Mahón

On Friday 16 May we decided that we should take a closer look at Mahón, and also take the opportunity to refill our aft water tanks more quickly than the 7 hours it would take if we were to put the watermaker to the task. So, we upped anchor and crept from Cala Taulera through the Canal de San Jordi into the main harbour. This artificial shortcut is just 2.7 m deep so we took it fairly slowly, although the tourist boats take it at some speed. We were fortunate with our timing: just as we got our anchor up a ‘Yellow Catamaran’ came through on one of its whistle-stop tours so we knew we had a good 30mins to get through the cutting, which isn’t much wider than BV.  Had we met a tourist boat in the (relatively short) canal, we could easily guess who would have had to have reversed out, and it wouldn’t have been pretty!

Once through the canal the depth increased appreciably and we were able to relax and enjoy the lovely views across the largest natural harbour in the Mediterranean. Had this been a harbour in the UK, the place would most likely have been chocked with swinging moorings but here, where there is no appreciable tide, all the moorings are fore-aft onto quays at the edge of the harbour so the wet and wobbly bit is beautifully clear for sailing in. There were some amazingly expensive looking villas on the north coast of the harbour, including one, high up on the ridge, in which Nelson is alleged to have stayed with Emma Hamilton.

We found ourselves a berth and, in the late afternoon, wandered into the city. From the quayside near what is now the cruise ship terminal there are elegant steps up the hill and into the centre. Apparently, the city council is planning to put in an escalator to make the transition from waterfront to shop-front that much easier!

From the level of the main part of the city you have a great vantage point across the harbour. It’s easy to see why it was that Menorca (for this amazing natural harbour at Mahón) was fought over for so long.

Following the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, Menorca was ceded to Britain by Spain (as was Gibraltar) and it remained in British hands until 1802, albeit with a couple of foreign interludes (1756-1763, France; 1782-1798, France/Spain). Sir Richard Kane moved the capital from Ciutadella to Mahón in 1722 and the architecture in Mahón shows significant Georgian influence, particularly in the sash windows which are apparently found nowhere else in Spain.

The following day, as part of our morning run, we also visited the fish market but, for obvious reasons, did not come away with any trophies, though there was plenty on display that looked very appetising.

Overall, however, we felt that Mahón was missing something. Perhaps it hadn’t woken up properly for the summer but it seemed to be very quiet, almost lifeless, apart from on the thin strip of restaurants that ran along the quay.

And this was despite Mahón gearing up for ‘Menorca Maxi’, 4 or 5 days of maxi-yacht racing starting on 21 May. We were fortunate enough o see some of the early arrivals gathering and offloading mountains of maintenance and other non-racing paraphernalia. And, of course, there was the never-ending job of cleaning and polishing so that the yachts gleamed as if they had just come out of the factory – there’s no rest for the professional yacht crew!

We were also very lucky to see 2 J-Class yachts in Mahón. Presumably they were also going to take part in the Maxi race week, or maybe they were only there to add a touch of olde worlde class.

Despite the slight feeling that Mahón was missing something, it does have an ace up its sleeve. Anywhere that produces gin has to be worth a visit, even if the Xoriguer brand name is barely pronounceable. Better still, when you visit the distillery there are bottles and bottles of various Menorcan liquors open and ready for you to sample. It was just as well that the sun had crept over the yardarm as we walked through the door at 11:01am, just before the hoards of cruise ship visitors arrived! Having sampled a shot glass of some of the cough medicines on offer, we concluded that the Xoriguer gin, softer than London gin, was worth purchasing and that the local gin mix (pomada, one part gin to 3 parts bitter lemon or ‘real’ lemonade) was also very refreshing in the heat. That too was for sale ready mixed but the very helpful attendant advised us how to mix our own as well as the proportions for a similar orange juice based cocktail.

Armed with that knowledge we headed north towards Addaya to meet up with some friends.

Mahón, Menorca, Spain