Web Diary Page 18-20 October 2007
Ladyliv
Sat 27 Oct 2007 12:48
39:42.57N 03:27.81E
After a false start leaving our berth at Isla Cristina on the 18th, we
realised that the fuel dock was closed until 5pm, which meant it was too
late to leave, so, 10 minutes after leaving, we returned to our berth,
much to the amusement, and bemusement, of our new German friends, Oliver &
Nicky ! They subsequently went off to the supermarket to fetch some more
vino tinto for a repeat session of the previous night !!
Finally left early morning (ish) on the 19th, refuelled, and off we went
on the 45 mile trip to Mallorca. Big rollers (waves) and more wind than
was predicted, but we sailed into Cala Ratjada late afternoon and moored
in the harbour alongside, right next to the Sir Robert Baden Powell - a
beautiful old fashioned tall ship, a fine example to all modern yachts !
We were joined for the evening by MŽs daughter Lucie and partner, Rich,
who had taken the opportunity of a late break to Majorca to escape the
English weather. Little did we realise though, that we had landed in
little Germany ! We were all amazed at the lack of Spanish in the town,
either on shop signs or menu boards outside restaurants - everything was
in German, and German was the first language !! That, coupled with
exorbitant prices in the restaurants and little visible value for money
anywhere, left us with a very poor impression of this pretty looking
harbourside town. However - one good thing, the mooring fees to the
Port Authority were the cheapest we had encountered - 11 Euros including
water and electricity !!
With adverse weather, and after a walk on the front and watching the waves
crashing over the front - and watching the winds gust over 30 knots in the
harbour on the chartplotter - we decided to sit out a day in C. Ratjada.
A bit of unfortunate excitement on the 20th however, when Bob & M went off
to find an internet cafe and left Luce & Rich on board, a Spanish couple
in a largish Beneteau came rolling in to the harbour, were caught by the
wind and tried, unsuccessfully, to raft up alongside us (not sure why, as
there was an empty length of dock in front of Lady Liv) with only three
small fenders on their boat, no fenders on ours, and Luce and Rich
shouting at them not to try and dock on top of us !! They kept coming and
collided with the side of our boat - an animated phone call to the
internet cafe, and the Good Captain returned to his yacht and tried to
keep his calm while trying to discuss the incident with two Spaniards, who
spoke little English and couldnŽt really have given a damn as theirs was a
charter boat - good news though, little or no damage to us, and we
definitely put our point across to the incompetent Beneteau crew!