CHARTER - SüdMallorCa
With the evening sun and a good view of the “sleeping dragon”
Dragonera, we sail into the bay of Port d’Andratx and find a berth
close to the town. The free spaces along the pontoon are marked
for users with an internet reservation and we find the perfect place
for our cat, but reserving it afterwards online is impossible, as the
site www.portsib.es is down for maintenance. So instead, we venture
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ashore. Andratx has a lot of gastronomy to offer and choosing
a restaurant is not easy. Any place that can offer views of the
harbour and the grandiose mountain scenery beyond plus good
Mediterranean cuisine is quickly booked solid, but today, the town
is not yet as crowded as it will become in summer. For us, this is
the perfect mix of flair, boulevard and chic. The villa owners have
already arrived, apparently, the wintery weather in Germany and
England has prompted them to come early. Still, we manage to
find a table that qualifies for the abovementioned criteria, even
for our group of six, and proceed to fully enjoy this evening.
Paying the harbour dues in the next morning is slightly less enjoyable.
Many pages of paper forms must be filled in the container
that serves as the provisional harbour office and that takes
its time. However, after this tiring procedure the skipper is provided
with a personal number that he can use to check in, reserve
berths and even pay online with a credit card, but only in harbours
that are run by this particular harbour authority. Afterwards,
we wander around, watch the fishermen mending their
nets and are amazed by the huge number of real estate agencies
in the numerous side streets. Still, Becker’s villa is not on display
in any of the windows…
Back at sea we make a slow tour around Dragonera and anchor
for a swim at Sant Elm. Yes, the water is still quite cold, but under
peer pressure, everyone takes at least a quick dip while the others
watch out for the dreaded Mallorca jelly fish that can cause
painful stings and burns with its long tentacles. But we only see
one or two drifting past which is no comparison to the plague
into which they can develop when seriously invading the water.
We then quickly motor to Porto Adriano, where we want to pick up
the rest of our crew. A new superyacht-marina was built in front
of the existing, old harbour, that was designed by Philippe Starck.
As we enter the luxury harbour, a marineiro get a little hectic,
probably in the fear that we will harm the shining topsides of the
huge yachts moored there. But after we explain our intentions
the attitude changes from anxious to very friendly and helpful
and he even ferries our crew, including luggage, across to us in
his own boat. They tell us of designer boutiques and fancy cocktail
bars ashore but we resist temptation and leave harbour, in
search of an anchorage for the night. Our catamaran is luxury
enough for us and the on-board bar is filled plenty.
CHANGING SIDES
Very early next morning, we leave our anchorage and sail across
the bay of Palma towards the Cabo Bianco on the other side.
Palma lies beneath a grey layer of clouds that delivers the perfect
sailing breeze. The threat of having to motor all 25 miles to
Sa Rapità was enough to get us out of bed extremely early and
we are rewarded with this fine morning breeze that is even a bit
stronger than we had hoped for. In very good time we arrive at
the steep cliffs of the cape and, as if by bad magic but also as is
so often the case in the Med, the wind suddenly disappears. We
take a look into Cala Pi under engines and decide to visit that the
following day, for now we need a night in a harbour. The long
sandy beach of Es Trenc begins directly next to the marina of Sa
Rapità and this combination offers something for everyone of our
now eight strong crew: Taking on water, shopping, playing on the
beach, checking and answering e-mails, reading, playing soccer.
Hard to believe how diverse the needs and wants of a mixed crew
from 6 to 60 years can be. Despite this, the usual card game in
the evening sees all hands around the big table in the “open
zone” of the boat, everyone wanting only one thing: To win.
/www.portsib.es
