Author: Steve MacNaull
On the edge of the top deck, I grab the swing rope and bend my knees.
I push off and accelerate in an elegant upward arc over the cerulean-blue Mediterranean Sea.
At the peak of the pendulum, I'm silhouetted in the sunset's glow for a split second before letting go and splashing into the water.
Photo credits: Steve MacNaull/NowMedia GroupBonnie Lass owner, captain and bartender Pete Lucas shows us how it's done on the rope swing at sunset.
It's a rinse-and-repeat type of exhilaration.
My wife, Kerry, and I, our friends Steve and Beryl, the couple from New Hampshire and the couple from Liverpool all take turns on the swing rope, laughing and trash talking everyone's form.
Former Scottish fishing trawler
The eight of us are on a sunset tour of the Bonnie Lass — a fully-restored, 1949, wooden, Scottish fishing boat that now operates out of Port de Soller on the north coast of the sunny Spanish island of Mallorca.
This is not your typical sunset boat tour where everyone primly sips cava (Spain's sophisticated sparkling wine), makes small talk and admires the molten mass sinking below the horizon in a blaze of orange and yellow.
Although we happen to do all those things, we also make good use of the aforementioned swing rope and also dive from the top deck to swim and paddleboard.
No one said having some raucous fun and a sunset boat tour were mutually exclusive.
Bonnie Lass owner, captain and bartender Pete Lucas just wants people to have a good and safe time aboard his vessel.
"People tend to want to do more than just watch the sunset on a sunset cruise," he said with a laugh.
"That's why we give you all the options."
Oh yes, another of those options is having the resident onboard dog, Rumba, swim with you or hop on the paddle board with you.
The contrast of the 17-metre ring-netter fishing trawler's origins and its current home in Mallorca is inspired.
The Bonnie Lass — which means 'beautiful girl' — has a classic curved shape from bow to stern and an elegance that works in any locale.
Therefore, it's also a unique and exciting yacht charter or tour in the Med.
After it was built in 1949, the Bonnie Lass followed the herring along the east coast of Scotland until 1973, when it was sold to an Irish guy to try his hand at salmon fishing.
Somehow, it ended up in northern France where Pete, a former captain of luxury yachts, bought it in 2015, fixed it up and brought it to Mallorca.
Tour or charter
The two-and-a-half-hour sunset tour we did costs 100 euro per person (about $165 Canadian).
The Bonnie Lass also does private charters starting from 1,000 euro ($1,650 Canadian) for a half-day for up to 12 people.
It also does scientific expeditions where people can help deploy underwater cameras, collect water samples, record data and observe wildlife in the morning before having lunch on board and having fun in and on the water for the afternoon.
Check out: https://www.
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Photo credit: Air CanadaAir Canada flies the 255-passenger Dreamliner 8 between Montreal and Mallorca.
Non-stop to Mallorca
For the first time, Air Canada is flying non-stop between Montreal and Palma, the largest city on Mallorca, with three-times-a-week flights June 17 to Oct. 23.
Palma is the bustling capital, whereas the small beach resort town of Port de Soller, where we stayed and caught the Bonnie Lass sunset tour, is 34 kilometers north.
Mallorca is the largest of the four islands in the Balearic archipelago in the Mediterranean, which also includes Ibiza (which you may have heard of as party central), Menorca and Formentera.
Mallorca is billed as the ideal beach resort-palm tree-tapas-and-cava destination with Spanish, European and international flair.
Check out: aircanada.com.
Photo credit: Pure SaltThe 90-room Pure Salt Port de Soller is seaside.
Where to stay…
In Port de Soller, we stayed at the four-star Pure Salt resort across the street from the beach with a pool complex carved into the mountainside.
By the way, the name of the hotel comes from salt being the first commodity the Phoenicians used for trade.
In Palma, we stayed at the 138-room Gran Melia Hotel de Mar, which is right on the Mediterranean with two pools, mid-centurn modern glam and a 'Leading Hotels of the World' designation.
The Gran Melia Hotel de Mar is also the first hotel in Spain to host a Riva Destination.
Inspired by the Italian brand of iconic Riva yachts, the restaurant, bar, patio and yacht tour experience at the Gran Melia Hotel de Mar is fusion of Mediterranean luxury and elegance.
It's designed to be an exclusive experience where sophistication, fine dining, and a nautical voyage come together aboard the iconic Rivamare yacht
Check out: https://www.
Photo credit: Gran Melia de MarThe Gran Melia de Mar complex — 138-room hotel, two pools, palm-treed cove and seafront.
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