Bali Catspace

Both the weather and Covid are calling the shots!

Ordinarily, the itinerary of a cruise is dictated by the weather, the size and equipment of the multihull and of course the skill level and desires of the crew. But for more than a year now, Covid-19 has been imposing itself on cruisers’ plans. Through the summer of 2021, the Mediterranean area of Spain as well as France have experienced rising figures of the virus, leading to fears of traffic bans between the two countries. In the end, we were going to be ok. I went to buy a Spanish courtesy flag, determined to hoist it as soon as we crossed the border, 20 miles to our south. The weather forecast announced a clear strengthening of the Tramontana (the dreaded north-north-west wind so typical of this region, and not-quite-identical twin of the famous Mistral) for 24 hours. We took advantage of this to settle in quietly, prepare the catamaran and stow the supplies. First off, the storage space is particularly generous – the forepeaks and the lockers on the deck, cupboards and storage space under the bench seats, bunks and floors. The overall Bali design, original as it is, was welcomed almost instantly by all crew members, experienced or not. My laptop sat on the forward-facing chart table, and this was to become my office for the week... As for the refrigerator, it is as good as to be found ashore. The children went regularly to the beach, which was fortunately very close to the port. Installing the exterior upholstery, which counts about twenty items, is quite laborious - it would be more practical to have cushions and backrests numbered and related to a plan... The following day, the wind was forecast to be north, veering north-east while weakening then temporarily building far south of Canet. Then, no Tramontana for a week. Instead, a heatwave was what we were going to need to worry about – brought about under a “heat dome”. For our sailing catamaran, we decided to stick to the program we’d envisaged with the Catspace MY: to Menorca, Mallorca and back again, a good 400 nautical miles. Of course, this route will require a lot of time under way and at least two nights at sea – so, it’s a proper test... Before setting out, we topped off the fresh water, but then we noticed that the smaller door integrated in the large Bali door didn’t lock. The latch in the door was missing. This part appeared identical to the one in the sliding door of the owner’s cabin, so we took off the one we had, bought two 4 mm bolts and installed it. First try: the door closed fine, but was never to open again! We had now condemned ourselves to “Open” mode... If the weather became really bad, we’d have to use the bay windows to for going back and forth between outside and inside.

Having a flybridge means that the boom is higher, and the mainsail area reduced... but the conviviality this creates is something else!

Having the dinghy allowed us to go ashore and enjoy Fornells, a very charming town with its white fi- shermen’s cottages. After a peaceful night, we decided to head west. The low northeasterly swell combined with a northerly wind expected in the afternoon limited access to most of the anchorages; fortunately, the large cove of Algaiarens is more or less protected, especially its easternmost side, where we managed to find a nice spot with less than 15 feet (four meters) of water beneath the keels. Here it was, our first dream anchorage! Paul had buddies vacationing on the island. A meet- up was arranged, and with wives and children included, they numbered 12 for lunch - that they promised to prepare. The perfect opportunity to let them know that the Bali has a plancha grill... With the dinghy, I ferried all our guests’ stuff from the beach - they decided, unanimously, to join Pretty Bali 11 by swimming. There were now 19 of us on board, and the boys took charge of the precious plancha. Everyone settled where they wanted: groups formed on the flybridge, on the bow and of course in the open saloon. We set up the two forward tables but, in the end, they were not used. At no time did we feel cramped. The Catspace was so comfortable with this many visitors that we decided to sail all together to Ciutadella, some 15 miles away. The north-north-east wind had picked up to 15 knots and the sky was laden with ochre sand from the Sahara. A few drops of rain didn’t even manage to cool us down. Despite the number of passengers, maneuvering was not a problem. We were quickly under full main and gennaker: the GPS, despite our impressive load, maintained an average of 7 knots. The double-purchase mainsheet allows for easily adjusting the main – the boom angle, but also the twist in the leech. On arrival in Ciutadella, we requested a slip – but in vain, everything was reserved. We unloaded all our guests on the fuel dock. The attendant was a bit surprised to see so many people disembarking on his pontoon. A few minutes later, while I was filling up, violent gusts of hot air suddenly swept through the town. In a few seconds, the temperature went from 82 to 104°F (28 to 40°C). The Sirocco, or dry tornado according to local explanations, was a phenomenon that seemed to be a consequence of the famous heat dome which was hanging over the southern part of the western Mediterranean. This harsh weather somewhat disturbed the calm of the urban anchorage of Cala Platja Gran - many boats had chased each other in, and then found themselves alongside one another. The forecast, until then very calm, now announced potential gusts exceeding 20 knots from all sectors: not good when you’re trying to anchor! The prevailing wind is still from the east, so we chose the spot of S’Aigua Dolça at nightfall, which is  well open to the west in case a hasty departure was called for. It would have been impossible or almost impossible to go ashore - it didn’t matter, Norbert had nominated himself as master chef on board. In the end, apart from the fact that we were forced to re-anchor around midnight due to an anarchic windshift, the night was pretty peaceful. The next day, we opted for a real day of relaxation/swimming. We chose Platja de Son Saura: the anchorage area is wide and relatively wild. The turquoise water is beautiful, but we weren’t alone - some of Paul’s friends joined us with a mo- torboat and took the children to discover the small creeks nearby on the south coast.