The Llaüt ‘Balear’ is a sight for sore eyes in Palma Bay; she's a mixture of a bou boat and a llaüt viatger, has a large sail and a rich history.
She was built in 1924 by Ballester Shipyards and in 1997 the Consell de Mallorca declared the Llaüt ‘Balear’ an Asset of Cultural Interest, or BIC and assigned to the workshop school where traditional methods were used to restore her, using pine, oak and around 10,000 nails.
It took 9 years and a lot of elbow grease to bring the Llaüt 'Balear' back to pristine condition.
“The sail has not changed since the restoration, it’s synthetic, which lasts longer,” explains Jordi Nadal who crews the boat with Joan Morey and the skipper, Llorenç Arbós.
Thousands of Mallorcan students have had the opportunity to navigate the waters of the Bay of Palma aboard the ‘Balear’.
"This is a fundamental tool for children to see the Palma seafront from the Bay, show them the city’s most representative buildings and teach them about environmental concepts," said Environment & Sustainability Minister and Second Vice-President of the Consell de Mallorca, Aurora Ribot during a one-hour journey with journalists on Monday.
Unfortunately students haven’t been able to sail since the coronavirus pandemic began in March, but the Consell de Mallorca is now offering the public free trips.
The Llaüt Balears excursions take place every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from now until November for groups of up to 9 people.
The ‘Balear’, ‘Encina’ and ‘Puerto Azul’ are the three vessels listed as BIC by the Consell de Mallorca and the ‘Margarita’, has been declared a BMC, or Listed Material Property.