Tough sail but beautiful nature ⛵️🌿- Cabrera

Julie

We wake up and immediately notice the strong swell. Time to lift the anchor. After a quick coffee, we start the engine, but it cuts out right away. Greg checks it and discovers there’s air in the engine, which is strange. Fortunately, we manage to start it again, but the uneasy feeling remains. The trip to Cabrera is quite tough. We have to sail 11 miles against the waves and occasionally water splashes over the boat. It’s not ideal, but at least we can sail. Finn is safely tucked in his box with a sweater over his little head, sleeping soundly. He hardly notices anything. When we take down the sails and try to start the engine, the problem happens again. The engine cuts out, and only after bleeding it do we get it running again. It reminds us of the time the engine had the same issue and we suspect it’s again the check valve causing the trouble. We had applied for a permit for Cabrera in advance and Greg reserved a buoy yesterday for 9.5 euros per night. As we enter the bay, the waves finally disappear, and I feel relieved that we are safely anchored. The engine problems, though, don’t give much peace of mind. After the stressful journey, we tidy up the boat, take a nap, and then head out to explore the island. We follow the trail to the lighthouse. It’s immediately apparent how well-marked the paths are and how neat the island is. The nature is, as expected, beautiful. The next day, we continue exploring the island. We walk to the (closed) museum, the botanical garden, and the castle. There’s a large picnic area with tables, so we enjoy our lunch there. Afterward, we take the dinghy to the Blue Cave, where, according to rumors, manta rays should be. Unfortunately, we don’t see any. The following day, we set out with our El Burro to a spot on the map where, according to the chart, sperm whales, dolphins and sharks are supposed to be. It’s a deeper area and a gathering spot for these animals because there’s supposed to be a lot of food. We sail for almost six hours, full of hope, only to see a big, vague splash, something that looks like a giant turd (sperm whale poop?), and the bow of a sunken boat floating by. No sea life to be seen. Nevertheless, it was a beautiful, sunny trip, and in the end, we sailed all the way around Cabrera. We moor the boat back to a buoy in the bay.

Boat & Crew

El Burro

Swallow Craft Design Group, Swift 33

Gregory Ramis Ferriol

Owner

Finn

Pet, Male

Nelly

Pet, Female

Julie

Owner