Mitch and Ben wanted to visit another more picturesque anchorage as the holiday wound down so we motored around Pte Sabate, into the Bay of Pollensa and across to Isle Formentor. We had expected from the pilot book that the anchorage would be full of mooring buoys but it was clear and with lots of space to anchor. We dropped the hook tucked in behind the island in company with a few other boats including the little French catamaran we had seen before in Les Illetas. There are a number of hotels ashore and occasional water skiers/jet skis but it was a quiet anchorage most of the time and we spent a peaceful night. Mitch and Ben had taken Fid to land on the Island and quickly found that the multiple seagulls that were roosting there didn’t appreciate the disturbance. From the boat we could see the swirling flock that was forming over them and used the VHF to recommend a retreat! The Island was renamed ‘Gull Island’ in Splice parlance! Chris also lost his sailing cap overboard in a gust of wind which was quickly rescued by Mitch who dived in to retrieve it – this probably helped cure his bad back from his antics the night before!
The next morning our intrepid explorers snorkeled to the shore, enjoying watching the fish before returning and deciding to catch some. After baiting hooks with everything from bread to kidney beans, Chorizo sausage became the bait of choice. The fish were very active; you could see the waters churn when bait was dropped in. Unfortunately for the fishermen they were also smart and whilst the bait was disappearing the hook was left untouched. It took about an hour before Ben managed to tempt a small mackerel type fish onto the hook, much celebration and then the issue of what to do with it. After about ten minutes of trying to get the hook from its mouth it was pointed out that the fish had long expired so forcible hook extraction occurred and the body was returned to the water. Ben suddenly became the friend of every seagull in the area, forgiving him for previous transgressions. It took about 15 seconds for one of the ‘squabble’ (well, we looked it up and it sounded better than flock) to swoop and grab the fish, swallowing it in one go as it clawed skywards to escape its screeching fellows.
Photo: Mitch and Ben in the cockpit at Isle Formentor, ‘Gull Island’ to the right.