Voyage Overview
- Year: 2023
- Destination: Mallorca, Balearic Islands
- Boat: Alea
- Vessel Type: Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 519
- Distance Sailed: 193 nautical miles
- Skipper: Mike Scrivens
- Crew: Andrew Wagstaff (“BigWag”), Chris Robson (“AC”), Simon Tyler (“DC”), Warren Creates (“Warboy”), Boris Ulehla (“Borijorca”)
- Notes: 22nd Phat Buoy voyage
Logbook Entry
The return to Mediterranean waters brought brilliant sunshine, rolling swells, and a forecast that kept everyone guessing. Hopes of a full circumnavigation of Mallorca were replaced with an east-coast adventure: spectacular anchorages, challenging seas, and moments of tension and pure calm.
Onshore, the crew immersed themselves in the food, the wine, and the rhythms of island life, and daily hunt for bars showing the Rugby World Cup games — a perfect counterpoint to the shifting winds offshore. The voyage also saw a first for Simon, whose newly acquired drone (flown with enthusiasm and limited success) briefly took to the skies before taking its own course.
The return to port wasn’t without drama: a misplaced passport at the airport nearly stranded Simon in paradise, but the British Consulate intervened, proving once again that the Phat Buoys’ blend of luck, charm, and stubborn optimism can see them through any storm — or security desk.
