A yachtsman brought up on the East Anglian coast of England does not have a great deal of experience with rocky coastlines. So when I began sailing in Menorcan waters I had to get used to the idea that straying off course could lead to dire results. There's a big difference between gently going aground on a mud bank to hitting a pinnacle of limestone. Coupled to the changing coastal forms was the distinct lack of warning marks around the island's coast, compared with British coastal waters.
At least there are no tidal currents or changes in sea level of more than a metre to cope with here. Any range in the sea level is due to barometric pressure changes rather than the tides: high air pressure associated with anticyclonic conditions, results in low water level; low air pressure, high water. So when one sees a semi-submerged rock in times of high pressure that same rock is going to be less noticeable, but more of a hazard during a period of low pressure. Such dangerous rocks are present in the approach to the bay of Arenal d'en Castell. There are two outcrops which are practically invisible from a distance during calm weather and high water conditions. They are marked on charts but there is no warning beacon. Similarly dangerous rocks are found on approaching the anchorage of Es Grau and have claimed many boats.
Discounting the lighthouses there are no warning lights or marks to be found, other than at the approaches to Maó and Fornells and the cardinal mark on the east end of the s'Escull d'en Caragol, a reef off Cala Biniancolla.
The safe approach to Fornells is achieved by observing the two white pillars that can be seen on Illa Sargantanes the bay's largest island. Line up the lower pillar with the upper one to form the appearance of just one pillar and you are on course.
A radical approach to safety regarding offshore rocks was taken in 1935, when a prominent rock in Maó harbour was blown up to aid shipping and seaplanes. Isla de las Ratas (Rat Island) was situated on the Club Marítimo side of the Illa del Rei. Measuring approximately sixty metres by thirty, with a height of about ten metres, it was deemed to be in the way of the increasingly large ships and it was in the area best suited for seaplanes to land and take off. It can be seen on old prints of the harbour.
The island's newspaper, "La Voz de Menorca", reported on Wednesday 11th December 1935: "on Monday morning the tools and necessary equipment for starting work on the Isla de las Ratas were transported over to the islet." The same newspaper reported on the following day, Thursday 12th December: "the blowing up of the Isla de las Ratas began the day before yesterday. Holes were drilled into the rock which filled with water. Mechanical drills and explosives were used to break up the rock, fragments of which will be collected by the dredger."
Strangely, in the weeks that followed, no further references were made to this event, which was reported in the "Maritime News" section of the four page broadsheet. Searching the editions of the years 1935 and 1936 I gathered a wide knowledge of shipping movements in and out of the port of Maó. Most common were the mail boats, but steamers containing cement and coal and warships and submarines were also common. Special mention, by individual name, was made of visiting pleasure yachts that were fairly rare; many of them French or British. Seaplanes however were on the increase at this time. The "Maritime News" of Tuesday 16th June 1936 made particular mention of the first outboard motor seen on the island. Its proud owner was named as a young man from Ciutadella called Luis Saura Olivee. The latter name could be a misprint as Oliver is a much more common name.
One thing leads to another and my investigation of the blowing up of Isla de las Ratas led me to examine the newspapers themselves - the very bedrock of the community. I believe wherever you go this has been so, although we are in an era of change in which the internet is usurping the newspapers' position. People have turned to the daily or weekly press for reports on things that really matter to them – not least the births, marriages and deaths.
The first edition of "La Voz de Menorca" was published on Monday 1st October 1906. It was produced at calle Infanta 17 in Mao, until recently the premises of Victori furniture shop. In fact the newspaper's founder was a member of the Victori family. One of the adverts that appeared that day was for waterproof shoes that could be bought from a shop at calle Iglesia 11, the site of the modern-day post office in Maó.
By the early nineteen thirties the newspaper proclaimed beneath its banner that it had been a Republican newspaper since its foundation. Thus in the early years of the Civil War it adopted a fiercely anti-fascist stance in its editorials. Indeed in the latter months of 1938 there were strident messages in its headlines urging workers to show loyalty and solidarity against the fascists. In the early days of the war lists of people, who had made donations to the anti-fascist militia, were printed. One wonders what the consequences of such publications were for the hundreds of Menorcans listed.
Wednesday 8th February 1939 marked the last ever edition of "La Voz de Menorca" for the ensuing two years there was no regular island newspaper. On Saturday 1st February 1941 the four page first edition of "Menorca", published in Plaza José Antonio 9 saw the light of day. Underneath its banner was printed the message that it was the organ of the Spanish Falange. Below was its first ever headline, all in capital letters, printing Franco's name three times.