Pollenca

The trip to Pollenca was made all the more interesting by the "off/on" nature of the wind reflecting our use of the engine! In total contrast to the force 6 of the previous day, Thursday 7th June dawned with a flat calm. We motored for the first hour and a half as the gentle east breeze picked up. As we passed Porto Cristo we were able to hoist the canvas and proceeded to enjoy a lovely sail for all of an hour by which time the wind had died away again and the engine had to go back on. Despite slowing down to only two and a half knots we decided to turn off the engine and have a peaceful lunch of left over chilli and rice under sail, watching the cliffs which we decided looked like a combination of Red Leicester and Gruyere cheese! Then back on with the engine until 1430 when we turned onto a new heading and were able to sail downwind! We poled out the jib to goose wing and found, as we crossed the Bahia de Alcudia, we were catching a yacht which had its cruising chute out! We were treated to a dolphin show around 1700 and we both went up to the bow to watch them playing, for a good 10 minutes, around La Premiere. By this time we had logged 36 miles and we knew it wasn't far to go so we sent a message to Zephyrus to let them know our ETA and they told us they were berthed on the Port Authority Pontoon. So, back on with the engine to motor sail into the marina in order to get one of the last two available berths! By 1835 we were tied up and found that our total engine hours had only been three and a half in an eight and a half hour voyage. Not bad considering the wind had only been force 2 or 3 all day.

We were in Puerto de Pollenca, a tourist resort mainly frequented by English and German holidaymakers, with a spectacular backdrop of rocky mountains. Nearby inland is the town of Pollenca and further out to the East Cape Formentor, home to a rather exclusive hotel and setting for one of Agatha Christie's novels. We had planned to anchor in the rather pretty bay near the hotel but buoys have recently been laid there and an extortionate charge made for their use, discouraging any anchoring in the area. It was handy being able to get ashore conveniently for shopping but it was a bit of a problem with Giblet who has had little experience with cars and the pontoon led straight to a road. She had her 5th swim on our first morning there having been frightened by an approaching car and then jumping from boat to boat and not quite making it to our neigbours' yacht and plunging in. She pulled herself onto their swimming ladder and awaited rescue! After that episode we kept her down below for a few days until we decided to take our chances on anchor, tucked in behind Punta de la Avanzada opposite the marina but with reportedly poor holding!

During our stay on the pontoon we visited Pollenca, a rather sleepy Mallorcan town with meandering streets and a fantastic view of the Bay from El Calvari, a hill leading to a Pilgrimage Chapel via 365 steps! We counted but on the way up made it more and on the way down less so we couldn't confirm! We found a "locals" bar for a menu del dia lunch and I had roasted quail, which was fiddly but tasty. It was quite a contrast to our "Fish'n'Chips" we'd had on the quay as takeaway from the English run "Codfather" shop back in Puerto de Pollenca, but that had been a treat (our first British fish and chips since Alderney last April) before our walk through one of the valleys in the mountains to Cala Boquer on the north of the island. We were quite struck by the rock formations and were amused by the antics of the mountain goats who seemed to have developed a method of tree climbing!

We not only met up with Zephyrus at Pollenca but Thursday Island was also there along with another English Beneteau called Spirit of Solent. Neil and Tracey are just a few years older than us and we got on well, finding an early evening book swap evolving into dinner and the odd bottle of wine.

We enjoyed our last night in Mallorca on anchor under the intriguing, privately owned castle on Avanzada watching seaplanes practicing their fire fighting role of collecting water and depositing it! Thankfully we were tucked out of the way. Having topped up our water and supplies we were ready for the trip to the last of the Islas Baleares!