We sail from Palma to Porto Colom

We checked all the weather resources  and decided to leave at 5am  - two hours before daybreak. The winds were predicted to change in the afternoon and we were expecting a 50 mile sail taking into accounts the various course corrections for the weather etc. We were well used to Palma Port now. In particular it is BIG, well lit and has WIDE channels!

We prepared the boat the night before so we only had to slip the lines in the morning in our sleepy stupor.

Oops!

One of our stern lines was wrapped twice and caught up.  Les hopped of the boat as John released the ‘anchor’ lines from the bow. We were moored ‘stern in’.

As Les would say,

“As I unwound the rope I saw the boat slowly moving away from me!”

(Editors note..   bit extreme representation here Les!)

Hmmm, thinks   ..should I jump?

NO! You just don’t ‘make a leap of faith’ - if you miss the boat, then, with you in the  water and with a 27 tonne boat on one side and a hard concrete pontoon on the other side it’s quite probable you might just get a little crushed.

John told me to Stop, pull the boat in with another rope - and THEN make the giant leap! (hmm?.. did I tell John that I was an Olympic long jump athelete?  

We were free and moving from the mooring.  It’s amazing that you immediately get a great buzz as you escape a berth. The unknown, a fresh start, sailing into the vast ocean, leaving stupid training boats behind ..

Anyway, as we were leaving the harbor a cruise liner arrived! – Right smack in our path within the confines of the port. 

What are the chances of that!  

John held back and did a few circles to let him get organized.  Anyway, his lifeboats seemed to be bigger than our whole boat!  

Finally, we set the sails and we were off.  The wind was working with us and we made good progress.  Daylight just breaking through. What a great feeling.

John went down to continue his sleep following such an early start whilst I remained on deck for the first watch.  Geesh!

No sooner than John had disappeared below and I was greeted with three fishing trawlers.  Fishing trawlers love to come visit me when I’m on watch!

Our boat has a self-tacking feature.

I love it! 

All on my own I proceeded to tack starboard, tack port, starboard, port ..   as I avoided the fishing trawlers.

The devil had visited us on Timeless!

Les beamed from ear to ear!  

John had an interesting snooze down there in his berth as he rolled from the alarm clock side to the bookshelf side.  

Hey, it kept us well away from their trawling lines ..and it was fun.

With sail adjustments and minor course adjustments, by the time John took over we were nearly at the south east corner of the island and ready for the final northerly push up the eastern side of the island. It was my turn to rest and the wind started to shift again (it had been a very mixed day).  By midday, with only 14 miles to go we were in a head wind. We tacked for the next two hours but made no real progress so reluctantly we put the engine on and headed straight to the Port entrance.