Bobbing on 'The Beautiful Green’
“The boat’s owner almost fell into the dock laughing when we told her the idea,” says Ali, while wrapped around some rigging. The boys were told it would be impossible – it would mean changing the way the entire industry and their fleets ran. Undeterred, they bought their first catamaran and converted it to an eco catamaran.
This original was named La Bella Verde (‘The Beautiful Green’). Solar panels sat in place of the usual huge engines, providing financial benefits to match the ethical ones. Now, by 11am every morning, each boat in their group of seven (including what’s sure to be the most-requested vessel of this year’s season, named Sexy Beast) has already been powered up by the sun enough to last a full day on the water.
There’s no noisy engine – no noise at all, in fact – so it’s the crew’s choice if they fancy a peaceful, meditative jaunt out to sea or if they want more of a party vibe, like us, and to soundtrack the day with some Balearic beats from an onboard sound system (solar-powered, of course). The catamaran has an extremely shallow hull, which means La Bella Verde’s boats can get up closer to the coast than other same-sized vessels – a massive bonus for swimming ashore to secret, empty beaches, especially during the peak month of August.
Cruising above the sea meadow / Image: Tomas Klauss
Deep below us is the world’s largest and oldest living organism: posidonia. This is an 8km span of green seagrass, also known as the sea meadow. It’s more than 100,000 years old, has been named a World Heritage site by UNESCO and is responsible for sustaining marine life such as a dwindling seahorse population (who knew?), as well as cleaning the waters from pollution.
The posidonia also suffers from irreparable damage caused by boats anchoring on top of it, something that campaigners, like SOS Posidonia and other local organisations, have been working hard to prevent. La Bella Verde’s catamarans are some of the only boats on the islands that do not disturb the delicate greenery.
The wider project of making Ibiza and Formentera green beacons in the Med means there’s plenty more work to be done on land, too, so La Bella Verde organises beach clean-ups in conjunction with associations such as the Ibiza Preservation Foundation. This is one of the organisations that’s pushing the Balearics’ plastic-free agenda, as well as encouraging more chefs and restaurants to work alongside local farmers and use zero-miles seasonal produce in their menus – off the back of which initiative the future is thriving.
Beach life (it's the only life we know) / Image: Essential IbiZa
For me it means today’s lunch is as virtuous as it is delicious, as Clint, the ship’s chef, spreads out a feast on the beach. We jump out of the boat and, were it not for the Spanish flag flying proudly from the mast, I’d think we were in a Caribbean hideaway – there’s a beautiful white-sand beach and the warm, turquoise sea matches the colour of the boat to the exact same Pantone shade.
An inelegant wade through the waters later, there’s a meal I’d happily be marooned for: sea bass ceviche; almond, avocado and sundried tomato quinoa; gazpacho; and truffled heritage tomato and buffalo mozzarella salad. All organic and, where possible, all either purchased locally or from La Bella Verde’s own garden. While we’re eating, a tiny lizard runs up to our picnic, nibbles me on my little toe, then thinks better and shoots off after nabbing a rogue almond on the sand.
La Bella Verde's 100% recyclable composite boat which launches this year
It seems like such a simple idea: go back to basics and use the natural energy that the islands are blessed with, but also recognise things can only change with a positive attitude – which comes in waves from the crew – and by collaborating with other islanders. Surely some of the other savvy boat-chartering companies will be eyeing up La Bella Verde’s popularity and launching their own versions.
“That’s the whole point,” says Charlie, a trained marine biologist and former promoter for superclub Amnesia. “It’s not about being rivals, or us owning the concept. We want to revolutionise the industry. In an ideal world, everybody will be sailing on solar-powered boats. We’d love to see other companies follow us.”
The trend for sustainable sailing is also going global – La Bella Verde is currently working with a number of boat owners across the world to help them build solar-powered boats, show them how to charter ecologically sound trips and offer useful advice on marine conservation. The future of sustainable sailing with this green dream team at the helm? It’s shipshape, mate.
labellaverde.org
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