LCC Menorca Sea Kayak Expedition 2014

02/5/14 Menorca Sea Kayak Expedition 2014

Menorca is the easternmost island in the Balearic Islands group, situated slightly closer to the coast of Mediterranean Spain than it is to the north coast of Africa.

It has a rich history and culture and, for the sea paddler, holds many occasionally challenging but charming days while circumnavigating its fabulous rocky coastline. The shortest circumnavigation would take in some 140 km, but it would be very easy to increase this significantly depending on how many bays or caves you might be tempted into.

Our group of eight Liverpool Canoe Club sea kayakers planned our circumnavigation for early April, well before the normal start of the Menorcan holiday season, which kicks off in May. Our decision to go for an early attempt worked in our favour as, although our first day on the water saw us paddling through some quite marginal conditions in big swells, we enjoyed largely cooperative and pleasant weather. This could just as easily have worked against us as the weather is frequently mixed and even stormy so early in the year. As it turned out, we had the place pretty much to ourselves, and most of the beaches were either empty as we arrived or soon emptied as the evening drew close. The daytime temperatures were frequently in the 20’s and, although the nights were reasonably warm, the mornings were often damp with a heavy dew. We had one day of persistent fog that eventually cleared to warm sunshine by mid-afternoon. The sea temperature was about 14 degrees C, and so was warm enough to take a refreshing dip but not so warm that any of us felt inclined to wallow. As we made our way around the island in an anti-clockwise direction in order to get the north coast done in favourable conditions, we found no problems in getting fresh water from shops, bars or the occasional harbour tap. Our main supplies were bought from a supermarket in Mahon before we set out, but there are other opportunities to restock, especially in the ferry port of Ciutadella on the western end of the island. Most of the smaller resorts around the island were more or less deserted, with the shops and bars boarded up awaiting the start of the season.

Menorca is known as the windy Balearic as it lies in the path of the Tramontana wind, which funnels out across the Mediterranean from the Toulouse Gap, a low-lying area between the Alps and the Pyrenees. The coastline of Menorca is frequently rocky with deep caves in unbroken high cliffs. On many stretches, there is no opportunity to escape until the next Cala (beach) is reached. Because of this, circumnavigating the island is not a trip for beginners.  We gave ourselves nine days to complete our trip, but a couple of adverse weather forecasts meant that we had to complete two long days, one being approximately 30 Km and the other being approximately 34 Km. These enabled us to get on to sheltered coasts, but they also meant that we actually completed the circumnavigation much earlier than expected. Rather than use this spare time to wander around the island, we simply paddled on a bit more and chilled out on a nice beach for a couple of days, fitting in a bit of swimming and sunbathing, a couple of walks and a bit of kayak surfing.

 Flights to Menorca are cheap and plentiful after the start of the season in May, but up until then, getting to Menorca is slightly more difficult and more costly. We all flew from Manchester to Palma Mallorca and then jumped on a short 25-minute domestic flight over to Menorca. Since our connection meant that we would arrive too late to get our boats sorted and our food bought for the trip, we all stayed the first night in Hostel La Isla http://www.hostal-laisla.com/, which is located in Mahon, the island’s main town and ferry port close to the airport. This hostel was a reasonable place, and we used it again for the night before we got on our return flights back home.

We flew out our own tents and some communal safety gear. To save weight, most of us formed ourselves into “cooking groups” so that we needed only a few sets of pans and petrol stoves. Our kayaks, paddles, decks and buoyancy aids were hired from Menorca en kayak  www.menorcaenkayak.com and, although there are a couple of other kayak hire companies on the island, Menorca en Kayak is by far the best outfit and has the best boats and kit. Being sea kayak enthusiasts themselves, they are well set up to cater for visiting sea kayakers and have a well-stocked shop selling paddling gear. They also have a mountain bike hire company, should you arrive during a spell of stormy weather and find yourself unable to get on the water right away. Maria and Carlos are the very friendly owners, and they had a minibus to do the airport run and to ferry us around getting food, drink and petrol prior to our trip. They also have a trailer and, if need be, can rescue you (and their boats) from any road head should bad weather prevent onward progress.

Everyone enjoyed the trip and, although we completed the circumnavigation successfully, we actually missed out on enough interesting possibilities to make it worth a second visit sometime.

  Day 1 Sunday 6^th April.  Es Grau North around Cap Favaritx to Cala Prudent

Maria and Carlos kindly took us to a supermarket on the way from the Hostel to their shop and rental facilities in Es Grau.  We loaded the kayaks with our provisions for 8 days and enough water for at least 4 days (some of us managed to load the boats with enough water for all eight days worth).

The forecast was a NEly 3-4, but there was a large northerly swell running.  A last study of the weather forecast, and we opted to take the prediction of good weather for days 2 & 3 to navigate the relatively exposed north coast.  Day 4 predicted a very strong northerly wind, the Tramontana….   We would plan to take a day off while this force 7 wind blew itself out.

….the strong Tramontana wind is a fairly regular feature of the region in all seasons except summer. This variant of the French Mistral wind blows NE-SW across the landscape for 3-12 days at a time, and can be bitter when the Pyrenees are covered in snow and ice. Taking shelter indoors avoids the icy blast, but not the shrill moan as the wind swirls around corners and down chimneys to make fireplace flames flicker and die. The English proverb “red sky at night – shepherds’ delight; red sky in the morning – sailors’ warning” is reversed in the Ampurdan; glorious sunsets signal the imminence of the Tramontana, whereas beautiful dawns are the norm. The influence of the Tramontana can be seen in the rural landscape and architecture, with walls and lines of beech (sic) trees designed as windbreaks, and open arches at the top level of old farmhouses to dry stored crops.

With the prospect of good weather, we set out from the white-walled Mediterranean-style fishing village of Es Grau and headed between the mainland and the island of Illa d`en Colom.  The waves were building, and the group naturally grouped together.  We were all wondering whether this was a good idea.  The rocky coastline had the occasional glimpse of white sand.  I tried to memorise these, should we need to run downwind to the only possible landing.  Large waves were crashing on the rocky coastline, and it was clear a landing would be impossible except on the small Cala`s or Beaches hidden between the miles of black rock.

In the distance was the lighthouse of Cap de Favoritix.  We appointed a lead kayak (Carole) who set an ideal route and pace.  As we rounded this headland, the seas were enormous, with kayaks often out of sight in the troughs.  Fortunately, the headwind was light, and the waves were head-on.  As we rounded the corner, only a few boomers (large breaking waves) caught the unwary.  We soon got used to these, and the seas seemed to be easing.

 

After 5 kms paddling parallel to the coast, we came across three off-lying islands. We paddled through them and found sheltered water and a perfect circular bay.  Andy insisted on a stop and some fresh air.