The first week of Sailingmint’s sailing in the Balearic Islands started with a challenging southwest forecast: on the day of the arrival of the crews, the sky was overcast, the air was heavy, and the sand from the Sahara was ever-present. Luckily, the anticipation for this trip was running high, and the weather conditions didn’t shake the enthusiasm of both crews.
Two boats were being prepared in the marinas of Palma de Mallorca that day. The first had Alex as skipper, and it was a Bali Catsmart from 2024, a small catamaran, yet well-designed and providing a great amount of comfort. Thanks to its bow space filled with cushions and the open cockpit with a semi-inside, semi-outside layout, there was a great sense of space on the boat. The second vessel was an Oceanis 45 monohull, with Daniel as skipper, who had already sailed together with Alex, both as a student and crew member.
The catamaran was the first boat to finish the check-in process and left the marina as soon as possible to wait in a nearby bay for the second boat to be able to join. However, unlike Croatia and Greece, the bays in the Balearic Islands don’t allow boats to approach too close to the shore, thanks to yellow buoys that limit the swimming area for people and keep the boats away. For this reason, even though the bay offered enough coverage from the wind, the boat was still exposed to the considerable swell, and as a result, it was continuously rocking sideways. It was important to leave the boat for the time being, so the crew was taken on the dinghy to the shore, where everyone was able to enjoy a nice time at the beach and explore the caves in the area.
On the second day, the exploration of Mallorca Island began. The sailing was fast thanks to the fresh winds; however, that also meant that it was paramount to find a bay that offered good protection. The first place marked as a destination didn’t fit that criterion, so Alex had to make the decision to prolong the sailing around the island, for the safety and comfort of the crew. The shelter was finally found on the southeast side of Mallorca Island, in Santanyí. That was also the place where finally the second boat joined, after an even more intense leg of sailing as only two crew members had the stomach to handle the vessel under the challenging sea state. The rest of the day was spent in Porto Mallorca, where the crews had the opportunity to refresh and share a pizza dinner together, sharing stories and memories of their time at sea and making plans for the next few days.
After two intense first days of the trip, on the third day, it felt like the chilled vacation was finally starting! It was established that the crews, and particularly the children, needed a relaxing time, so Alex led them to the beautiful Cala Varques, where everyone got to swim and explore the caves, climb the cliffs, and ride on the SUPs. The two boats were always anchored together, side by side, thanks to Alex's experience as a skipper, which guaranteed the execution of the anchoring in a safe and cool manner.
Amid the fun time, there was still an event that required immediate attention from the skipper: one of the crew members fell into the water with the dinghy engine while trying to move the engine from the dinghy back to the boat. Luckily, Alex’s experience as a skipper prevented a more serious issue by having previously tied the engine to the boat to secure it, right before it fell into the water. Thanks to this, the engine was salvageable, although it was not working, but the crew was motivated to brainstorm and create plans that would get the engine to work again.
After all the eventful time in Cala Varques, the boats headed to Cala Ratjada, where they spent the night, well-positioned for the next day’s crossing to Menorca Island.
On the fourth day, early in the morning, both boats set their sails and engaged in a crossing of over 20 nautical miles to Menorca Island. The sail was smooth, as predicted when analysing the weather forecast to prepare for the crossing, and four hours later the crews arrived at their destination.
Already in Menorca, there was plenty of time dedicated to relaxation: jumping, swimming, exploring caves, and resting. During that time, the gentlemen from the crew bonded over getting their hands on the engine and successfully made it work again. The accomplishment of resolving the engine issue, together with the fun of the arrival in Menorca, created a true feeling of celebration.
For the night, Alex found a well-protected bay with big cliffs. The buoys at that place were mostly occupied by private boats, and there was very little space left, but thankfully the experience of the skipper proved essential as it allowed the boats to be safely anchored, in a way that prevented the boats from moving around and instead behaving as if they were on a buoy.
The next and fifth day of the trip was dedicated to continuing to visit Menorca: visiting the bays and swimming on the sandy beaches surrounded by cliffs. There was some rain, but the skipper made sure to create an optimistic atmosphere throughout the day, showing everyone how the rain shouldn’t stop you from jumping in the water and having fun. By the end of the day, it was time to cross back to Mallorca, more specifically to Puerto Colom, where both crews spent the night—although the monohull docked in the marina while the catamaran had to stay on the buoy.
The sixth day was spent almost entirely in Cala Arsenal, Alex’s favourite place in the Balearic Islands. Because of the large number of hours sailed the day before, the intention for this day was to stay in one place in order to take a break from the constant rolling movement of the boat. The location was ideal for achieving this goal, as what makes this bay special is precisely how well protected it is from wind and waves. This is very important considering how much sailing in the Balearic Islands is affected by the swell, created by the location of the islands in relation to the strong winds from the Strait of Gibraltar. All in all, the tucked-in characteristic of this particular bay allowed for the skipper to perform the “El Greco” manoeuvre, in which the stern of the boat is well secured with two ropes facing the shore, which creates the feeling of having a natural turquoise-looking pool right at the backyard of the boats.
The next and last day of the trip started very early in order to cover the distance left to return to the marina—a total of almost 40 nautical miles. There was still time to take a break at the Parque Natural de Mondragó to enjoy the beach, which was only a short ride from the boat with the dinghy. After that, both crews sailed straight to the marina to finish the trip and deliver the boats back to the fleet operator in intact condition. Because on the first day the crew left the marina as soon as possible, it was a good idea to finish a bit earlier on the last day, as it still provided the opportunity to visit the city centre of Palma de Mallorca in the late afternoon and evening, before taking the flights back to Poland the next day. □