Sail to the Med: Palma to Nice

Vicki and Andi Dunkel run sailing and diving holidays around Europe on board Isicia II, a classic 51 foot Beneteau First yacht.

This year their route takes them from Scotland to the Mediterranean and here is a travelbite from their ship’s log:

Palma to Nice

After meeting our new crew in Palma and sailing up the west coast of Mallorca, we visited our favourite places: a night anchored in Palma bay; a party night in Santa Ponca; a overnight anchor off the quiet town of San Telmo across from Dragonera island – a perfect base for diving; and finally a night in the natural harbour of Puerto Soller.

We rested in Puerto Soller for the day before embarking on our 100 mile voyage across the Mediterranean to Barcelona.

Massive high pressure over the Mediterranean at the start of September meant there was very little wind to sail, but we optimistically set the sails anyway. Even if the wind would not pick up we would still get a bit more speed from the sail while motor sailing.

With the conditions so calm we decided to do three-hour shifts through the night.

With a full moon to light our way and a clear star-filled sky, the first shift went by smoothly.

By the one to four am shift clouds had obscured the stars, and without a sunrise to look forward to, it was set to be more tiring. However, the sightings of a whale and dolphins kept us energized.

Though we did not get a good look at the whale - a large shape appeared beside us, puffed and then disappeared again - the dolphins certainly kept us entertained, breaking the calm of the sea and playing the wake of our yacht.

When we woke again in the morning, land was in sight.

We stopped off at Playa del Compestella, south of Barcelona, which was so calm we could anchor off the beach with no shelter. We had a lovely afternoon there sipping cocktails and the next day we reached Barcelona and spent a few days enjoying the sights.

With the Mediterranean Sea warmer this summer than usual and more storms predicted for Gulf D’Lion this autumn, we took advantage of the calm to get across the Gulf.

The light breeze was right in our nose so we had to motor sail again, but we arrived on the French coastline just before flash floods hit Barcelona and gales blew across the Gulf.

We sheltered for a couple of days at a fantastic anchorage off Isle Proquerolles, where the weather improved and we had some lovely sailing along the Cote D’Azur – passing St Tropez, Antibes and Cannes before reaching Nice.

We are now going to spend the rest of the year around this area as it is so beautiful and there is so much to see between the Cote D’Azur, French Riviera, Corsica and the Italian Riviera.

To find out more about holidays on Isicia II (suitable for all experience levels) visit their website at www.sailaway.eu.com or call (+44) 07904 267 561.

	The rocky sight of Puerto Soller off the coast of Mallorca.
	Sunset in style - Nice, on France's glamorous Cote D’Azur