I Don't Want To Be A Bus Driver All My Life......
- clairesedgar
- Dec 27, 2024
- 7 min read
Updated: Dec 30, 2024
It's the Vengaboys and we're going to Ibiza, whoahh!!!
It was early September and we had read worrying reports regarding sailing in the Balearics in 'high season', which apparently it still was.
Negative reports mainly referred to the costs of marinas and mooring buoys, and the Posidonia (sea-grass) police issuing huge fines!
It was therefore helpful to be moored next to a South African couple who had just returned from a trip around the Balearics and Ibiza for the past two months.
They had a typical South African 'can do' attitude and convinced us to just go and not worry too much!
The mooring buoy booking system seemed quite complicated and they told us that mostly they had managed to anchor, and it was beautiful.
It was decided, and as we were suffering from ABC syndrome we planned to leave early the next morning as the conditions were good and it should be a nine hour trip if we averaged six knots over ground.
A quick visit to the supermarket to stock up, filled up with water and diesel and alarm set for before sunrise to take Sprocket to the dog beach. 🤞🤞
The sail over was uneventful, there wasn't a great deal of wind so we couldn't sail all the way but kept up our speed by motor sailing. Obviously there was a huge sea swell, with no known idea as to where the wind creating the swell had come from. It was nice to be visited by a few dolphins, with Sprockets' amazing sense of smell alerting us to them before their arrival!
Time passed quickly, as we were excited to be doing a longer crossing and keen to get to San Antonio which was a beam reach and 55nm from Denia.
In the past Ibiza's wealth came from the export of red salt, fruit ,grain and shellfish. During the past fifty years tourism has become a massive industry, and a haven for the hippie culture. The 1970's saw the emergence of club culture and it is this which the island is internationally known for.
Were we going there for the club culture? Absolutely......not!
It is also known for good sailing and a beautiful rocky coastline.
Arriving into Puerto de San Antonio was spectacular. During the day we had lost sight of the Spanish mainland and then suddenly the jagged shapes of Ibiza came into view , being more identifiable as rocky islets and outcrops as we got closer. I don't think we had known what to expect but it really is a lovely entrance.
There seemed to be another sailing yacht racing us into port, perhaps they were worried about spaces, but Mike had done his research and was cutting a corner which gave us a keen advantage.
There is a sudden depth change as we sail between two islands and we can clearly see the sea bed beneath Ramukanji, it looked quite close as the sea is so clear here,9Captain Grumpy does have a reputation for running aground) but we had a depth of 4m under the keel 😲
There are two marinas for us to try to get a berth, worst case scenario we could anchor in the bay.
The second marina, Es Nautic, were very helpful and gave us a berth with helpful marineros too, and it was only at a cost of 35 euros per 24 hours.
We were worried about noise and all night partying! After sorting out the boat we walked into town, we were right in the centre, and a pretty coastal promenade took us to Café del Mar where we through some shapes...obvs!
It was fun to watch the party goers and dressed up orange people strutting around, and we had a peaceful nights sleep.
The plan, (we sort of had one) was to try to make a circumnavigation of the island. After a couple of days enjoying San Antonio, turns out most of the clubs are elsewhere, we set off using Navily to predict good anchorages.
The winds changed as we were casting off and our first anchorage was going to be untenable!
It was at the North of the island, the west coast was rocky with few anchorages, and so we sailed a short distance to Cala Basa and dropped our hook.
There were only four other boats anchored, but there was a police boat which was obviously closely watching to see where we were to drop, as we have to avoid the protected sea grass. There is an 'App' on Navily to help with this, but I found it easier to just look at the sea bed to decide when to drop as the water is so clear.
Finally anchored, we could enjoy the stay by just people watching. The shoreline is owned by Cala Bassa Beach Club, with bars, restaurant and a Tatinger lounge.
There was the usual grumpy reporting of loud music and frivolity on various apps, but we enjoyed watching people arrive and depart on lovely speed boats, noisy music blaring out!
There was a little bay with tall cliffs to one side of us and it was worrying to watch many boys diving off the cliffs into the beautiful water.
A small landing stage allowed us to take the tender to shore and go for a walk along the cliffs and inland a little way. The beach club were very inviting, allowing us to leave the dinghy at the landing bay, and quite happy for us to sit for drinks amongst the scantily dressed!
Sprocket did cause some alarm with Russians on the next table when he spied a mouse running up a tree and decided to try to catch it😮
By 8pm, the bars were closed, the music stopped and we were one of only two yachts in the bay😁
Our circumnavigation was now to be anti-clockwise, due to the weather. There were storms predicted for later on in the week, and due to recent sad events with the sinking of a large super-yacht in freak weather, and the washing up of many boats on Formentera, we were planning to seek refuge in a marina.
There are not many marinas on Ibiza, and it seemed that most other boats had the same idea, but eventually Benafoch in Ibiza town could give us a space.
The next few days we made our way towards town, anchoring in idyllic coves and filling the days with swimming and coastal walks, bliss!
There was plenty to do to fill the days, dog walks, swimming, watching other boats of various sizes, visiting shore to collect supplies....
It was a wet arrival at Ibiza Town as the storm was approaching. The marina was lovely, more expensive at 65 euros a night, but nothing like what we had been told to expect to pay.
There was a famous club nearby , with loud music playing , but I think we may have been tucked up in bed by the time the real party scene got going, and so we weren't disturbed at all.
The marina is across the bay from the old town and affords superb views of the castle and town.
There is a little ferry which takes passengers from the Marina across to the old town and citadel, and runs pretty much all night!
It is a really lovely town to explore and walk around, and full of fun restaurants and bars, we loved it.
From Ibiza Town we visited another marina at Puerto Santa Eulalia, a more upmarket and family friendly resort on the east of the island. This would be our last marina stop before completing our circumnavigation, as from here back to San Antonio we would stay in coves in the north east and north but the trip along the north west and west offers few places of refuge and would have to be completed in one sail, though it isn't far and is easily done.
The coves we visited were Cala Xacara, Cala Portinatx, Cala Binarres and Cala Miguel.
The water is crystal clear and perfect for swimming, exquisite!
The coast of Ibiza is rugged and thus great to sail along , with many different rock formations too.
The wind was variable whilst we were there, but as the distance between stops is small, it is easy to plan the days around the weather.
The Navily App was useful for predicting wind and swell, and generally we had comfortable nights, but sometimes the swell was quite annoying, especially as we had to get ashore for dog walks frequently , but I don't think there was much else we could have done to change this.
Es Nautico was able to accommodate us again and we arrived back in time to get to Café del Mar for sunset!
It could be ABS (another bloody sunset) , as being on the water we see many 😁😁spectacular sunsets. However, the theatre of it in Ibiza was great.
The sun gave a fantastic display as it disappeared, and it was all set to very loud music, such fun 😁
Arriving back at the marina, the party boat next to us was just returning, with the most enormous speakers I have ever seen on board. The boys on board were all charming , they'd had a superb time viewing the sunset from a boat and were off clubbing for the remainder of the night and early morning.
It was an early night for us , tomorrow we were heading back to Denia.
Would we sail in Ibiza again? Absolutely yes we would!
The experience was amazing, the sea was so clear and warm, the food is great and we were always welcomed wherever we went by locals, marina staff and young holiday makers.
Our initial worries regarding lack of spaces and huge costs were unfounded, though we weren't true height of the season it was still a great time of year to travel and would highly recommend it to other sailors, just do it!
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