Majorca

Cala Petita is a tiny fjord along the E shore of Mallorca. It is very narrow, about 30 m and 60-70 m long. A yacht just fits inside. It provides very good shelter from westerly winds.

Anchor over sand in 3 m depth, good holding. Do not let out a lot of scope because of the rather forbidding cliffs. It is best if you also deploy a stern anchor.

Warning: Do not attempt to enter this cove at night.

This is a great overnight anchorage on the SE corner of Mallorca. It is protected from W, N, E and is generally uncrowded even at the height of the season.

It is the overnight anchorage of choice for the beautiful Es Trenc beach (a day anchorage only), from which it makes a perfect place to retire to after a stint on the beach.

Anchor in 12-15' in rock and sand well off the small beach. The town and marina of Colonia St. Jordi are a short dinghy ride away.

The town offers; Marina with fuel (up to around 40' only) Two really good seafood restaurants on the seafront. Best one is Marissol. Try the Clams Marinara or the Grilled Whole Sole. Small grocery store a few blocks off the beach. Sporadic wifi can be picked up on the seafront from the various condos, but we were only successful 3 of 7 days. There is a small grubby internet cafe on the seafront and a better one near the grocery store.

The beach at Colonia is a developed beach and family oriented, in contrast to the much larger "anything goes" sand dunes of Es Trenc beach a few miles away.

This is a day anchorage only. We have seen larger boats anchored here overnight but there is no shelter from any wind direction. Nearby Colonia St Jordi offers a good overnight anchorage 3 NM to the South East. It tends to attract a number of yachts, but the anchorage space is essentially limitless so over-crowding is rare.

The approach to the beach is straightforward, the bottom is pure white sand which shelves gradually to about 10' at the line of floats delineating the swimmer zone.

There are several clearly marked dinghy channels to the beach. There is a shallow sandbank running along the beach about a hundred feet out, so be prepared to lift the outboard and hop out well before you reach the beach. The typical inflatable will ride over this sandbank with the engine up. The sandbank serves to protect the beach from small waves so cruisers commonly leave their dinghies pulled-up ashore while visiting the beach.

Es Trenc is perhaps the best beach on Mallorca. It is several miles of pure, clean, white sand and clear weed-free water. As close to a Caribbean experience as we have found in Spain. It offers a range of experiences. There is an unassuming beach bar/cafe midway along the beach. One of the dinghy channels leads straight to this bar. To the east of the bar is a developed beach with chairs and umbrellas for hire, and to the west is an undeveloped beach. You will find considerable nudity on this beach, particularly the further you get from the beach bar.

Facilities are few. There are a basic beach bar and a restaurant serving snacks and lunches. The beach has a pleasant remote feel to it, as it is backed by sand-dunes and marshland with no development in sight. This makes it very unusual for Mallorca. Mosquitos from the marshland are reported

to be a problem after dark, another good reason to find a better anchorage for the night.

This is a great anchorage on the NW corner of Mallorca. It is protected from N, E, S, and is generally empty in the winter months. From May to September it can be crowded.

The anchorage offers good holding in sand between 4-10 meters of water. In summer a lot of liveaboards stay for longer periods due to good acces for amenities. In the area you will find different grocery stores, options for laundry and numerous restaurants. For acces to the town there are 2 beach landing zone's where you can leave a dinghy or you can dock a tender for free on the quay on the North side on the stainless rings provided by the local restaurant or on the smaller quay on the south side near an appartment building.

The town offers; Marina with fuel, water intake options at the gasstation after opening hours and a clothes washing shed. Local grocery stores you will find are BIP, Eroski and some smaller 24hr shops. For fresh bread you have to go to the main street at Maysa, an artisanal bakery. In summer the town is very popular with UK family's, there are some bars and discotheque venue's but you will also be able to find a minigolf and traditional Spanish bars. Sporadic wifi can be picked up on the seafront from the various restaurantst.

The town has 2 beaches, locally known as the big beach and the small beach, the big beach is very touristic with sunloungers. The small beach is 'playa petit' and in the weekends local family's will take chairs, benches and barbeques to enjoy a whole day here enjoying the scenery.

This is a great anchorage on the NW corner of Mallorca. It is protected from N, S, W, and is generally empty in the winter months. From May to September it is very crowded with day motorboats coming from Palma, overnight is in general no issue.

The anchorage offers good holding in sand between 4-12 meters of water, closer to the shore you will have seagrass so ba carefull. Daily there will be marine protection agency checking for anchoring in seaweed. The area around is more secluded and the town of Portalls Vells has no grocery stores or other amenities to offer. Mostly it exists out of a small harbour and large Private villas. You can land on one of the three beaches and leave your dinghy, in summer Portalls Vells is very busy with beach going tourists as well as locals so make sure your dinghy is safe. On the middle beach there is a small restaurant that allows you to pull your dinghy on land in front off it. They also offer a dinghy pick up service if you contact them and make use of the restaurant. To visit Portalls Vells you can go there by Public bus and walk +-4km, rent a car and use one of the 3 parkings or book a trip with a boatcharter.

The unique cave ; What makes this bay unique compared to other, is the presence of a cave. Not an underground karts cave, but an old quarry cave that is quite large (80m by 60m) that is called « La Cova de La Mare de Deu ». This is where the stones for the Palma cathedral come from. And it can be accessed and explored via a short hike.

History and legend;

Contrary to the other famous caves in Mallorca, this is not an underground karst cave. It was a quarry. The stone blocks extracted in the 14th and 15th centuries were used to build the Palma de Mallorca Cathedral.

Inside, you can find carved altars associated with a legend about fishermen that says:

During the 15th century, a Genoese sailor and his crew were caught in a terrible storm in the bay of Palma. Scared, they made a vow that, if they were saved, they would build a place to honor for the statue of the Virgin of their ship, where they would reach land. The wind pushed the ship into the Portals Vells bay, where they discovered the cave and found protection. They decided to place the statue of their Madonna there, carved an altar in the rock and decorated the walls with inscriptions and religious drawings.

In the 18th century, the statue was transferred to the church of Calvia.

Portal Vells means "old portals". It refers, of course, to the 3 giant openings to the cave.