Eastward ho!

Having visited Ibiza a few times we still hadn't made it to the eastern side of the island. This was largely due to the prevailing winds coming primarily from an easterly direction making the anchorages on that side bouncy and untenable. We were in need of fuel, water and provisions so with the winds due to turn more westerly we took the opportunity to set off for the port of Santa Eulalia situated about half way up the eastern coast of Ibiza.

Yacht anchored under the cliffs near Punta Grossa

Cliffs near Punta Grossa

Unfortunately the wind just seemed to follow us round and the anchorage outside the harbour was looking very bumpy indeed. With the winds increasing we just about managed to berth alongside allowing us to fill up with fuel but quickly decided that the harbour was unsafe for us to anchor. Sadly this meant no time to explore the town or to top up our food and water supplies. The sea was getting increasingly choppy and we needed to find a sheltered anchorage fast.

Cliffs near Punta Grossa

Jumping from the cliffs

We circled Tagomago, a tiny offshore island, but found no shelter there so continued our journey north round the rocky Punta Grossa headland. The charts indicated there might be some shelter found under the rocky cliffs and we were increasingly hopeful when we spied a couple of boats bobbing in the distance. Luck was with us and with space in the small anchorage we happily dropped our anchor on the sandy bottom in the lea of some very impressive cliffs and rock formations. Finally we could relax and set about exploring the caves and watching some very daring youngsters jumping into the sea from high up on the rocks.

San Antonio anchorage

Busy Cafe Mambo

The westerly winds never materialised and we had no choice but to weigh anchor and look for shelter elsewhere. We continued north and round the top of Ibiza with the strong winds continuing to follow us round. It was a long trip but with food and water rather urgently needed we decided that San Antonio and its large natural harbour was our best bet. We found space in our usual anchorage opposite the lively Cafe del Mar and Mambo clubs but thankfully far enough away not to be kept awake at night! 

Cafe Mambo

Cafe del Mar

Cala Comte

Having stocked up with food and water we went in search of somewhere we could swim and chill. We found some lovely turquoise waters in Cala Comte not far from San Antonio. With some calm weather forecast it was lovely to be able to spend a few days relaxing and not worrying about whether our anchor was dragging or not.

Sunset view from Cala Comte

Calm before the storm, San Antonio

Fire fighting plane

The weather was definitely not the settled summer conditions we had become accustomed to. With yet more storms forecast we returned to San Antonio and even got a knock from the coastguard to warn of us of impending gale force winds. With no room in any of the marinas on the island and all mooring bouys taken we remained at anchor with all our chain out. As if the strong winds weren't enough we also witnessed a huge fire across the water which involved the deployment of fire fighting planes which doused gallons of water from above.

Fire across the bay

Twilight, San Antonio

San Miguel de Cabo de Gata

Once again due to events out of our control we had to cut our summer cruising short so we could return to the UK. The boat was also in need of some urgent TLC which meant we needed to find a marina with boat chandleries and services at hand. After much online research we opted for the huge Puerto Almerimar located in south east Spain. It has over 1000 boat berths which are surrounded by apartments, shops, bars and restaurants. Not surprisingly there is a large liveaboard community and help at hand from many English speaking services. It is located about 20 miles further west from our last winter refuge so we retraced our journey back to southern Spain using the now familiar anchorages. We had one last swim whilst anchored off San Miguel de Cabo de Gata and set off on the final leg to Almerimar. The landscape changed dramatically once we left the scenic Cabo de Gata behind. We were soon sailing alongside land covered in plastic as far as the eye could see and having to watch out for stray sheets in the water too. Not a pretty sight. Finally we slipped into our roadside berth in Darsena 2, our new base for the foreseeable future.

Ride of a Lifetime in her roadside berth, Almerimar