Isla Cabrera

It was less than fifteen miles to Cabrera from Isla Gabina so we were in no hurry Tuesday morning. We had a leisurely breakfast in the cockpit and waited for a bit more wind to pick up from the smooth, flat calm of the night. We were slightly disappointed when the said wind came from the southwest, the precise direction in which we were heading! Undeterred, we actually sailed off the anchorage without starting the engine, only the jib unfurling to power us along. Within five minutes the full main was up and we were whooshing along at 6 knots, not a cloud in the sky.

I took the helm and as we were sailing to windward I just had to stay as close to the wind as possible, keeping an ever watchful eye on the telltales on the jib. As luck would have it, the wind kept backing as we got nearer to the island and we realised a few miles from our destination that were not going to have to tack at all; we had made it in one, right to the centre of the entrance to the bay. With the castle standing guard we felt quite privileged to be allowed to stay in such beautiful surroundings and as if to welcome us into the sanctuary of the nature reserve three pairs of bottle-nose dolphins swam along side. A perfect sail into a perfect environment.

We went into the harbour (nothing like a marina, but a huge bay with 50 moorings for visiting yachts) under jib alone. There is a 2-knot speed limit and we had a job keeping down that low! We chose a buoy in the most sheltered part of the bay and picked it up successfully first time and settled down to enjoy the peace and tranquillity of our new back garden for the next four days. The "throb-throb-throb" of the generator on the next boat annoyed us however, and after a reccie in the dinghy we chose another mooring further away!

We ventured to the castle one morning, which we were fortunate to have to ourselves. We talked about how it was a place in which your imagination could run wild, dreaming of pirates and battles, prisoners and attempted escapes. The island has had its fair share of such things. Indeed, the castle itself was likely to have been built as a defence against plundering pirates in the 14th century and about four hundred years later thousands of French soldiers were imprisoned on the island and due to lack of supplies were forced to eat lizards, grass and rats! We contemplated how in that situation we might have attempted to make a raft, and then realised that a French prisoner arriving on Mallorca may not have been made welcome and may well have been shot! I did say we were letting our imaginations have free reign.

A swim in the clear waters was a key part of each day, Chris snorkelling to observe the abundant marine wildlife, which is so carefully preserved in this unique Marine-Terrestrial National Park. I tried out the mask for the first time and am keen now to move on to using the snorkel. My main objection is to getting the salt water in my hair, which then uses up a fair amount of our fresh supply washing it out. Snorkelling will have to be a once a week treat for me!

We contemplated leaving after three nights but white horses on the water outside the bay were enough to put us off, plus the invite onto "Liahona" for a champagne celebration of their (Chris and Joy) second anniversary of live aboard life. The evening was very enjoyable, the invite extending to dinner too once Joy realised the time! It was lovely to make some new friends and chat about experiences and places we've been.

A big part of us did not want to leave this little paradise but our permit time was up and our supplies were running low. It was time to move on up the east coast of Mallorca, with its myriad of calas and bays.