Palma De Mallorca

So, my first taste of somewhere I have always previously thought to be a tacky, cheap holiday destination for English people with a lack of adventure. (And Flybe fly here direct from Southampton) How wrong could I be?

Well, the first night here, Cannabis killed any interesting conversation I was trying to have with some Australians that we met in a very English-type bar which took offence if you ordered any form of soft drink...

So my opinions of Palma were spot on then.

But that all changed this weekend, when on Friday, I found Buena Vista Social Club playing live just around the corner from the boatyard, and despite arriving late, I found myself with a private gallery all to myself to get probably the best view in the house!

View over Palma from the balcony

View from the garden

On Saturday I had a phone call from my old friend Malcolm; He was my captain from my first yacht, an Irishman, who lives 20 minutes out of town here in Mallorca, on one of the hills overlooking Palma. Not sure if he'll thank me for saying it but his house is a typical style of the houses in this area of Mallorca, and with great views overlooking Palma to the sea. I'm pretty sure he was banking on me coming round to fix his old Triumph- no such luck. I am ashamed to call myself an engineer...

View from the Garage

 So where am I living these days? Well, here's a photo of my room, below. My new contract started this week, on a very special sailing yacht which I am very excited about. It's called "Shenandoah", It has 3 masts, 10 sails and is a whopping 109 years old! I'm only on the boat for a month or so, to take it across the atlantic, after which I will be travelling to Brazil again. (More on that another time...)

Yes, it's a photo of a photo, but I'll never get a photo this good myself, so here you go. Complete with annotations!

 So, what else? Well, I've been playing golf. For the first time in my life. And I was simply awesome. At least, from this set of action photos you will probably think I am awesome, all I can say is in 9 holes, I hit a 200 yard drive twice. AWESOME.

 As I finish this blog, I actually don't know where I will be for my next update... Hopefully wherever it will be, I will have more photos to post. For now though, here is probably one of the more spectacular sights in Palma De Mallorca. The Cathedral standing tall above the city, with the palace next to it. A very magnificent sight.

Return to Genoa

Sunset on the Cote d'Azur

Signora Del Vento (Lady of the Wind)

 

Leaving the port of La Ciotat to (yet another) beautiful sunset, the journey to Genoa was a straight 24 hours in order to avoid the winds blowing up from the south west. A lot of big tuna about (see the video) and very flat calm, which was nice and gentle on the boat. On our approach to berth, we passed this square rigger, which goes by the name of "Signora Del Vento". Or "Lady of the Wind" for those with no translatorial powers.


So the boat is now tied up, stern to in Genoa Marina Aeroporto, which means I have returned to the place I started when I went into yachting. A lot of people I know in the industry don't rate Genoa- either because of the position of the main city centre relative to this marina, or the fact that Genoa itself is VERY industrial. But, I have found that if you look hard there is some amazing sites, history and views to take in from this city. I was wondering what may have changed since the first time I was here, so I took the camera out to investigate- and these are the images I came back with.

Since I first visited Genoa, someone's been putting some colour in the water of the huge fountain in the main square! Very bizarre...

Ferrari 430, lowered and sitting on fully slick tyres... Not sure why it's just hanging around here?

The Grand detail of the "Basilica della Santissima Annunziata del Vastato" Church in Genoa. One of many, many churches

This is all from my boat "The Diversity" (I know, it's not really called "Diversity" - ask me about that another time). I will be leaving the boat and heading off on another one in just a few weeks, where I will be hoping to catch a little more action from mother nature, but we'll see about that later in November...

Looking along the coastline of La Ciotat towards the old 'Centreville' where the port is

Dockyard crane or Transformer?

 La Ciotat was where I joined this boat back in August, but I never got to explore as we were too busy. Now I've had a chance to explore the old sea town just a short distance from Marseille, and it's very beautiful. The beach that runs down the coast is split into artificial coves, like the one pictured.

I have a new camera now too...

Just hanging out. Not sure where. Somewhere.

Well, I'm pretty sure that the La Ciotat shipyard is full of Transformers, check out the photos of what looks like innocent dockyard cranes...

Those cranes are seriously MASSIVE

Goodbye Corsica

 The last night in Corsica anchored in a small bay gave me not only this great sunset shot, but waking up early in the morning to set off towards the south coast of France, we were blessed with a really calming influence and an aura from a very still mediterranean sea.

During the day the sun beat, and at times the horizon magically disolved to leave the sky and sea merging seamlessly into each other- something I have never previously seen before. But then I get the benefit of being able to spend a lot more time on deck to see these sights on this boat. There were also big fish- tuna so I'm told. And lots of dolphins- which i was a little gutted about as the footage I had is missing due to a malfunctioning camera...

Last time I remember the water being this silky was in the Patagonia canals, South America (http://dougondeployment.blogspot.com/2009/08/patagonia.html)

Clinging on for dear life on the med crossing

Tuna, presumably. Must be some dolphins around here somewhere....

Anchored out at sea

Leaving the boat for a wander ashore in Corsica

From Sardinia to Corsica and onwards...

After accommodating our guests for three-and-a-half weeks, we made one last stop in the south Corsican coastal port of Bonifacio. It's a spectacular port entrance, where we had to navigate up a narrow gorge surrounded by an old fort. Apparently 500 years ago, a famous bloke called "Alfonso" attacked here, but all he came away with was 42 children, which were given to him as a well-wishing gift...!? Some history leaves me very confused...

Still, it was a very pretty place to visit, and then we said goodbye and began to prepare for our onward voyage...

I also have here some photos of me at work. I am in actual fact "cleaning chilies" - and for the that, I must wear rubber gloves. I had to get all the pips out. All of them. And as you can see I am wearing Ear defenders on my head in the Mickey mouse style (according to the rest of the crew), and wearing a radio. This is so that I can react like a "ghost-ninja" to any emergency or development in the engine room.

Porto Cervo, Sardinia

The Diversity sitting grand alongside many other pretty yachts in Porto Cervo

I have been in Sardinia for a week today, enjoyed being anchored a few hundred metres from the beach in water clear enough to see the sea bed 12 metres below, and generally taking in the view of Sardinia's coastline as we sailed between islands and bays. During some days, I've encountered such taxing engineering tasks as helping to construct this inflatable floating trampoline. On other days I've been dealing with minor problems like the ship's entire supply system failing. 

We call this big sofa the "snugglebed". Sounds fairly appropriate...

But, whatever the problem has been, it has been overcome, and that means I can continue to enjoy the fine food of our great german chef and the surroundings that we visit.

The vent to our home

The door to our home

I went on holiday for one-and-a-half hours today, in a part of Sardinia called Porto Cervo. As per my usual strategy, I decided to walk away from the ship for 45 minutes until I got somewhere, and then walk back, taking photos of stuff along the way (And now additionally asking people if they spoke portuguese- but nobody did). It's not hard to see why this place is popular with the wealthy yacht-owners. I think my photos illustrate some of the beauty of this place. There's lots of rocky mountains and greenery surrounding, with all the houses not built tall and jutting, but splendidly hidden and snuggled in amongst the shrubbery and grey. There is no constant direction of design, no continuity that you might find in a Bovis Homes estate- every home has it's unique features but all of them fit together in the same stylish and beautiful way that makes you think there is something new around every corner. And there is something new around every corner- after thinking I'd left everything commercial behind as I was walking up the hill in the baking hot sun, I came across a perfectly positioned Ice cream parlour! I did resist the temptations to spend any time in an estate agent... but perhaps there's still time to export a Vespa with side-car back to the UK?

This is a shopping mall. No, really.

I really rather like this residence...

That one on the end there- the one with the side car. Yes please!

The Diversity

So, it's been 3 months. Since then back in Cannes, I paid a visit to Brazil- but that was for personal time out. There's really nothing to speak of about that trip... honest....

So after a brief spell in the UK, here I am back on the blog and we start again in wonderfully hot and sunny Marseille, south coast of France. My new mode of transport is a wooden ship built in 1939 to transport marble. Since then it's had some major conversions, but now it's a state of the art private yacht.... and I think it's spectacular. I doubt many of you disagree that whoever is responsible for this vessel has made some brilliant and stylish choices in design... but I just love the fact that this is an old, old wooden ship. In just 3 days, I guess it's a little sad to say, but I get more satisfaction and pride serving on this boat than I did in one of the Royal Navy's finest. This is perhaps in part because I am the sole engineer onboard, but also because it's the kind of ship that you only ever really dream about.

My captain raising a beer and 2 of the crew, sitting in front of the wheelhouse chilling out

Not for me, but I love this copper basin (not sure if it's really copper or just styled)

The outside cabins have been stripped back to the ship's structure. Awesome.

The aft deck looking forward

Starboard midships, looking aft. Work still to be done before we sail

Passageway on the lower deck, view from the engine room door

The diversity at night. Spotlights beam down from the masts to light the deck

Our German chef is pretty cool!

Not quite in full glory yet, but she will be sailing in less than 24 hours ready for her main guests...