As it comes to the pointy end of a very powerful first season, it's as clear as Cala Conta waters that Mamboats has secured its place on the Ibiza scene. The brainchild and project of Adam Creedy in collaboration with Mambo Ibiza, Mamboats offers you truly remarkable experiences out on the Mediterranean, for prices you can actually get your head around. Having come to the end of a very hectic August, the Spotlight team was delighted to be offered a relaxing day out on the boat, by the end of which all and sundry were convinced this was one of the most excellent days we've had together all season.
I'm a bit of a sailing purist myself, usually shaking my fist at speedboats hooning across the water causing wake, but for the Mamboats I simply have to make an exception. The boats are stylish and luxurious in design with a very comfortable leather interior - I believe the official terminology is, in fact, ‘pimpin' - and although I hate to admit it, it is really fun racing across the open sea, bumping on the waves and watching the foamy path you leave behind, like a supercharged sea-snail trail. The boats somehow manage to seem the perfect size for both a private trip for two, or a party trip for ten, so your experience can be as calm or as raucous as you please.
I've been lucky enough to get out on these boats a few times, so I've had a taste of the variety of trips they offer. An adrenalin-fuelled option is the watersports safari, which includes snorkeling, wakeboarding, water-ski-ing and inflateables. You can participate in as much or as little as you like. My first try on the wakeboard ended in a whole lot of splashing about and a lot of “nobody stands up first go” accompanied by consoling pats on the back. Luckily, I had another crack about a month later on the Spotlight day out, and victory was mine; five glorious seconds of vertical victory.
Snorkeling is a simple and brilliant part of many of the different Mamboats trips, but was thwarted on the Spotlight day by an onslaught of vicious jelly-fish in Cala Bassa. All right they were more squishy than vicious, but their numbers were certainly too great to swim with (although two of our number jumped in anyway, to prove their manhood or something), so we relocated the snorkel session to Cala Conta. Typically the waters around Cala Conta are as blue and clear as a swimming pool, with nothing but sand on the ocean floor as far as the goggles can see, and today was no different. Not exactly a dynamic snorkeling spot, but the water was perfect for a splash about and some photos. We stayed in this spot quite a while as the sun lowered close to the horizon and generally had a fantastic time with a bottle in our hand and our feet in the water (to the beautiful tones of John Talabot's ƒin album). Eventually it was time to up oars and head back to San Antonio in time for the later part of the sunset. We dropped anchor outside Mambo and cracked open the champagne, toasting each other, the sunset, and those poor unfortunate souls on land, ha! How could we ever have lived any other way?
That was the course of our day, but the trip options are plentiful. At the moment Mamboats offer a Sunset Cruise, VIP Cruise, Day Trip (watersports included), Extended Sunset Cruise (watersports included), Watersport Safari, Es Vedra Day Cruise and Celebrity Cruise. Furthermore, there is a certain amount of flexibility within each trip. If you don't know the island well, Mamboats will have everything planned for you, but if there's somewhere you'd particular like to go, or a certain activity you'd like more of, your skipper will generally be able to accommodate that. For example on an earlier day trip we requested to head to Atlantis, the amazing rock formation on the west coast of the island (opposite Es Vedra). It was an amazing spot that is a serious trek to get to by land, so it was a pleasure to be able to cruise into the bay by water, swim onto land and explore for as long as we liked. Music-wise, it's up to you. We Spotlighters know what we want when it comes to music, of course, so brought some cds and ipod and enjoyed tunes of our own selection for most of the trip, until dropping anchor in front of Mambos and letting their beats waft over the waves as the sun sank (you can also stream Mambo's music through the boat's speakers, if you prefer).
Beyond the luxury and watersports aspect, what I find most exciting about getting out on these boats is the ability to explore the Ibiza coastline. One can see amazing rock formations, snorkel in a private cove, take in the glorious landmarks like Es Vedra and still make it back to San An in time for the sunset. I encourage you to get friends or family together and book a trip; the experience is a gem for the memory-bank, without breaking the money-bank.
