Playa S'Alaga

After our first night at anchor under the mansion-lined cliffs of Ibiza we spend a lovely sunny morning getting back into the groove of anchor living. We inflat the old and the new SUP and take them for a little turn about the bay, we have a wetsuit swim and then take turns trying out the solar shower which is hanging from the boom.
The wind and swell start to move more southerly and the boat yaws a little from side to side. Since the weather is to stay like this we up anchor and head south to the island of Formentera. We have a great sail with Ruby at the helm and anchor in a sheltered bay on the north of the Island.
We up anchor in the morning and drop it again an hour later in beautiful Espalmador - a long low-lying sand island. The sun is shining down on the crystal clear turquoise water and Ruby and Colm see a ray swim by as we enter the bay.
This is as perfect as it gets - There are only two houses on the island and there is no one home. The long stretch of beach has grassy sand dunes behind it and a little woods beyond that. When we go ashore later we see tiny pink flecks in the sand.

It’s Easter Sunday and there are a few other yachts at anchor here and some charter traffic, mainly big fancy speed boats on day trips from Ibiza. Many of them play loud music - sometimes loud enough so that their guests can still hear it when they have been dropped ashore. Most of the charters only spend an hour or two here and so there is still plenty of serenity to be had.
We wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. We spend our time swimming, snorkelling, supping and diving into the big bag of Easter chocolate our Galway cousins had sent out to us.
First thing on Monday morning the warden pays us a visit in his rib and asks us to move our anchor spot. His main job is to protect the Posidonia (sea grass) and we had been careful not to anchor near it but he says we are too close to the beach.
While I go for a swim, Colm helms Regal to another spot and Ronan drops anchor. I feel so happy and proud that the kids are becoming such competent crew. The boat is now further away from where I started my swim and as I haul ass back towards her I realise how vulnerable I am and just how dispensable I am becoming. Note to self - be nice.
After a bit of homework and baking we take advantage of our new anchor spot close to a little rocky island. The four of us swim and snorkel over and there is lots to see in and around the rocks, sea grass and coral. There are sea cucumbers, rainbow wrasse, sprat and some little brown fish whose names I didn’t catch. When we get back to the boat there are more fish- a shoal of fifty or so of our old friends from Cartagena marina; the Saddled Sea Bream - They are always around and so easy to spot with their single black spot. Their cousins are visiting today too; the Striped Sea Bream. There are hundreds of them furiously feeding on the sea bed right under the boat. Maybe they found the crumbs of our lunch washed down the drain.
We have three fantastic days at Espalmador but on the third day, as evening approaches, we leave to get ahead of the weather. We motor to Cala Longa, a narrow and rocky bay on the south eastern side of Ibiza. Entering at dusk we can smell the pine from the woods on cliffs above us and we see a few hotels and a nice looking beach tucked inside the bay. We plan to stay here for a few nights to wait out the first spell of wind and rain and the move to a marina on Friday before Saturday’s gale.
We drop anchor and the night rolls in and unfortunately so does the swell. We weren’t expecting this and we have a broken night listening to the clanks and groans of the anchor and rigging. We feel Regal roll about without any predictable rhythm. The next morning we are tired and become frustrated and a little alarmed trying to reserve a marina for Friday’s bad weather. The marinas won’t allow us to book in advance and with a gale forecast we most definitely don’t want to be caught out with nowhere to go. We bite the bullet and book a spot in Ibiza marina from today and through the weekend - we up anchor for the last time for a while.Read more