Ibiza in Day Sails

Hi everyone,

After our rolly night in Cala Saona off Formentera Island we couldn't wait to move on.  There was a nice WSW wind so we decided to sail around Ibiza, leaving it to starboard.  Last night we anchored in Estancia des Dins on the east side of Isla Conejera off the NW side of Ibiza.  Today we're anchored in Cala Xarraca near the northernmost tip of Ibiza.

Crystal-Clear Water, Kinda-Clean Hull

We had a great sail to Isla Conejera, a short passage of 23nm.  Initially the sky was overcast but it gradually cleared.  As it cleared the wind died.  We only had to motor the last hour or so of a 5 hour passage.  The western side of Ibiza is spectacular, especially the off-lying Islote Vedre.  

Cala Saona to Isla Conejera

Sailing towards W side of Ibiza

Islote Vedra looking like a lurking dinosaur

View of Isla Conejera from the West

Anchored in Estancia des Dins

View to E from Estancia des Dins

The anchorage in Ensinada des Dins is fairly deep (8m to 15m) with a bottom of rock and weed.  Once anchored we went for a swim.  The 25C water is crystal-clear and we could clearly see our chain and anchor on the bottom in 9m depth.  Quite a few fish too.

The winds were light W in the afternoon and evening, but changed to light NE overnight.  When we came to weigh anchor this morning we found the chain had snagged itself under a rock ledge.  Last time that happened was in Langkawi in 2012, where visibility was nil.  Happily by easing off some chain and motoring in an arc we recovered the anchor (on both occasions).

Today we motored from Ensinada des Dins to Ensenada Xarraca, another short passage of 17nm.  Wind was very light initially, building to 10kt on the nose for the last hour.  Along the way we passed the J-class superyacht Rainbow.  Yours to charter from US$58,000.  If you have to ask how long that's for you can't afford her!

Isla Conejera to Cala Xarraca

Spectacular (albeit hazy) view of N coast of Ibiza

NW coast of Ibiza

J-class Rainbow passing Sant Miquel

Approaching Cala Xarraca

View from anchorage to NE

Bottom is 50% sand, 50% weed with 5m to 15m depth

We had poor internet access in both Cala Saona and Ensinada des Dins, so we're catching up on emails etc here in Cala Xarraca.  There's a resort above the NE corner of the bay and we've had paddle boats coming by full of English tourists.  Strange hearing groups of people speaking English.  In Cala Saona it was all Spanish.