Crossing the Med from Gandia to Palma - any hints, tips or crew offers!

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PEJ

PEJ

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So the move to the Med was going quite smoothly until the shipping company told me today that they can't discharge in Palma, they are taking it to Gandia on the mainland instead.

I have to admit I had never heard of Gandia but it is about 180 miles from Palma and just north of Denia. So now I have to get it from Gandia to Cala D'Or. Any hints or tips on this trip? I have crossed the channel to the channel islands but never done a trip this far before. Ibiza is about half way so I guess I could split the journey there but where exactly would I stop and would I get an overnight berth? Or should I just go for it in one go? What are the chances of having to wait on good weather?

I might be able to get a competent crew member to come with me from the UK but is there anyone out there who fancies a delivery trip across the med? The likely discharge date is 19th/20th September. I will probably get BCU to take it to Denia for me and cross from there.
 
Ive sent a PM as depending on dates I may be around.

Your two options are across to Ibiza then up the East coast of Mallorca, trip is about 230nm so easily doable in one hit. Id be suprised if you couldnt get an overnight berth on Ibiza in late september/early october and it might be more pleasant to break it up.

The other option is to run up the coast to somewhere like Sant Carles then cross to the north of Mallorca. Distance wise this is slightly further at 290nm though I could see two/three reasons for taking this route: if the boat was unkown it gives more bolt holes (but I think the boat is well trialled anyway) but the second option is this may be better if you plan to do a slower speed run to keep fuel costs down. thirdly in the height of summer you may want to avoid ibiza but thats not an issue now

I thinki Id probably do the Ibiza route either in one hit at planing speed or over two days if keeping an eye on fuel costs.
 
I think I would go from Gandia to Denia, its about 15 miles, then across to Ibiza, either north or south of Ibiza depending on weather and what you want to see on the way, then straight across to Palma. Denia to Palma via Ibiza is about 140 miles (google earth, but usually about right). Hopefully the weather will hold for you as the sea at the moment is really flat.

if you google san antonio marina ibiza you should be able to book a berth in advance at a sensible price now.
 
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I agree with others - easy crossing to Ibiza, and you can get a berth there, but if you cant then anchor in San Antonio W side or Port Roig S side and you'll be fine. Next day the run to Palma is easy. All weather depending of course (wind). for fuel in Ibiza I have only used the new fuel quay in the new Marina Nueva - the one to the west of botafoch, second on your right as you enter the bay) and it is very smart and has a nice swanky restaurant on the spot
 
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Well - the boat can do it - and I should know - she used to be ours.
As others have said - definitely Ibiza - it is the shortest place to cross for the islands anyway.

Why not take your time though and enjoy the trip.

In fact, we are planning a trip to Ibiza just after the dates that you've posted.
Probably leaving Sant Carles on the 25th for about a week - weather permitting.
So, if you get delayed by a few days, let us know and we could meet up with you.
It would be great to see the old girl again.
 
We did the trip from Denia to Ibiza and back a few times and onward to Palma in our AZ46. Its a no brainer really. Ibiza is a natural halfway stopping point and IMHO well worth exploring a bit anyway since IMHO its the prettiest of the Balearic islands at least in terms of anchorages. The Ibiza Town marinas are all a bit pricey and up themselves IMHO. We liked St Eulalia for its more laid back atmosphere but try to book ahead. You could of course just choose a sheltered anchorage and drop the hook overnight.

Mid Sept would be a perfect time to do this trip. You should still get settled warm weather but the boating crowds will have mostly gone. If there is going to be any wind it is probably going to be from the East and we found that it would be stronger the closer you are to the Spanish coast and more evident in the afternoons as the seabreeze kicks in. So best to leave Denia early in the morning to take advantage of the flatter seas. Obviously check the forecast before setting out. The conditions which might concern you the most would be if a strong NW mistral wind was forecast particularly for the leg from Ibiza to Majorca where you'll be a bit more exposed
 
I spent a day in Gandia a few months back, it's a pleasant place with a marina and a large inner basin so unless you really want to go to Denia, which is a great place to spend a few days, or longer, then I'd set off from Gandia. Or maybe spend a day or two in each, it won't be wasted time.
 
We came back last weekend, loads of space in San Antonio and there are mooring boys available as well if you do not want to anchor, if the weather is good then you can always drop in to Portinatix which is right at the top of Ibiza and then you are pretty close to Mallorca from there.
Weather wise I think a week is more than enough to do it allowing for a couple of bad weather days that I think you will not get that in September.
So yes agree go straight to Ibiza or do a day in Denia as its very nice as well.
 
We spent several nights in Denia and popped over to SA in June Jez, you could hop over to Espalmador and pick-up a buoy for a night, then its an easy run up to Palma.

Or a nice round trip, if you have the time, might be: Gandia/Denia - Espalmador - Cabrera - Es Trenc - Palma (although I like Club de Vela in Andraitx) then a hop straight back over to SCM????
 
John100156 said:
PEJ Why not take a run up to see us all in SCM - its a nice place to stay and an easy run over to Palma straight from there....!
Click to expand...

If only I had the time.....

Jez can't make it as crew now but my thanks to jrudge who is going to help me out. We plan to leave Denia on Friday 23rd and head for Ibiza to overnight there and then make for CD on the Saturday.
 
I do like Denia, it's an easy run over to Ibiza from there.

I ran the other way with another F43 not so long ago from Mallorca it was flat calm so we had an excellent crossing. I hope you get a good one too, if you run up the west coast of Ibiza you will though miss all the fun playing chicken with the fast ferries running between Ibiza and Formentera - they don't take any prisoners.......:cool:
 
If you're very stuck for crew, let me know... I could do with a few days away from the boat as i'm based in the West of Ireland... it's damp here!

That said, i've no local knowledge so prob no good to you... but I do clock up about 250 hours a season on our little 39ft Cranchi :)
 
PEJ said:
If only I had the time.....

Jez can't make it as crew now but my thanks to jrudge who is going to help me out. We plan to leave Denia on Friday 23rd and head for Ibiza to overnight there and then make for CD on the Saturday.
Click to expand...

I'm leaving Sant Carles at 0700 tomorrow (20th).
Heading for Palma Nova by 18:00 to anchor.
Single handed until SWMBO joins me on Thursday evening.
Will be with yachtie friends and the weather/sea looks good for my crossing.

If you do get to leave on schedule, we may be in the Trenc from about Friday so you could "swing past" on your way to Cala d'Or.
I was hoping to get to Ibiza but there is a bit of wind and rain forecast for the end of next weekend so maybe we will either go into Palma or perhaps Cabrera.
Then perhaps a return trip to SC via Ibiza
Late season cruise.
Got to be back in SC in the first few days of October.
The water is really hot at the moment so I'm hoping there will be lots of swimming.

So, keep an eye out for us.
Will be transmitting AIS but I don't think your nav kit receives it.
Maybe a smart phone - and use Marinetraffic or Vesselfinder.
Or browse to this URL (our SCMCHAT Fleet AIS Finder)
http://www.scmchat.com/marina/scmfleet.html (Based on Vesselfinder and not always correct but it does work most of the time)

Good luck
 
Have a good one, everyone. Sickened I can't go... damn logistics and damn Dublin airport with lack of flights!

Take lots of pictures!
 
The plan is going a bit tits up. The ship in due in Gandia on Saturday now. So I hope to get to Ibiza by Saturday night and to CD by lunchtime on Sunday.

Mike, which marina in Ibiza are you planning to go to?
 
PEJ said:
The plan is going a bit tits up. The ship in due in Gandia on Saturday now. So I hope to get to Ibiza by Saturday night and to CD by lunchtime on Sunday.

Mike, which marina in Ibiza are you planning to go to?
Click to expand...

Will probably not use a marina.

Made the crossing from Sant Carles to Mallorca today.
I did have some strong localised wind near a rain storm today whilst coming round into Palma Bay.
On anchor at the moment in Palm Nova.
Just got back from dinner and read this.

You need to look closely at the weather forecast.
Between now and Saturday it looks good.
Sunday is looking like 15 to 20 knots on the beam for you.
And there is some very strong wind forecast for next week.

It is quire likely that we will be in Es Trenc from Friday for a couple of days but thats very weather dependant.
Some of our group want to go to Cabrera - which would work if the wind is strong at the end of the weekend.
Very much a "moving feast" at the moment.

If we go to Ibiza, we would be on anchor rather than use a marina.
 
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