Near the coast
Governing: RD 876/2014 (Reglamento General de Costas) art. 73; RD 259/2002 art. 10; COLREGs (RIPA) rules 5–8, 13–15, as taught in the Licencia syllabus. Builds on: L2.1.
Bathing zones
Spain's coastal regulation, the Reglamento General de Costas, sets two cases:
| Situation | Rule |
|---|---|
| Buoyed bathing zone (zona de baño balizada) | No recreational navigation inside it at all. Reach or leave the beach only through the marked launch channel (canal de lanzamiento) |
| Unbuoyed coast | The bathing zone is taken to be 200 m off beaches and 50 m off the rest of the coast. Inside it: 3 kn maximum and no discharges of any kind |
On busy Balearic beaches the bathing zone is usually marked by a line of small buoys, often yellow, with a channel at one end for boats and jet skis. Treat anything in the water near a beach as a possible swimmer, snorkeller or paddleboarder.
WARNING — 3 knots is walking pace Three knots is under 6 km/h: a brisk walk. On a small planing boat it means barely off tick-over. If you are leaving a wake near swimmers, you are going too fast.
Speeding in these strips, or navigating inside a buoyed bathing zone, is a grave offence under the state ports and merchant marine law (TRLPEMM art. 307.2.l).
Buoys you will meet
The Licencia syllabus teaches the IALA region A lateral marks:
| Mark | Colour and shape | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Port-hand | Red, can-shaped or with a can topmark | Keep it on your left when entering harbour |
| Starboard-hand | Green, conical or with a cone topmark | Keep it on your right when entering harbour |
Leaving harbour, the sides reverse. Many small-harbour entrances around the islands have just one pair: pass between them.
CAUTION — Divers' flags A boat or buoy showing a blue-and-white flag (code flag A) means divers are down. Give it a wide berth and go slowly. Snorkellers often tow a small orange or red buoy.
Rules of the road, in short
The Licencia covers selected COLREGs rules (4–8, 11–19 and 37). The ones you will use every trip:
- Lookout (rule 5): someone watches all round, all the time. Sun glare and a crowded cockpit make this harder than it sounds.
- Safe speed (rule 6): a speed at which you can stop or turn in time.
- Overtaking (rule 13): the boat coming up from behind keeps clear, whatever type it is.
- Head-on (rule 14): both boats turn to starboard (right).
- Crossing (rule 15): if another power-driven boat is on your starboard side, you give way; slow down or pass behind it.
- Sailing boats under sail generally have right of way over a small motorboat, but don't count on a crowded yacht seeing you.
- Make your actions early and obvious (rule 8). A small late wiggle helps nobody.
Speed along the coast
Apart from the 3 kn bathing strips and harbour limits, there is no general coastal speed limit in force in the Balearics. A coast-law bill approved by the Govern in June 2026 would impose 10 kn within 1 nm of the coast for jet skis and boats over 12 m. It has gone to the Parlament and is not law yet. Your small rental boat would not be caught by the 12 m threshold anyway, but good seamanship already asks you to slow down near calas.
TIP — Enter a cala like a car park Dead slow, bow into the wind, a person on the bow watching for swimmers and rocks. Leave the same way.