay on the boat and recover while the rest of us found a nice Italian restaurant not too far away and had another experience of the huge glasses that the Spanish serve G&T’s in.
    The dinner was lovely and so was the wine we had with it.

    We were feeling a bit guilty leaving Mairín on her own back on the boat so we arranged with the restaurant to give us a takeaway to bring back to her when we finished our own dinner. Whatever about not feeling well, we found there was nothing wrong with Mairín appetite! She scoffed it down as if she hadn’t eaten since Menorca.

    Leg 4 - 22 mls. Total 513 mls.    Read more

  • TravelerBringing Eureka home
    Day 11

    Trip hazards in Sollar

    June 4, 2016 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Máirín still wasn’t one hundred percent and decided to stay on the boat, relaxing and hoping the rest would speed up recovery. The rest of us headed on a bus into Palma city to get the train to Soller which is a lovely town on the western side of Mallorca.
    Paul, Laura and I had been there years ago on a charter holiday and wanted to visit again this time by train.
    The last time we didn’t have time to take the train to Palma and we planned to rectify that this time although we'd be travelling in the opposite direction.

    This was no ordinary train but an old wooden scenic train and it took a little bit of time to find the right train station.
    We had first gone to the main station only to be told it was elsewhere.
    Given rough direction we arrive across the road from it and as we still didn’t see it, we had to ask and felt like right eegits (Irish slang of idiots) when it was pointed out to us. In fairness the road was six lanes wide and the station was single story building which didn’t look like a station.

    The train is made up of old wooden ‘wild west’ type of carriages with open platforms at either end. The engine itself is electrical unfortunally, but the feeling while sitting in the carriage was that of an old steam train.
    The route goes through the city suburbs where we were looking into peoples back gardens before we entered the countryside.

    We were soon travelling through olive groves but these were soon outnumbered by orange groves as we climbed up the side of the mountain.
    When we got up almost to the highest point, we had a stop and were able to get off to take photos and look down on the town of Soller far below.
    Most of the route is single tracked but this short section of track is doubled, allowing the train coming in the opposite direction to pass, hence the stop at the top to get the timing right.

    When we arrived in Soller we discovered that there was a lively market in the town but as Chris was walking around she twisted her ankle badly on the poorly surfaced footpath and needed a visit to a doctor..

    Following treatment and a visit to a pharmacy she insisted in us continuing our exploration of the town while she sat in sunshine in the square.
    We all got the train back into Palma in the afternoon where Chris got a taxi back to the marina, while the rest of us went to visit the cathedral which we unfortunally found was closed for the day.

    Later Chris, Máirín and I ate at the restaurant in the marina complex while Paul and Laura went for a romantic meal on their own and afterwards we all met up again and discussed the plans for the following day's sailing.

    We were heading for Ibiza but had a day or two to spare so decided to break the journey at a port somewhere on the western coast of Mallorca in order to shorten the voyage and decided on Andratx, the closest port on Mallorca to Ibiza.    Read more

  • TravelerBringing Eureka home
    Day 12

    Lunch stop in Santa Ponsa

    June 5, 2016 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    We were all up early and once breakfast was cleared away, we departed Cala Nova at 09.00 bound for Andratx.
    We headed out into light SW winds hoisting the mainsail on the way.
    Even at this early start, it was hot and we were already in in t-shirts and shorts and slapping on the sun protection.

    We left the engine on until we cleared the Bay of Palma and changed direction to head NW unfurling the genny and turning off the engine as we did so

    Chris, Máirín and Laura had become experts in the furling and unfurling by this stage. It's great when a crew gel together and begin to suggest things before the skipper asks and as I had no shortage of volunteers to helm, I just sat back and enjoyed myself.

    We were sailing along on a close reach on flat water going about 4 knots as we sailed along the spectacular cliffs of south west Majorca in the company of other yachts.
    The seabed here drops away straight down so there is deep water almost right up to the cliff face and it's possible to sail close in, except you end up losing the wind.

    On the way I suggested making a lunch stop at Santa Ponsa which was eagerly agreed to by the crew.

    We entered Santa Ponsa bay and passed a monument commemorating the landing of Spanish troops who liberated the island from the moors.
    There were a good few yachts anchored in the bay but we found a spot to anchor without interfering with them and having a bit of privacy for ourselves.
    We dropped the anchor in five meters of lovely clear water and Chris immediately went swimming while Laura and Máirín made the lunch.

    Paul and I as usual were up to our necks in boat stuff, such as opening the odd can of beer as well as watching a yacht race that had started in the bay and looked as if it was heading for Palma.

    After a long lazy lunch Laura joined Chris in the water.
    The rest of us hid under the bimini, read, snoozed etc. as the afternoon passed slowly.

    At 16.00 I decided that we had better get going again if we were going to be arriving in Andratx today.
    Paul and Laura got the anchor up and we hoisted the sails on the way out of the bay.    Read more

  • TravelerBringing Eureka home
    Day 12

    Expensive Andratx

    June 5, 2016 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Unfortunally we had to get going again if we were going to make Andratx before dark. We sailed along for the first hour before the wind died and we ended up motoring the rest of the way arriving at 17.30.

    Chris had earlier got us a berth on the marina and when we arrived we were directed into a stern to berth by the marinos who assisted us in tying up.
    The engine was shut down at 18.00. I was about to go with the paperwork to the office as I tried to avoid the rush to the showers by the rest of the crew when I discovered that in this marina, the office comes to you.

    I waited on the boat for the office to arrive and when it did, everything was scanned to a iPad and a card machine was produced for the payment.
    Very friendly and efficient. I was only getting used to using an iPad for navigation. The world is changing so fast.

    However this convenience doesn't come cheap. This marina was the most expensive to date at €79 per night, luckily we’re only staying the one!
    However while the marina itself was only so so, the facilities ashore were state of the art.
    The huge recently built toilet/shower block was beautifully tiled and nearly fully automatic. I wouldn’t have minded sleeping on the floor or even eating my dinner off it, however I could have put up with less for cheaper berthing.

    Once the cleaning of the bodies was completed, the crew went their separate ways in search of food.
    Chris because of her leg ate at the marina restaurant with Máirín which they said was lovely, while Paul, Laura and I went to the other side of the harbour where the fishing fleet was tied up and found a lovely place to eat overlooking the bay.

    We all ended up back on Eureka for an early night as we are leaving early in the morning.

    Leg 5 - 22 mls. Total 535 mls.    Read more

  • TravelerBringing Eureka home
    Day 13

    Ibiza here we come

    June 6, 2016 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    We had arranged to be up and on deck at 05.00 for a departure at 05.30 and most of us made it with one important exception, keep reading!

    I started the engine, letting it warm up for a while as a gentle wake up call. Then with a well co-ordinated crew, we slipped the warps and squeezed our way out of the tightly packed berth and headed out along the buoyed channel shortly after dawn, leaving a still sleeping Andratx behind.

    There was little or no wind at that hour of the morning so I set the engine at an economical speed at 2500 rpm, giving us six knots and set a course for the island of Ibiza, forty seven miles away.

    There is a fire down below !!

    About an hour after we departed, one of the crew thought they smelt burning from down below.
    I immediately jumped out from behind the wheel, stuck my nose into the companion way and smelt what I thought was electrical wire overheating. Maybe we had an engine fire?

    I swung my legs down into the companionway in an attempt to get below and narrowly missed Máirín's head as she moved out from the galley to see what was causing the commotion on deck.
    That was now two of us that just had the life scared out of us !!

    Máirín had woken and got up unknown to the rest of us, soon after we left our berth.
    It turned out that the smell of fire was Mairín making toast on the grill of the cooker. The grill had never been used before so the smells of it heating up for the first time were similar to the insulation on electrical wire burning.

    She then innocently asked, if anyone would like toast!

    We rolled around the deck laughing with poor Máirín getting a good old slagging over the whole episode of the toast and the sleeping in.
    Once over the shock, I retired to my berth to try to catch up on my sleep.

    We were going to have a passage of about eleven hours, hence the early start so that we’d be tied up by late afternoon, in time to have a look around Ibiza town before dinner.

    By the time I came back on deck in the late morning, we were over halfway to our destination and the Island of Ibiza could be clearly seen ahead of us.
    By this stage we were sailing along in light winds doing 3.5 knots on a close reach with a relaxed crew ATP’ing (Adopt Tanning Position) on the foredeck.

    Chris our communications director had been in touch with various marinas in Ibiza town but the cheapest berth was €114 a night!
    Feck that, we only wanted a loan of a berth, not to buy it outright!
    Disappointedly we began looking for a berth elsewhere.

    As we were approaching Santa Eularia at the time, we decided to check there.
    They did have a berth available at their marina, two nights for the price of one in Ibiza Town and there was even a bus service that would take us the seven miles into Ibiza town. Perfect!
    We tied up at the reception berth and by 16.30 the paper work had been completed and we were tied up at our berth.

    Following the use of the lovely showers in Andratx we must have still been fairly clean as our priorities had changed.
    It was the bar and not the showers was first on the agenda for most of the crew.

    Santa Eularia marina turned out to be a very nice and slightly upmarket place with bars and restaurants on the quays surrounding the marina.
    After a relaxing few hours chilling out, we put on the glad rags and headed into the town and found a nice restaurant overlooking the beach for dinner and as it was a lovely warm calm evening, we dined outside.

    After dinner we strolled around the town and as we wandered slowly back to the marina, we found many of the bars and restaurants were still full of life.
    Santa Eularia appeared a very nice place and I was looking forward to exploring it tomorrow but first we had to have another drink before putting our heads down.

    Leg 6 - 53 mls. Total 588 mls.    Read more

  • TravelerBringing Eureka home
    Day 14

    Bus ride to Ibiza Town

    June 7, 2016 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    After a peaceful night we started the day early and put the laundry to good use.
    Soon we had lowered the tone of the marina with brightly coloured clothes handing off every possible part of Eureka and we left them drying during the day not minding what people thought as we were gone somewhere else.

    Again the crew split. Paul, Laura and I got the bus into Ibiza town for a bit of sightseeing while Máirín and Chris stayed closer to the marina and rested ankles, chests etc.

    The half hour bus journey into Ibiza Town was pleasant but nothing to get excited about. The fields were flat and just growing crops like anything at home and the built up area was not really anything to get excited about.

    I was expecting to find loads of young people hanging around the town from what I had heard about Ibiza but I think most of them must have still been in bed recovering from the night before.
    We did see some of the night clubs but in the daylight, they looked a bit grotty from the outside. I'm sure they looked much better with lights etc. after dark especially with a few pints onboard.

    The harbour itself was very commercial and the marinas nothing to shout home about. We were much better where we were.

    The ‘old town’ in Ibiza was on a hill surrounded by its medieval town walls overlooking the modern town below.
    We headed in that direction and wandered along the narrow streets and visited a church or two as is our habit. We then found somewhere to sit and had some refreshments as we chilled out before getting the bus back to the marina.

    Once back, we all joined up again and had lunch aboard in the early afternoon. We then undressed Eureka before we got a warning notice to desist from flying all those strange coloured flags off the life lines.

    Like last night we headed into town for dinner and strolled slowly back to the marina for more refreshment before heading back to Eureka.    Read more

  • TravelerBringing Eureka home
    Day 15

    On passage to Alicante

    June 8, 2016, Western Mediterranean ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    The passage to Alicante was going to take about twenty four hours so we had a lazy start to the day. The reason that there was no hurry was because we didn't want to arrive there until tomorrow afternoon. Arriving before noon would normally incur extra marina fees.

    I spent the morning planning the passage to Alicante while the crew was away doing other things such as souvenir hunting and provisioning the boat for the trip.

    With everyone back onboard we slipped our lines at noon, stopping at the fuel berth on the way out of the marina to fill up before finally departing at 12.30.

    We hoisted the main but had to wait until we were around Cap des Llibrell, about half an hour south of the harbour before unfurling the genoa and being able to turn off the engine and setting sail.

    We sailed along the coast in twelve knots of wind on a reach cutting through the water at 6.3 knots, a good speed for that strength of wind.
    It was a lovely start to our passage. A nice sailing breeze and even from the right direction for good passage making.

    While we were after having a relaxing time in Ibiza, we were now looking forward to getting back to sea again.
    All the crew were leaving the boat in Alicante which might be one reason everyone was in fine form for the passage ahead but I was hoping it was more to do with the good weather and forecast than the thought of jumping ship.

    To the south west of Ibiza there is a string of small low lying islands, the largest of which was the most southerly, Formentera.
    The islands had some lovely anchorages and if we had more time I'd loved to have spent a day or two or three exploring them.
    Rather than going south of Formentera, we intended to go between the islands though a narrow channel in the 'Fren Grande' gap which we reached at 15.00.
    As we went through, the wind dropped to 7 knots with our boat speed dropping to 3.5 knots and shortly after in the lee of the islands, we had to turn on the engine as the wind died altogether.

    As is usual in this part of the world, no sooner had we the sails stowed away but the wind made a reappearance and up went the sails again and off went the engine and we had a good sail for the rest of the evening until almost midnight.

    Chris and Máirín were coming on watch then and as the wind had gone light, I decided to drop the sails and turn on the engine as it would have been difficult to sail in the light winds during darkness. Also I was conscious of needing to keep a steady speed for a timely arrival in Alicante as Paul and Laura were heading home once we arrived.    Read more

  • 2024© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Blog
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Support
  • Legal notice
  • English