Kotare Cruising Guide
We have spent the last few months cruising around the Balearics and have had our share of bad weather, but also a lot of good times. We have recorded as much information as we could on th places we have visited, all of which can be found on
www.kotare.net
I hope the information is useful!
Alex & Carol [ Kotare ] 01-Feb-2012
Pollenca
Alcudia
Palma
Great place for just about everything a cruiser could need! We spent the winter here, which was expensive, but worth it! More details on
www.kotare.net including information on services, marinas, shopping, chandlerys etc.
Alex & Carol [ Kotare ] 28-Apr-2012Mallorquin not Spanish
Even if you think you are starting to understand Spanish, you now find that the people are using another language; Mallorquin, which is Catalan, French and Spanish combined.
I studied a Spanish CD course while I was here for the winter, but at the end of it, realized that I had no clue what the people were saying around me.
Of course, many locals speak English and German too, as well as regular Spanish.
Palma is a fascinating city with every modern convenience combined with the splendours of the old town with myriad restaurants, sights and bars.
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 14-Sep-2005
Portals Vells (Anchorage)
Fantastic restaraunt that has Bitburger beer on tap! Can get very uncomfortable if the swell is wrong, but has good holding. More information on
www.kotare.netAlex & Carol [ Kotare ] 28-Apr-2012Well protected anchorage. Ancient man-made temple caverns inside the headland.
Nude beach in the center bay.
Good paella restaurant in the southern bay.
We anchored close to the center beach. When the wind and swell came from the southeast we put a stern line ashore to a ring on the promontory which kept us pointing into it and made it quite comfortable.
Howard and Jayne [ Just Imagine ] 20-Sep-2005Howard [ Just Imagine ] 20-Sep-2005
Puerto Portals (Marina)
Ritzy marina with many fine shops and restaurants.The King of Spain often races out of here.
Howard and Jayne [ Just Imagine ] 30-Aug-2005
Torrent de Pareis (Anchorage)
Breathtaking anchorage in front of the torrent. Somehow we lost our photographs of this area.
This has been declared a World heritage Site by UNESCO, and should not be missed.
There is a tunnel through the rock to the small touristy town of Sa Colabra that caters to tourist buses with cafeteria like restaurants. Even with the tourists, the gorge is absolutely splendid.
Many mountain climbers hike down the gorge which can be quite dangerous in bad weather.
Howard and Jayne [ Just Imagine ] 07-Oct-2005
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 07-Oct-2005
Porto Colom (Anchorage)
Great place to visit, very protected and has plenty of room to anchor if the mooring buoys are all taken! More details on
www.kotare.netAlex & Carol [ Kotare ] 28-Apr-2012Magnificently protected anchorage. There are moorings in the south west corner and a marina in the north west. We anchored to the east of the fishfarm in the center of the bay. Excellent holding and a safe place to leave the boat on anchor. Many boats winter afloat here on moorings.
Howard and Jayne [ Just Imagine ] 17-Oct-2005Howard [ Just Imagine ] 17-Oct-2005
Porto Cristo (Marina)
Good kick off point for Menorca. Nice marina. Cavas del Drach (spectacular stalactite caves)are right next door.
Howard and Jayne [ Just Imagine ] 01-Aug-2006Howard [ Just Imagine ] 01-Aug-2006
Andratx (Town Dock)
Good place to visit, the marina staff and all that friendly, but don't let that put you off! Howard and Jane have taken some great photos that really capture the vibrant colors of the place. Un fortunatley it's not €4 any more! Details on
www.kotare.netAlex & Carol [ Kotare ] 28-Apr-2012We paid about €4 per day on the visitors dock.
A beautiful area.
Howard and Jayne [ Just Imagine ] 04-Oct-2005Howard [ Just Imagine ] 04-Oct-2005
Port de Soller (Anchorage)
Great bay to anchor in, for more information visit
www.kotare.netAlex & Carol [ Kotare ] 06-Jul-2012This is a wonderful anchorage and the safest on the North shore. Unfortunately lost all our pictures of this interesting town, so if anyone can oblige, please add some pictures.
We had some nice walks up the hill around the north end of town and along the SW shore.
Many great restaurants to choose from.
We caught the old tram from the port to Soller town which is a few kilometers inland.
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 18-Sep-2005Howard [ Just Imagine ] 18-Sep-2005
s'Arenal (Marina)
We docked here to attend a function at the Pinmar Golf tournament that was held at a golf club nearby.
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 20-Oct-2005Howard [ Just Imagine ] 20-Oct-2005
Illetes (Anchorage)
We have spent quite a few nights here and would say it is the most protected anchorage in the vicinity of palma. More details on
www.kotare.net
Alex & Carol [ Kotare ] 28-Apr-2012A secure anchorage.
We dinghied ashore and walked through the beach resorts to a cafe on the winding road above, for a nice breakfast.
We also dinghied around the craggy island, just for fun.
Howard and Jayne [ Just Imagine ] 10-Sep-2005Howard [ Just Imagine ] 10-Sep-2005
Binissalem Wine festival (Excursion)
A wonderful festival near the end of September.
We caught the train out to the wine festival in this fascinating medieval village.
Howard and Jayne [ Just Imagine ] 13-Sep-2006
Valdemossa (Excursion)
The ancient monastery at Valdemossa most famous for Frederic Chopin and his girl friend George Sand (Amantine Aurore Lucile Dupin) who spent a winter here, and wrote a book titled " A winter in Mallorca" under her pseudonym, George Sand.
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 22-Sep-2005Howard [ Just Imagine ] 22-Sep-2005
Es Verger Lamb, Alaro (Restaurant)
A fantastic local lamb restaurant perched high up a winding mountain trail above Alaro.
You have to drive an adventurous serpentine road from Alaro following the signs for "Castillo".
It is well worth it as you have a marvelous view over the island.
The restaurant is rustic and serves the most wonderful roast lamb and local wines.
+34
971510002Howard and Jayne [ Just Imagine ] 29-Oct-2005
Esporles (Excursion)
We came to this interesting country town by car to celebrate a birthday in a wonderful lamb restaurant.
Howard and Jayne [ Just Imagine ] 16-Jan-2006
Deia (Beach)
We were lucky enough to be taken here for a day outing by car. A beautiful cove with a pebbly beach said to be frequented by the rich and famous. Probably most famous for author/poet Robert Graves who lived near here for many years.
Good restaurants fit into the rustic rocky surroundings.
We did see a nude couple on the beach, but they were certainly the exception, not the rule.
It is also an attractive anchorage, but the day we tried to come in here with the boat, the large northerly swells would have made it unsafe, so we backed out and continued to Soller.
Howard and Jayne [ Just Imagine ] 02-Sep-2005
Cala Pi (Anchorage)
An amazing anchorage tucked between the cliffs with a fine beach at the head of the bay. Old tombs or cave dwellings line the cliffs. there is a defensive tower on the point.
Howard and Jayne [ Just Imagine ] 20-Oct-2005Howard [ Just Imagine ] 20-Oct-2005
Porto Petro (Anchorage)
Good secure anchorage. Good restaurants.
Howard and Jayne [ Just Imagine ] 17-Oct-2005Howard [ Just Imagine ] 17-Oct-2005
Es Trenc (Beach)
The famous white sands of Es Trenc beach. This is a nude beach.
Be warned that if you wander into the sand dunes behind the beach with your spouse, you could encounter pop up voyeurs peaking over the bushes hoping to see something exciting.
Howard and Jayne [ Just Imagine ] 18-Oct-2005Howard [ Just Imagine ] 18-Oct-2005
Sa Gambina(Es Trenc) (Anchorage)
Well protected anchorage with good holding right off the famous Es Trenc nude beach.
We spent a few nights anchored here securely.
Howard and Jayne [ Just Imagine ] 18-Oct-2005Howard [ Just Imagine ] 18-Oct-2005
Cala Rajada (Town Dock)
The swell can get bad there, but more often than not it is fine, there is now a new public dock too with more space and it's not next to the smelly fishing boats! Visit
www.kotare.net for more information.
Alex & Carol [ Kotare ] 28-Apr-2012We spent a very rough night here alongside on the fuel dock. Huge swell running into the harbour. Several boats were stern-to on the public wall next to the fuel dock.
Looks like a nice town and dock if the swell is not running. In all fairness, the swell was bad everywhere in the region that day.
Actually parted a spring line from the surge in the early hours of the morning.
Howard and Jayne [ Just Imagine ] 15-Oct-2005Howard [ Just Imagine ] 15-Oct-2005
K. P. Winter boat charter (Yacht Charter)
K. P. Winter boat charter, Mallorca – very bad experience
Hi,
we chartered a Baniteau 50 feet sailing boat (Alina) from K. P. Winter in Mallorca.
We experienced sevral issues that i hope no one would ever recommend during their holidays.
First of all we realised that, despite having signed a contract with Mr Winter sub-agent in Italy that set that we could leave the boat in Ibiza on saturday, Mr Winter said that the contract was invalid and that we should bring the boat to Palma.
Of course our flights were booked from Ibiza so we had to leave the boat in Ibiza one day earlier than expected (and paid for) sleeping at our own expenses in hotel in Ibiza...
Mr. Winter demonstrated no flexibility at all and no comprehension.
unfortunately we did not have any alternative but to accept his request.
Moreover the boat itself had several issues:
- Auto pilot broke down (the piston got stuck and we could not maneuver). We had to waste 1 day (half day stuck and half day in harbour) waiting for a technician to fix the issue. He confirmed that this issue was due to bad maintenance from the owner (Mr Winter). Once again Mr. Winter showed no comprehension and give us minimal support and of course no compensation for the time loss..
- Battery charger: old and not functioning properly
- Electronic main sail roller: we had several issues to arm and disarm the main sail as the sail would get stuck. on average it took us 30 mins to open and close the sail.. everyone that sails knows that electronic rollers are more pain than gain..
- The picture of the boat on the website showed that the entrance to the 5th cabin (bow) had access form one of the other cabins. in reality one could only access it from the bow deck. the toilet in this cabin is right beside the bed (someone sleeping in there should be extremely careful about not hitting with his head while sleeping.
- Dinghy: well, not an important issue here.. funny that the dingy has a completely different name from the "mother" boat!
- Cockpit table: extremely small table, not suitable to a boat with 5 cabins accommodating 12 ppl.
- Depth sounder: electronic deep sounder not working
- Fridge 12 V: pump to "clean" the fridge not working, so after a week we had to take everything out and clean "by hand"
- Sink sea water pump in the kitchen not working
- 1 water tank not working
- 1 of the two deck compasses (the one on the left steering wheels) has a 15 degree mistake / difference from the one on the right steering wheel
Well.. i leave it up to you to decide if it is worth chartering such a boat (and with such a company!)... we pesonally would never do that again...
K. P. Winter boat charter, Mallorca – very bad experience
Corrado [ Torino ] 01-Aug-2009