Palma, Mallorca and Ibiza - Spain.

28 March – 6 April 2012

It doesn’t take the full crew to get underway so we got to stay in our bunks as Richard, Tim and Phil slipped the lines in the darkness at 5.00am and headed Moksha out through the breakwaters of Carloforte and set a course for Mallorca. The forecast wasn’t great indicating light winds on the bow for at least the first half of the trip. Richard decided to head south of the direct rum line in the hope of finding some better wind later. Calm seas are always very relaxing but we’d all rather be under sail than motoring anywhere, anytime.

 The original plan was to make the island of Menorca our first Spanish stop but as we were still running behind Richard and Jayatma’s schedule it was decided to bypass it and head straight into the yachting capital of the Mediterranean, Las Palma on Mallorca. By late morning there was still no sign of any useful wind and we were still relying on the engine to push us towards our destination. Rob was on watch which in these conditions really just means keeping a good lookout for other boats and any possible hazards that may be floating around while the autopilot maintains our heading.  After all the cold weather sailing, it was also an opportunity to relax a little on the transom seat and soak up a bit of sunshine.
 

Looking behind the boat however Rob spotted something that didn’t appear right. From the port side of the stern it appeared something was streaming small bubbles and disturbed water behind the boat about a metre or so under the water. At first it looked like the stream we leave behind when we pump out our black water holding tank (sewerage) at sea but when the stream didn’t disappear he started to think we may have hooked something and were now towing it behind. Checking with those below confirmed we weren’t and hadn’t recently been jettisoning black water. This led to six sets of eyes straining over the stern with their owners debating what our mysterious trail could be.



Don't let the sunshine fool you - water temp was a very cold 15C

In the end the consensus was that it was probably a line of some sort hooked around the port rudder so we put the engine into neutral and lowered the swim platform for a better look. Richard and Tim jumped down on the platform and spotted a rope in the water which was promptly grabbed with the boat hook. Richard then hauled in about 30 metres of line to discover what treasure was at the end. The large concrete block that surfaced wasn’t the lobster pot full of lunch we hoped for and unfortunately the other end was still firmly wrapped around the rudder. This forced a quick dip in the not so balmy 15c water by Tim who was able to unhook  it and two plastic bottles being used as floats.  Whatever fish trap or pot was originally on the line was long gone.

This area of the Med is quite deep with the charts indicating well over 2,000 metres of water so it didn’t take Einstein to work out that we must have hooked the line up in the shallow waters as we were leaving Calleforte in the dark.  We’d been dragging it for many hours ever since. We committed the concrete to the depths and stowed the rope and bottles with our rubbish for disposal later and then speculated on how much our unplanned sea anchor had slowed us down.



Great sailing with the huge Code 1 headsail pushing us along.

We motored on into and through the night with no other excitement and finally found some usable wind in the morning. We raised the big Code 1 headsail which is flown from the extending bowspit and once again Moksha showed her light air abilities producing  10 to 11 knots of boat speed in just 12 knots of breeze as we started to gobble up the remaining miles. Unfortunately soon after we reached the south eastern tip of Mallorca the wind changed direction and then faded away leaving us a less exciting but very relaxing motor along the spectacular cliffs of the coast to Las Palmas.

Approaching the city two things dominate the skyline, the spectacular cathedral and literally thousands of yacht masts protruding above the breakwaters. Las Palmas certainly lives up to its reputation as the hub of yachting in the western Mediterranean. Here you will find marina after marina with hundreds of very nice cruisers dwarfed by scores and scores of Superyachts and even Mega Yachts that rival some of the cruise liners for size. Late in the afternoon we tied up in our Marina and at a paltry 72 feet, Moksha was the smallest boat on the finger finger.



We shared lots of laughs with Phil and were sorry to see him head home.

Reaching port on this occasion was a slightly sad time for us as Phil was going to be leaving us here and flying home to England. We’d had some great times together on and off the boat and were going to miss him so we headed out to a nearby bar that evening and enjoyed a few farewell vinos.

As always after a passage, next morning was boat cleaning time and we got into it while Phil finalised his travel arrangements for that evening. When we finished early that afternoon, Moksha’s decks, windows and copious amount of stainless steel were gleaming once again – at least for a little while. There was a reasonably stiff breeze blowing off the island and with it came a superfine yellow haze we hadn’t seen until we noticed it settling behind us all over the areas we’d cleaned. It turned out to be pollen blowing from the big pine forests. The whole boat ended up totally coated in a thick coating of yellow that continued to settle for the next five days. It also triggered another bout of asthma for Karen. After virtually no problems for years it was particularly frustrating for her to suffer two occurrences in short succession.  Damn spring!



View from our hotel room was not too bad. Talking about the boats of course

Next afternoon Richard got a phone call from his daughter, Asha, who decided to fly in for a few days visit from Germany where’s she’s attending university. As she normally has the cabin we were in when onboard Richard asked if we’d mind staying in a hotel for three nights. Out of peak season prices are very reasonable so next morning we were able to check into a nice place a little way down the road with a great view over the harbour. It was a good opportunity to kick back for a few days and have some ‘us’ time.

We had a great time wandering around the cathedral and old town. The streets are lined with fantastic buildings designed when architects were artists and not bland block builders. We also really enjoyed exploring all the  marinas having a good look at a great range of boats. We learn a lot walking down all the fingers looking at different makes and models of yachts and the myriads of personal tweaks owners make to them. In Palma there are hundreds of boats of all shape and sizes for sale and it took great restraint not to start calling brokers to have a closer look at quite a few.



Our day at Puerto de Soller was as good as it gets

We also took a day out to catch the narrow gauge heritage train up and over the mountains to the very picturesque harbour at Puerto de Soller on the other side of the island. The train travels through very pretty olive groves and historic villages before climbing the ranges providing dramatic views from the heights. On reaching Soller we transferred to a very quaint heritage tram for the fifteen minute ride down to the port where we found a beautiful natural harbour complete with nice beaches, marina and an excellent range of waterfront cafes. A fantastic tapas lunch enjoying the warm, sunny weather topped off a perfect day.

Before we knew it we were back on board and doing various jobs to get the boat ready for the next passage as well as more study of her various systems and equipment. On our return we also met  our new British crewmates, Mark and Joanne who were joining the boat for the passage through to the UK.  Joanne has been crewing on yachts for a number of years while Mark’s previous experience was on power boats so he has been looking forward to his first real sailing adventure.

After a couple of false starts due to some last minute work on the Mastervolt control we finally cast off a little late on Good Friday to sail to the infamous party island of Ibiza. With fresh headwinds all the way we had a fast if bumpy ride. We were taking a fair bit of water over the bow as we punched through the waves and even got one big one that made it over the spray dodger drenching everyone sitting in the cockpit and even knocked Karen’s glasses off. Sitting in his favourite spot on the windward rail right at the stern Rob was spared all but a slight splash and found the whole thing very amusing much to everybody else’s chagrin.

About halfway to Ibiza we heard Las Palmas coastguard relaying a mayday in our area but due to language difficulties we didn’t catch the full details. Before long however we did see what we assumed were search aircraft and vessels on the horizon so altered course slightly so that we’d pass through the area. Everybody onboard then lined the railings keeping a very sharp lookout but we never spotted anything. Eventually all the boats dispersed leaving us none the wiser of what went on.



The full moon rising over our anchorage on Ibiza

Our delayed start that morning cost us at the other end of the day and as the sun was beginning to set it was clear we weren’t going to reach the anchorage we’d planned. Instead we picked a secluded bay on the north-eastern corner of the island and dropped anchor under the shelter of high cliffs. Moments after the sun dipped below the western horizon, the moon began to appear from the east as a huge, orange ball reflecting across the sparkling waters. Very nice.

In the morning Richard and Jayatma donned full wetsuits and plunged into the crystal clear but still quite cool waters of the bay to go snorkelling around the rocks. Meanwhile our job list item for the day was working through the pilot guide for Southern Spain to develop an excel spreadsheet of marina options, facilities and attractions between the Balearics and Seville. After checking the afternoon forecasts Richard decided rather than move around the coast and see a bit more of Ibiza we’d strike early next morning for the port of Alicante on the Spanish mainland and make up some more time.

 So much for the party island.



Rob & Karen enjoying flying along with the huge Code 1 headsail



Super and Mega Yachts at every turn in Palma

Our train trip through the mountains to Soller was fantastic

Tram to Puerto de Soller - Mallorca

Puerto de Soller - Mallorca

We even found a gallery of Picasso ceramics in Soller

We had the bay to ourselves but it was all we saw of Ibiza

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If you have only recently discovered our blog and would like to read how it all started, or work through our previous adventures, click the link to go back to our first blog entry. Stuff it. Let's just go sailing anyway.  We hope you enjoy reading the previous posts to catch up on our story.



Sardinia

22 - 26 March 2012

It was a tired Moksha crew that sailed off into the night from Sidi Bou Said leaving the North African coast behind on our way to Sardinia. We’d already put in a big day of work on the boat as we hadn’t been counting on having to do a night passage that evening. The good news however was that we had good winds forecast for the whole 157 nautical mile trip to the port of Cagliari and could expect to a fast ride.
 

The value of the Moksha’s A.I.S. (Automatic Identification System) was brought home again during Rob and Jayatma’s watch when approaching midnight our course crossed a traffic separation zone where commercial ships are funnelled into a lane each way. Virtually everywhere we looked there were ships lights. With the AIS we were able to plot their exact position, direction, speed and closest point of approach to us.  It also provides each ship’s name, size, port of departure and destination. One large container ship was shown as heading pretty close to us if we both maintained course and speed so Jayatma hailed them on the radio and asked if they could alter direction slightly to provide more of a safety margin. It’s amazing how much more courteous a response the big ships give to a female voice on the radio than a man. Nothing’s a problem, course altered with pleasure, have a nice sail. Depending on your point of view, it’s either chivalry or sexism alive and well at sea.

Later on Richard and Phil’s watch during the early hours of the morning we were called up by a patrolling NATO Naval Force hovering on the horizon and quizzed as to the boat’s registration, nationalities of those on board along with port of departure and destination etc. We assume they were on the lookout for illegal immigrants but luckily they saw no need to board us.

 

Tim at the helm dodging tankers enetering Cagliari Harbour

By next morning the strong winds had also blown up a fairly sizable following sea and Moksha was absolutely racing along consistently logging around fifteen knots. Ears certainly pricked up all over the boat as she started to pick up yet more speed. With Rob standing at the wheel calling of new highs from the speed log we eventually hit a peaking of 19.2 knots. It certainly qualified as exhilarating sailing  and not something we will quickly forget.



We were moored right in the centre of things gain.

Not surprisingly we made extremely good time and after dodging a couple of big tankers we entered the harbour at Cagliari mid morning after what ended up a 170 mile passage with our zigging and zagging.  Our marina berth was right in front of the main commercial centre of the city overlooked by Cagliari’s historic walled citadel area.  As usual there was a bit of work to do when we reach port which kept us busy for most of what was left of the day. We then headed to the Marina office to find out where the amenities block was to have a nice hot shower and hopefully get some laundry done. When we’re in a marina we look forward to a good long shower as opposed to the very quick, water conserving splash and dash we have when on the boat.



Boat jobs done - time to hit the town

It turned out that such facilities were still ‘under development’ which translated means they hadn’t got around to building any yet. The building which housed the office itself was undergoing renovations with tradesman working everywhere but the marina staff suggested we could use their shower. Being seriously in need of tub after a day working on the boat in Tunisia, an overnight passage and another day of boat work including crawling around bilges we decided to take them up on the offer.

 

Exploring ancient tunnels in Cagliari

Directed to a small bathroom adjacent to the office we realised that A: It was the building’s only toilet, B: with a door each side it was actually the most direct route from the office area to the carpark where all the tradesman had their cars and tools, and C: the locks on those doors seemed very suspect. So Rob jumped in the shower first while Karen was kept busy blocking the entry at one door or the other of a constant stream of painters, carpenters, tilers, electricians and who knows who else. After a very quick shower Rob took over the guard duties while Karen set about taking the opportunity to wash her hair. No sooner was the shampoo in than the water went from toasty to glacier cold. Looking for the problem we discovered a hot water system mounted on the wall so small it resembled a thermos flask. Karen was a very chilled and an unhappy girl on the walk back to our berth. We enjoyed another meal off the boat that evening in a great restaurant tunnelled into the limestone hill.

After missing out on our day to go tripping off to the Carthagean ruins in Tunisia we had expected to have the following day off but Richard had different ideas and came up with a lengthy jobs list the next morning. One of the items on the list saw us headed off in search of a Laundromat. A visit to the tourist information office and a twenty five Euro taxi fare chasing all over Cagliari led to the discovery that there’s no such thing. There are laundry services but with prices that of one euro per item we decided hand washing essentials was a better option and the rest could wait.



 

That afternoon Phil joined us as we escaped into town for a while and went exploring. The botanic gardens proved a little underwhelming but thanks to unlocked gate we enjoyed wandering into an underground tunnel system dating back to Roman times. It went back a long way into the limestone hill and still had channels which caried water to an aquaduct. If the gardens were underwhelming the Roman amphitheatre turned out to be outright disappointing with most of the ancient terracing now covered with tacky plastic seating.

Fortunately everything looked up once  we headed up the hill towards the old fortified city area. Passing a very old looking church we decided to poke our heads in for a look and discovered a very impressive baroque interior. One of the parishioners took a shine to Karen and was soon providing a comprehensive history of the church . She then actually took Karen backstage so to speak into the sacristy behind the altar where an incredible collection of renaissance art was housed. Needless to say Karen was in her element.



The Cafes carved into the limestone hill were fantastic

We then had a great time wandering around the narrow, ancient streets and through the watchtower gates of the old fortifications. When we got near the top we found another fantastic  underground café carved into the hillside and enjoyed a very nice bottle of wine before heading back down to the marina.

Next morning we were up early, picked up a hire car and hit the road to finally enjoy a full day off. We had considered hiring motor bikes but Karen was concerned the temperatures would be too cool to be comfortable so we settled for four wheels instead of two.  With a basic tourist map and Karen’s trusty I-pad in hand we drove along the coast with no firm plans other than to see more than just the area around the marina. We were rewarded with a series of spectacular headlands, bays lined with beautiful beaches, marinas for us to check out the yachts, old castles and a range of constantly changing scenery. The first wildflowers of spring were making in an appearance adding  an array of bright colours everywhere.
 

 We could imagine the deserted roads, beaches and holiday complexes would be very different in the summer tourist season but we enjoyed having most places to ourselves. After a great meal in one of the small towns we headed for the hills, literally. We had decided to make our way back to Cagliari by climbing up and over the high mountain range in the centre of the island. The roads around the coast had been fantastic, wide and smooth with not a single pothole encountered. If we were regretting not hiring bikes on the coast, we were really cheesed off being confined to a car when we hit the mountain roads, absolute bikers heaven.  Much to her chagrin, seemingly every five minutes Phil and Rob pointed out to Karen how nice it would have been to be on bikes instead of the car.
 



Once out of the city Sardinia's roads are biker heaven

Using the GPS and maps on Karen’s I-Pad we detoured off the highway onto some secondary roads and got a real taste of the Sardinian countryside driving through small mountain villages, giving way to shepherds moving their flocks and dodging cows grazing by the roadside. Having collected a nice bouquet of wild flowers throughout the day Karen suddenly realised that her chest was just starting to tighten up a little with asthma so suspecting the flowers she decided to get rid of them. Unfortunately, opening her window and throwing them out into the breeze when we were doing 80 kph was probably not a good idea. As the flowers went out, a haze of pollen was blown off them and straight back in her face. A mild asthmatic twinge suddenly became a bit more intense requiring a hefty dose of ventalin inhaler. (Note to self: Don’t do that again)

Apart from that one small faux pas, our Sardinian big day out was a fantastic break from the boat that we all really enjoyed – although it would have been better on bikes.

Hire car returned, boat restocked with fresh fruit and vegetables and customs formalities completed, we left Cagliari the following morning bound for the Spanish island of Mallorca.

 



Motoring past sheer cliff faces on Sardina



Well that was the plan, but when the wind refused to blow we actually settled for a very relaxing motor passage to the port of Carloforte on the small island of Isola di San Pietro just off the west coast of Sardinia itself. Here we tied up on the town wall and are surveying every forecast imaginable it was decided we would wait here the next day and set off again the following morning by which time the wind would hopefully start to pick up.



Calleforte was a great little marina

Another morning in port, another jobs list with cleaning, washing, research and studying systems manuals. Heads down, bums up, get into it and tick off all the boxes in time to take a walk around the very quaint town before being back on board to get dinner done. Then it was early to bed in preparation for a 5.00am departure in the morning. Mallorca here we come.



Walls and drop gates of the old fortified part of the city



On top of the walls of Cagliari

The Sardinian coast was one great view after another

Some of the locals up in the mountains

We really should of hired the bikes

Goodbye Cagliari

To stay right up to date with what we’re up to these days and see lots more photos check out and 'like' our Dreamtime Sail Facebook page at Dreamtime Sail on Facebook

If you have only recently discovered our blog and would like to read how it all started, or work through our previous adventures, click the link to go back to our first blog entry. Stuff it. Let's just go sailing anyway.  We hope you enjoy reading the previous posts to catch up on our story.