Portinax was a great place to stop and we spent two days here at anchor over a sandy section of the bay.

It is split into three distinct sections the first is a small fisherman’s cove which whilst it has a beach and some people sunbathing is mainly small fishing boats on moorings and a dive shop where you can also learn to dive. We visited this by dinghy on the first afternoon. It varies greatly from the main bay dominated by big hotels and beach bars. The beaches here were, as are so many are cordoned off by yellow buoys to keep boats out. We found a small section at the top right of the beach where we could go ashore and lock the dinghy up. Before we left the boat, we investigated the various wireless networks available, so once ashore went for a coffee at the strongest signal & getting the pass code. Once back on board we were able to surf all day at no cost! The final small bay was connected with a hotel and there was no opportunity to go ashore here as the whole section was buoyed off.

After two days we left and sailed to the next but one bay, Cala Blanco. This was a small bay with high sided sandstone coloured rocks. The only sign of civilisation being a beautiful single white towered castellated property at one side of the bay. As there were several other yachts already spread out around the bay, we found a good place to anchor was tucked along side this property. Our echo sounder reading just 0.8Mts of water ( Oh the advantages of a shoal draft boat). As is now our usual practice, once the boat had steadied herself to the anchor, we changed into swimming togs and dived in with mask & snorkel to check the anchor had dug in. This time we found that about 5 Mtrs behind the boat was a large rock sticking up. If we fell back any further it could take the rudder off. Rather than move and re-anchor we took the Kedge Anchor (a small anchor – usually attached to the rear of the boat) off at a 45 deg angle to where the boat was lying, in the dinghy and dropped it. When we pulled in on it, it moved the boat away from the rock. Satisfied we would not not hit, we settled in for a lazy afternoon.

By about 5 'O’clock we decided to cool down with a further swim donning mask, snorkel & fins. We set off swimming across the bay. Around the edges large rocks that had obviously fallen down from the cliffs were now home to a multitudes of aquatic wildlife, a vast variety of fishes anemones, & plant life. We worked our way snorkelling around the edges, till we ended back at the shore nearest our boat, and in front of the white towered villa. Then swam back to the boat. In doing so we had obviously spooked security at the villa. There were three or four staff all with walkie talkies in hand watching us & pointing at our boat and talking. We hadn’t technically done anything wrong! We had not left the water and set foot on the land. They eyed us with suspicion. For the rest of the evening a security man was posted on the shore, keeping a eye on us. They exchanged about every hour. This obviously peaked our interest. Who were they guarding? We looked at the house with binos, to see if we could spot a celebrity. I think this raised suspicions even more! The only guest at the house we could see was a middle aged woman, looking a little like Angela Merkel who seemed to be on her own. (we don't think it was her, she just looked a similar build and hair style). Security were still present on the shore till it got dark. They were obviously hoping we would move on, but as we liked the place we could see no reason to oblige them. If they kept eyes on us after dark we don’t know, but someone was still down on the shoreline the next morning as they set out the loungers and chairs.

We knew it would happen some time. Would it be when Jackie was hanging the washing to the rails? or when Pete was adjusting the wind-generator? As it happened it was neither of these activities. It occurred when Pete was getting in the dinghy next morning to retrieve the kedge anchor. He slipped and as Jackie put 'genteelly & silently rolled himself into the sea fully clothed'. No help was forthcoming from the remaining crew, as she was convulsed on the deck with laughter.

We decided that the forecast for Sunday presented the best opportunity to sail across to Majorca. The trip, we estimated 'in the light winds we had grown used', to would take about 12 Hours. To avoid the risk of arriving in the dark, we decided to leave in the afternoon & sail through the night arriving in Majorca at dawn the following day. So we craned the outboard off the dinghy and installed it back in the fore-peak, then winched the dinghy on deck, before deflating it and packing it away. After all this physical effort we needed to cool down so a further swim was called for. We avoided going too close to the shore near the house 'just in case'.

We left Cala Blanco at about 12 noon and motored in flat calm to Cala Beniras. The entrance here was interesting! Guarded by 'Queen Victoria', a stone pinnacle stretching about 250 feet up directly at the entrance to the bay. It looked like a statue of an older Queen Victoria complete with headdress! We made our way in, the bay was crowded and we had to motor around a large number of anchored craft before we found a spot to drop the hook. Why this was so popular I really don’t know. The beach whilst nice, was very crowded and the swell in the bay was extremely uncomfortable. We were glad we would only be there a couple of hours and not staying the whole night.

We left at about 5:30pm and motored out. As soon as we cleared the queen, we hoisted sails, and very quickly were sailing with the engine off. Jackie never keen on night sailing soon went down to sleep leaving me on deck alone. Soon after I was sat in a rushing blackness, a feeling of awe and splendour came over me. There was no moon and only the masthead light lit yet it seemed I was surrounded by brightness. As the bow fell down it pushed out great sheets of foam to each side of the boat. And dancing through this white foam were thousands of phosphorescent sparks, which darted off into the black waters then disappeared. These sparks were matched above my head by the stars, set in the sky as black as the sea. You never see that many stars on land. All in all, night sailing can be a magical occurrence' even more so when experiencing it in isolation. The wind become stronger than anticipated and we made steady progress. By 02:00am Majorca was in sight, and by 04:00am we had arrived. So much for sailing through the night and arriving with the dawn! Unsure of the holding and not wanting to venture into small coves lined by sharp rocks in the dark, we opted to anchor in the middle of the bay in about 7Mtrs depth. We turned in for a few hours, rolling side to side with the swell. By 07:00am it was light We scanned the extremities of the bay for other anchored craft, choosing a group that seemed to be rolling less than others. Set off across the mile and a half wide bay dropping the hook in a very small sheltered cove. Jackie nicknamed it 'Streaky bacon bay' on account of the red & white striations in the rock. We turned in again this time for a much smoother sleep, finally poking our heads out at about 11:30 to a fantastic day. Whilst we had slept, two small motor boats had also arrived in our private bay. People were swimming in the clear waters, we quickly joined them. A brilliant way to start our Majorca adventure.

After brunch we inflated the dinghy and retrieved the outboard, fastening all back together again. We set off for the next cove, we had seen a small stony beach, we hoped would allow us to get to civilisation. We took the dinghy ashore and chained the dinghy and petrol can to a nearby tree. Ensuring the outboard was locked securely to the transom. We then trekked up onto the road. The whole area appeared to be private apartments and one large hotel complex. There were no shops, cafés or bars at all. We decided to try the hotel complex and see if we could get a drink in the bar and get wifi access. We had been unable to get internet access since Portinax! To do so, we passed by the beach. Looking across there was someone sat on our dinghy smoking a cigarette ( Right next to the petrol can) and then examining very closely at the outboard. We would not sit on the dinghy when on stones in case they punctured the tubes. We shouted down and asked him to get off the dinghy, he tried telling us it was his! We immediately returned to the beach, he still insisted sitting on the dinghy till we forcefully told him to move. We unlocked it, and returned it to the sea. On the way back to Argonauta, we stopped to chat to a couple in a large motor boat. They advised us that if we went in the other direction there was a small bay where we could leave the dinghy and head into town. Following this advice, we headed straight there. Finding somewhere to chain the dinghy up was not easy, eventually we were able to pass the chain around the base of a small pier. However the waves coming in meant the dinghy was being washed onto the rocks. So a line taken back to the next leg meant that the dinghy was held between the two legs, touching neither. We pottered around the shops, having a drink at a bar and returned back to the dinghy about an hour later. As we returned, a small local fishing boat left the beach fairly quickly. Jackie noted it was being driven by the same guy who had shown interest in our dinghy. Rushing under the pier we discovered that the stern lines had been undone! Luckily they hadn’t been able to get the chain off. Two attempts in two hours by the same guy. If Jackie had been able to get hold of him he certainly wouldn’t have been able to father any more kids! We had planned going ashore that evening to eat, but this put a spoke in those arrangements. we weren’t going to give him any more opportunity. Dinner was on board and for once the dinghy was chained rather than tied to the back of Argonauta.