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Espalmadore
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S/V Kluut, Marina Stella del Sud 89811 Vibo Valentia Marina Porto di Viba Marina Calabria Tirreno Meridionale
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After a brief view of Spain’s most well known high-rise developments we left for the Balearics from Moraira. Did manage a short sail as we approached Espalmadore, accompanied by dolphins and an autopilot that stopped working just as we left mainland Spain. 13 hours later we dropped anchor in the most picturesque anchorage we have seen to date. Espalmadore is tiny and offers no facilities bar a long white sandy beach complete with picture postcard palm trees, the clearest turquoise waters any Caribbean sea could provide and a mud bath. |
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Of course we partook of the tradition of rolling about in the hot, stinking mud and then baked on the sun before washing it all off to benefit from its soothing qualities, soft skin and just a slight burn rash round the ankles. The less inhibited do this naked. One of us is shy!!!!!!!!! From here we toured Formentera, the smallest of the main Balearics, by scooter, seeing the whole of this delightful island in a day. Not a difficult task as it is only 20km long. Only hiring the one scooter adds to the excitement level especially for the passenger. You can probably guess who that was. |
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Once a captain always a captain! We fed leftovers of our picnic to the lizards that seemed even more keen than the seagulls to relieve us of our food, enjoyed panoramic views of the entire island and bathed in crystal clear waters before heading back to Kluut. The weather was perfect except for the day we took the dinghy to Formentera 3miles away to stock up on victuals. With our 2.2 outboard and a dinghy stuffed to the gunwales with goodies and treats we survived a squall with winds gusting 50 knots. For half an hour the rain came down horizontally and the waves we were ploughing through filled the tender almost completely. When we could see Kluut in the anchorage she had suffered no more than a slightly damaged awning and a flexible solar panel that we now know can fly. I have never been quite so pleased to get aboard and drag our sodden shopping bags with me. Yes I was frightened realising quite quickly for a non sailor that if the outboard had not exceeded all our expectations and kept going then we would have ended up at sea with a boat full of wet food and 2 oars against gale force winds . The most expensive casualty was the mobile phone, which could not be revived, even with WD40. And despite hanging them out to dry we lost nearly all the PG tips, every pack of couscous and, more importantly, the hob knobs. They may well be the marines of the biscuit world for dunking, but only 8 halves came through this skirmish unscathed.
Light boats skated around their anchors as the winds gusted over the little island of Espalmadore giving the captain an excuse for indulging in his favourite subject, explaining to his crew the details of boat construction and how a heavy displacement boat will not move as much in such weather. Then we spotted our sailing companions who, with a bilge keel, were able to anchor in much shallower waters and concluded that due to her lack of movement she must have a heavy displacement. Their next text message read, “Fancy a whisky on the rocks? You bring the whisky we are already on the rocks”. They were in fact as solid as the rock they were sitting on. As with every disastrous event that occurs in this boating lifestyle, a fleet of little ships came to their rescue and they were able to move to slightly deeper waters and re-anchor.
By the time we left this wonderful, if crowded anchorage, 5 days later, not only was the autopilot not working but the radio would not transmit either. However, we did sail across to our next port of call, IBIZA, the next Balearic, and anchored in Talamanca Bay.
Pip and Dave