The afternoon sun was still beating down on the San Antonio port as I approached The Egg ready to experience my first boat party of the season. Stepping aboard the Captain Nemo I, I was warmly greeted by the promoters, given a run down of the day's schedule and given a copa de sangria (cup of fruit wine). I must say my afternoon with Float Your Boat - Cream Ibiza Official Boat Party was off to a pretty good start before we even took off.
Soon after I had finished my sangria, a large group of enthusiastic clubbers turned up at the boat's entrance eager to board and start the day's festivities. There was excited talk amongst the boat attendees of the night ahead at Amnesia, as Cream was opening for the season and had a stellar line-up for the evening, including Faithless, Paul Van Dyk and Fatboy Slim to name a few. The guests hit the bar for the free drinks as we set sail and watched San Antonio coastline fade away into distance.
Cream resident, Sean Hughes kicked off the afternoon with a smooth mix of house jams, including a personal favourite of mine Calypso by Round Table Knights. It went down well with the sun kissed guests as the dance floor started to fill up. The sea was relatively calm, but the waves still rocked the boat enough to sway about, making photographing the event a tad challenging but also quite fun.
Halfway through our time out in the Balearic ocean, the next DJ took to the stage. Blasted through an impressive custom Pioneer XY Pro-Audio sound system, George Kwali first came to fame last year with the heavy bass house track, Act No Good featuring Amber Van Day. His follow-up release, the tribal house dancefloor smash Crank It, a collaboration with fellow Brightonian Kideko, shot him to success leading him to be signed by Ministry of Sound.
His set was a mixture of tech and bass house, along with some remixes. Notably, a bass house You Got The Love remix was well-received by the crowd. Tracks like Pump Up by Detlef and Suddenly Funk by Renato Cohen kept the floor grooving as we continued on our journey. George was in also good spirits and for good reason. We spoke later on after his set and he told me it was his debut at Amnesia playing just before Fatboy Slim, a big gig for the young DJ.
As the party was coming to an end, the boat was bathed in the golden light of the sunset on the horizon. Clubbers cheered the finale of Kwali's set as we came back into the port. The friendly crowd were a big part of why I really enjoyed this boat party, a tribute to the clientele that Float your Boat attracts.
With the boat back in port, I departed ready to join the very same clubbers at Amnesia that evening. I can definitely see weekdays out at sea with Float Your Boat becoming a popular pre-party destination for clubbers this summer season in 2017.
Float your Boat runs beat fuelled trips into the Balearic Sea multiples times a week. Known for the hedonistic vibe and the cool atmosphere of their parties, they offer the official pre-party boat for Cream Ibiza at Amnesia every Thursday. Need we say more?
PHOTOGRAPHY | Michael Tomlinson
