The forecast was correct and the wind dropped in the early evening and we spent a peaceful night as the only boat in the Cala. On Monday we waited whilst the predicted wind change came in to ensure that Splice was secure - when the wind goes in the opposite direction the boat will move around and pull her anchor and chain into the new wind direction, it’s not unknown for an anchor to pull out of the seabed when this happens so it’s a time to monitor the boat carefully. Once we were happy we dropped the dinghy and motored over the anchor for a further check, the water is so clear here you can usually see down 5/6 metres. With all OK we went ashore and wandered about. Cala Llonga is the most English oriented place we have seen. Everything is in English and no other language and most of the voices were Brits. It is actually a very nice bay and the town is not overly touristy or tacky. We had a very poor coffee in a bar on the beach and bought some supplies in the small supermarket that was just reopening for the season. That afternoon Chris rubbed down and put a second coat of paint on the top cowling of our outboard. This has been a long discussion as to whether to do this. Outboards are very easily stolen so some cruisers ‘deface’ theirs to make it more identifiable and less attractive to thieves. Of course this also makes it less valuable as it doesn’t look new and shiny! We had waited until we were sure we were happy that this 6hp engine would move Fid well (it does) before committing to this action. Whist this was going on a few other boats came into the Cala, a lovely old refurbished lifeboat under a French flag and a modern sports boat, swish and sculpted with a Dutch crew, along with other boats. The sports boat anchored and then spent the next couple of hours playing around with the anchor chain etc before disappearing off into the distance at speed. The man on the Lifeboat then proceeded to strip off and have a shower on the deck, funnily enough it was Carolyn who noticed this occurring! – Much of the entertainment on board comes free from your fellow boaters!
That evening we took Fid to shore again as Chris was pining for a pizza. We got something that looked like one but the centre of the base was soggy and the toppings all came out of some tin so it was a bit of a disaster. On the trip however Chris did notice that some of the bars were showing the football later (Spurs v Chelsea which would determine the Premier League title) so got somewhat grumpy permission from the ‘Admiral’ to drop her back at the boat and return ashore. As he dinghied back, it was getting dark, he was hailed by three men on shore and asked to help their friend who was diving for a lost anchor… the sports boat had wrapped their chain around a rock and had to leave the anchor there earlier. Around 45 minutes later Chris, diver, anchor and chain arrived back on shore. Interesting process helping a skilled diver but it was dark and cold down there and when it was recovered Chris thought it was just as well it wrapped on the rock as this small, highly chromed thing with no real flukes would hardly have held a dinghy let alone a boat that size in a blow. More ‘pose’ than practicality. At least they were thankful and even offered payment which was refused. It’s a principle amongst sailors, you should always help each other out……….one day you might need it!
By now of course the first half was almost over and Spurs were leading 2-0, not good for those of us who wanted Spurs to lose or draw so Leicester would win the league. There were big cheers in the bar when Chelsea scored and then equalized giving the title to Leicester. A great result for a smaller club and even better as it was clearly a championship won by effort and teamwork not just loads of money.

Photo: Cala Llonga from the bar where we had our (awful) coffee. Splice centre left.