Sailing in bad weather has its risks, but these risks are exacerbated if inexperienced people are involved. Lighthouse keeper Santiago Ribas Ribas became involved in such a situation when, despite a raging storm, he had to set sail for the islet of Tagomago with a contractor on board. “The man had to visit the lighthouse to do some work, and since he was only available that day, we set off,” he says, relating an incident that happened in the early 2000s but which he remembers as if it were yesterday.
The terrible weather prevented the boat from docking, so they decided to use the rowboat to get to the lighthouse. But when the contractor made a jump for the rowboat, he ended up clinging to the bigger boat with his body acting as a bridge between the two vessels. The man’s physical constitution did not make things easier: “He must have weighed about 120 kilos [265 pounds],” the lighthouse keeper explains. It could only end badly, and indeed the contractor fell into the sea; with him went his wallet and the euro notes he was carrying, which drifted across the water.
“I was in the boat with the oars, a skipper was in charge of the ship, and the wind was taking us towards the rocks,” says Santiago. That was when the real danger occurred: having to fire up the propellers to stop the ship from ending up on the rocks with a person close by in the water. The contractor finally managed to get back on board, bringing with him large amounts of water. The scene had a happy ending though, even for the euro notes, which were recovered by Santiago himself and returned to their owner.
This is just one of the many stories Santiago has collected as a lighthouse keeper, a profession that he has been in since 1985, but which is gradually disappearing. In fact, he is one of only two lighthouse keepers who are in charge of the 12 lighthouses and the 26 beacons located at strategic points on the islets and the islands’ coast.
He began working in the lighthouses of Tossa de Mar, Castellón, La Mola and Coves Blanques, finally being stationed at Botafoc, where he has lived since 1996. More than a new posting, it was like returning home. Santiago grew up in the house located next to this lighthouse because his father, from whom he inherited the job, was also a lighthouse keeper. “When I came here, there were seven of us on Ibiza and Formentera; now there are just two,” he explains about a job that was automated in the 1970s thanks to a mechanized operation of the lights, and which has had a remote control system since the year 2000.
The lighthouses on the Pityusic Islands have also been pioneers in innovation. Take the d’en Pou lighthouse, for example, which was the first solar lighthouse in Spain, and illuminates the maritime traffic between Ibiza and Formentera and the island of des Porcs, in Es Freus. But when the weather reminds us that it is more powerful than any technology, traditional methods are required. This happens when the fog is so dense, you can’t even see the island of Daus, located one mile from the port of Ibiza. In these circumstances, the Botafoc lighthouse activates its siren, which is the only one on the entire island, so that sailors can reach a safe port guided by its signal.
