Welcome to Palma de Mallorca, Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain

Yesterday conditions were pretty much exactly the same as the day before — sunny day, pretty sunset, dark night, light winds, relatively good seas, good speeds thanks to higher than normal RPM and cooperative currents.

At about midnight the wind started to pick up. By 0400 there was 17 – 21 knots of wind apparent on our nose and the seas had picked up to the point of being mildly uncomfortable. While the waves weren’t huge, they were sharp and confused, hitting from all directions. The sudden jerking motion it creates tends to be unpleasant. As the day wore on, it got windier and rockier. Oh, and did we mention that we were on the sheltered side of the island? It has to be absolutely miserable on the windward side.

We were running close to land at the south side of the island when dawn broke. We were surprised to see Continue reading

History of Spain

Spain is the second largest country in Western Europe after France in terms of land size, though is one of the least densely populated countries in Western Europe. Spain encompasses most of the Iberian Peninsula — a block of land on the west side of the Mediterranean Sea that is connected on the north to mainland France. The southernmost part of mainland Spain is literally only a Continue reading