Isla de Cabrera to Santa Ponsa, Mallorca - 30 Miles

Puerto de Cabrera

FRIDAY 19 - SATURDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2008

We planned to visit the Island of Cabrera, which is a National Maritime and Terrestrial Park, for a couple of nights, and practice diving. There are 10 islands in all in this archipelago and have several species of fauna and flora that are unique, in particular the Balearic lizard. There are 10 different sub species on the 10 islands. 

Yachts are not allowed to anchor and have to use one of the 50 buoys. Permits have to be applied for between 3 and 20 days in advance through the office in Palma, giving detailed information on the boat, skipper and crew. Some Marinas will fax the details through and we asked the Marina at Cala Rajada to do this requesting a 3 night stay. The Marina official handed us a piece of paper with the dates we wanted to stay and OK alongside it, and he assured us our visit had been approved.

We sailed most of the way under a cloudy sky and picked up one of the buoys in the beautiful harbour, but in the evening when the warden came to check on the permits, we were told we were not on his list and did not have a permit! We showed him our piece of paper, but all this meant was that the fax had been received! As there were some free buoys, we were allowed to stay the night. 

The next day we went to the Island Office and were told we would not be able to dive without a permit and if all the buoys were occupied we would be asked to leave in the evening! We decided not to risk being asked to leave the island at 7. p.m. so after a quick walk to the castle where we saw several lizards, and a coffee at the Cantina, we left about 1.30 p.m. to sail the 30 miles to Santa Ponsa in Mallorca.