So, do we stay where we are or try find another more suitable anchorage along the southern coast, albeit that all the weather forecasts showed a southerly component to the winds and swell?
After scrutinising Navionics for the umpteenth time, we decided being behind the headland at Palma Nova was our best bet, a three hour trek in the wrong direction. Regardless, we weighed anchor and set sail around 1030, only to have the windlass control stop working just short of the anchor being fully lodged in its cradle. Now it didn’t matter where we went, we couldn’t anchor anyway!
That meant, while Elaine steered us through the absolutely chaotic mayhem on the water heading east, Roy replaced the windlass control while bouncing around in the waves and wakes, our third one in nearly ten years; more expensive equipment that can’t stay the course! It didn’t help matters that we’d been informed that our Yellowbrick has to be returned to the UK to have the battery replaced.
Fortunately the new controller rectified the issue, but chaos continued to reign on the water, with motor yachts, at times five abreast, raced each other as they came screaming towards Paw Paw, while others raced each other from the rear. Throw in a few sailing yachts trying to tack up and down across our bow in basically no wind and we were flabbergasted. We’d never seen anything like it and wondered how many boating accidents occur in these waters over the summer.
It was close to 1400 by the time we were securely anchored, after an initial attempt of dragging through weed, but every watercraft on the south coast of Mallorca Island must have been in the anchorage. It was jam packed and motor yachts and “gin palaces” were still arriving.
By then we were both too tired to be bothered and headed to our beds after lunch and after Roy had snorkelled the anchor to make sure we’d hit a sandy patch.
After an early dinner, we dinghied ashore, delighted to find another dinghy dock.
A stroll along the waterfront revealed white sandy beaches to one side, with people playing all sorts of beach games, from volleyball to table tennis and soccer and rows of bars and restaurants on the other, but no gelato outlets or cafés where we could have a coffee. We eventually found a café serving coffee and baked goods in the lobby of one of the hotels. It was a far cry from everywhere else we’ve been, though; paper cups, paper plates and barely warm coffee, but the lounge area was very comfortable and the decor was rather interesting. We had a good laugh at the ideal of just falling asleep on the sofas and wondered if anyone would notice.
Back onboard, we were both looking forward to a good night’s sleep, since the anchorage had cleared out, the wind had calmed and turned to the north, which in turn helped to moderate the swell. Unfortunately an isolated thunderstorm materialised just east of Palma, causing a wind shift and one of the yachts next to us to drag. However, Elaine didn’t hear a thing, other than Roy’s footsteps on the deck at one point.
