That Sinking Feeling
There was sadness within the nautical world last week as the news broke that the 35 metre schooner, Thopago, had sunk off the coast of Brittany in western France early on Tuesday morning. The boat, which had its base on the island, and was regularly seen off the coast, was a two-mast wooden ship built in 1924. The vessel was on its way from the island to Brest, which is hosting a gathering of tall ships and old sailboats from 11th-17th July, when the tragedy occurred.
One of the boats owners, Nicole Legler, explained that a major leak began in the middle of the night after the boat appeared to collide with an unidentified object. They tried to pour the water out, firstly using pumps and then by hand, but it soon began to enter faster than it could be cleared, and the moment came when the captain decided he and the eight crew members should evacuate the vessel. They launched a dinghy after alerting the local coastal authorities of their situation.
A rescue helicopter was soon in the area, and picked up five of the crew members, including several island residents. They were all taken to a nearby Britanny ferry travelling towards Plymouth. It then returned and picked up the remaining four members, who were flown to a military camp near Brest.
Legler said they were unsure what had caused the damage, suggesting it could have been loose debris lying in the water. She described the moment the ship finally sunk as heartbreaking.
However several days later she confirmed she would be looking for financial help in re-floating the vessel from the Balearic Government, and said a charity would also be set up to raise money for the expensive process. The Town Hall of Ibiza had planned to award the boat special conservation status, currently being processed.

AROUND THE ISLAND

Specific Promotion Needed
The councillor for tourism at the Island Council, Pepa Mari, claimed on Monday she was hoping for numbers similar to those produced last year. However, she confessed these were difficult times and that she would be asking the Balearic Government for extra money to promote the island during 2009.
She announced the creation of a special association, Turisme d´Eivissa, which would include a combination of public and private companies to promote the island with a total of 290,000 to spend during the first year.
She continued that the merger of the four biggest British tour operators into two had had a negative effect on the island, and led to a slight reduction in capacity this year, one which is set to increase in 2009.
Mari claims this reduction will affect Menorca and Ibiza, before their larger and more popular neighbour, Mallorca. She said specific promotion of Ibiza was now needed, similar to that carried out this year in Menorca, after the island suffered a drastic reduction in the number of tourists in 2007.
She said that although the Council should not forget about sun and sea tourism, different avenues were now needed to increase the number of visitors to the island, especially in the low season. She said the Council was keen on promoting conference tourism, which she claimed was the future for the island. They would also be highlighting the natural side of the island, whilst confessing that the clubs would not receive any specific promotion. Mari said that these were an important part of the island, and one of the reasons Ibiza was so well known across the world. However, she said that while promoting the natural side of the island, carrying out similar promotion of the clubs could prove a handicap.
The National Tourist Board, Turespana, released a report the following day stating it was confident the three main foreign markets throughout Spain would remain strong, for the time being at least. The German market is cause for the most optimism, with Turespana expecting numbers across Spain to increase by 6 per cent. This increase would be particularly beneficial for Mallorca, the number one destination for Germans.
They were less cautious in relation to the British market, claiming they hoped numbers would remain the same, although it would very much depend on the weather back home, which was forecast to be dull and damp, at least through July.

Numbers Continue South
The poor start to the season was confirmed last week as the Hotel Federation released their monthly figures for June. Hotel occupancy in Ibiza and Formentera during the month fell by 8.4 per cent in comparison to 2007, the clearest sign yet that the island was unlikely to see similar figures to last year, which the Councillor for Tourism, Pepa Mari, had hoped for.
Again, the worst affected area were the beaches of San Jose, including Cala Tarida and Cala Vadella, which fell by a massive 26.3 per cent. However, all were negative and not one area managed to post better numbers than last year, with most falling between 6-8 per cent. Formentera, which has since this year been steadily rising, also reported declines in the region of 12 per cent.
The outgoing president of the Association, Roberto Hortensius, said the figures were worrying as the islands entered high season, and added that most of his members remained pessimistic about the season in general.
Meanwhile, the new president of the Association, Joan Riera Ramon, said more promotion was needed within the already established markets. Having recently spoken to the airport, he revealed that German tourism had fallen by 10 per cent so far this year, with the British market falling a further 5 per cent. He claimed specific promotion was needed within these markets because, although the national market was strong during July and August, it only really lasts two months.
He also said more support needed to be given to the tour operators, revealing that the package holidaymaker currently makes up around 65 per cent of the total tourism to the island, a figure which needs to be maintained. He added these operators needed to be helped with direct promotion, and encouraged to maintain their flights during the low season with financial incentives.

GPS Approval
Taxis on the island will have to install a GPS system in their vehicles by next year. The councillor for transport, Albert Prats, said the moves would mean a more efficient service and greater security for the drivers. Grants will be available for the installation of the systems.
The Global Positioning System or GPS uses a constellation of 32 Medium Earth Orbit satellites that transmit precise microwave signals, that enable GPS receivers to determine their location, speed, direction, and time. GPS was developed by the United States Department of Defence. Following the shooting down of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 in 1983, President Ronald Reagan issued a directive making the system available free for civilian use as a common good. Since then, GPS has become a widely used aid to navigation worldwide, and a useful tool for map-making, land surveying, commerce, scientific uses, and telecommunication devices.
However, the news was not well received by all, with the president of the Taxi Association in Ibiza, Jose Serafin, claiming they were currently not able to negotiate with the Island Council, due to the bad blood between the two caused by the temporary licence debacle. He said until this was sorted out his members were not prepared to discuss other matters.
Prats did agree to study the prices of the fares after the sharp increases in the price of petrol this year, with an increase likely towards the end of the year.

112 Action
The Emergency Services attended a total of 491,711 calls across the Balearics via their 112 number, during the first six months of the year. Of this total 57,825 resulted in an ambulance being sent out.
The majority of the call-outs were in Mallorca (48,893), whilst 5,306 were made in Ibiza, 3,213 in Menorca and 350 in Formentera. There were 319 calls per day, which were answered on average in under 0.06 seconds.
The calls were made due to a wide variety of causes including traffic accidents, fires, fights and medical emergencies. Last month a total of 2,027 incidents related to medical emergencies, 1,005 to fires and 1,060 to fights and general disturbances.
20,494 of the calls were attended in Catalan, 52,697 in Castellano, 810 in German, 1,399 in English and 45 in French.

Environmental Awards
Just 8.5 per cent of the hotels in Ibiza and Formentera have some kind of environmentally friendly certificate, the lowest within the Balearics. However, this percentage still far outstrips most other EU countries.
Speaking at Expo 08 in Zaragoza the Balearic Environment Minister, Miquel Angel Grimalt, revealed that a total of 41 of the 236 hotels within the Balearics currently had some type of accreditation of sustainability, a total of 17 per cent. He continued that the Balearics were the pioneers of green beds, but that much more could be done.
The Balearic Government is currently handing out subsidies worth a total of 70,000 to help make hotels on the islands slightly more environmentally friendly.
There are two certificates available across Europe the EMAS and ISO 14001. The EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is basically a management tool for companies and other organisations to evaluate, report and improve their environmental performance. The scheme has been available for participation by companies since 1995, and although it was originally restricted to companies in the industrial sector, it is now open to all those wanting to improve the environmental friendliness of their company.

Fiesta Sells TUI Stake
The Fiesta Hotel Group has sold its 1.6 per cent share in the holiday group, TUI. The company disposed of all of its stocks in the German group at the beginning of the month, for a total of 70 million.
The group hit the news last week as it announced all of its hotels in both Mallorca and the Canaries were up for sale. This came as the hotel opened its most elaborate project to date, a 1,056 room hotel in Jamaica.
The shares were bought by Russian billionaire Alexei Mordashov at 17.50 each, or a total of 70 million.
Abel Matutes is a member of TUI's supervisory board, obliging him to disclose when he buys or sells shares in the company. Mordashov's move rebuffs attempts by TUI's single biggest shareholder, John Fredriksen, to increase his power within the company. Fredriksen reportedly holds close to 15 per cent of shares in the company.

Decision Due Soon
The president of the Island Council, Xico Tarres, claimed on Friday that the decision on whether to refloat the Don Pedro would be made in September. He said that while his administration was morally still keen on refloating the vessel, he understood the possible benefits of leaving the ship, which sank a year ago, where it is, and promoting the biggest underwater wreck dive in the Mediterranean.
The decision on its future will rest with the Council, the Balearic Government and the reports of a number of independent companies, although Tarres assured the public that the decision would not be based on economics, but simply if it would cause more damage trying to raise the boat.

IBIZA TOWN
Botafoc Refit
Both the Town Hall of Ibiza and the Island Council have expressed their delight that the new port planned for es Botafoc has eventually been given the go-ahead. Last Sunday the Diario de Ibiza reported that permission had been granted by the Environmental Department of the national Government, the large stage in a process which began several years ago.
The president of the Island Council, Xico Tarres, expressed his delight at the decision but warned further talks were needed to minimise the impact of the new jetties still further.
A spokesman for the Town Hall said they were happy the project would at last be carried out, and assured residents the final plans would be those which were the most beneficial to the municipality.
The plans at the moment include a 69,000 m2 dock with three jetties in total, one of 516 metres in length, and two smaller ones of 200 metres each. It is hoped the project can be started at the beginning of next year, and that when completed will offer cruise companies even more options when considering Ibiza as a destination.
The Port Authorities responded over the weekend to calls that the dimensions of the project needed to be reduced, claiming it has been planned to the bare minimum and cannot be changed. They said the new port would be modern, adequate and, most of all, safe.

Marina Eivissa
The new owners of the Ibiza Nueva marina have revealed that they will begin to restrict access to the area. Barriers were installed last week and will be monitored round the clock to ensure only people with the appropriate passes are able to enter the marina. The new man in charge, Daniel Mari, said the moves were to ensure more privacy for the users of the marina, and ensure only those that were using the facilities were able to gain access. He also revealed that after 30 years as Ibiza Nueva, the name of the marina would also be changing to Marina Eivissa.
Next week a video will be available showing visitors the plans for the new marina, which will cost around 27 million and involve the building of a 368 metre docking area and 1,400 metres of additional jetty space, allowing 60 more boats to dock.

Purifier Locations
The minister for the Environment at the Balearic Government, Miquel Grimalt, admitted on Wednesday that he has been given two options for the location of the new water purifier. One is believed to be Cami Vell de Sant Mateu, although he refused to disclose the identity of the other claiming it would only cause problems for the Town Hall, because nobody wanted a purifier next to their home.
He said that one location appeared to be technically more viable than the other, but that both were suitable.
Speaking whilst at Expo ´08 in Zaragoza he reminded those listening that the current facility was in extremely poor condition due to the lack of maintenance given during the last administration, although he said there had so far been no leaks this year. He added that the new purifier was still some years away, but that the project needed to be started immediately.

Building Site
Four hotels in the Talamanca area have made an official complaint to the Town Hall about the building work which continues in the area. The manager of the Argos Hotel said he had been forced to make the complaint after receiving a constant barrage of complaints from guests, disturbed by the continual passing of lorries and dust. He said the work should have officially stopped on 1st June. The three other establishments to make formal contact with the Town Hall are Rocamar, Hotel Corso and the hostal Talamanca. The Town Hall was unavailable for comment.

SAN ANTONIO
Strike Called Off
On Tuesday the strike by the rubbish collectors working in San Antonio was called off at the last minute, after the Town Hall agreed to cover some of the difference finally agreed by the two sides.
Negotiations started five months ago but initially advanced very slowly. The Union, CCOO, which was undertaking the talks with the firm, FCC, had demanded rises of 2 per cent above the rate of inflation, whilst the company explained they could not offer more than 0.5 per cent. After talks broke down for the third time two weeks ago, the Union decided to announce a permanent strike to take place from 11th July. However this has now been called off after an initial agreement was reached.
The Town Hall got involved in the talks, fearing a strike would prove extremely negative for the municipality, especially at this time of the year. The councillor, Juan Pantaleoni, therefore agreed to cover 0.12 per cent of the costs of the 0.67 per cent rise agreed by the two parties. There will also be no service 24th December and 1st January,
FCC currently employs 63 workers in summer and 35 in winter.
Similarly the strike brewing in the hospitality industry was avoided after the two parties agreed a four year deal based on increases of 0.5 per cent above the rate of inflation. This agreement will affect around 30,000 people on the island.

Ibiza Rock Shock
The Town Hall of San Antonio admitted on Thursday they would only allow three more concerts to take place at the hippodrome in San Rafael. Councillor Jose Ramon Serra Pilot revealed that while his administration were happy to promote these types of initiatives, San Rafael was one of the few remaining places within the municipality that was not suitable for loud music.
The management of Ibiza Rocks agreed a deal with the Island Council earlier in the year to hold all of the concerts at the hippodrome, which is owned by them. However, the Town Hall confirmed it was their responsibility to issue the licence, and they would not be allowing any concerts from August onwards.
A spokesman for Ibiza Rocks revealed they were now looking at the possibility of holding the concerts inside the hotel, considering that during the opening night there were very few problems due to the organisation of the event.
The attitude of the Town Hall drew criticism from the opposition party, led by Laura Carrascosa, who claimed the current administration were not open to new ideas. She claimed Ibiza Rocks was a great new initiative, which had clearly shown it was a responsible company in complying with the cleanliness, security and the timetable for all of the concerts.

SAN JOSE
Town Hall Riposte
The Town Hall hit back at criticism from the environmental group, GEN, last week. The group had lambasted the PSOE-run administration for allowing so much building work in Cala Tarida in their latest municipal plans. They also claimed the new water purifier in the area was only being built to win favour with the constructors in the area, and to convince them to continue building.
The Town Hall responded by claiming it had reduced possible building work in the area from 335,000 m2 down to 91,000 m2 in its new plans. This reduction included slashing the amount of houses in one particular project from 336 properties to 90 properties.
It also said the purifier was being built for all of the residents who live in the area all year round who had, up until now, suffered from sub-standard water.
Just two days later the Island Council revealed it had given permission for a 138-villa urbanisation to be built in Cala Tarida. The councillor, Miquel Ramon, said he had had no other option but to award the permit, as the promoters had all of the necessary papers. However, he warned that the project could not start until the new water purifier had been completed.

Beach Facilities
The beach at Cala Bassa premiered its new car park last week after the Town Hall finally came to an agreement with the owners of the land. The car park will have space for a total of 500 vehicles, and will also be equipped with a special area where buses can turn around. The deal is all part of the plans by the Town Hall to improve the facilities at the municipalitys various beaches, and will include the building of new showers and toilet facilities at Cala Bassa.

SANTA EULALIA
Morna Denial
The Island Council has denied the Morna Valley private school permission to extend their premises, due to the effect this expansion would have on the forested area around the college. However, despite this bad news there was some consolation after the school was given permission to legalise extensions which had already taken place, and were not made legal at the time.

FORMENTERA
Bus Service
The new bus services in Formentera have been a huge success in their first full season in operation. The Island Council has invested a great deal of money on improving the service and promotion, which now all seems to be paying off. During the month of June a total of 17,742 people used a bus on the island, nearly double the 9,757 people who utilized the service last year.
The most popular route has been the one from the port of la Savina, to Pilar de la Mola, which transported a total of 8,943. This was followed by route number 1 which leaves from la Savina and passes through es Pujols, Sant Ferran and Sant Francesc before finally arriving back in la Savina.
The only negative part proved to be the results from route number 3, which the transport minister, Josep Mayans, had initially hoped would be the most popular. The route takes passengers from the port to ses Illetes, the islands favourite beach. However, these low numbers could be put down to the poor weather during the first part of the month.
The municipality also launched its second electric shuttle last week, which is to run inside the ses Illetes area.

CRIME & INCIDENTS
One Held, One Bailed
The owner of the shop, ECO, who was arrested last week on suspicion of selling drugs, has been released on bail. The owner and his shop assistant, both German, were detained last weekend, along with a Lithuanian man, after the latter received half a kilo of cocaine through the post. His arrest later led to the raiding of the telephone/internet shop in San Juan.
In an initial trial held during the week the judge ordered the Lithuanian man to be held, whilst the owner of the shop was released on bail and the shop assistant freed. During the raids on the shop police found 252 grams of hashish, 75 grams of marijuana, as well as smaller quantities of other drugs. The owner claimed these were for personal use, although sources revealed some of the drugs had already been bagged up in smaller doses and had prices on them.
The Lithuanian recipient of the cocaine said he was merely acting as a middle man and did not know what the package contained, although he did not give any more details about the final destination of the package.
Officers revealed the arrests were the result of an investigation which began at the beginning of the year. During the operation into drugs in the north of the island, police noticed a continual traffic of people who came to the shop to purchase drugs. The package from Costa Rica was then intercepted, which was addressed to the shop and contained 600 grams of cocaine. It was then police decided to act and made the arrests.
The owner, Daniel Spiegel, sent a letter to the Diario de Ibiza on his release proclaiming his innocence. He said the man who had received the cocaine had never been a client of the shop, and that anything that the police had picked up during their raid was for personal use. However, he made no comment on the accusation made by police that the drugs were bagged up and included price tags.

Dutch Tourist Critical
A 20-year old Dutch man was left in a coma after crashing his car on the San Juan road in the early hours of Sunday morning. The accident occurred just 500 metres from the popular restaurant Ca na Pepeta on a straight part of the road at just after 5 a.m. As the paper goes to print, investigating officers were still trying to figure out exactly what happened. It appears the Ford Fiesta driven by the victim skidded off the road and crashed head on into a wall. The car then bounced back into the road where it was hit by another vehicle.
The victim had to be cut from the car by the fire department and was subsequently rushed to the private Vilas hospital in Ibiza Town, with severe head injuries.

Son-in-Law Arrested
A police investigation was under way into the attempted murder of an 87 year old local woman at her home in s´Illa Plana, last Monday. The chief suspect remains her son-in-law, who was arrested by police after they noticed him acting suspiciously whilst they were first at the scene of the crime. Police were first alerted to the problem when they were advised a man in a blood stained shirt had been seen in the area. They were later called to the womans house, after her daughter arrived home and found her unconscious in bed with marks on her wrists.
The woman, who shares the house with her daughter and son-in-law and the couples daughter, said she had been taking a nap when she suddenly felt something being placed over her face, presumably, police think, a pillow. She began to grapple with the attacker and managed to draw blood, although this caused her to cut her hands and wrists in several places, presumably on the assailants watch. She then passed out, which saved her life, as the attacker in all likelihood thought he had killed her.
Several minutes after the police arrived at the house, the son-in-law also returned home without a shirt. His excuse was that he had cycled home, which immediately raised suspicions as police had seen the man parking his car minutes earlier. On checking the bicycles in the house, they became aware they had clearly not been used for some time. Upon asking about the whereabouts of his shirt the man said he could not remember where he had put it.
They then noticed the man was not wearing a watch, although the white mark on his wrist clearly showed he regularly wore one. After asking him the whereabouts of the item, the man said he did not normally wear one, and the watch he had was in a wardrobe. Officers then asked to see it, and when they noticed remains of dead skin and blood, promptly arrested the man.
In an initial court hearing the man observed his right to remain silent, and refused to make any statement. He was sent to prison without bail until a trial date could be set.

Airport Arrest
The owner/chairman of Focusrite, Phillip Dudderidge, had an unfortunate welcome when visiting the island last week, for the first time in twenty years. Having arrived at the airport on Monday evening, he popped off to hire a car, leaving his wife waiting close to the entrance of the terminal with their cases.
The woman noticed a green/grey Fiat Panda which had circled the airport a few times. The first time around the driver of the vehicle leaned over the passenger seat and tried to talk to her. At first she ignored him, but on his second time around, she asked what he wanted. It was at this moment that she was approached from behind by another man who grabbed her two pieces of hand luggage and sped away on the back of a motorbike.
The bags contained a number of valuable items, including a pearl necklace and earrings, as well as a apple mac pro laptop. Any information leading to the recovery of these items will be handsomely rewarded. If you do have any information on the whereabouts of these items, please contact us here at the office.
The womans passport was also in one of the bags but after a quick visit to the Consulate, she was issued an emergency passport and was able to make it home just another reason why registering at the Consulate is a must!

Violent Conduct
An Irish youth was arrested on Friday after an altercation with police officers in San Antonio. Officers had been advised by neighbours in the area of a man acting extremely aggressively, close to the promenade. Police quickly arrived on the scene and were told he had already been in a fight with a Spanish youth who quickly identified the man. They arrested him and took him to his hotel to collect his passport before taking him down to the station. It was at this point that the man became incensed and started kicking and punching the vehicle, causing considerable damage. The detainee eventually had to be taken to Can Misses after he worked himself into such a state, and medical attention was finally needed.
The situation was not helped by a group of youths who began to launch bottles at the police car when they were originally making the arrest. For this, an Italian youth was arrested and charged.

Man Remains Missing
Police began to lose hope of finding a 50 year old Czech tourist alive after he went missing on the island on Wednesday. The alarm was raised by the mans wife after he failed to return from a walk in el Pla de ses Formigues, close to San Vicente. A small search party began looking for the man on Thursday. However, after no sign during the entire day, a team of 30 people, including police officers, Red Cross members and volunteers, began to search the area again on Friday. They were joined by a helicopter which flew in from Palma to help. The search lasted through the day and was called off at 9p.m. due to the fading light. On Saturday, the 3rd day of the search, police decided to widen the area but still there was no sign of Milan Novak.

Lucky Escapes
A 22 year old American soldier broke his leg last week, after falling five floors from his hotel room in San Antonio. The accident happened in the early hours of Monday morning. According to his travelling companion the two men were talking on the balcony of their hotel room when he suddenly grabbed the balcony rail, and jumped off. An ambulance was called to the Piscis Park Hotel and rushed the injured man to hospital, although medical staff confirmed he had remained conscious throughout the trauma. Police said the injured man had been drinking during the evening and claimed there was a strong possibility he had also consumed drugs.
This incident was followed on Thursday by the lucky escape of a 29 year old British youth who threw himself from the second floor of the Hotel Bergatin in San Jose. Police had picked the youth up earlier in the night, disorientated. They took him back to his hotel and left him in reception. However, moments later, and for reasons that are still unclear, the man launched himself off his second floor balcony. Police again believe there were drugs involved in the incident. The injured man was rushed to hospital but was released later that morning with only minor cuts and bruises.

Brits Arrested
Three British youths were arrested last week for their part in a fight which left a 30 year old Spanish man unconscious. It seems the brawl began after a girl threw sand at the victim and broke his glasses, in the early hours of Wednesday morning. An argument then started between the two. Immediately the three teenagers, all sporting fancy dress (they were apparently dressed as Batman, Robin and the Joker) approached the victim and started to hurl insults at him. Batman then punched the victim, knocking him to the ground. Whilst on the ground he was kicked and punched several more times by Robin before losing consciousness. The youth dressed as the Joker was later released after it became apparent he had not been involved in the attack.
The arrests were made possible thanks to a phone call to the police alerting them of the trouble in San Antonio. The two suspects are being held in custody whilst further investigations continued, and have been ordered to pay 6,700 in damages to the victim. 5

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