New Balearic Islands law effective from today.

jrudge said:
There is some sand at the back so it the boat is short and you are there first then great. If not ....
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Ugh. We are 19m. We normally go at the back but in the middle, right where the Cala splits in two, in front of the hotel sunloungers on the cliff.
 
This creeping restriction by socialists on people enjoying their hard earnt pleasures really gets up my nose, normally somewhere on the grounds of " ... saving the Planet ... " no doubt by idiots in RIBS with massive petrol outboards and cars parked on the jetty where they are based.

Happening now with the thin end of the wedge labelled MCZ in the UK, e.g. Studland. I guess we will have to get used to it.
 
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I'm In portals vells right now, and there's no sign of any weed police, and no sign of anyone paying attention to the rules.
 
Anchored in a small Cala in the South of Ibiza yesterday and was moved on by a young lady from the Posidonia Patrol because, although my anchor was in sand, my chain was touching some Posidonia.
 
We nosed in to Vells a couple of days ago on route back from Camp de Mar. At 7pm it was full with every size of boat imaginable. No change from last year, so it may be monitored, but it's certainly not closed off.
 
we overnighted in Vells last night. Arrived at 9am ish whene there were a handful of boats in there, so bagged a nice spot. It was filled to the brim by early afternoon. There were probably about 10 or so other boats that stayed for the night, no sign of poseidona police all day.
 
Just back from a 2 week cruise around Mallorca weather & sea conditions were great.... so back to the posedonia issue, Portals Vells was full most days so anchoring is not restricted however there was some 'vigilante' activity, seem to be quite pleasant about their business & politely asking those in weed to move (although it looked like at least 50% were in weed!) I know one of the restuarant owners quite well, he tells me his business is down but not desimated ;), another area that is zoned is Cala Foradada on the west coast, that was also full of boats & no sign of 'vigilantes' business as usual (in fact couldn't get a table in the cliff restuarant), no problems in any of the other west coast anchorages :encouragement:

North coast was the same, down the west coast the 'vigilante' activity was more noticeable particularly many of the anchorages near to Cala D'or, we were checked a number of times all ok & even got a friendly wave from the guys on the rib's, South coast we did not encounter any 'vigilante's' not especially surprised as this is where most of the locals hang out !

The biggest issue we found were some of the unofficial locals on boats, we had encounters with 2, who seem to be treating the posidonia as almost a religion, doing a lot of shouting of where you can or cannot anchor in quite an aggressive manner which at some point I'm sure will result in violent clashes between them & some boat loads of guys on charter yachts who won't take so kindly to their 'advice'.

So despite the apprehension that we would not be welcome in some places, the cruise was excellent with restuarants, marinas etc being very welcoming & helpful.... don't be put off by this issue, anchoring in weed is carp anyway although ensuring chain is clear is a bit more challenging, it did seem the 'vigilantes' were a little more accomodating on that.
 
Thanks for the update! I’m out in two weeks time and intending to do a cruise all the way around too. The vigilantes sound somewhat alarming! Presumably they have no force of law although am guessing could call those that do if they determine you’re damaging the weed. As you say, we always anchor in sand because of the holding but hard to ensure chain does not venture close to the weed!
 
There was a Facebook post in the Mallorca yacht crew forum and someone there tried to find out the actual position by visiting govt offices etc. He got no further than this forum really but did find that they have no power but can call someone who does. The only way that is likely to happen I suspect is the same boat being caught day after day, refusing to move or being rude etc.

The jelly fish seem to be in force this year so if one does not get you the jelly fish probably will
 
superheat6k said:
This creeping restriction by socialists on people enjoying their hard earnt pleasures really gets up my nose, normally somewhere on the grounds of " ... saving the Planet ... " no doubt by idiots in RIBS with massive petrol outboards and cars parked on the jetty where they are based.

Happening now with the thin end of the wedge labelled MCZ in the UK, e.g. Studland. I guess we will have to get used to it.
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I don't think you have to be a socialist to think its a good idea to conserve the environment that we enjoy when we go out on our boats. As this thread shows, its perfectly possible to protect the wildlife whilst at the same time allowing people to still use their boats - it sounds like a good compromise.

Interestingly, the far right Vox party here in Spain want to scrap the law that protects posidonia (as well as reintroducing legalised wife beating), so it does seem to be part of the hard right mindset to do whatever you damn well please and screw anyone and anything that gets in your way.

I don't understand why anyone wouldn't be in favour of a compromise that allows us to enjoy boating and protects the environment that we do it in.
 
Illetas said:
Anchored in a small Cala in the South of Ibiza yesterday and was moved on by a young lady from the Posidonia Patrol because, although my anchor was in sand, my chain was touching some Posidonia.
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Here is a thought.
We always put out more chain than we actually need.
If the conditions are good enough how about answering the above question by winding is a few metres of chain to satisfy the Posidonia Patrol.
It is always a PIA moving from a good spot.
Then, if you are staying overnight, like us, you could discretely let some out again.
i.e. - play a game.
 
Hurricane said:
Here is a thought.
We always put out more chain than we actually need.
If the conditions are good enough how about answering the above question by winding is a few metres of chain to satisfy the Posidonia Patrol.
It is always a PIA moving from a good spot.
Then, if you are staying overnight, like us, you could discretely let some out again.
i.e. - play a game.
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I consistently do 3 times. Even over night as most of the time there is not space for more
 
jrudge said:
Only if the cause is worthwhile

There is no shortage of weed. The anchoring restrictions protect a tiny tiny percent of the total and the weed is anyway not endangered
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None of that is true of course, which is why they have passed a law to protect it.

The real problem is that if people like you ignore, or try to get round this law, they will just ban all boats from the area.
 
Hurricane said:
Absolute tripe.
Have you seen just how much weed there actually is?
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C'mon Mike, you know better than that. The point of the conservation is that its Posidonia oceanica, a slow growing species susceptible to damage, that grows around the Balearics and elsewhere in the Med. Its cousin, Zostera marina (eelgrass), which grows in Studland amongst other places is robust and fast growing by comparison. Sounds like there are a number of anchorages still usable without needing to use the honeypots, Rapita, S'Arenal, Pollensa...
 
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