Friday 14 October 2022

Easy ride to Ibiza, 12 & 13 October 2022

The ride to Ibiza was the last stage of the second period of the Belisama migration from Rochefort to Toulon. We planed to cover the 103 nautical miles in 20 hours given the fact that we could do it on a single tack with headwind in the 8 to 12m/s. We departed 8:30 in the morning and went along the coast up to the city of Benidorm, then headed a bit more eastward directly towards Ibiza. 

Sunrise as we depart for Ibiza

Alicante skyline

Passing the lighthouse of the Cape of l'Horta

After 20 miles, we are passing along the city of Benidorm. The skyline of Benidorm is fascinating, with skyscrapers all along, quite unexpected. We had never heard the name of this town before, but it is the most visited place in Spain (>5 million visitors per year). Originally a fishing village, it became a large resort in the 1950's, the first to accept bikinis on a beach. In Europe, only Milan and London are having more skyscrapers than Benidorm. It has the highest hotel in Europe, at 186 metres. 

So why is it that I have never heard the name of this resort? In any case, no time to stop and explore this time!

Benidorm skyline

Now heading across the Ibiza sea channel, we keep an eye on the roll clouds encountered on the way.


We approach Ibiza at around 04:00 in the morning and decided to anchor close to the city centre. The idea was to find a spot where to put the anchor, outside of rocky and weedy sea bottom areas. The sandy spots, best for anchoring, can be seen clearly through the map layer of a cellular phone, and therefore I use the iPhone to determine where to drop the anchor.

iPhone used for picking a good sea bed for anchoring

Belisama in Ibiza, anchored on a sandy seabed

This is the view we discovered when waking-up in the morning

The 2022 tour, up to Ibiza, as of 13 October

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