Balearic Islands

Most mornings upon waking, Ronan and I usually ….wait for it….check the weather forecast . Ronan likes Windy and Metro Marine and I look at Buoy Weather and Windguru. The wind and swell forecasts have a big influence on where we decide to go. When we compare notes from the various weather apps they sometimes don’t match. The strength and direction of the wind and swell can be different as well as the timeline of their predictions, so it can be a bit of a puzzle. The forecasts however usually align when there is bad weather coming , and we can see now that there is some strong wind and swell on the way in two days time.
We plan on sailing up the East Coast of Mallorca and stopping off in some of its many beautiful little calas and coves. Hopefully we will find one that will offer us protection from the thunderstorm on Tuesday, but if not we know there is a sheltered harbour nearby.
We scroll through the Navily app looking for recommended anchorages. Navily is the sailing equivalent of trip advisor. We read other users reviews and look at the app’s real-time assessment of how well the spot is protected from wind and swell, based on their weather forecast. We zoom out to 48 hours to see how comfortable an anchorage will be over the coming days. We now have an idea of where we are going and all before we roll out of bed.
Cala Mondrago is top of our list- it has a good write up in the sailing directions, good reviews on Navily and our friends Iaian and Niamh loved it. Navily’s forecasting is only rating its protection from wind and swell at 50% but we decide to take a look when we are passing by. When we see the picturesque bay and several boats at anchor here it is very tempting. We do a circle in the small bay and ask the German who is watching us from his cockpit what he thinks of the place. His friendly thumbs up is all we need.
The evening is falling and we drop anchor and settle in, enjoying the views and sounds of this beautiful nature reserve.
The wind drops off completely overnight and although small the sea swell is coming straight into the cove. Regal rolls side to side and front to back, creaking all through the night. Navily was right, we get about 50% sleep.
With no sign of the conditions improving we decide to move on but first we take to the water to snorkel. The water is crystal clear and in 7 meters depth we see a cuttle fish scuttle along the sand below. We swim to the cave which has a small opening at the end through which we can see the beach. We snorkel all the way through and it’s very exciting.

Back onboard we continue to sail north and according to Navily there are several anchorages that offer good protection from the increasing sea swell. Near Cala d’Or we follow the glass-bottomed tourist Catamaran into one of them but soon see the swell and choppy sea is making its way right into the beach. We circle back out and head for Cala Mitjana which has little protection now according to Navily but a promise of improved conditions when the weather turns more northerly. We turn 90 degrees to port to get into the first part of the cove and then another 90 degrees to starboard and find beautiful flat calm water in this magical narrow Cala. There is Catamaran anchored right in the sweet spot so we have a little chat with them and find out they aren’t staying. We anchor off while they eat their lunch and move in once they leave. We are delighted, Mitjana is stunning. The land all around is privately owned and beautifully maintained. The beach has public access through a pathway that is a 25 minute walk from the road. Some people have come here on ribs and little day rental motor boats, so only the determined holiday makers are here.
As we get ready to go swimming, Regal moves around gently in the shifting breeze. Her stern bobs around and moves close to the cliffs on the Western shore. Half an hour later the cliffs on the eastern side of the cove are a bit too close for comfort. There is nothing for it but to put out a stern anchor to stop us moving around in our narrow little bed.
Happily pinned in place in the middle of cove we watch the day trippers leave and then we have the place to ourselves- nobody’s home up in the mansion.
Morning breaks and I wake gently to the sound of birds singing in the tree above, I think I must be in heaven. We do our usual check-in on the weather forecast. That strong north-easterly is on the way today but we have 100% protection here according to Navily - This is heaven. We swim and snorkel, do a little school work and bake bread.
As each hour passes Mitjana’s calm waters become more choppy. The swell from outside is starting to make its way in the the Cala, hitting both cliffs and the beach. Regal is starting to feel it and these conditions are going to get a whole lot stronger for the next four days. Navily hasn’t got it right this time and we need to get out of here.
We have to pull up the stern anchor first but decide not to launch the dinghy to do it as getting the dinghy back onboard will be difficult. Ronan thinks that once we take up the stern anchor Regal will swing around in the swell and get too close to the cliffs so he hatches a plan and needs all hands on deck.
Colm goes forward to the bow to man the windlass and control the main anchor. He communicates by walkie talkie with Ronan who is on the helm. Ronan goes astern while Colm lets out more chain on the main anchor. We move closer to the stern anchor and Ruby and I pull in the slack on the line and eventually haul the anchor back on board. Ronan immediately puts the throttle forward and Colm starts to recover the 50 meters of chain that is now out. Ronan maintains great control of the helm in this narrow space. Once the anchor is up we reverse out of the Mitjana, pausing momentarily in the outer bay until everything is stowed safely. Although there is a swell, we are relieved to be out in the wide open sea and feel proud of our great crew.
We head for the shelter of nearby Porto Colom to let this weather front blow through.Read more