In the port of Palma de Mallorca with the appearance it offered after the transformation in 1946.
This small steamer was originally a yacht built at the Alexander Hall & Co shipyard in Aberdeen. She was launched on August 30, 1879 as Queen Mary. She had an iron hull, with a fiddled bow and drooping, or stern-sloping masts and funnel, like those of most ships of her day. His command bridge has been discovered.
In May 1910 it was acquired by the shipping company Isleña Marítima, in the port of Livorno, to be used to cover the line between Palma de Mallorca and Cabrera, recently established in the map of maritime communications in application of the law of June 14th 1909, giving it the name of City of Palma. These services were to be put in place from January 1st of the following year and, depending on availability, were to be provided by means of ships of more than 50 tons and a minimum speed of 11 knots.
On July 4, she began her maiden voyage from Palma to Cabrera under the command of Captain Don Jorge Bennasar Juan. The new courier made two round trips a week, leaving Palma on Tuesday and Friday mornings and returning in the afternoon. It took around 4 hours on each trip and was nicknamed "El Cabrereta".
On the following January 1st, Mr. Jorge Benassar was replaced by Mr. Antonio Dezcallar Montis, followed in successive years by Mr. Antonio Guasp, Mr. Miguel Leopoldo and Mr. Bartolomé Company as titular captains of the vessel.
In addition to his normal itinerary trips, he made others in a private capacity, such as the one he traveled to Ibiza on February 21, 1911 with the Bishop of Menorca Dr. Torres on the occasion of the death of his mother. On July 27 of the same year, Don Antonio Maura and his family embarked in the port of Sóller for an excursion to the Torrent de Pareis.
On July 13th, 1913, he made his first trip to Barcelona, with the aim of cleaning up funds, and once the operation was completed, he resumed his normal service.
In 1930 and in order to adapt the conditions of the fleet to the clauses of the new contract with the State, the Compañía Trasmediterránea had to exchange the ownership of twelve steamers with its subsidiary Isleña Marítima. The seven Balearic liners, Bellver, Ciudad de Palma, Lulio, Majorca, Rey Jaime I and Rey Jaime II, of Isleña Marítima, became the property of the Compañía Trasmediterránea and the five Spanish liners, Jorge Juan, Marqués del Turia, Peris Valeró and Tintoré, from Compañía Trasmediterránea became the property of Isleña Marítima.
With the advent of the Second Republic, in April 1931, it received the name of Ciudad de Alcudia when the motorboat Príncipe Don Alfonso received the name of Ciudad de Palma.
When civil war broke out in July 1936, the Ciudad de Alcudia was moored at its usual anchorage in the port of Palma de Mallorca, suspending its normal services as it became part of the national navy. It was painted gray, turning it into a patrol boat, and it was commanded by Naval Reserve officers. To fulfill these purposes, two 45 mm guns were placed on it. At the end of the war, the maritime post offices of the Balearic Islands were re-established and the Ciudad de Alcudia having ceased its role as an auxiliary ship of the Navy, it was once again assigned to cover what had been its usual line, first with only one trip per week., which took place on Thursdays and later, the old-fashioned way.
In July 1944, he moved to Barcelona to undergo an important reform whose works lasted until September 1945 and cost some two million pesetas, a very high amount at the time. This was carried out in the workshops of Nuevo Vulcano and, among other operations, the bow, which was previously one of the "violins", was modified, making it straight, more in line with current times. The chamber was also enlarged, the chimney was changed to one of a more modern type, and the spars were considerably shortened, eliminating the boom. This reform has completely changed its appearance, causing it to lose its beautiful maritime character, but on the contrary, it has gained a lot in comfort and space for rooms, accommodation and a cellar. Later the stern mast was removed.
Once the reform was completed at the end of January 1946, the official tests were carried out in the waters of Barcelona and on February 1 it returned to service which it continued to provide for a long period, until in 1956 it is assigned to cover it, on an extraordinary basis. , on the Ibiza-Formentera line, with three weekly shipments.
On April 1, 1953, he came to the aid of the ship Ciudad de Palma, the motorboat to which he gave his name, which had run aground in Cala Figuera and together with the Ciudadela they took charge of the passage to disembark him in port.
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