Skipper's Log 2006 part 3 - Cartagena to Mallorca

Skipper´s Log 2006 – Part 3 

 Cartagena to Mallorca

We set sail from Cartagena on 27th May, bound for Palos harbour. Cabo de Palos gives its name to one of the weather forecast areas hereabouts and is a bit of a hurdle. We motored all the way into a stiff northeaster, but had relied on getting shelter from the cliffs and thus not too much swell. We kept close in to the cliffs all the way and all went well. However there were off lying rocks in the approach to Palos which had to be given a wide berth.

Approach to Palos

We found an empty berth and the harbourmaster confirmed that the owner’s boat was still ashore, so we could stay there. Later, “Rajah” came in, and also found a berth just opposite us. All the berths here were privately owned and there was no charge, however it would have been difficult to get a berth later in the season. There were many diving establishments here – there is a marine reserve with off lying rocks and shallows off Cabo de Palos.

We left Palos the next day and sailed around the point, through the marine reserve and passed the entrance to Mar Menor. Mar Menor is a large lagoon, separated from the sea by a narrow strip of sand on which are built high hotel blocks side by side. It was a warm day with very little wind, so we motorsailed much of the way to Torrevieja, which we reached in the early afternoon. We had read that there was a good chandler here, but of course being Sunday, it was closed.

The varnish on the Windpilot rudder had started to peel, so I decided to paint it white instead. I went up to the chandler the next morning and bought International  primer and undercoat. (I already had topcoat). While there, I saw they had a nice inflatable dinghy for sale. The shop owner was English and I asked what deal he could make for dinghy plus motor. By buying both together, we could save 500€. I went back later and bought them. On returning to the boat, Rie had found a home for the old dinghy. By the time they delivered the dinghy and motor, it was getting late, and it was 1 pm before we left Torrevieja.

The 28^th May was another warm, windless afternoon, so again we motored all the way to Alicante. As we approached Alicante, the temperature dropped noticeably and it became overcast close to land. I remember telling Rie that I could sense a change in the weather, and later saw the barometer had fallen to “change”.

Alicante is a big harbour, and so is the marina. The reception building was very plush but the overnight charge was reasonable at 25€. However, I was charged “light dues” here, the first time since Punta Delgada in 1997. We found our allotted berth, and while fitting the sail cover I spotted Lavst and Liselotte walking along the quay. We called to them and they came round for a drink and snacks. Later, we went to a nearby restaurant together for an evening meal. While there, it poured with rain.

Alicante

We stayed in harbour the next day (30^th May), and Lavst and Liselotte came aboard for lunch. Later in the day, Poul arrived, he will crew for us for the next three weeks. We had a cracker of a thunderstorm in the evening with bright lightning flashes, heavy rain and strong wind.

The next day (31^st) the wind still blew hard and a gale warning was forecast – we stayed in harbour. Today was Poul´s birthday, so we presented him with a sailing cap.We explored the town and went out for a birthday meal at the nearby Chinese restaurant. Again it rained a little during the day, and heavily in the evening.

Thursday 1^st June, and the forecast was for south westerly winds. We decided to sail to Vilanojosa some 15 nm along the coast, so Poul could find his sea legs. The weather was much better today, and we enjoyed the sunshine in this lovely little harbour.

We left harbour next day around mid day, bound for Formentera, intending to arrive mid morning. The forecast wind was again SW, and so it was for a few hours. Around 6 pm, it went round to east and strengthened. We decided to cancel our night sail and made for the harbour of Calpe. However they had no room for us as there was a regatta in progress. We anchored outside, but the swell came straight in and it was very uncomfortable. We weighed anchor and sailed further to Moraira, where we found a berth tucked behind the mole. We were behind a Canadian boat “Chinook of Ottawa” which we had seen in Cartagena.

Saturday 3^rd June, and the wind was still in the east, so we decided to stay here another day in this pleasant little harbour. The marina charges were low and no deposit needed for the toilet block key – making it much easier to make an early start next day. In the afternoon, Brian and Deborah from “Chinook” came aboard for drinks and we discussed plans. They were also on their way to the Balearics, but would go direct to San Antonio on Ibiza. We went out for a meal in the evening and tried to find an internet café, but they were closed. So we have to make do with the Navtex forecast.

Sunday 4^th June and we made an early start. The distance to Formentera was just 50 nm from Moraira, so we could do it in a day. We had a light south easterly wind, not enough to sail by, so we motored most of the way again. On the way, we saw a big turtle swim by. We had to take care of the shipping as we passed just south of the Cabo de Nao Traffic Separation Zone. At least it was easy to predict their direction of travel here. As we approached Formentera we passed two tugs, pulling marine farms behind them.

Launching the new dinghy

We arrived at Formentera marina at 6.30 pm, but were turned away. The harbour office told us over the VHF that the harbour was closed – no explanations. We have since found out that the charges here were very high and we had a lucky escape! We went out to the bay south of Puerto Sabina and anchored there in good shelter. We pumped up the dinghy, but didn’t go ashore.

On Monday 5^th June, we went ashore in the new dinghy. We went alongside a little landing stage inside the lagoon – a lovely place. We couldn’t take Restless in there as there was very little depth in the narrow entrance.

We found an internet café and Poul booked his return flight for the 20^th. Later on, we returned to do some shopping and also booked our own flight home to Denmark on 8^th July. We had really enjoyed this anchorage, but in the evening the wind strengthened from the east and the anchorage became very rolly. We hauled up the anchor and moved to a place just west of Puerto Sabina. Here we found shelter from the land and had a quiet night.

We decided to move on towards Ibiza on 6^th June, but first we had to top up with fuel and water. We thought we could have had water at the fuel berth, but no, we had to go alongside in the marina and obtain a water meter. Having filled up with just under 200 litres of water, it came to 2.53€! It was hardly worth all the trouble of moving to a difficult berth – and the process took two hours.

We left Formentera around 1 pm and headed NW. The wind was still easterly so we decided on the north coast of Ibiza. We had a nice sailing wind along the coast and inside the rocky islands. We saw a group of four dolphins hunting. We stopped at the lovely bay, Cala Badella, where we anchored in 10m of water. This was a wonderful place and we dinghied over to the beach for a swim. We liked the place so much that we stayed an extra day, and enjoyed the beach and swimming.

We hauled up the anchor on 8^th June and sailed further to San Antonio, a large bay with plenty of anchor place. We found a patch of sand in 3m depth and dropped our hook. The afternoon was spent relaxing, reading and writing logs, before going ashore in the dinghy. A Norwegian couple called by to say hello in their dinghy during the afternoon. When on our way ashore later, we found their boat, ”Sylvia”, on a mooring, and invited them over for drinks the next day. They seemed very pleased and accepted. We walked around the town, which was very touristy, looking for a new camera as ours is broken. We found no serious camera shops and the selection for sale in the photo shops was very poor and very expensive.

The next day we spent most of the day on board reading and relaxing. The Norwegian couple never turned up – bad manners in our opinion.

On Saturday 10^th June we hauled up the anchor, and filled up with good quality water at the Yacht Club, (available from 10 am to 1 pm). We left San Antonio in the late morning and set off for Cala Portinatx. We had SMS messages from both SY Ayla and SY Josephine – they are already in Mallorca. It was an uncomfortable trip, motoring into the wind most of the way. We were in company with an English boat “Paprika” most of the way, but they turned into Cala de San Miguel, another anchorage just before Portinatx.

We arrived in Cala Portinatx in the late afternoon and anchored up over a patch of sand in 5m of very clear water– there is also a lot of weed about. Brian swam over from “Chinook”, who also lay at anchor, and checked that our anchor was dug in. This was another lovely sheltered anchorage, with a couple of sandy beaches backed by apartment blocks – run by the Portman Group, among others. Nearly everyone on the beach was English! There was a little rocky quay where we could lock the dinghy where it seemed quite safe. (We use a length of chain and padlocks). There were no less than three Spar shops in this little place and much to Poul’s delight, the bars had a good range of English and Irish beers. We spent a couple of days here, and we all went swimming off the beach. I find the water is still not that warm though.

On Monday 12^th June we left Portinatx early at 6.30 am (just after daybreak here), and set off for Mallorca. The wind was easterly, about 12-15 knots, but on leaving the protection of the Cala, we met a big swell that was very unpleasant. After half an hour we turned around and ran back for Portinatx under main sail alone. We were back on our patch of sand by 8 am, just in time for breakfast! When we make early starts, we usually have breakfast under way as soon as we have cleared the land. A few hours later several boats had left, (heading west), so we moved closer inshore to get better shelter and where the holding was better. We expect stronger winds tomorrow and expect to be here for a few days until things calm down again.

Poul and I went ashore in the afternoon to do some shopping and check the possibility of taking a bus to Ibiza town tomorrow. It was my turn to cook tonight, the tortilla was a disaster – it stuck to the new pan!

On the Thursday, we took a bus to Ibiza and spent most of the day in the old walled town. A great deal of renovation was in hand, but apart from the castle, most of the buildings were open. We climbed to the cathedral at the top – not so big or ornate. It was originally the parish church, before it was upgraded to cathedral when Ibiza became a diocese. The town’s fortified walls are very impressive, one enters the town over a drawbridge. From the ramparts there were views over the huge harbour and over to Formentera.

The weather forecast had still not changed and we could see and hear the waves marching past the mouth of Cala Portinatx. However, the forecast for Friday was better. On Thursday evening it became very dark and there followed a severe thunderstorm, with winds gusting to 40 knots. Several boats dragged their anchors, but ours held fast. It certainly pays to look for a patch of sand instead of dropping the hook on weed. The storm continued well into the night and I didn’t get much sleep.

We left Portinatx very early at 6 am on Friday 16^th June and set off under power to Andraitx on Mallorca, a distance of 48 miles. We motored most of the day as there was not much wind. We managed to sail the last hour or so as we neared the coast of Mallorca. We found a berth on the public pontoon in Andraitx in a good sheltered position, and inexpensive at 15€ a night.

We heard that Mahon on Menorca had been hit by a storm surge that had damaged many yachts. We checked that SY Josephine and SY Ayla were not among them – they were still on Mallorca. Ayla was forced out to sea from Soller, after slipping her anchor. But they recovered it the next day. It made a nice change to be in harbour again after 13 consecutive days at anchor.

Saturday was spent shopping, swimming and woodworking. I have started making a frame for a mosquito net for the fore hatch. We found a nice piece of mahogany on a builder’s tip outside the harbour office. We did ask the harbourmaster if it was ok to take it. In the afternoon, we bought access to wireless internet, so busied ourselves getting our website up to date and catching up on e-mails. With Poul (our webmaster) on board, we can update the website direct from our own computer.

We liked Andraitx and stayed there for three days before sailing round to Palma on 19^th June. We had arranged that Poul would leave us in Palma and take a flight home. It has been a real pleasure having him on board, and we look forward to the next time. Our daughter Dilys and her partner Paul were coming by air from England on the same day, so Palma seemed ideal.

On arrival in Palma, we were refused a berth at both the big marinas, they said they were fully booked all week. There appeared to be plenty of empty berths, and a berth holder had told us the day before that there was plenty of space, so we found it a bit puzzling. We finally found a berth on Pier 46, but at a price – 125€ for two nights,(a single night costs 85€). There were no showers or toilets! However the longer one stays the cheaper it is.

Poul caught his morning flight and we met Dilys and Paul later at the airport. The next day was spent exploring the older part of Palma, we saw the cathedral – at least the outside – it was closed when we arrived. We soon decided that Palma was not our scene, I never feel comfortable in a big crowd.

We left Palma on 22^nd June and sailed round to an anchorage in Cala Santa Ponsa. We had decided to sail up the west coast of Mallorca as the winds were firmly in the east. On the way we passed some impressive cliffs and out lying rocky islands. Cala Santa Ponsa was a delightful anchorage, with really clean water. Paul swam from the beach out to Restless, while I fetched Dilys in the dinghy.

On 23^rd June, we sailed the few miles back to Puerto Andraitx, and found a berth on the visitor’s quay, which was administered by the marina. The price was very different from the public pontoon (more than double). The facilities were good though and access to the marina swimming pool was included. However the next day we moved over to the public pontoon when a space became available. Paul went for a run towards the inland town of Andraitx – only the harbour lies on the coast – a precaution against pirates in the bad old days.

Near the public quay there was a small beach, and we all went swimming there to cool off. We handed in our washing at the service laundrette and collected it next day. We went for a meal in a very pleasant Asian restaurant that evening. After collecting our washing on the 24^th, we set sail for Soller, on the west coast. On the way we passed between the narrow island of Droguera and the main island and marvelled at the cliff scenery all the way to Soller-

Dilys suffered with seasickness again as on the previous days we sailed, so we moored up to the quay so she could recover. (In Santa Ponsa she recovered very quickly by going for a swim). Puerto Soller is a beautiful place, a semicircular bay with a backdrop of high mountains. The next day we moved to the public pontoon, which was new and not described in our pilot. In fact a whole marina exists where there previously were moorings. The marina is full of local boats, many are traditional locally built fishing craft with lateen sail. They are almost all used for pleasure now though.

We decided to stay in Soller, and had five nights on the pontoon. Dilys and Paul did a lot of running and swimming, and one day borrowed mountain bikes from Brian, on “Chinook”, and cycled to Deia. I should explain that Dilys and Paul are committed triathletes and Paul has just qualified for the Half  Ironman championships in Florida in November. He ran up to the lighthouse on the southern side of the bay every day, sometimes four times.

 Trams run round the bay from the old port and up to the town of Soller, some 2½ km away. The terminus in Soller is shared with the Victorian railway that runs to Palma. The station building housed an exhibition of ceramics by Picasso and paintings by Joan Moiro – free entry!

One evening the maroon rockets went up and the whole fishing fleet started milling around in the harbour, all decorated with bunting. They were taking the figure of St. Peter from the church out to sea and back again. There was a procession through the streets led by a youth band back to the church. The figure of St. Peter was carried by fishermen. (Sct. Pedro in Spanish).

One day, a German yacht came in after catching a 5 kilo tuna on their way over from Barcelona. They gave us 1½ kilo of it, so we invited Brian to join us for a meal of grilled fresh tuna steaks. There was still plenty left over for us the next day. It tasted fantastic.

The weather these last few days has been very hot, and after Dilys and Paul flew home, we moved out to the anchorage where there was a nice breeze. We have bought a nice big wind scoop locally, and that has cooled the cabin down considerably. We have had a problem as to where to leave the boat while we return to Denmark for a break. July and August are very busy months here and the marinas are fully booked. I talked to the marina staff and obtained a berth for a couple of weeks against the quay which they administer. After that Poul returns with his family for a holiday on board. Having got that sorted, we relaxed on board Restless out at anchor and went swimming from the boat.

One day, we took the train from Soller to Palma, a wonderful ride through mountains and tunnels, and finally dropping to the southern plain.

Every piece of usable land grows olives, figs, lemons, oranges or almonds. The valley from Puerto de Soller up to the hills is known as the “Golden Valley”, thanks to the orange groves. However Valentia has become the main centre for orange growing these days.

One evening we had a show of folk dancing on the harbour front, followed by free meal of tuna steaks and bread. We have enjoyed our stay in Puerto de Soller but will soon be moving on to Menorca and then further east to Sardinia.