Spent a lazy day at the very plush Cala dÓr Yacht Club and met a couple with the best-named boat EVER.
Today was a Cala dÓr day as I pottered about, did some ironing (yes, really), bought Heat Magazine and dug out the old lap-top. The possible trip to Cabrera was off due to the hooly blowing outside the marina, so I took up Yacht Club Cala dÓr´s very kind offer and made use of their facilities.
As I lounged in the infinity swimming pool overlooking the marina, I decided that Cala dÓr is probably my favourite marina so far. Smart, without being posey a la Banus and Portels and long and narrow, rather than a big expansive grid, it´s very lush and picturesque. And everyone seems terribly relaxed and friendly.
Particularly relaxed and friendly were Mike and Karen Fellingham, who have kept boats here for 6 years and now have a Fairline Targa 43 with the best name ever. Slipper I (just plain old Slipper on the VHF apparently. Can´t think why…) was Mike´s idea, which Karen agreed to when she thought there was no chance of them getting a new boat. Now the boat is the most famous in the marina. I chatted to them over breakfast (at 12.30 – see what I mean about relaxed?) and they are obviously part of a friendly Cala dÓr social scene. They´ve kept their boats in Florida and Lymington and, apart from the fact that at the moment not much goes on here during the winter, they seem to be more content with their lot. They also have an apartment, which seems to be a trend among boaters in Cala dÓr.
They were great advocats of exploring the island and the islands around Mallorca, but are also not fussed about venturing particularly far most of the time. In fact, after so many years boating, they seemed to have the balance of éager beaver´and ´marina potato´well sussed.
Otherwise, not much to report. Went to La Scala, an Italian restaurant which overlooks the marina, for dinner and it couldn´t have been more different to last night´s excursion. Charles from Fairline recommended it as his favourite, and it was excellent with really friendly staff, although I did notice that Port Fairline has an advert inside the card the bill comes in! Those people are EVERYWHERE here. It´s like the mafia. But in a nice way.
Off to Alcudia tomorrow for a cruise in Force 6 gales. Sounds like fun.
