Month: May 2017

31st August 2016        Andratx to Portinatx

Having spent longer than we had planned in Andratx we finally left Mallorca and made our way across to Ibiza, gradually heading towards the Spanish mainland. Once again the winds were light, but we were able to make some use of the sails and we were entertained as we went by 2 pods of dolphins, which passed by without stopping to play for long. We found the cala easily and anchored with no difficulties.

Portinatx was a bit of a pilgrimage for Jac as she had been there on holiday with a friend when she had been a teenager and she was looking forward to seeing it again. Inevitably there had been changes, but she still recognised the beach and the immediate surrounding area.

1st September 2016                 Portinatx

We took the tender ashore for breakfast in the town. It really is quite remarkable how many places do a “full English.” Ah! the legacy of an empire………….no, just tourism. However it was very welcome. We wandered around the town and had a look into the cala at the head of the bay but, like most seaside resorts in Spain, if there had ever been an old, picturesque part of the town it had long been demolished to make way for guest houses and hotels. In spite of that, Portinatx is a pleasant place to be. We spent the afternoon doing domestic jobs on the boat and I got in the water and tried to clear some of the marine growth from the bow thruster tunnel and the rotor blades. We had had the boat copper coated before we left the UK and the anti fouling was working well, but the bow thruster tunnel still seemed to accumulate a fair collection of barnacles. They must like the dark. In the evening we paddled ashore again and went to the inevitable Irish bar for a quiet drink.

2nd September 2016              Portinatx to Cala Grassio

We had been told that Cala San Michel on the north side of Ibiza was worth a visit so we decided to move there. It was supposed to contain the last vestige of the hippy culture which had first made Ibiza popular with young people in the sixties and there was always something going on. We found the cala a few miles down the coast, but it was already crammed with boats at 11am. We tried a couple of times to anchor but, having got the anchor set, we were just too close to other boats for us to be able to have a comfortable night.

We moved on and tried other potential anchorages along the coast, but everywhere we tried we encountered the curse of the Balearics in July and August………too many boats. As a bonus, however, the north coast of Ibiza is beautiful with spectacular cliffs and rock formations. While motor sailing along the coast we completed 3000 miles since leaving Levington in the UK. Eventually, just to the north of Port San Antoni (Party Town, Ibiza) we found a shallow cala, Cala Grassio with only one other boat in it. With a sigh of relief we anchored and resolved to stay for a few days to ease the strain on the nerves of not finding somewhere to spend the night.

26th August 2016            Palma to Andratx

It was with a great deal of regret, but with a sigh of relief from our bank account, that we finally said goodbye to Palma. We had spent far longer there than we had intended to, (actually that statement implies that we had some kind of plan…………..we didn’t) and we had fallen in love with that beautiful and vibrant city. We left Palma once again in light winds and made our way westwards past the ghastliness of Magaluf and Palma Nova (I stayed there once) and around Cap de Cala Figuera towards Andratx. We were able to motor sail, but as usual there wasn’t enough wind for pure sailing. That seems to be the one drawback of sailing in the Mediterranean. There is either too much wind or not enough and when the wind gets strong it whips the sea into a nasty uncomfortable chop, which is much more difficult to deal with than the long Atlantic rollers.

A little over 3 hours after leaving Palma we arrived at Andratx (which is pronounced something like the bacteria) and entered this very beautiful harbour. Shortly before we arrived Synergy experienced a minor mutiny from Jac, but liberal doses of wine after we had tied up resolved the problem.

We had once again booked on the Ports IB website and planned to stay for 3 nights as we had heard such good things about the port. All the reports were correct. Port d’Andratx is a pretty place with a great selection of shops and restaurants. Once we had moored up I went looking for a dentist as I had lost a filling and found an Austrian dentist who could see me on the following day.

 27th August 2016                 Andratx

An early trip to the dentist who suggested that, if the lost filling was not causing problems, then the best thing was to leave it until I returned to the UK as he said that it really needed a cap.

Our Pontoon, Andratx

28th August 2016                  Andratx

Jac’s birthday. We spent most of the day quietly on the boat as Jac’s shark-bite knee was giving her trouble. Later in the day, once she felt better, we went to a local Eroski supermarket and stocked up the boat before heading to a restaurant, the Samoa, for a birthday meal. Later on we found a super bar on the upper floor above the street where we consumed far too much wine. “Time for bed,” said Zebedee!

29th and 30th August 2016       Andratx

We had intended to leave today but the after affects of Jac’s birthday celebrations had left me with a headache, so we booked in for another 2 nights. While we were there we met Adie and Rachel who arrived on their boat after 5 weeks, or thereabouts, on anchor around the islands. They had both a dog and Willow the cat on board and it was remarkable to see Willow trot off down the pontoon exploring and come back to the boat half and hour later, completely at home. While we were in Andratx we bought 2 large, round fenders for the back of the boat. As everywhere that we had been involved stern-to mooring using lazy lines to secure the bow, it seemed like good insurance against accidentally damaging the back of the boat.