Transfer Cruise from Portugal to Italy Part 5

Mallorca

The morning light slowly replaced the stars in the sky and the coast of Mallorca came into view. There was a big ferry on port side, waiting for what? Since they did not move we kept heading for our destination Santa Ponca a small bay in the southwest of Mallorca. Here we wanted Peter to pick up, who was traveling by plane from Zurich. In fact, we had managed to enter the bay in time before the plane had landed. We looked for a place and anchored at 7m, which was already borderline due to the short chain which contrary to the firm claim of the previous owner 30m, actually was only 18m long. Until the arrival of Peter, we had 4 hours, which I used to sleep, because the night was quite short. We had appointed us at Santa Ponca because we want to avoid the hustle and bustle in Palma de Mallorca, but we had to realize that although less, but still a lot was going on in this bay, which later turned out to be difficult.

 

The phone rang and Peter explained that he was standing on the concrete pontoon he found on Google, at home. Unfortunately, we could not make out a pontoon from our position and since he did not know our boat, it was difficult for us to locate him. I set out with the dinghy and landed. At the Cruz de la Conquista Jaime I finally found Peter and we made our way to the boat.

Gaby was pleased, because she was handicapped by the accident and happy that Peter had arrived for support. We bathed and then started to make minor repairs on the boat. The strong wind and the rough sea had left a few markes. The wind freshened up and, as feared, the anchor started to slip. We hoisted, not as planned next day, the anchor and continued our journey. Peter could not wait to see it anyway, but soon realized that there was a lot of movement in the ship as a result of the rising swell, which ultimately put the annoying issue of seasickness in the foreground for the next 3 days.

 

We drove past the offshore island of Sa Dragonera, as we sighted a Dutch yachtsman. Along the Majorcan north coast we set course to Toulon. The night fall in and since Gaby and Peter were both not capable of bringing peak performance, I took the first watch.

We drove past the offshore island of Sa Dragonera, as we sighted a Dutch yachtsman. Along the Majorcan north coast we set course to Toulon. The night fall in and since Gaby and Peter were both not capable of bringing peak performance, I took the first watch.

At 2 o'clock I wake Peter up and told him that the wind had pick up and coming from the right direction. He looked at me astonished and could not believe that he must set sail in the middle of the night. But it was not a dream. I gave him his lifejacket in his hand and explained the maneuver and showed him the places where he could hitch his lifebelt in.

Alright! Let's go! Salings.- and deck lighting on, it was daylight. We go against the wind, layawayed to the mast and set the main sail. Back on course and the Genoa rolled out. Engine off. Oh, this peace! With 6 knots we cruised through the night, just great. The coast of Mallorca was still abreast, far away on the horizon the light of Barcelona was seen. The next morning the coast had disappeared, the sea had us again.