Mallorca sailing visit - many places to anchor in August?

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fobos8

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Hi there

I'm thinking about going to Mallorca with wife and kids (10 and 12) to charter a sailing yacht for last week of August 2020. We've done Menorca the last two years and we love all the great peaceful cala anchorages over there. We are not fans of staying in Marinas.

Are there decent spacious calas for anchoring in Mallorca bearing in we're going in the busiest time of the year? please suggest some. From the limited info I've found out there are tons of charter companies and tons of marinas which give me an impression of lots of boats but not many anchorages.

Have heard that Cabrera is really good but what about other places?

Cheers, Andrew
 
There's a free app called Navily that's worth a look, I think you have to register now which you didn't used to have to but it is still free. It's a community-based app that shows loads of anchorages with reports of how good the holding is, etc. most of which are in the med...
 
V1701 said:
There's a free app called Navily that's worth a look, I think you have to register now which you didn't used to have to but it is still free. It's a community-based app that shows loads of anchorages with reports of how good the holding is, etc. most of which are in the med...
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I used Navily all the time. It allows you - for some marinas - to see the price they'll charge. It also works to give prices months in advance. That'll help keep you in anchorages in August. Really useful is that it does a prediction on wind/swell to indicate how good an anchorage might be at any given time.
 
Decent yes, but spacious? Not in summer. The key to enjoying the Balearics is to get used to boats anchoring stupidly close to (or on top of) you and not getting too upset about it. Plus enjoying sitting in the cockpit watching people anchor the worst we've seen anywhere and drag within minutes of it (just after leaving the boat usually). We call it "Anchor TV" :)

Most anchorages are open to at least one direction, so you need good forecasts (the french Meteo Consult - not to be confused with just Meteo is recommended, as is sea-conditions.org for their accurate swell forecasts). Graham Hutt's book is excellent, as is Navily. Sign up for PortsIB to be able to pre-book town quays for resupplying.

The upside is wonderfully clear water and beautiful landscape and there are indeed plenty of places away from the tourist beaches that can only be reached by boat. It's nothing like a land holiday.
 
We always go for our long sails in July and August as that’s when our work is quietest. There has been no difficult places to anchor from Thessaloniki to Lanzarote including Majorca. But anchoring is close and the fenders are always out but rarely used. Even the lovely Soller was fine but busy for anchoring and when the north easterly gale came in the people on the quay were having a horrible time clashing masts while we were apprehensive but entirely comfortable.

Even the worst anchoring techniques we see rarely cause actual dragging but the first puff of wind unwinds the pile of chain on the sea floor and sends the boat down to where it should have settled.
 
steve yates said:
Well the op has really enjoyed his last 2 years in this hell, so that's not helpful.
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But he doesn't specify that he came in July/August. These are the months that the vast majority of Spaniards are forced to take their main holidays in, meaning that everywhere in Spain gets horribly busy and overbooked. It's a stupid system
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I've chartered in Menorca the last two summers in the last week of Aug/start of Sep. This is when the charter prices go down from their crazy peak. Menorca is quite busy but you can find a few places that are okay.
I'm apprehensive about Mallorca as it seems to be only 2.5 times the size of Menorca but there seems to be ten times the number of sailing yacht charter companies and loads of marinas.

Have others been to Mallorca recently in that period? How was it. I know there is quite a drop in charter numbers on the last week of Aug (26 ish) as most people are back at work for September. I'd love to go sailing other times of the year, but summer is when work is quiet so there's no choice till I retire.
 
I spent July and August in Majorca this year and can recommend it wholeheartedly for its stunning scenery (particularly on the north coast), beautiful countryside and towns (well, the half of Mallorca furthest from Palma and the big resorts anyway), friendly people (away from the most intensely touristic areas) and scores of free anchorages.
Navily is great for sussing out anchorages, including many that are not mentioned or poorly covered by the pilot books (though the Imray book is pretty good, even our 10 year old 2nd hand edition).Navionics also has tons of helpful user notes on anchorages. We also used the Cruising Association app to plan what anchorages to go to. And despite all that careful planning, we also found a couple of great anchorages for ourselves.
Marinas will be horribly expensive. 60€ a night was normal for our 10m boat, some are far more. So we barely used them, but 30 to 40€ a night at the Ports IB marinas of Andraixt and Porto Colom and bouys in those harbours are more affordable for the times that you absolutely have to go in for a break from being at anchor. Download their app but don't book in English, it doesn't work! Use the Spanish (Castillian) language option.
Puerto Soller is a good base. The anchorage is free but often crowded, provides good shelter, and one can scuttle into one of two marinas if needed. It has over a dozen beautiful anchorages within a day sail either side. These are often busy during the day but even the most popular, like Cala Forradada and Cala Colobra can have twenty or thirty boats during the day but only three or four after 1900 and before 1100. Consequently, we tended to anchor on the outskirts of the crowded anchorages and dash in once a choice spot had been vacated.
We also learned to anchor bow to the sea, stern to the shore or an anchor as swells can creep more than 90 degrees round headlands and the almost invariable land breeze at night puts every boat beam on to them.
We struggled to find space in the anchorages on the south coast. The bays and coves around San Jordi were OK, but the tiny calas to the East were almost always full to the gunnels.
Anchorages are frequently made more tricky by the presence of thin sand over flat plates of rock, big boulders and seagrass - Posidonia. But the water is clear and it just takes care and practice to get a good set.
Never drop your anchor into Posidonia. As well as being environmental vandalism, you could end up with a large fine. And the authorities do make checks but we're always helpful and friendly with me (contrary to some very dire warnings I read in other posts in this and other sites). They have no problem with the chain in the Posidonia, btw.
My own favourite anchorages were Calas Colobra, Tuent, Ortigues and Egos and Puerto Soller (not least for waking up to the tooting of the tram that runs inland from there). Favourite marinas were Andratx and Puerto Colom. That said, we've still got the Eastern third of Mallorca to explore next year, so still lots to look forward to!
 
I have a motor boat in Cala Dor and have been there for 7years.

The peak season is busy. Usually not daftly busy but there are now rules about anchoring over weed and this has had an impact. Such an impact I will move on in may.

Most calas will have weed somewhere and they have patrols. This includes you chain so you are hence looking for a large weed free area and this can be an issue.

The weather is mostly settled. I find August more windy than July.

As above ports ib is useful and you can book on line. However you book in advance and must have all the boat papers to do so - hence if chartering this would not be possible.

It is not that bad. There is space but the weed issue has made it worse.

Of preference go on June and September. I can’t as I have kids
 
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