Nearly Ready to Go
12 August 2014 | On board, heading south
Well, finally, nearly six weeks late, our new main arrived. This signalled the beginning of the end of our weeks stuck in this Hell hole, Port de Pollenca. The end of swimming around the boat, balmy nights in the Pool Bar with Eric and our pal Peter and meals out with the cruising bods we've met.
Anyway, the new sail was duly fitted. Battens cut to size; well actually cut 25mm too short necessitating a return trip with a new stock to cut and fit correctly.
A quick test sail around the bay, an exchange of cash and we were free to leave. Free to "press on". Something we've been pretty poor at this year.
So, after a final dinner with 15 other cruisers in the bay we levered our anchor out the mud and headed out to circumnavigate Majorca and head south and ultimately Las Palmas for the ARC start in November.
Our new sail was built with a large roach. Not quite a "fat head" but did seem to give us more power. It's also ten shades whiter than the old one so we're a bit blinded.
A good upwind bash in 15 knots got us up to the north end of the island where we anchored for the night. It was now pretty gusty with 25 knots coming down off the hill.
Out of habit we usually set a trip line. However, one of the power boat muppets in PP ran over it and hopefully now it is quietly wearing out his stern gland.
We therefore aimed for a sandy patch and dropped the Spade as fast as we could. Unfortunately, patch turned out to be a sand covered patch of rock which, good news hooked the anchor and held us solid all night. Bad news; 30 minutes of cursing while motoring around the anchor finally pulling it out backwards.
Tonight we will be in a relatively sheltered lagoon, Porto Colom but paying for he privilege as the council have laid mandatory mooring buoys. If we can find a place to anchor we will as paying just encourages more anchoring bays to be buoyed.
............ it turned out Porto Colom was mobbed and open to the large swell so we ended up overnighting in Port Jolly then headed over to Magaluf (where even the babies have tattoos) to get a new leech line fitted.
The wind moves east tomorrow so the plan is to make a 150 mile dash for the mainland, perhaps Cartagena or further south. We will see where the wind takes us.