A Balearic Battering - Storm in Palma

This week, we tested Vanguard again, this time unintentionally. It's tempting to create a tale of daring do, but that's not the truth. Late summer weather in the Balearics can be unpredictable, with the chance of short and quite violent storms stronger than the catabatic winds of the Ionian and Aegean.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=EM5ESYiRwWo

This video was taken from YouTube and posted on Formentera. Our day was bad, but not as bad as this.

The warning came via social media and alarm calls from the Island of Formentera. Look at the video above posted on social media at that time. A short, sharp storm brings 80-plus MPH winds and flying debris. This caused absolute chaos at previously tranquil anchorages and partly sheltered marinas. The time delays of posting also meant that as we saw the warning, the skies above Palma were already ominously black, and we were about to get hit by the same or very similar. Here is where fact and fiction should divide. What did we do? I spent 45 minutes in turmoil helping the local Tapas bar owner save his tables and chairs in exchange later on for a replacement lunch and free beer. Vanguard - well moored in a very sheltered and large marina, had to fend for herself.

The result was that no damage was done except for the loss of a few socks drying on the rails. A rather expensive carbon fiber yacht moored alongside was struck by lightning but survived seemingly unscathed (B&G instrument package flipped off). The same strike trashed a similar nearby (fiberglass hull and aluminum mast). She will not sail again this season (so said the crew). And the lesson learned - to avoid lightning strikes - is to moor next to a very tall yacht and be nice to Spanish bar owners.

The roof on the left is Vanguard, on the right a rather swanky carbon fiber yacht (and part time lightening arrestor).

This week, we will have more to report on. Hatch replacement, commissioning the Praxis Dynamic Positioning system, revising the solar and electrical systems, a first engine service, and repairing bathroom issues. More on that next Saturday.

Lastly - this morning, we were greeted with the most beautiful double rainbow spanning horizon to horizon. Sometimes, life is just so worth living!

Good Morning from Palma de Mallorca

Chris Leigh-Jones