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Date: 28 Sep 2011 14:06:48
Title: Tuesday 13 Sept - Thur 22 Sept 2011 - Cagliari, Sardinia to Sant Carles de la Rapita, Spain
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It was Fiona's birthday on 13 Sept which was celebrated over breakfast at Cagliari before Fiona and Hugh departed for home from the airport nearby. It was sad to see them go as Henry and Martin prepared for the crossing to Porto Colom in Mallorca. This was to take 55 hours over two nights in mainly light east southeast winds almost dead astern. Poor conditions for a sailing passage with little relative wind to get the boat going with the result that Spellbinder motorsailed slowly almost the way. On passing the south coast of Sardinia we raised George Rock-Evans, in another yacht, by mobile phone and radio but were unable to make a rendez-vous as we had to press on to avoid the next blast of a Tramontana due the following weekend. How fortunate we are to have really quite reliable medium range forecasts today that our hardier ancestors never had, but perhaps were able to "read" the sky and conditions so much better. In the event is was sobering to read that a probable F10 was forecast by meteo France for the Gulf of Lyon to the north. This wind roars off the Alps down the Rhone valley and out and across the Med right down through the Sicily channel clipping the Balearics as it goes. One piece of excitement on the passage was the sighting of a pod of whales blowing to the north with one lifting its tail and slapping it down on the water. Spellbinder secured to a buoy in Porto Colom at 7Euros/night including good showers and facilities ashore. This town was a most enjoyable place to ride out the edge of the storm already mentioned. Having obtained permission to moor in the harbour of the lovely island of Cabrera to the south assisted most helpfully by a young lady at the marina who new how to work the booking website, Spellbinder sailed in a fresh to strong northwest wind as the Tramontana eased back. It was good to be sailing the 22 miles reefed down, going well with the engine off! The northerly airstream was delightfully fresh and cool and sleeping at night was becoming more comfortable with a tropical sleeping bag thrown over to keep warm in the early hours of the morning. Cabrera, a nature reserve, was as delightful as ever as the autumn sun sank in the west as the equinox approached. It always comes as a surprise to find how quickly the nights draw in at this time of year. On Tue 20 Sept we sailed and motor-sailed up the south coast of Mallorca to attempt to anchor in Carla (bay) Marmacen. We spent a frustrating time trying to get the anchor to hold on a rocky, weedy bottom beset by rocks on three sides against which the surf was breaking. Martin had a swim and confirmed that the anchor was lying on its side on top of a flat rock! - we weighed anchor and motored round to a rather more open bay at Carla Llampa but found a good area of sand just off a bathing beach and got the anchor to dig right in up to its flukes. Here we spent a comfortable night after another round or two of backgammon, poised for the passage to mainland Spain the next day 110 nm away. A newish marina at Sant Carles de la Rapita was the destination and the place Spellbinder was to be laid up for the winter. The wind was still on the light side but this time more on the beam as it sometimes ventured into the southwest. In no hurry at all Spellbinder sailed serenely on a flat sea at anything between 2.5 and 4.5 knots. Overnight all was at peace with the world, the milky way glowed brilliantly overhead, there was some phosphorescence in the wake and the water gurgled past the hull. The wind went light in the forenoon and Spellbinder picked her way through the fishing fleet under engine before berthing in Sant Carles marina at 1530 on Thursday 22 Sept 2011. The lift out onto clean hardstanding in a smart new boatyard run by a Polish gentleman with perfect english saw Spellbinder snugged down for the winter.
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