Mallorca

Marauding Moors!

Highlights of the summer were Glyn and Emma announcing their engagement and my daughter Emma and Sherwin announcing their wedding next July. The lowlight was the sad news that after a long and brave fight against illness our friend Marlene died in May. She had been practically wheelchair bound for many years due to a simple operation that went wrong but she never lost her sense of humour and zest for life. She made friends easily, didn't suffer fools gladly and was an inspiration. Ours thoughts are with Nick, her wonderfully good humoured husband and companion.

Tan has had to have her dental prosthesis redone for a third time with more extractions, more pain and discomfort and of course more cost. She found a very good dentist in Puerto Alcudia so we decided to stay local to the Islands because the treatment was going to span three or four months.

We departed the Spanish mainland from Port Ginesta on the 22nd April and completed the 125 nm passage to Pollenca in just over 20 hours despite a 7-16 knot wind always on the 'nose'. The sea-state was very confused so most of the passage was extremely uncomfortable requiring both hands to hold on when moving around but this was the last window of opportunity to get to Pollenca in time for Tan to get a flight she had previously booked from Palma to Malaga to visit her grandchildren. While Tan was away Doug and Jose (Windsong) arrived from Port Vell and anchored in the bay.

Five days after Tan returned the weather was looking good for a sojourn around the NE coast so on the 8th May we dropped anchor at Cala San Vincente in time to go ashore for a light lunch. Disappointingly Pepe's our preferred choice was closed but we had a very good baguette at the hotel beach bar. Next day we continued our journey arriving at Cala Calobra just before midday with the intention of anchoring for the night. Cala Calobra is spectacular with a cleft in the high cliffs through which the Torrent de Pareis flows. It is very deep and usually very busy but we were in luck there was just a power boat in for lunch. We were about to drop anchor when a large tour boat arrived creating a swell at which point the Admiral decided this was not for us so we went around the headland to Cala Tuent - one our favourites. We had a very calm night and were rewarded with sheep and a donkey grazing on the beach in the morning.

An hour after weighing anchor at Tuent we were anchored (bow and stern) at Puerto Soller. We use two anchors here to keep us aligned with the entrance which significantly reduces rocking and rolling. We came for two reasons, first and foremost there is a laundrette and secondly there is a fiesta which celebrates the victory of the Christians over the invading Moors. A large, colourful, and very noisy mock battle in which boat loads of sabre rattling Moors in full costume are repelled by the Christians on the beach. It starts mid-morning with very loud bangs of blunderbusses being discharged and ends late afternoon with the battle on the beach - after a respectable time for lunch of course. We met John and Maggie (Lazy Pelican) here and they invited us for a drink on their boat.

We left Soller early on the 15th because the forecast was for strong NW winds which would have trapped us here for several days. En-route to Pollenca we had a change of mind and went to Alcudia where we topped up with water before anchoring at Alcanada - a lovely anchorage behind a small island with views over the golf course. Two days later we anchored back in Pollenca and went to Restaurant El Posita with Mike and Chris (Shabonee) for a menu-del-dia. It was lovely to see them again and hopefully we will see much more of them over the coming weeks.

Cala San Vincente The GALE. The forecast for Sunday 20th May showed strong winds in the Golf de Lion and the Ebro Delta. I checked two forecasts which said the maximum winds here in the bay of Pollenca would be 25 knots (F6 - strong breeze). Reality was 38 knots (F8 - gale force), we were in no danger as I had 35m chain out but needless to say I got a lot of flack from the Admiral. The gales continued through Monday and late afternoon the dinghy flipped over tossing out the oar handles and submerging the outboard. I saw one oar floating away so after righting the dinghy I jumped into it and went in hot pursuit using just the blade of an oar. I soon caught up with the escaped handle but because the wind was driving the dingy I overshot it. I eventually managed to snag a buoy and wait for it to catch me up. When it did I let got of the buoy and paddled with the blade as hard as I could and managed to capture it, so now I had one complete oar but was still being driven down the bay by the wind. I snagged another buoy and tried to start the outboard which stubbornly refused to cooperate - hardly surprising after being submerged. A young man on a small yacht tied to a nearby buoy donned his wetsuit and swam across with an oar. Together we rowed back to his boat. The plan was to row him and his girlfriend to shore, drop them off and I would walk along the beach towing the dinghy against the wind until I was well up-wind of Blank Canvas then with the wind assisting and with one complete oar I could drift back to the boat.

Before we could implement this plan Simon (Tudor Dawn Charters) arrived in his RIB, he had been alerted to a dinghy adrift, took the couple ashore and towed me back to the boat where a much relieved Tan was waiting. It didn't take long for Tan's relief to turn to anger at my alleged stupidity, but I was never in danger, the wind would have deposited me at the other side of the bay - not out to sea. However, I was on anchor watch until 02:00 on Tuesday morning when finally the wind gave a last gasp and expired.

07:00 next day I was on the stern working on the outboard. We had planned to go for lunch with Mike and Christine and their guests Richard and Michelle. By 08:00 I had the outboard working and the wind was abating so the rendezvous was on. We had a great menu-del-dia at Bodega es Port in Peurto Alcudia (a short bus ride away) then Tan and I walked to the supermarket Mercadona in the main town and did some serious shopping before getting the bus back to Port de Pollenca. Next day I decided to go in search of the missing oar handle so I took the dinghy and scanned the shoreline around the bay, past the military base where the fire fighting seaplanes are housed and out towards the lighthouse. Despite the odds, I found it washed up on the rocks at the far side of the bay.

Tan in new dress While at lunch in Puerto Alcudia two days earlier, Richard had expressed his interest in the Beneteau 42CC because he was in the process of changing boats so I invited them to look at ours. On Wednesday morning Mike rafted Shabonee alongside us at anchor and they all came aboard for coffee and a viewing.

Tan's having dental problems again, both crowns has been getting progressively more painful so she went to a dentist in Puerto Alcudia who had been recommended. The bad news is that she needs to have a root canal and possibly more, so we will be staying around the North of Mallorca for a few more weeks. On Saturday 25th May we went onto the quay for a couple of nights as Tan fancied a change and next evening Mike and Christine came over for a meal before they left for home next day. 29th May first swim in the sea - lovely!

We started June with an excursion around the North coast of Mallorca, spending a night in Cala Figuera and a night in Cala San Vincente where we had lunch at Pepe's. Later, we watched four men and two dogs rounding up goats on the steep rocky slopes. The dogs were very well trained and the men equipped with long retractable poles with a noose attached to the end. Despite cornering six goats they only managed to capture two.

From San Vincente we reversed our route and went to Alcanada in Alcudia bay. Despite no wind there was a very uncomfortable swell which caused a lot of rolling. After three days we went back into the bay of Pollenca and dropped anchor at Cala el Cato where we had another uncomfortable night. The only consolation was seeing goats on the beach and a flock of squabbling birds of prey.

The rest of June was spent pootling around Pollenca and Alcudia bays while Tan kept several dental appointments. We also enjoyed the company of Mike and Christine and David and Marjorie (Shabonee) on several occasions. The end of June was uncomfortably hot with temperatures of 40+.

Menorca

On the 5th July we made a snap decision to go to Menorca before the NE winds set in. We had a great sail with 10 to 16 knot winds on the beam and clocked speeds of over 7 knots. Arriving Cala Fornells at 18:30 we picked up one of the free Life Posidonia buoys. A long narrow neck (entrance) gives access to an inland area of water some 2 miles long by up to 0.7 mile wide and provides excellent shelter. The picturesque village and port of Fonells (pronounced) Forneys lies near the head of the bay. Most of the surroundings are of unspoilt natural beauty and development is restricted. The bay is also a magnet for water sports such as dinghy sailing and surfboarding and fortunately only a little water-skiing.

Catamaran Largyalo - Colonia Sant Jordi The village has a long history but didn't start to thrive until the late 16th century when San Antonio built a circular fort on the headland to protect the bay from pirates. In 1708 a British Expedition led by Commodore Duckworth had intended to land at Fornells but a strong headwind forced them into Addaya. When the wind changed the following day he captured Fornells. Menorca reverted back to the Spanish in 1802 but is still very popular with the Brits either to live or vacation.

During our first 14 day stay we met Michael and Teresa (Moondance of Carrick) again and were invited to a BBQ at their villa. Michael is a qualified RYA instructor and runs MTsail and Power training school. Fornells only has very basic and expensive provisioning so we went shopping to the local town of Es Mercadal twice, once by bus and once in Michael's car.

The week long fiesta of San Antonio culminates with horseback displays in the tiny town square followed by very loud music until 5am so on the 19th we went to Isla Colom (Es Grau) on the East coast where we picked up a Posidonia buoy. During the night the wind broke ranks from the forecast and veered NE causing an uncomfortable swell so we started the engine to leave but the alternator warning light came on. The alternator mounting bolt had sheared.

Two and a half hours later, after drilling out the old bolt and installing a new one we were on our way back to Fornells where we picked up a club buoy at the very bottom of the bay, 2 miles away from the music. This part of the bay is very rural and tranquil. While sitting-out strong NE winds in relative comfort we observed eagles hunting and egrets fishing. On the Monday the fiesta culminated in a large fireworks display so next day we moved back to the top of the bay.

Michael lent us his car again and we stocked up at Mercadona and Hiper Centro supermarkets on the Mahon industrial estate. On the 26th July, after three lovely weeks on Menorca we departed for Mallorca.

Mallorca

I slipped the mooring buoy at 05:05 and in the pre-dawn light glided out of the bay. Most of the 65nm passage to Porto Colom was very uncomfortable with 1.5 metre seas but we managed to sail for five hours. Our intention was to anchor in Porto Colom for several days. Imagine our dismay when we arrived and discovered that the whole anchorage has been laid to buoys by the Club Nautic and that they were charging 33€/night for our size boat. This bay was the only good safe anchorage on the east coast so there must have been some sizeable back-handers. There is a small area near the entrance where it is possible to anchor but it is subject to heavy swell. They have also left a narrow margin along the NE edge for local day boats but it is shallow and too narrow to anchor safely although we did try three times. Finally we ended up on the public quay for two nights which costs a little more than the buoys but at least you get electricity and water and can step on and off the boat. Goodbye Porto Colom, you will never see us again.

Santa Ponsa Our next stop was Colonia Sant Jordi where we anchored. We spent five lovely relaxing days there, indulging in menu-del-dias on two occasions at restaurant El Paso (Carrera Estanys) where the food is very good ant the value excellent at 9€ including wine and water. We also discovered a very good fruit and veg shop on Carrera Dofi, just a few minutes walk from where we tie the dinghy. Tan bought a very nice new dress, it really suits her, she also bought me a new belt because one of my pairs of shorts keep falling down!

Largyalo (The ark of ideas) was anchored here. It's a twenty by ten metre catamaran built on a traditional Polenesian design. According to their website: "The Ark of Ideas is an international communication project that aims to sensitize people to the causes and consequences of climate change. This extraordinary initiative pleads for dialog around this topic and sees itself as a platform for development and exchange of ideas and concepts. Yet there is much more to it than just finding practical ideas. It is rather about ideas, how to get through to the big crowd, who is quite conscious about the problem, but stays inactive all the same."

Cala Blava lies just inside the bay of Palma. It's a wide exposed cala with two low-rise blocks of apartments and some very expensive houses. We arrived early afternoon on the second day of August and picked up a Posidonia buoy. It should have been flat calm (according to the forecast) but a brisk on-shore wind made it quite uncomfortable.

A very entertaining two hours was spent watching a couple in a yacht trying to pick up a buoy. As is often the case, the man drives while the woman is sent to the bow (the highest point) with a boat-hook. He ignored the first rule of approaching up-wind and continually overshot the buoy. Eventually he decided to approach astern with her standing on the sugar-scoop (the lowest point) and on one occasion they got the buoy only to find they hadn't prepared a line to attach it and unable to hold the weight of the boat they had to let go. In the third act she jumped into the sea holding the end of a long rope, the other end being attached to the boat. He circled the buoy dragging her behind until she reached it and deftly fed the rope through the pick-up eye. Once back on board they tied off the line but the saga wasn't over yet. They needed to get the line to the bow to be moored into wind. First he took one end of the line and struggled (holding the weight of the boat) to the bow and tied it off, only to discover that the line went over the guardrail instead of under it, so the performance was repeated during which they inadvertently untied the dinghy which drifted off downwind. Eventually after much huffing and puffing and many trips between bow and stern they were moored. At no point did they consider using the engine to take the weight of the boat off the line! The warden retrieved their dinghy. When we pick up buoys, Tan drives, she's good at it, I stand by the cockpit holding a line attached to a bow cleat (fed under the guardrail) that way I can direct Tan when she loses sight on the buoy. It's then a simple matter to pick up the buoy thread the line and walk forward with Tan providing engine power if needed.

Puerto Soller Had a great (but slow) sail across the bay of Palma, wind was 8-15 knots astern and no waves, arriving Santa Ponsa just after midday. We stopped at the marina for water but were told to wait because another boat was filling up. 40 minutes later we tried again but the marinero refused and told us to go to the waiting quay where there was also water. When we had topped up we were told that the charge would be 21.50€ which is ridiculous so I stormed off to the office. Eventually I got the price down to 10€. We anchored in the bay.

We stayed for ten days during which time I met an ex-IBM colleague from 25 years ago (Robbie Wilderspin and partner Jacqueline Cole - Spring Dawn) and made new acquaintances Harry and Margot (No Agenda) so it was quite a sociable time. It was HOT, we were suffering an African heatwave, 40C and humid. Added to that, swell from the straights of Gibraltar and water-skiers often made the boat rock uncomfortably. On previous visits here we had taken the boat across the bay to Peguera where there is a Mercadona supermarket but this time we discovered it was much more convenient to go by bus. Also on previous visits Tan had discovered a great jewellery and watch shop that does watches from eight euros to thousands. She went for a couple of everyday watches and some days later whilst browsing for gifts she saw an ideal watch for her - it was in the expensive part but turned out to be very good value. It's rose gold with a bronze coloured stainless steel mesh strap - very classy - ideal for evening wear and weddings!

Forced to leave by lack of water, full holding tank, and uncomfortable swell we departed on the 13th August. Our first stop was Andratx for water and to anchor for the night. We got the water ok (Tan prefers the water here, it's not desalinated) but the anchorage was laid to buoys just like Porto Colom - and just as expensive. Before leaving we went onto the town quay which the trawlers use but is available for other boats while they are out at sea. We have done this several times in the past but this time there was very little space. We ran aground with a solid thump trying to get alongside the quay near the slipway but although aground the boat would pivot around a point under the keel so by going alternatively hard astern and forwards while swinging the wheel from one extreme to the other we got free. Tan wanted to leave but we were short of tomatoes so I tried the other space, it took three attempts and help from the public but we finally berthed alongside and Tan went shopping. While she was away I weighed the gas bottle to see if we needed a new one because I know you can get them here but it was still over a third full.

Due to lack of anchoring space we left Andratx at 13:40 on the day we arrived and crossed the narrow bay to Cala Egos where we anchored in 10 metres. Cala Egos is an unspoiled but open and deep anchorage. We anchored in 10 metres but later in the afternoon the wind veered and we were too close to a powerboat and had to move. We weighed anchor and went back to Santa Ponsa where we spent a not very comfortable and uninspired four days, apart from another trip to Mercadona.

Sunset over Pollenca bay Continuing our journey around Mallorca, we arrived at San Telmo on August 17th. All the Posidonia buoys were booked but we found a nice area of sand closer inshore to anchor which suited us better because we weren't subject to the 2 night limit on the buoys. We had a menu-del-dia at the Hostal Dragonera, same good value as last year. Tan bought two lovely cotton sarongs in the village.

Our next port of call was Porto Soller on the 20th and were surprised to see two Royal Navy minesweepers at the military base. They were returning from a tour of duty in the Gulf. It's the first time in 50 years that British warships have been here. We stayed eight days then spent a night at Cala San Vincente where the super yacht M4 was anchored, then onwards, arriving Pollenca on the 29th August.

August was the hottest and driest for 30 years with temperatures reaching into the forties. In contrast, September was very wet and stormy forcing us to use the quay at high season rates! We stayed in the Pollenca area for seventy two nights, alternating between anchoring and using the quay. The primary reason for such a long stay in one place was to complete Tan's dental work which was started in May.

We enjoyed the company of Mike and Chris on several occasions, usually over a menu-del-dia and we went to Palma to meet Barry and Jackie who were on holiday in Soller. Palma was the most convenient place for us all to meet. We had a lovely day shopping, sightseeing and yet another menu. We frequented El Posito in Pollenca quite often for their excellent value menu. We met with some old friends (Pete and Carol, Fulmaris) and made some new acquaintances (David and Noreen). We witnessed the change of season at Pollenca, from a busy tourist resort to a quiet sleepy town with many hotels, bars, restaurants, and shops closing for the winter.

Because Port Vell is being converted to a superyacht marina, the question of where to winter loomed large in our thoughts. We were unable to get a commitment for a berth in Port Vell and at the time they were only offering boats already there a place until the end of December. We considered Palma, Pollenca, and Villa Nova amongst others. Finally we found a private berth at Port Vell which we rented for six months from 1st November.

We finally departed Polllenca on 9th November very early in the morning, having decided to maximise daylight time for the passage to Barcelona. We motor/sailed all the way, arriving Barcelona just after midnight after an uneventful but sometimes uncomfortable crossing.