The tourism boom of the 1970s in La Manga led to relocating the base from Santiago de la Ribera to La Manga’s “Puerto Bello”. Due to the legal complications of operating a beach bar in a military zone, the family acquired the Ana María Portillo, a schooner approximately 60 meters in length, with the idea of setting up a floating restaurant and leaving behind the issues on Isla Perdiguera. However, these dreams were shattered in 1982 when an Englishman, acting out of revenge, sank the vessel. The schooner had remained anchored in the Mar Menor off Puerto Bello due to its size. The incident stemmed from a warning issued by the local port authority, which had informed him that he could not conduct the same type of tours with his English-flagged yacht. Despite multiple attempts to refloat the vessel—and even though part of its main deck remained above water as it had grounded—the limited resources of the time made recovery impossible. Years later, military explosives finally destroyed the wreck.

In 1987, the family acquired a classic sightseeing boat from the Port of Barcelona named Nuestra Señora de la Paz.