At 11.00hrs on the 11th June we set off for the circa 33 nautical miles along the east coast of Mallorca around Cabo de Pera (the north east tip of the island) and into the northern bay to Alcudia. The wind was light to start with and we had to motor into a short period swell (small gaps between the waves) which is not the most comfortable way to sail. Ben had wanted to experience some choppier waters but wasn’t as keen when this went on for the first couple of hours until we could clear the point and turn. We all relaxed when the Cape was passed and we could unfurl the foresail and turn the engines off as the wind was now behind us. We had a good sail down into the bay and tucked ourselves into the anchorage which is protected by the port from the main swell from the north.
The anchorage is large and whilst there are a few mooring buoys has plenty of space. Whilst we saw dinghies going into the marina it is quite a long way around so we motored to the right-hand restaurant of the two facing the anchorage and found it was possible to tie up there though there are no proper mooring cleats. The staff at the bar seemed happy for us to do so when we asked and we continued to use this approach when in the bay, buying a beer in passing on many of our trips – well, you have to don’t you! Alcudia is a typical tourist town and whilst nicer that some we have see does not have much to recommend it other than a Eroski Express just across from the marina and a Lidl’s about 20 minutes walk away (Carolyn’s itch had to be scratched later when we returned!). That night England played their first Euro16 match against Russia which we watched (well, Chris and Ben really whilst the others played on the free wifi) in the bar at the marina. Chris was not happy when England started to play defensively as it was clear what would happen, unfortunately he was right, a 1-1 draw was not a good start.
We went back to Splice whilst Mitch and Ben decided that a few more beers were in order and wandered off into town. When they returned at midnight to the agreed pick-up point there was a confused story about Swedish girls and Mitch falling off a tree backwards. Much hilarity and a very sore back for Mitch!
Photo: Birthday evening outside the tapas bar