Updated 3/24/23

We think we have finally tied down all our events for the September Cruise. The opening party Sunday will now be at Es Baluard, a museum of modern art. Guests are invited to tour the gallery both on Saturday or Sunday in advance of our 17:30 party on their terrace overlooking Palma Harbor. We plan a raft up in the Cabrera National Park the following Tuesday afternoon instead of a dock party in Porto Colomb Wednesday. The venue for our closing party will now be the Real Club Nautico in Palma Harbour.

We are now 21 boats, 16 charters and 5 member boats, approximately 110 people. The current boat / participant list is posted in the attachments to the right. 

There are still boats available for charter. Helen at helen@sublimeyachts.com and Dawn at Sublime Charters have assembled some Charter opportunities. Their list is on a first come first served basis and is subject to other bookings. They managed to find a group mothership, a beautiful Swan 80 that is fully subscribed by those who had earlier indicated an interest. 

Jock & Val Macrae, Mags and I spent a great two weeks in September 2019 shadowing our plans for the (2020) cruise. We had good weather, lovely swimming and fabulous food. We explored some interesting calas (bays). We know we will have a great event.

"The weather is generally pleasant, and the water warm (77 degrees) in September. Daily temperatures are in the high 70’s to low 80’s. Rainfall in our 2-week period over the 2017-2018 period averaged 0.6in. In 2019, there was a thundershower the day we arrived and two brief showers through the 2 weeks. There were only a couple of unusually cloudy mornings, but there were many great days with pleasant temperatures throughout.

We plan to sail 185 miles around the island counterclockwise. While winds are quite light in September, if anything comes up, it will generally be out of the NE. In 2019, we had one day of 20-knot winds from that direction. Otherwise, winds were generally modest (<12kts) from the northeast. Going C-C should have the wind and sea behind us as we go along the North Coast. We've identified the harbours to head to if there is a strong wind, and all should work out well.

The anticipated Itinerary is:

Saturday 9th - Palma –

• Board Charter boats in the late afternoon.

Sunday 10th – Palma – Provision boats and enjoy Palma

• 17:30 Opening cocktails and heavy hors d’oeuvres at ES Baluard near the marina, where most charter boats will be berthed.

27 miles Monday/Tuesday

• Explore the south coast and perhaps anchor off the long beach Playa del Trench (21mi) or off Colonia de St Jordi.
• Illa de Cabrera (27 mi from Palma) is a nature reserve on the southeast tip of Mallorca. There is a very protected all-weather harbour. We plan to make bookings (necessary) here on Monday and Tuesday night. Plan to arrive Monday night or Tuesday morning.
• Tuesday Afternoon – fenders- over- the side party in Cabrera Harbour

60 miles Wednesday – Saturday

• The calas along the east coast, both south and north, of Porto Colomb are not to be missed. Anchor for the night in one of the small Calas or take a mooring or berth in Porto Colomb if you want a larger harbor.
• Possibly head into the protected Puerto de Cala Ratjada before going around the Cabo de Pera.

Saturday 16^th – Alcanada – Casual dinner ashore at La Terrazza Restaurant on the waterfront. Fleet can anchor immediately offshore in the lee of Isla d’ Alcanada or in Alcudia harbour about 4 miles west depending on weather and personal preference.

35 miles Sunday/Monday/Tuesday – possible stops

• Polencia
• Cala Formentor

Then head around Cabo Formentor, from which point the coast is quite open but you can probably pull in for a swim at:

• Cala de San Vincente
• or the incredible Cala de la Colobra before heading for shelter in Soller.

Tuesday 19^th – Soller – 17:30  Cocktails and heavy hors d’oeuvres on the roof of Succulenta Restaurant in the centre of the marina.  We have been assured there will be room for us either in the marinas or anchored in the harbour. Plan to spend more than one night in Soller to give yourself a chance to take the tram from the port up to the town of Soller or hire a car and test the mountain roads.

47 miles Wednesday/Thursday/Friday – possible stops:

• Calla de Deya if a west wind
•       Foradada if an east wind. Plan on heading there (4 miles west of Soller) for a breakfast swim. The paella ashore is recommended.
• Andratx - a beautiful, protected port on the west coast
• Stop for a swim in the calas between Pta de Cala Figuera and Puerto Portals.
• Charter Boats will generally be due back by the end of the afternoon Friday.

Friday 22^nd Palma – 16:00 Closing Dinner at Real Club Nautico in the centre of Palma Harbour a reasonable walk from the charter dock.

Participants are encouraged to allow extra time while in Mallorca for some land travel to enjoy the stunning mountain vistas and lovely towns and villages. The island is a flat plateau with cliffs and caves on the south and east sides and mountains and beautiful rock formations on the northwest side. Some suggested hotels in Palma are listed in the article to the right the website. Palma can be quite busy in September, so you are advised to book well in advance.

The standard charter would have you going aboard around 17:00 pm Saturday 9th^th and have the boat  back in Palma for the party Friday with departure from the boat Saturday morning 23rd.

A recent update of the RCC Balearics Pilot has been created by David and Susie Baggaley, friends of Charles-Henri Mangin (ESS). It is available through Amazon.

Here is a link to some photos of our destination

Les Crane & Howie Hodgson – Co-chairs