CALA HOPPING
After another day to catch up on work and housekeeping (or
should that be boat keeping), we fuelled up and sped across the
swell to a perfect little bay we’d heard about called Cala Mitjana.
There is an amazing private house here with manicured lawns
and an enormous beach house on the water.
It was still bumpy inside the bay but the weather forecast
promised nicer weather so I jumped into the water with a mask
and snorkel to check the seabed for rocks. All looked good, with
a sandy bottom and sheer sides to the granite cliff faces. Jeremy
spotted an iron bollard set into the rock and after some minor
acrobatics we managed to get a stern line attached to it. As the
day progressed we were joined by lots of little Spanish boats
leading to a brief altercation with a small hired boat when
they got themselves tangled up in our bowline. They all departed
come sunset and we spent an idyllic evening with just one sailing
boat for company, lying on the bow cushions looking up at the
stars as they poked out one by one.
We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and set off before the bay got
too crowded again. The sea was lovely, calm and bathed in a
wonderful soft light. The other benefi t of the BR45’s hull shape is
the stability provided by its two outriggers and even at 35 knots
I felt totally safe sitting on the bow cushions watching the scenery
scroll by. Gradually the landscape softened becoming fl atter and
more barren. All too quickly we arrived at Porto Cristo.
This felt more of a busy tourist port than the others so far
but it was attractive and we managed to secure a berth at Club
Nautica before the afternoon wind picked up. Jeremy got the
tender out and we pootled about looking at the caves and
exploring the harbour. That night every few hours a strange
swell lifted us up and then dropped us down again, causing
the low water alarm to trigger. Apparently this is a well known
phenomenon that happens a couple of times a year, just our
luck that we were there for it. The rain and wind left a red dust
over the boat and we spent the best part of the day washing
everything down.
We left Porto Christo the following day in blistering heat.
The waves were big rolling affairs and with the auto pilot setting
the pace at 30 knots we rode smoothly up and down them like a
watery roller coaster. After a very short time we had rounded the
headland and entered Pollenca Bay. It’s full of small, rocky calascycling lately and felt a bit wobbly at fi rst but the Go Cycles soon
became our best friends as we explored, shopped for provisions
and rode around without having to work up a sweat pedalling.
We both feel that our holiday wouldn’t have been the same
without them.
We also chose an electric outboard for the tender which
proved so much lighter, quieter and easier to store in the tender
garage than a petrol one while still propelling us around at a
decent speed. It was such a nice spot that we decided to put the
galley to the test by cooking dinner on board.
The next day we had cruised swiftly along the coast at 35-40
knots to Cala Portals, a beautiful little bay with turquoise waters
and a tiny beach surrounded by rocks and caves. Being faster
than most other craft meant we were able to bag the prime spot.
We set our anchor, lowered the electric ladder and jumped
straight in for a blissful swim. As the day went on the bay began
to fi ll up with boats and we had to adjust our anchor a few times.
But as the evening came the other boats began to melt away to be
replaced by fi sh playing in our underwater lights.
We settled down to sleep but just as were nodding off the wind
picked up. Our anchor held fi rm and didn’t slip once but Jeremy
just couldn’t relax and barely slept. Half the boats that had
started the night at anchor had left by the morning. We waited
until fi rst light before packing up and zipping back round to
Puerto Portals, where we anchored in the bay and slept for a
couple of hours. We woke to the sound of sealions barking and
thought we were going mad from sleep deprivation until we
realised we’d dropped anchor in front of a sea life centre.
Later in the day we cruised round to Cala D’Or. We weren’t
sure we liked it at fi rst. It’s a very narrow inlet with berths and
restaurants all along the edges that made it feel rather
claustrophobic. But after a peaceful afternoon sleep in our
freezing air con we felt refreshed and ready to explore the area
on our Go Cycles. We enjoyed a refreshing beer in one of the
many restaurants then cycled off to the supermarket wobbling
back with bulging backpacks and yet more bags swinging off
the handlebars. Dinner was good, with a fun atmosphere as
people wandered around the inlet admiring the yachts and
deciding which ones they would buy if they won the lottery.
Best of all the water was calm and there were no loud clubs
leading to our best night’s sleep yet.
A B O V E LEFT Electric drop down windows allowed a cooling breeze to blow through the cockpit
A B O V E RIGHT The Bladerunner’s air entrapment hull also proved very stable at anchor in Mallorcan calasCRUISING