As the Fall sets in, it's time we started preparing to depart for Fort Lauderdale. We spent 10 weeks in The Ballaeric Islands, friends and family joining us with only a short flight from the UK. My first trip here was exactly 40 years ago, "Pontinental Package Holidays"; my second is now wrapping up. A very different era, in a different world, seen through different eyes, how our lives have changed.
For anyone transiting the Western Mediterranean, Palma really is a glorious stopover. Large marinas are less costly than many. A cosmopolitan population, good subcontractors, and English as a common second language. The weather is kind, the scenery beautiful, and the food to die for. The latter may happen as we have frequently overindulged.
We have explored two large islands and multiple ports, the biggest two being Palma and Mahon. Multiple anchorages and about 500 miles of cruising in mostly short daytime hops. In my naivete, I regarded cruising as getting from A to B, but it's generally not so. Being at A or B with a transit in between is more to the point and far more relaxing. We are not on a ferry or on a fixed-liner schedule. The best weather has varied from an almost mirror-flat calm, the roughest passage a Force 6 gusting 7 with 3m seas on the nose. Mostly, it's been much less than that, aided by Windy and Predict Wind.
A typical day starts with a "Hello" or "Good Morning" in four or five languages before the first coffee. We have conversed with ex-UK Marines, Liverpudlains from the MCA Training Center, Belgian racing yacht captains, Australian, Dutch, and German wanderers, American youth in search of adventure, Russians and Ukrainians in search of peace, Thai, Ghanaians, Cubans, Columbians, Italians, Chileans..... you name it. Steaks and salads, Tappas and Currey's, English Breakfasts or French Croissant, Italian Pizza or Columbian "who knows what" all helped down with local Cervasa or Spanish Riocca. Castles and Cathedrals, cafes and cellars, cliffs and bays, windmills and parklands, I need to get started on the contemporary art pieces that seemingly litter Palma. Beautiful or, as often, thought-provoking.
My wife, Sebrina, has had a well-earned rest and some pampering. Our youngest son, Rhys, can now competently handle our tender, stern-too-mooring lines and is learning right next to me daily, along with his schoolwork. We have caught up with all but two of our children, friends, and relations from our scattered diaspora, even with Malaysian friends who visit locally by chance.
We have found space to get into the details on Vanguard. Work once less important has risen up the fix-it list. Thanks to Darren from Hartnell Marine Electrical, our biggest wiring demon has been finally laid to rest. (Vessel Management Cabinet). Our tank sensors work reliably for the first time; batteries charge and discharge in the background, and solar behaves and is much more productive. Drawers stay shut; ceilings stay up; showers drain; sinks have stopped smelling; and tanks pump. Lighting and entertainment system automation now works! We even tick off all but 5 of the MCA Category (0) survey requirements from an initial list of 60 failures when delivered by Naval Yachts. Subcontractors here are easy to find, generally responsive, and professional. It is a good place to get work done, especially as the season winds down. And best of all, AMAZON.COM exists here; it's beautiful!
We had zero trust in our fuel tank gauges throughout the 3-month journey from Turkey, culminating in extreme range anxiety. Now that the tank gauges operate reliably, we striped each fuel tank until the transfer pump lost suction or the indicator read zero, whichever was first. I now know that our two service tanks and four fuel wings tanks can all be emptied to "zero" on the gauge with a small reserve, and the transfer pump never lost suction. What we see as a fuel reserve is real and can be accessed. Another reliability box ticked.
Onward to Florida
In the midst of all this happening, we needed to decide how to get Vanguard to the USA.
An island hop from the Ballaerics to Canaries, Cape Verde, and the southern Caribbean.
Putting her on one of the many transatlantic delivery vessels that run this time of year to the Islands and Florida.
Given the cost of going on her own keel, her newness, and my existing range anxiety, we opted to cheat and send her via a larger hull. ETA Fort Lauderdale is the last week in November. The marina is booked thereafter, and we will travel down to the Caribbean early in the New Year.
Chris Leigh-Jones