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  • Day 338

    30 / 30 / 30

    June 14, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    The air and water temperatures are 30 degrees plus, and a peaceful night at anchor suddenly gets very lively when a 30 knot land breeze kicks in.

    It's 30 degrees plus in the shade, and a lot hotter in the sun as Spain swelters in another heatwave (not looking for any sympathy, honest!). It's been like this for the last week and looks set to continue.
    One positive is that the water has become very warm and pleasant, so we're jumping in several times a day in an effort to cool down.
    We anchored in the lovely Cala Tuent, on Mallorcas mountainous northern coast. It's a quiet undeveloped spot, with high hills either side and within sight of Puig Major, Mallorcas highest peak at 1436m.
    Snorkeling is great in the clear water, and ashore we take a short walk around the fertile valley, up to a pretty restaurant with an amazing view out to sea.
    There are about 8 or 9 other yachts at anchor here tonight, all bobbing about in the calm conditions. Including Kit and Mariella on Tiger Lily, whom we met in Porto Cristo. Around 3am we are awoken by the sound of a building breeze. Soon it's gotten very noisy and the entire crew are awake. I go up on deck to check the anchor and see lights and activity on several other boats too. Everyone is awake and on alert. The wind keeps building and we are yawing from side to side in the gusts, getting a little too close to other boats for comfort.
    Suddenly there's a blast of hot air, like a giant furnace has been opened in front of us.
    Togs, towels and anything else not tied down are flying about the place and the SUPs are lifting off the deck, straining on their restraints. The dinghy is tied on astern but lifting a little and skitting across the water. I'm glad we don't have the outboard engine on it tonight, in case the dinghy is blown upside down.
    A nearby yacht nearby drags anchor, and drops again in a clearer spot. These manoeuvres become more fraught in the dark, when there is the added risk of driving over a mooring buoy and wrapping it around your propellor.
    The wind is now over 30 knots and very hot, especially considering its 3am.
    We're glad to be one of the outer boats in the anchorage, with the scope to put out more chain if necessary. Thankfully our 25kg Rocna is holding well, combined with the 10mm nylon snubber.
    After 30 minutes or so it starts to abate and we try to get back to sleep.
    The next day we discover that the same conditions hit nearby Port Soller.
    There seems to be some debate as to whether it was a katabatic wind, falling down from the nearby mountains, or else was a land breeze, caused by warm air cooling and rolling down the valley to the sea....these details aren't too important at the time!
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