Ultraswim Ibiza

A thirty-kilometre open water marathon across the Mediterranean Sea links the island of Ibiza with the shores of Formentera. ULTRASWIM IBIZA is an open water swimming event held in the sea at Santa Eulalia del Río, on Ibiza in the Balearic Islands of Spain. Organized by Club Náutico Santa Eulalia, the gathering is staged in late spring, returning to these island waters year after year in late May. The main ultramarathon spans thirty kilometres between the beach of Santa Eulalia del Río and the sands of Es Pujols in Formentera. Swimmers enter the open sea directly from the shore of Santa Eulalia del Río to embark on the marathon crossing.

Across the open passage, the course features three intermediate time control points that monitor the progress of each participant until the finish line on Es Pujols beach. In offshore stretches, swimmers navigate open Mediterranean waters where the average sea temperature is around 19.7 °C (67 °F). Complementing the long crossing, the weekend also features the Mini Ultraswim program, which offers shorter competitive courses in late May. Among these, a 5,000-metre race forms an official stage of the national Copa de España de Aguas Abiertas. The 5 km course sets off from the shore at Playa de Cala Llonga and finishes along Playa de Santa Eulalia, offering a point-to-point swim along the island's coastline. Alongside the 5,000-metre challenge and the premier 30,000-metre traverse, the event includes a 1,000-metre distance.

Espalmador and the sea passage to Formentera

Covering 137 hectares, Isla de Espalmador is characterized by rugged coastal cliffs that dominate its perimeter. This rocky perimeter gives way to the sea at only two coves, situated in the south and in the northwest. The northwestern cove enjoys natural protection from the elements thanks to the small offshore islet of Illa de Sa Torreta, which creates a secure shelter for passing boats. Just beyond the island's coast, the neighbouring islet of Illa des Porcs is home to the En Pou lighthouse. Inland, Espalmador holds a muddy lagoon that visitors once sought out for mud baths, a practice that is now strictly prohibited under penalty of a 1,000 euro fine to protect the island's fragile natural ecosystem.

At the southern tip of the island, the narrow marine passage of Es Trocadors separates Espalmador from the coast of Formentera. During low tide, the sea drops enough that it is possible to walk between the two islands across the strait, although powerful water currents make entering this tidal channel dangerous.

Botafoc lighthouse and the watchtowers guarding the bays

Maritime navigation around the island has long depended on coastal markers, located about three kilometres from the race area at the Faro de Botafoc. The rocky islet of Botafoc was historically used by local sailors to burn bonfires that guided ships safely into the surrounding waters. Because space on the rocky islet was extremely restricted, the living quarters for the lighthouse keepers had to be constructed across two floors. The lighthouse was electrified in 1918, modernizing its night-time vigil over the waters. Operating on a seven-second cycle, the beacon projects alternating sectors of white or red light across the waves. The red sector specifically warns vessels away from the hazards posed by the Malvins and Esponja islets. On the nearby coastline, maritime defense is anchored on land by the Torre de la Sal Rossa, a well-preserved defensive tower standing at the beach of Playa d'en Bossa.

From Phoenician Ibossim to ancient ports on the Mediterranean

Phoenician settlers founded an active port on Ibiza in 654 BC, naming their settlement Ibossim or Iboshim, a title thought to refer to its aromatic native plants. At Es Cuieram, worship was dedicated to the Punic goddess Tanit. About one kilometre from the race area, the historic Puerto de Ibiza traces a continuous maritime chronicle. The Carthaginians established a colony here in 650 BC, developing the sheltered basin into a major strategic naval base. When the island later became a federated city under the Roman Empire, the Romans preserved the port's thriving commercial activity across the Mediterranean. The main city, located on the southeast coast of the island, also preserves the ancient Punic necropolis of Puig des Molins.

Sovereignty over the island shifted repeatedly over the centuries, with the territory conquered by the Vandals in 424 and absorbed into the Byzantine Empire in 535. In September 1159, Ibiza was raided and sacked by a Norman fleet dispatched from the Kingdom of Sicily. The modern port facilities began taking shape in the early twentieth century through the construction of an expansive breakwater designed to shelter its southern basin. The current port infrastructure has undergone significant expansion since 1980, including the Botafuego dock, which serves today for fuel unloading operations and for mooring large cruise ships.

The sheltered waters of Talamanca and Platja S'Estanyol

The surrounding sea exerts a moderating influence on the regional climate, keeping the waters temperate and making freezes or extreme weather conditions rare throughout the year. Inside the enclosed inlet of Playa de Talamanca, shallow waters remain well protected from high winds. The bay faces southeast, which causes prevailing winds to blow directly onshore from the open sea toward the land. Talamanca beach consists of natural fine sand that slopes down into an underwater landscape composed of sand beds and submerged marine vegetation. Rocky ledges and formations appear only as the water reaches greater depths farther offshore. The underwater wreck of the Don Pedro remains resting on the seabed just in front of the bay.

Playa d'en Bossa is a sweeping coastal stretch extending for 2.7 kilometres. This wide beach forms an open eastern-facing bay exposed to strong winds that blow from the sea directly to the land. Its shoreline features natural fine white sand that ranges in width between twenty and thirty metres. The seabed here remains remarkably shallow, measuring a depth of just 0.5 metres at twenty-five metres from the shore and reaching only 1 metre at fifty metres out. Along another curve of the coast, Platja S'Estanyol offers an eastern orientation nestled within a cove sheltered from the dominant winds of the coastline. The edge of the cove is framed by distinctive flat rock formations along one of its flanks. On the north-eastern rim of the cove, rustic fishermen's boathouses still stand above the shore, completing a diverse island coastline that welcomes open water swimmers each spring.