Sardinia and Corsica

I have to say my first impressions of Sardinia have not faltered in any way, the north of the island is picturesque with clear blue water and plenty of bays to tuck in and get shelter from any winds. Swimming of the back of the boat has been one of the highlights as the waters are so clear, and quite warm.

Look, a floating head!

Along the way we met up with Helen and Marcel who had friends on board plus their Helen's daughter Alex, so met up with them for a couple of evenings. Unfortunately not long after arriving in Sardinia I had to take a trip home to sort out a medical problem, which left Kevin to do some sailing on his own, which he enjoyed immensely.

He also spent time meeting up with Helen and Marcel and their new guests Marcus, Bridgeta and their daughter Geraldine. In the evenings they would entertain either on Dakini or Miss Lilly and invariably play a game of Brandi Dog. This is a Swiss board/card game played in teams and taken very seriously, with usually the men winning.

Once given the all clear re my medical problem I was soon back on Miss Lilly with Kevin, although it had only been two weeks Kevin was convinced I had been away for three, hopefully that meant he missed me.

On arrival at the airport Kevin and Marcel had arranged for me to be picked up by one of the marina staff from Porto Asfodeli, a small marina still in development. Apparently they do a pickup service to and from the airport for people using the marina. I have to say this was a god send as I didn’t fancy waiting for a bus from the airport to Olbia and then a train to Golfo Arranchi in the heat, which was the journey I took to the airport. The marina also takes you to the nearest Supermarket a few miles away, but unfortunately on the day we wanted to go shopping they were busy and couldn’t spare anybody to take us.

On my first night back we went out for a meal in Portisco, which is a dingy ride from Porto Asfodeli and a very picturesque Marina where you can get some provisions and the washing done. The restaurant was lovely, right by the marina, unfortunately as soon as the meal was brought to us the wasps arrived. However the owner of the restaurant gave us a great tip for getting rid of them, just burn some ground coffee on a small plate (needs to be a ceramic plate not melamine as I did and ended up scorching the bottom of the plate when I tried it) they soon disappear.

The following day it was off to Portisco again to get some provisions and do the washing, so I was soon back in the swing of live aboard life. With the washing soon dried we set of for Porto Liccia, a small popular bay and best to arrive late in the day when all the motor boats have gone otherwise there is very little room.

From Porto Liccia we gradually made our way north back to Potro Liscia in preparation for our trip across to Corsica. The night before we were due to make the trip Helen and Marcel arrived on Dakini and so we arranged to make the crossing together.

Although originally the forecast was for light winds we managed to get a force 4 and sail the whole way across which was a bonus as we had expected to be motoring all the way. Our first anchorage was in Golfe de Sant’Amanza, a large bay with several anchorages to choose from. We were originally going to anchor at the head of the bay but it was quite shallow in areas and did not look very nice and so we decided to anchor at Anse de Balistra, which has clear waters and a beautiful sandy beach.

The following day we sailed to Porto Vecchio where we will meet up with Kevin’s brother and his family in two weeks’ time. Porto Vecchio is a lovely little town and the marina staff very helpful. We anchored just outside the marina but were able to take the dingy in and moor up there whilst we got some shopping done, it’s very rare you can do this.

The waters where we were anchored looked very murky and the bottom was quite foul, which we found out when we lifted the anchor, so this has left us with a slight dilemma as to where to moor when Kevin’s brother meets us.

On the way both to and from Porta Vecchia we were passed by huge numbers of motor boats coming in the opposite direction causing tremendous waves, causing the boat to bounce about, I have never seen anything like it. As we left Porto Vecchia at about 1700 there seemed to be a mad dash for them all to get back in the marina, it must have been absolute chaos when they all arrive in the marina at the same time.

As well as the small motor boats we have seen very large Gin Palaces, even one with its own Helicopter on the back.

Most of them at first appeared to be registered in Britain, but it’s actually the Cayman Islands, which is apparently a tax dodge, and so when the coastal police make an appearance they either up anchor and disappear or alter course and head for a different bay, it’s quite amusing to watch.

Over the next couple of days we made our way around to the west coast of Corsica to a bay recommended to us a by a sailing friend of Helens, and I have to say it was a great recommendation, again crystal blue water, you can’t help but drop your anchor is sand with a beautiful sandy beach as its backdrop. That night we decided we would have a barbeque on the beach Helen provided the food and we provided the wine, it was a great evening.

Golfo Roccapina - Great beach

The following day we headed for Porto Pollo to get more provisions, the sign in the marina stated that the Spa Supermarket was 150 meters away more like 1500, and wouldn’t you know it when we got there it was shut and not due to open until 1630 another one and a half hours later.   At 1630 we tried again this time getting Marcel to drop us off at the beach near the supermarket to save us having to carry everything back along the road. I have to say it was mayhem inside as every man and his dog seemed to be in there, and as the aisles were very narrow it was all on to see what you wanted. In my haste to get the shopping done and out I picked up  5L box of white wine instead of red, Kevin was not amused.

That night we went out for a meal at Le Toucan and had the best Mussels and chips ever, poor Marcel chose the Darado fish and was quite disappointed.

The next day we started to make our way south back to Sardinia  as we had no internet access in Corsica and needed to sort the boat insurance out, so over the next two days we headed to Porto Liscia.   Helen and Marcel planned to continue sailing south as they make their way to Tunisia and so we had our last meal together before going our separate ways and meeting up again in Ragusa for the winter.

The forecast is for strong winds over the next two days and so we have decided to stay put for a short whilst and get a few chores done before heading back to Corsica to meet Kevin’s brother.

Distance Travelled 2012: 2471Nm

Distance Travelled 2013: 1750.5Nm

Total Distance: 4221.5Nm

Our Present Position: https://maps.google.it/maps?saddr=41.19196,9.293205&hl=en&sll=41.168317,9.358978&sspn=0.113587,0.264187&mra=mift&mrsp=0&sz=13&t=m&z=13