Mallorca?

[jkelley]

My wife and I, for our first sailing trip together, are thinking about taking a charter sail around Mallorca island (with a supposedly experienced crew)- a weeklong trip around the island. Has anyone out there attempted this? Since neither of us are sailors, we wonder if this trip might be a bit too ambitious way for us to "get our feet wet", so to speak.

[tiredmark]

I went to majorca this year having an experienced crew who were well up for a charge around the Island. While I know it''s a recommended route, over a third of the way around weather was becoming difficult while not adverse and the route leaves less choices than I would prefer if weather worsened.

Don''t let me put you off but it means you have to put the hours in every day with the possibilty of a bit of night sailing when you might prefer propping up a bar.

For me, part of the the fun of sailing in the med means you don''t have the constraints of the tides and you can chill out a bit.

Have fun

Tiredmark

[chrondi]

Dear jkelley,
let me repeat your key statements that should guide you through the right decisions:
1) This will be your first sailing trip together with your wife
2) Neither of you are sailors
3) You are looking for an experienced crew to sail together
4) You want to sail around Mallorca island in Spain

Conclusion: you want to “try” and see what sailboat cruising looks like.
Well then, unless you want to scare off your wife and get a cheap divorce or/and end up with a bad experience that cost you a fortune, I suggest to plan carefully and consider the following:
a) Med is not a paradise all year round. Plan your trip during summer (that can mean early summer – June to early July - as well as late summer late September - to avoid the peak season).
b) What about joining a flotilla?
c) Ideal sailing ground for starters is the Ionian. Croatia, Greece and Turkey have much weaker and settled winds than the Balearics or the french South (Corsica included). Go east.
d) Finally, the cheapest and by far the safest way might be to arrange with an experienced skipper who owns the boat (i.e. that means he keeps her in perfect condition) to sail you around some islands. A certain Sailmaster claims these services right in this messageboard and be sure he will soon pop up with an interesting offer.

My last advice: play it safe and prefer professionals when dealing with the sea, which never forgives naive amateurism …

[marcelzaar]

We from the Wishful Sailing Company would like to recommend you to first charter yacht plus flottilla or professional schipper.

Also as for area we suggest it wil be better to start of easy in Turkey or better Greece.

In case you are interested to learn more please send us an e-mail to info@wishfulsailing.com.

Thank you and kind regards

Wishful Sailing Company
www.wishfulsailing.com

[Jeff_H]

I can see why your company is called ''Wishful''. You must be really wishful if you think that placing your blatant self promotion on a advertising prohibited site will get you a lick of business. Any company that shows such total disrespect for the rules of an Internet site could only be expected to have the same total disregard for other ethical conventions. From your clearly dishonest approach to advertising on sites where advertising is prohibited and the rudeness implied by your multiple posts, only a sucker would ever consider doing business with you, and while allegedly there’s one born every minute, even a real rube would spot you for a charlatan from a mile away. Just my thoughts here.

[PCP]

This thread had begun in July 2004, last post in November so I don''t know if this is of any help to JKELLEY, but could help someone with a similar program.

I know well the Ballearic Islands and to do what Jkelley wants I think that the best way is to "crew" a boat, kind of a school boat (normally a 42 to 45 feet)that sails with a very experienced skipper and takes normally 7 people with low sailing knowledge, sometimes some with none.

There are several possibilities, being most of those boats connected with local sailing clubs in mainland marinas, just in front of the Balearic Islands (Altea, Denia etc).

Normally the boat sails after lunch and arrives to Ibiza at dawn. If you want, you learn how to sail and some navigation. If you want you go to sleep (you can be sure that the other members of the crew normally will want to learn, so it is more waiting for your time at the wheel).

Duration is one week and you don''t take too much time sailing. Lots of time sunbathing and anchored in nice little coves with cristal clear water, some nights in Marinas to have a night out in some nice places.

Normally there is not a defined program and the crew democratically choose destinations, the amount of time sailing and sunbathing.

It is not expensive, you pay for each person an importance relative to the boat and the skipper and the rest (food, marinas and fuel) you divide with the other crew members.

Those "sailing learning expeditions" are not organized by formal charter companies, but by the Regional Nautical clubs through their associates.

They organize also daily sailing in cruising boats, where you can learn the basics.

Paulo

[netprophet]

Free classified and online news at www.thedailymajorca.com

Also

Ł50 paid toward yr return flightf rom any Spanish destination to the UK

[JulesB]

I personally wouldn't do a week long trip around Mallorca. It's quite a big island and seeing it all by road in a week is quite difficult. I would suggest a smaller itinary. There are loads of nice places to go Palma round to the South East Coast.

[Giulietta]

Jules, look at the date of that post....they have returned already, had 5 babies, divorced, he joined the Marines and she is a strong Lesbian movement activist.....Spain has fallen under the arm of the French Army, via a series of chess games, and a lot of emails, and, witnesses saiod the island has sunken...

[sailingdog]

Giu-

You must be losing it... every one knows that nothing has ever fallen to the French army, except the French...

Originally Posted by Giulietta

Jules, look at the date of that post....they have returned already, had 5 babies, divorced, he joined the Marines and she is a strong Lesbian movement activist.....Spain has fallen under the arm of the French Army, via a series of chess games, and a lot of emails, and, witnesses saiod the island has sunken...