Sant Joan d'es Vergers.

According to the Menorcan Chronicle, King Alfonso III, after a bloody battle against the Muslims, let his army to rest in a place called Pla des Vergers, only a few miles from the Hotel, and ordered two masses to be sung: one in honor of the Virgin Mary as symbol of the new era begins for the island within the Christianity and the other one for the souls of the killed in battle. Over time, a chapel to San Juan Bautista would be built in this place. This was built in the 14th or 15th centuries, since the construction system corresponds to the Levantine Gothic. 

 

 In the middle of the 16th century there was a brotherhood of San Juan in Mahón that annually organized a parade to the chapel to celebrate the Baptist festival. This was held until well into the 19th century.

The little church has undergone many reforms throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. According to Archduke Lluís Salvador, the current church is the result of a restoration in 1712. It is a small building, with a single nave covered with a simple ribbed vault and divided into two sections by an ogival arch. It does not have side chapels and the vault discharges on two exterior buttresses. The interior decoration is very sober. The 19th century façade is a body added to the nave with a slightly pointed arch that gives access to a small portico covered with a pointed vault. This is topped with a belfry. On the access portal there is a small window with the openwork Maltese cross.

I hope this could also be the beginning of something new and the end of this pandemic that would be left behind.

Sunrise in Mahon Harbour.

7.50 a.m. 11 08 2018, The danish sailing vessel GEORG STAGE (1935 ) moored at Port Mahón. —

Picture by José Muñoz

The Wind Star in front of the old British arsenal

 The MSY Wind Star is a motor sailing yacht, sailing as a cruise ship for Windstar Cruises. She is one of an unusual class of only three vessels (msy Wind Star,msy Wind Spirit, and msy Wind Song), designed as a modern cruise ship but carrying an elaborate system of computer-controlled sails on four masts.

More than 300 years ago a naval base was built in Mahon harbour to meet the needs of the British navy. Many of the buildings that once were the old arsenal are today part of a Spanish Navy base which is not open to the public but it can be seen and viewed from many points in Mahon town, or from the Yellow Catamarans which do the harbour trips every day.

There is also an artificial island called Isla Pinto, filled by the British in 1768 from an island, giving it its present form. Among other stories, more than fifteen ships were built there between 1786 and 1798. It was an area used to clean the bottom of the ships of the Dutch and British fleets from before 1708, as one of the safest places and sheltered port of Mahon.

 The old arsenal today.

 Pinto Island in 1870

Pinto Island today

As simple as that. Be natural.

When the summer season ends, it is time to discover the natural values of a more unknown island.

 Menorca Biosphere Reserve 

Since 1993

Portuguese ship

A Portuguese torpedo ship crossing the harbor in front of Collingwood House.

...another misty morning.

Mahon harbour and the Hospital Island in the middle of the fogg.

The warriors rest

The Super Series again in Mahon in September 2017.

End of Summer storms

 Vortex seen just off Mahon Harbour, yesterday.

Just a few hours later

The 'Secret' in Mahon harbour

Like many other millionaires, the Walton (owners of the supermarket empire Wal-mart) have visited with their superyacht the port of Mahon.

Secret Superyacht

Sanitja and Malva Sylvestris.

The Sanitja port or Sanisera is a natural port located next to the old roman town Sansiera. The port is in the Caballeria cape and it has an approximately lenght of 800 meters and very little depth which represent a perfect shelter against Tramuntana wind for boats.

The port isn’t very exploited and you can barely see few little wooden boats during high season. The entrance to the port used to be very protected by the Sanitja Tower, a british Tower of Defense built of stone and mortar in 1801. The inside of the tower can’t be visited because over time, it has deteriorated significantly and it’s almost demolished.

The scientific name, Malva sylvestris, is just as lovely as this flowering plant in the Malva genus, and is more popularly known as high mallow or common mallow. This plant is often found in fields and hedgerows and has a striking purple flower. It is native to western Europe, but has spread to portions of the Mediterranean and northern Africa, and has been imported to much of the English-speaking world. 

 The flowers and leaves of this unique herb are used for medicinal purposes, particularly in topical applications as a pain reliever.

Dolphins in Calas Fons

Mahon 1959, ....and Collingwood House too!

In this video you can see (minute 5) how was Collingwood House in 1959. It was not a Hotel yet. The works to make a 'pension' here started in 1961.

The Atlante in Cala Figuera

The ship that appears in this picture was called 'Atlante' and during the Spanish Civil War, was used as a prison boat.

Today exactly 80 years ago that 52 people who were imprisoned in this ship were shot and killed. Most of them were people of the clergy.

I belong to a facebook group that publishes and comments old photographs of Menorca. Today this image has been published and a great controversy has been generated among descendants of the relatives of the murdered and defenders of the Spanish Republic. It is not a novelty. 80 years later the wounds of this war remain unhealed.

By the way, the building that you can see at the top of the cliff

 is the Collingwood House, the Hotel del Almirante.

Hotel del Almirante, Nelson's Home?

A pencil drawing made in 1851 that shows the South shore of Mahon harbour and Collingwood House on the cliff. 

 

The original is in the Maritime Museum of Greenwich and erroneously the author, George Pechell Mends, naval officer, indicated that it was the house of Lord Nelson.

52 Super Series in Mahon Harbour

Twelve TP52s are competing for the 52 World Championship title on the Balearic Waters off Mahón, starting yesterday.

 Everybody Wants to Rule the World

Whilst there is no denying that Quantum Racing are the stand-out team this season – starting the fourth regatta of the 52 SUPER SERIES with a handsome overall lead on the season standings – it would be no surprise at all if it were to be any one of half a dozen different crews which leave Menorca clutching the title and the silverware next Sunday.

Some members of the Crew of the Ran Racing Team are allocated in the Hotel del Almirante, so no doubt the RAN is our favourite for the victory.

25th. Regiment of foot

The regiment was raised on 18 March 1689 by David Melville, 3rd Earl of Leven to defend Edinburgh against the Jacobite forces of James II.
 
For a period it was known as Semphill's Regiment of Foot, the name under which it fought at the Battle of Fontenoy in 1745 and the Battle of Culloden in 1746. With the introduction of regimental numbering in 1751, the regiment became the 25th Foot and it was as such that it took perhaps its most famous battle honour at Minden on 1st August 1759.

Following prolonged garrison duties on Minorca from 1768 to 1780, the regiment was sent to relieve Gibraltar, and in the same year, for a number of reasons, was retitled ‘the 25th (Sussex) Regiment of Foot’.

There is a remarkable collection of paintings and engravings of the time when the regiment was located in Menorca.

In August 1799 the regiment sailed from the Isle of Wight to Kent, where, at Canterbury General Abercromby was assembling a force for the invasion of the Netherlands. In October 1799 the 25th won a third battle honour at the Battle of Egmont-op-Zee, fighting in the vanguard of Sir John Moore’s brigade on the sand dunes.

In 1801 the Regiment was sent to Egypt with Sir Ralph Abercromby’s force and took part in the capture of Alexandria, thus earning, the right to bear the emblem of the Sphinx on its Colours.
The 1st battalion spent the most part of the Napoleonic Wars in the West Indies. Martinique was taken in 1809, and Guadeloupe in 1811. During this campaign the Battalion lost more men through disease than as a result of enemy action. Also during this period, in 1805, at the order of King George III, the regiment was retitled the ‘King’s Own Borderers’ and its facings changed to royal blue.

Vava II. Another Colossus of the Sea.

Tourists and residents who in recent days have walked nearby Fornells have been surprised by the visit of a 96 meters long megayacht that stands above the rest of boats moored in the area. This is the ship Vava II, owned by pharmaceutical tycoon Ernesto Bertarelli.

 
Local gossip published by the press are saying that fill the fuel tank of this giant costs 300,000 Euros.

The 52 Super Series in Mahon!

The port of Mahon will be the base of a stage of this prestigious regatta next month.

The 52 SUPER SERIES is a high-performance, monohull yacht racing circuit.

The "Box Rule" associated to the TP52 Class, means that boats must, literally, be able to fit within a box of certain dimensions. This means that there are no time allowances or handicaps and the boats race in real-time – first past the post wins. The Box Rule is strict enough to eliminate the need to set handicaps, yet flexible enough to encourage small, yearly innovations. The 52 SUPER SERIES is won by teams of skilful sailors, and the setup of the class means that the ages of the boat is of less importance

Official 52 SUPER SERIES Website

Superyacht 'Naia'

August is usually the superyachts season in Menorca. 

The 'Naia' is a ship that was built some time ago in Spain and it is now owned by an Arab sheik.

Yacht Charter Naia

The Amerigo Vespucci in Mahon Harbour in a windy morning

The Amerigo Vespucci arrived early today to Mahon Harbour and it will remain in port for a few days.

The Amerigo Vespucci is a tall ship of the Marina Militare, named after the famous Italian explorer. Its home port is La Spezia, in Italy and it is in use as a School Ship.

In 1925, the Regia Marina ordered two school ships to a design by General Lieutenant Francesco Rotundi of the Italian Navy Engineering Corps, inspired by the style of large late 18th century 74-cannon ships of the line(like the neapolitan ship "Monarca"). The first, the Cristoforo Colombo, was put into service in 1928 and was used by the Italian Navy until 1943. After World War II, this ship was handed over to the USSR as part of the war reparations and was shortly afterwards decommissioned.

The second ship was the Amerigo Vespucci, built in 1930 at the (formerly Royal) Naval Shipyard of Castellammare di Stabia (Naples). She was launched on February 22, 1931,^[1] and put into service in July of that year.

The vessel is a full rigged three-masted steel hull 82.4 m (270.34 ft) long, with an overall length of 101 m (331 ft) including the bowsprit and a maximum width of 15.5 m (51 ft). She has a draught of about seven metres (23 ft) and a displacement at full load of 4146 tons. Under auxiliary diesel-electric propulsion the Amerigo Vespucci can reach 10 knots (19 km/h) and has a range of 5450 nm at 6.5 knots.

The three steel masts are 50, 54 and 43 metres high, and carry sails totalling 2824 m² (30400 ft²) The Amerigo Vespucci has 26 sails – square sails, staysails, and jibs: all are traditional canvas sails. When under sail in severe sea and wind conditions she can reach 12 knots (22 km/h). The rig, some 30 km of ropes, uses only traditional hemp ropes; only the mooring lines are synthetic, to comply with port regulations.
The hull is painted black with two white stripes, harking back to the two gun decks of the ships her design is based on, but she carries only two 6pdr saluting guns in pivot mountings on the deck, forward of the mainmast. The deck planks are of teak wood and must be replaced every three years. Bow and stern are decorated with intricate ornaments; she has a life-size figurehead of Amerigo Vespucci. The stern gallery is accessible only through the Captain's saloon.