In the summer of 1899 in the month of June nine citizens of the village of Santanyí, all members of the Real Gremi d’Assadolladors (Royal Guild of Satiators), embarked on an excursion by boat that historically appears to have been the first of its kind ever. And it is now, in June of 2024, that we can celebrate the 125th anniversary of that extraordinary expedition.

The nine somewhat anxious young men from Santanyí chartered the llaüt San Miguel and circumnavigated Mallorca for the pure pleasure of seeing the best of their island from the sea.

At a time when tourism as we know it today did not exist in Mallorca, this voyage is considered the first documented sailing trip by residents for purely recreational purposes. During the journey, these pioneers stopped their voyage to visit places of interest along the way such as the caves of Drach and Artà, the Castel de Capdepera and the town centre of Sóller.

Before setting off, the travellers loaded the boat with everything they needed for their journey. They recorded this and many other events of the journey in a logbook journal, which Sebastià A. Adrover Vicens recently published under the title 9: Diario de la expedición santanyinera alrededor de Mallorca, 1899 (9: Journal of the Santanyí expedition round Mallorca, 1899). The impressive book is published by El Gall Editor and is available in Catalan as well as in an English version. Your local bookshop should be able to get it for you; it certainly is an interesting read due to its most captivating historical relevance.

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) for the Catalan edition is 978-84-19321-07-7, for the edition in English the ISBN is 978-84-16416-60-8.

The historical boat trip will be reenacted on 26th July of this year, with the departure of a group of traditional Mallorcan boats that will set off from the port of Santanyí, Cala Figuera, following the operating procedures and sailing style of the old San Miguel sailing boat that made that first expedition possible, and will sail around Mallorca until disembarking in Palma on August 3rd, stopping at eight ports on their journey and celebrating “the rich heritage of an island that does not want to lose its roots”, according to Sebastià A. Adrover Vicens.

To celebrate this commemoration, Celler Son Alegre has dedicated two red wines that will accompany the events of this 125th anniversary, called Nou Tinto 2018 and Xaloc 1/4 Llevant Tinto 2022, plus a rosé wine with the name of Nou Rosat 2023, as well as two white wines called Nou Blanc 2023 and Rima de la mar Blanc 2023, all presenting an oenological and sensory experience that takes us back to that adventure of 1899. The region of Santanyí was a wine-growing area at that time and our ancestors cultivated wines that were not very different from those which are now dedicated to this event.

You are under no obligation to undertake the sailing trip around Mallorca yourself to enjoy any of these wines; you can simply raise your glass and toast the nine brave sailors if you should feel so inclined.

All the activities and the chronology of the tour can be consulted at this link:

https://museumaritim.conselldemallorca.es/es/-/125-aniversari-volta-mallorca

¡Salut!