The Real Club Nautica Palma is the largest marina I’ve ever seen, taking up the entire sea front stretching from the impressive medieval castle to the majestic Cathedral with its beautifully landscaped gardens and battlements.  Mega yachts vie for supremacy with a 3 masted delight hailing from the ‘20’s owned by the Gucci’s perhaps the most beautiful.  Surely this cannot be the Palma of clubbing fame so popular with the youngsters of today?  Where are the hens and the stags?

Swallowing hard over the prospect of our first “expensive” marina, I handed over 3 night’s worth of Euros and we ran for the comfort of a nearby bar – Cuban Rum themed, we ordered Gin and Tonics and steaks and salad, pleased to be on land after a tiresome passage from Ibiza.

Palma has a lot to offer and we spent our time well, exploring various districts on foot and sampling varieties of tapas, beer, wine and ice cream.  Evenings were casual affairs in the narrow ancient streets near the cathedral, mingling with early season tourists and locals alike, chatting and laughing over a sangria or a local vino blanco.  Most memorable of all were a row of flower stalls competing for the most spectacular arrangement.  I’ve never seen such care and creativity with flowers.

Saturday saw the arrival of one of Lion King’s charter guests – Ralph by name.  But with Lion King a day or so away, beating hard into those damn easterlies, we gave him somewhere to rest his head and consequently made a new friend.  Geoff and the crew of Lion King soon arrived and it was “party time” – at the Cuban Bar and afterwards in Lion King’s luxurious saloon with aged single malt and lots of stories of the sea.

The weather is perfect, the winds are no longer easterly and it is time to reach out for Sardinia.  So with repairs, provisioning and cleaning done, we leave Tereza behind to help Geoff crew Lion King and the three of us slip lines, beat hard out of the Bay of Palma, round the headland and hoist the cruising chute for a broad reach south east and an idyllic, starry night.

So, here we are after 36 hours nearing Isola di S. Antioco off the south west coast of Sardinia, seeking a quiet anchorage and a well-earned rest.  You see, we have all scrubbed and polished the deserving Oboe d’Amore every daylight hour.  Oboe is responding to such labours with a gloss and cleanliness long overdue.  Scrub you land lubbers, scrub ….

Follow our progress here:

http://blog.mailasail.com/oboe, where you can see our daily progress on Google Earth.  Email us at: oboe {CHANGE TO AT} mailasail {DOT} com any time you like.  Phone us on +881 631 669 194 and we’ll pick up via Iridium satellite.

Fair winds to you all.

Nigel

Gill

Josef