Splash day and the trip home
October 8th, 2023
We woke up early this Friday, all packed and ready for our flight to Mallorca. We decided to take the early flight since we needed to have some time on the boat before we splashed at 2. The seacocks were replaced and the boat has been on the hard for about 9 months. So we needed to attend to a few things before Karelia was ready to go in the water.
Flying over this early should allow us enough time to prepare cameras. Perhaps even clean some of the pine needles and tree sap, that has been collecting on the deck for the past few months.
After landing in Mallorca we decided to grab a taxi to drive us to Cala D'or, about an hour away from Palma the main city on the island. I got a message from the yard saying that they are moving our sailboat Karelia closer to the lift so she will be ready to go in the water as planned. We had talked about this whole thing beforehand. We need to attend to a few things, and not being able to come sooner than early morning. Placing Karelia in the water late in the day would allow us some time to do all the work we needed.
We arrive in Cala D'or around 9 in the morning. But as we exit the taxi and approach the boat lift we see Karelia locked in a yard and no way for us to enter. We get a hold of the yardmaster a few minutes later. Only employees are allowed in the yard for insurance reasons. So now it looks like we're stuck waiting here outside a closed gate 10 meters away from our boat for the next 4-5 hours. and then with no time to prepare before we're in the water
Thankfully all it took was a phone call and for us to take a coffee and breakfast break, and they could move up the time to get her into the water.
Splash time
Splashing Karelia was quite straightforward. Watching the team lift her up and drive across the yard, I admit a small twist in the stomach and slight curling of toes. But nothing truly nerve-racking. As soon as we got a green light we jumped aboard and made sure the seacocks were in good shape and that nothing was leaking. This was much more stressful than watching the team fly our boat across the yard, as they were all still standing outside, waiting for us to finish going through the boat, and then letting them know all was ok. Being that this was our first time, we had little idea if things were ok or not. But with no water rushing into the boat, we managed to find the keys to the engine. So we got her running and the lift could let her go.
Last minute change with our mooring and we only had to move a couple of spots over to get to our spot for the night. First time sailing this big of a boat in the small space among the champagne palaces in Cala d'Or. I admit things could have gone smoother. But everything was working and we managed to get her placed without too much hassle.
Time to run to the marina office, check-in for the night, and pay for our mooring.
The guy from the yard was kind enough to offer to drive me to the office and help me settle everything. An offer I happily accepted as it had been a stressful morning. The heat and humidity were not doing me any favours. So we decide that the girls would stay aboard the boat, a sailboat they know nothing about, in a town they have never been to. 'Just settle in I'll be back in 10 min'. - Awesome parenting dad...
The Marina office is at the other end of the harbour, it's a one-way street. So we have to drive the whole circle to get there.
Ring ring.. "Ehh Dad the boat is leaking!"
As if I wasn't sweating enough as it is..
As we reach the exit from the main road, the girls call me. A water gurgling noise coming from the floors, so they pulled them up to inspect and realized that something sure was leaking.
We moved to a video call and thankfully the bilge pump was keeping up, there was about an inch of water collecting in there. I told them I'd move as fast as I could, to keep an eye on the bilge, and as soon as the water would double to call me again and get off the boat.
I've never been so happy to not get a phone call.
I managed to sign all the paperwork, (Checking into a marina is a ton of paperwork apparently, who would have guessed) didn't help I could barely see what I was doing from all the sweat and my clothes had now changed to a much darker shade of blue, for the most part.
Seems like the depth sounder was not screwed on properly, there was a small leak coming from the through-hole and as soon as I started tightening the whole thing came apart guzzling water into the boat.
Thankfully it was just a matter of aligning the threads properly and screwing it back on. Crisis averted, now we just allow the bilge pump to push out the excess water for a couple of minutes and we should be good.
We decided to split up a few cleaning tasks. A small mountain of pine needles had collected on the deck, along with tree sap and desert dust, something we're all too familiar with here in the Balearics.
I foolishly decided to look into the cockpit lockers and discovered water and grime that I wanted to remove, resulting in a couple of hours of untangling lines and ropes as well as the quick job of drying and cleaning out the bottoms of the lockers.
The first night aboard Karelia in the Cala d'Or Marina was quite uneventful, Great food for the crew to make sure morale was high after a day of cleaning, and early to bed. We had planned on meeting the previous owners who were on the Island the next day.
But unfortunately, we failed to realize in time that the Marina expected us to check out before noon. And so we would end up missing them the next day.
Heading out
The morning we untie the lines and head out of the harbour. All eyes are on deck as the channel is a bit narrow and there is much traffic. Without any problem, we clear the entrance and head out to open waters. Dinghy inflated on the deck although one chamber is looking a bit sad. Punctured hole by the looks of it. Add this to the list of things to do.
It's about an 8-hour sail from Cala d'Or to Mahon. So we had a debate about if we should head straight across, potentially stopping in Punta Prima, a great little place on the South side of Menorca for the night. A favorite option from the crew. So we set our heading directly towards Menorca.
A direct route will have us on the South coast of Menorca around 10-11 at night, So already a bit sketchy plan for a new captain and crew. And then we discover that our anchor isn't working as it should, seems like it's not receiving enough power to operate. So we decided it would be best to alter course for a large bay on the east side of Mallorca. And see if we can get the anchor to work in daylight and then head over early next morning.
A few hours of sailing later we entered Cova Baixa. We motored in Figure 8 moves while trying to work the anchor windlass. without success. I'm told we took 28 turns while I was head down in the sail locker. So manual release it is and the anchor free falls to the bottom and sticks. We are at least good for the night and looking to a manual pull-up tomorrow. Cova Baixa is a great little spot, despite the occasional jet-ski and speed boat shooting by.
The next morning we wake up early, to start our journey home. The anchor is oversized, the chain is oversized, and the windlass pulls up the chain about 5 cm at a time. We have about 8 meters out, This is turning out to be the greatest morning workout that I still would not recommend to anyone. I really will have to prioritize fixing the anchor before our next outing. Add this to the list of things to do.
We finally get the 40+kg anchor up and on deck and have thankfully been pushed further out of the bay, rather than in the direction towards land. mental note to always make sure the wind and tide are in our favour before attempting this nonsense again.
The little wind we have will be against us the whole day. So the motor will do most of the work as today is not so much about sailing and enjoy cruising. Rather we just need to get home quickly but safely, into our berth so we can start projects for the winter and get the kids back to school the next day.
We're home in Menorca without a problem, saw a couple of dolphins swim by. But fumbled in the excitement and didn't get a camera until too late.
