Yacht charter in Palma Bay

Palma Bay opens between Cap de Cala Figuera in the west and Cap Blanc in the east, about 13.5 nautical miles across at its mouth, with the city at its head. It is the island's yachting capital, lined with marinas along the Paseo Marítimo and home to a major superyacht refit centre. From the water, La Seu dominates the view: begun after the conquest of 1229 and completed in the early 17th century, the Gothic cathedral stands above the old city walls by the sea, beside the Almudaina palace, and its great rose window is one of the largest Gothic rose windows in existence.

Heading west, the shore reads like a short history of the island. Bellver Castle, the circular fortress built for King Jaume II in the early 14th century, looks down from its pine-covered hill. Below lie Cala Major, with Marivent, the summer residence of the Spanish royal family, and the hillside where Joan Miró kept his studios. Anchoring off Cala Major is not permitted for security reasons, so captains continue to Illetes, named for its islets, where yachts anchor on sand in clear, shallow water. Farther on, Portals Vells hides three small beaches and a sandstone quarry, worked in the 14th and 15th centuries, whose stone was used in buildings including the cathedral.

The eastern shore is quieter. The Bay of Palma Marine Reserve, created in 1982, protects the coastal strip from s'Arenal to Cap Regana down to a depth of 30 metres, and off Cala Blava a regulated buoy field lets yachts stop without touching the seagrass. In summer the embat, the sea breeze that usually builds from late morning and fills the bay in the afternoon, shapes the day: mornings are usually calmest for swimming, while a sailing catamaran makes the most of the wind. Late July and early August bring the Copa del Rey MAPFRE regatta, and spring the Palma International Boat Show, widely seen as the opening of the Mediterranean yachting season.