Palma de Mallorca

We spent lovely days in Portopedro.

But as always, the day of farewell comes and we set off towards Palma. Past Cala Figuera towards Cap de ses Salines. From there we head along the south coast towards Palma.

We had seen Cala Figuera from the land side years ago, so a little detour into the cove was unavoidable. Even if we were to come that direction again, I wanted to get an impression of the surroundings. There are a few buoys there, but the cove is quite narrow and at 13 m we need a bit more space.

We had estimated the journey time to Palma to be 5 hours. The weather forecast was correct for the first 3 hours, after that we had a bit more waves and the wind that had been forecast for the last hour also started much earlier.

The approach to Palma across the bay ran parallel to the waves at around 4-5 Beaufort. It was a rough affair, we crossed the waves to reach the harbor more calmly.

When we arrived there, we had agreed with the captain the day before that we should call when we were approaching the harbor. But since the gas station is in an exposed location at the harbor entrance of the RCNP, we wanted to moor there and then call. The wind took me by surprise when we docked, and I couldn't react quickly enough as our Gustav was pushed towards the quay.

The marineros saw this and quickly came to help, and at the same time clarified where our mooring was. They sensitively offered us the opportunity to stay on the jetty until the wind died down a bit. We gratefully accepted.

After another two hours, we had a little less wind, but the marineros had lost patience. I think they were afraid that our Gustav would get stuck on the quay.

So we got the order, the space is needed, 15 minutes, then we will take you to the berth.

This message was clear, we did not dare to contradict it.

The approach to the berth was such that I wanted to drive past it first and then enter the box slightly against the wind. But our marinero had a different plan. What he didn't know was that I also have my head and after he also ignored the signals from my first officer, I had to make it clear to him in his dinghy that I was going to carry out the maneuver as I had planned.

We sailed safely into the box, bow lines secured, slightly back, rudder slightly to starboard. Gustav pulled up to the man next to him and had a good position. Now our marinero could finally complete his plan, namely he replaced our missing stern thruster and held the Gustav until the mooring line was laid.

Thanks to the team, that was the most professional reception in a harbor so far. The second man came from the jetty and helped to put up the mooring line and as quickly as the spooky thing started, it was over. We had easily earned the beer at the dock.