Current Position: 36° 09.486N 005°.21.945W, La Linea Anchorage, Gibraltar

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Corsica: Oooops! Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that the holding was good in Porto Vecchio and that we felt quite safe - On the 4th day we were there, the strong winds increased to gale force and our anchor dragged during the night. The wind was howling and in the severe gusts Quilcene was tugging this way and that on the anchor chain, so luckily we were up and ready for action. We managed to re-anchor (no mean feat in the dark with 35 knot gusts) and passed the rest of the night safely. Another yacht wasn't so lucky, it dragged onto the shore and we saw a rescue boat towing it into the harbour - but at least it was still afloat!

When the windy spell finally ended we sailed down the coast to Bonifacio. A big swell followed us along the Strait toward Bonifacio but didn't give us a problem, only a bit of extra speed! The entrance to Bonifacio is hardly visible until close-up - no more than a split in the tall cliffs with a large cave low down on the eastern side. I was jumping about the boat 'ooo-ing' and 'aaah-ing' and taking pictures whilst Kit steered us in, avoiding the considerable boat traffic, and turned into Calanque de la Catena on the port side. There was a marinero from the marina collecting money from other moored boats but he didn't seem to want to help us moor up - maybe he was having a bad day! After a bit of manoeuvring we managed to pick up a mooring line and tied stern-to under the cliffs.

Bonifacio is quite a place! The main inlet is only 0.8m long with an expensive marina just around the corner from the Calanque. It's full of HUGE expensive motorboats and yachts - no sign of a recession here!!! There were dozens of big RIBs to hire; we'd also seen this in Porto Vecchio and reckon it accounts for the number that roar around through anchorages with no idea of the mayhem their bow wave creates once they've passed!

Bars and restaurants all around the marina were very busy, and no doubt noisy at night, but the Calanque was very peaceful. In fact the water there was clear and clean so we could still swim to cool off. We spent a touristy day walking up to the pretty hilltop town and wandering through the narrow streets. The views all around are amazing and we could see Sardinia across the Straits to the south. ...and of course this is France, so we had moules and frites for lunch washed down with a delicious white wine!

Back to Sardinia: From Bonifacio we sailed 80 miles across to Porte Conte on NW Sardinia; this is a deep indent in the coast, a safe anchorage and a good spot from which to head off to the Balearics. We were pleased to see Ice Maiden already lying at anchor there and called Vic and Marge up as we approached. Next evening we were enjoying a sundowner and catch-up on Ice Maiden when Alison and Geoff on 'Saraoni' arrived and it turned into a party! Saraoni had sailed up the Red Sea with Ice Maiden and had also been in Finike. They too are heading west and plan to cross the Atlantic this winter. Porte Conte is a pretty, low-key, resort with beautiful beaches backed by pines and distant mountains. Two more yachts that we know arrived; Tom & Nicolette on 'Katanne' and Bill & Angela on 'Bones VIII'. We all dinghied ashore to discuss weather prospects for crossing to the Balearics, over sundowners at the beach café- needless to say there were divided opinions, but in the end most of us left on the same day!

On to the Balearics: After three days waiting for fair winds we set off in the early hours to cross the Sardinian Sea. It was still dark as we passed underneath the lighthouse that marks the tall headland of Capo Caccia and sailed out for the two-day crossing. Although we were a four-yacht convoy we soon spread out with Quilcene keeeping pace with Saraoni for most of the crossing. We kept in VHF radio contact most of the way and it was comforting when night fell to see their lights glowing in the darkness off to our port side. As we neared land next day our routes diverged and we bade them goodbye over the radio.

Anchorages on the Balearics are as pretty as we remembered and mostly with clear blue water over sand. Unfortunately it was by now late July and high season so many were crowded. In 2008 we had cruised along the south coasts of all the Islands so we now decided to return along the north.

Menorca: Fornells; From emails we knew that Jan and John on 'Orca Joss' were in Fornells so we scanned the anchorage with the binoculars until we found them and dropped anchor nearby. Another reunion!!!

Fornells is another great anchorage, well protected and good holding on mud in pleasant surroundings. Again it's a resort, but just a small Spanish town with no high-rise around. Wow! Italian, French and Spanish all within a few days - no wonder we get our 'Grazie' 'Gracias' and 'Merci' mixed up!

We had a great few days with Jan and John. We tried out the tapas bars ashore, and took the bus into Mahon for a shopping trip. Temperatures were getting very warm now and although the water in Fornells was a bit murky I took a swim to cool off - mistake! I got a nasty jellyfish sting on my arm that burned and itched for several days. No more swimming here!

It was soon time to move on so with a fair wind forecast, and after more goodbyes, we sailed across to Mallorca. This was good because we actually SAILED all the way! Anyone who has sailed in the Med will know that because of the fluky winds and poor forecasts you have to resort to motoring much of the time!

Mallorca: On Mallorca we first stopped in Pollenca on a 'Posidonia' buoy - free, book-able mooring buoys provided to prevent anchor damage to seagrass. It's a nice spot with clear water and no jellyfish, unfortunately it was plagued with jet ski's, fast RIBs and motor boats but happily it was very peaceful overnight.

The north coast of Mallorca is steep-to and rugged, with Port Soller, about half way along, the only safe anchorage. We'd visited the hilltop town of Soller by train from Palma in 2008, but hadn't had time to see the port. It's a pretty looking place but we only stayed one night and didn't venture ashore as there were too many boats anchored too close together for comfort. Next morning we sailed around the western end of Mallorca to Santa Ponsa: again it was a busy anchorage but with a little more space and lovely clear water. Ice Maiden was already there so we found a spot nearby and enjoyed a couple of days relaxing and catching up with Vic and Marge.

Ibiza: San Antonio; We'd hoped to go into Portinax on NE Ibiza but it looked uncomfortable with a swell rolling in as we sailed by so we continued on round to San Antonio Bay. Not our favourite place! The anchorage was quite full and there's lots of weed so it's difficult to dig the anchor in - it dragged here before, and it dragged again in only light winds. It was VERY hot too, and the water didn't look too inviting! After two nights we opted to sail around SW Ibiza, a lovely coastline with stunning tall cliffs and rocks, and on to Cala Yondal, a pretty spot with good holding on sand and super clear water - heaven!