with tree-shaded sandy beaches. We chose an attractive looking
one with turquoise water and a few boats already at anchor. It
was deep but very clear with big shoals of fi sh swimming around
hoping for bits of bread from the boats.PRETTY IN POLLENCA
Crossing to the other side of Pollenca bay we found another
charming beach that we had been to on a family holiday years
before. It seemed like a magical oasis then and looked even better
from the sea. You aren’t allowed to anchor here but we were able
to pick up a buoy for a few hours before heading to Porto de
Bonaire for the night. On the way there I sat on the bow again
but had an argument with the sun pad cushion. At 45 knots it
wanted to take fl ight but I didn’t. I made a mental note to add
more fi xings when we got home.
We found Pollenca Bay so beautiful that we decided to stay
for two more nights and could have spent the whole two weeks
here. It just seemed more peaceful and less busy than the rest of
Mallorca. On our last day in Mallorca, we took the boat across
Pollenca Bay and headed round the point. The waters were even
calmer here with an amazing sheltered inlet where massive cliffs
fall straight down into the water. A few large motor yachts were
moored up and looked deceptively small against the dramatic
backdrop. The only noise was the occasional bleating of a goat
and above us a large eagle circled.
The water was crystal clear and once the anchor was set I
jumped straight in for a swim. Jeremy dived in next to me but
decided to grab a cloth and clean the hull. Two minutes laterI heard a yelp and “a jellyfi sh has stung me!”. We leapt out of the
water to survey the damage. Jeremy said it felt like multiple bee
stings and already had large welts appearing on his elbow. I dug
out the Antisan cream, anti-histamine pills and ibuprofen.
Meanwhile Jeremy caught the offending jellyfi sh in a bucket, so
we could identify it as a ‘mauve stinger’ according to Google. The
pain lasted about 40 minutes but didn’t stop him from fi nishing
off cleaning the boat.COMPETENT CREW
My fi rst trip as deck hand was nearly complete, I had become
profi cient at putting out the lines and fenders, I had cooked some
reasonable food in my little galley and hadn’t broken anything
important. I was excited to see the children and share the boat
with them on the next part of our family holiday in Spain.
The crossing to the mainland was easy and fast averaging 32
knots on a moderate sea, arriving in Palamos three and a half
hours later. It felt like a proper homecoming, our docking was
slick, all down to my professional handling of course, and we
set about making our vessel ship-shape ready to show off to the
family. After a somewhat stressful start it had been a happy and
successful trip and we felt very proud of our new boat. She had
performed wonderfully. A little too wonderfully, as we are already
wondering how we can justify another shakedown trip next year!FAR LEFT The galley
came in handy but
meals were eaten
in the cockpit
LEFT Fast food
for a fast boat!The sun sets over Sa Calobra and
a very enjoyable shakedown
cruise for their Bladerunner 45
Alexi takes up residence
in her favourite spotCRUISING