You could be forgiven for thinking that spending a day, night and a day crossing a featureless, wind-less sea would be really dull. But, during the day you can catch up on reading a good book, sunbathe at bit - at night listen to language CD’s on the iPod, and stargaze, and as usual when we are looking forward to sampling a new cuisine, you can catch a large tuna just before you reach land!!!
Whilst not wanting to appear ungrateful for the catch – he was a perfect size, eaten before he became boring and not-so-fresh……
Porto Conte, North-west coast
We had little information about Sardinia, and for the first time were making decisions for ourselves, rather than on advice from those who had gone before us. It was very refreshing to do our own research into which bays looked good for anchoring, and were protected from strong winds, using the copious information contained in the pilot books. Luckily Porto Conte was as safe as houses (well almost) in any gale direction, and only a few miles from Alghero, where our friend Helen and son Matthew were flying into for a weeks holiday.
We unexpectedly bumped into ‘Moyle Rose’ again here for a few days and enjoyed a meal ashore together in the local pizzeria – what a joy to have a real Caprese salad (mozzarella and tomato) followed by a wood-fired pizza- the first of many in this part of the world.
We ended up using this as a base for a couple of weeks during Helens stay until 10th August, when the wind and swell moderated enough for us to move on east again.
What to do with a 9-year-old boy on a complex elderly and fragile sailing boat, where everything seems to be big, red and interesting to enquiring fingers? Well – we did our best : sailing, kayaking, dinghy rowing lessons, halyard swinging, sea football were organized to distract him from ‘fiddling’, between visits to the town of Alghero, and a car trip down the stunning coastal and mountain route to Bosa to see another fishing–boat blessing ( this one a lot more impressive than Mahon!).
Unfortunately the adults eventually put an end to the halyard swinging – the old boat just isn’t up to our kilograms on the end of a spinnaker pole, so Matthew had to resort to more mundane activities aboard while Stuart pondered how to fix the spinnaker pole end.
It was hard to work out the current situation with regard to the marine reserves and parks. Although many bays are marked as anchoring prohibited or restricted there are still plenty of boats doing just that, while the marine park RIB patrols the area without complaint. Our all-weather spot just off the marina had great holding, even when exposed to a mile-plus fetch which only caused us to pitch up and down to the anchor – we seemed to be no problem to the officials.
But nor was the swimming spot further round the bay, where we could see giant clams swaying in the current, even before we got into the water. Our anchor chain had laid itself between the clams, so we lifted it carefully by hand, so as not to disrupt their apparently tenuous holding. However the next day no RIB chased off the 10 boats that decided to anchor carelessly amongst the clams. Maybe the clams can re-attach themselves if disturbed by trailing anchor chains - we’re not sure how else they would get to be so big around here (approx 12” diameter). Can anyone enlighten us?
Stintino, North coast
After Helen and Matt’s departure, and yet another delay due to a gale – we moved on north toward the Bonifacio Straits, first stop Stintino via the gap between the islands between Sardinia and Corsica. No matter how much you read and prepare and plan, nothing can prepare you for the actual size of this rather shallow passage. On the charts it looked like a major gap, a several-hundred metre wide passage through the Fornelli passage. As we approached it downwind (sails full of wind of course for a change) it seemed smaller and smaller. We surfed through on the 0.5m waves of the west coast into complete calm, and a huge sense of relief! It was enough to curl my hair!!
We were rewarded with a sail through a holiday brochure dream photo-shoot – the most turquoise water imaginable. Hundreds and hundreds of Italians crowd onto a short stretch of beach called Spiaggia della Pelosa– all under each others beach umbrellas and sharing sunbeds it seems, to enjoy the occasional splash of the shimmering water. Our camera just doesn’t do it justice, but the colour of the water at least is true-to-life.
We pulled into a small fishing port called Stintino – the pilot book states the anchor holding is ‘mediocre’ – well we would go along with that – 11 attempts to get the anchor to hold, and we gave up eventually and just piled the chain over the side and resigned ourselves to staying on board despite the festivities ashore. The music was of questionable appeal and quite loud enough to enjoy aboard anyway, so it wasn’t a disaster. You can take a dinghy up to the top of the harbour, cross the road and be in a respectably sized supermarket, so it is worth a visit.
That reminds me that I haven’t mentioned Sardinian food yet – probably a good thing, as I wouldn’t have got off the subject for some time…..
Not cheap, but fresh filled pasta, gorgonzola, salami, Sardinian bread, tasty tomatoes, yum yum yum……. and in Stintino we discovered what has to be the worlds most heavenly desert :
Seadas/sebadas, a sort of light pastry turnover, in a bitter honey sauce, filled with cheese (!) orange peel, and scattered with sugar. It is to-die-for……. Worth a holiday to Sardinia just to try it!
We moved on east along the north coast of Sardinia, past the depressing sight of petro-chemical industry at Porto Torres, and swiftly onto the deeply indented bays south of the Bonifacio Straits. We anchored in a very understated town ‘Isola Rossa’, which was beautiful, and empty other than ourselves, as it is open to the predominant westerlies and therefore not popular as a yachtie retreat.
Without wishing to push our weather-luck, the next day we moved on to a bay called Porto Liscia, typical of Sardinia it seemed – no facilities or building ashore except for one beach bar playing cool tunes. It was an unusual bay in that it was 14 metres deep, but shoaled to 2m within 50m of the beach. This made for good anchoring, but weird snorkeling, as heading out from the beach the sea-bottom plunged into the gloom, with our anchor chain disappearing into the deep. Sea-life was rich here, the Italians having made large areas into marine parks or reserves, where fishing is restricted or licensed. On the outskirts of the reserve, everyone trawls a fishing line though ……
I hired a windsurfer, and we both regretted the decision to have sold all of Stuart’s windsurfing kit back in the UK (although we think that it’s stowage on decks would have been a liability on the Atlantic coast). However, now in the Med, we are going to look out for a windsurfing kit, as a lot of summer days are spent in bays avoiding the windy seas, with not a lot to do other than watch people windsurfing or kite-surfing around the bay. We don’t feel comfortable to leave the boat in strong winds to go ashore , as we have seen so many other boats drag their anchors and trip (pull out) those that are properly set. The average charterer seems not have the knowledge or morals to re-anchor an unoccupied boat, once they have pulled their own anchor clear. It’s best to know exactly what is holding your own boat to the bottom, and I’m sure our insurance company would agree!
We were within view of the Maddalena islands, over 47 variously sized granite lumps between Corsica and Sardinia, in the Straits of Bonifacio, and debated whether to pay for a cruising permit which allows you to stay on buoys in the bays around the islands – if you can find a spare one. The weather was swinging from gale to calm about every 3 days, so we decided to sail through the islands and find protection from the winds on the east Corsican coast at Sant’Amanza.
It is inconceivable if you have witnessed the beauty of the Maddalena islands, but the US Navy has an atomic submarine base at Isola Santa Stefano, a mile or so off the north Sardinian coast and a short RIB ride from the rich and famous at Costa Smeralda. Even more unbelievably it is reputed that the US wants to treble the size of it’s base here – and it is only one of the islands 24 NATO bases. In 2003 there was a close call between an atomic submarine and a sandbank in the archipelago – I didn’t hear about that in the news – did you? It is impossible to conceive of a situation where an atomic naval base occupies part of such an astoundingly beautiful nature reserve, but apparently this NATO-US agreement, is not subject to the control of the Sardinian government.
We have not yet explored the east coast of Sardinia, and it is unlikely that we will do so this year. But others have told us that there are anchorages galore. You may have to beg, borrow or sneak water into jerrycans to keep you going but, it is not necessary to pay to stay in a marina if you are of a live-aboard mindset. This means that you limit your water consumption and be able to charge your batteries without connection to the national grid, using every opportunity to save water or to obtain it. To be fair, most of us would prefer to pay a fair and modest charge to fill our water tanks or jerrycans and not to feel like outlaws for wanting water. Bear in mind that often there is no room in the marina, even if you do feel like paying 50-200 euros a night in high season, so why not just offer a standard charge for 200 litres of water as they do at Mahon, Menorca and let us obtain it fairly?
Rant over – why would this stop anyone enjoying the spectacular beauty and freedom of the Sardinian islands? On the other hand long may it be as beautiful and free as it is now…
Now we are heading north to Corsica across the legendary Bonifacio Straits:
16 August 2007
 |
| From ocean to table in approximately 45 minutes!! |
Porto Conte, North-west coast
We had little information about Sardinia, and for the first time were making decisions for ourselves, rather than on advice from those who had gone before us. It was very refreshing to do our own research into which bays looked good for anchoring, and were protected from strong winds, using the copious information contained in the pilot books. Luckily Porto Conte was as safe as houses (well almost) in any gale direction, and only a few miles from Alghero, where our friend Helen and son Matthew were flying into for a weeks holiday.
We unexpectedly bumped into ‘Moyle Rose’ again here for a few days and enjoyed a meal ashore together in the local pizzeria – what a joy to have a real Caprese salad (mozzarella and tomato) followed by a wood-fired pizza- the first of many in this part of the world.
What to do with a 9-year-old boy on a complex elderly and fragile sailing boat, where everything seems to be big, red and interesting to enquiring fingers? Well – we did our best : sailing, kayaking, dinghy rowing lessons, halyard swinging, sea football were organized to distract him from ‘fiddling’, between visits to the town of Alghero, and a car trip down the stunning coastal and mountain route to Bosa to see another fishing–boat blessing ( this one a lot more impressive than Mahon!).
Unfortunately the adults eventually put an end to the halyard swinging – the old boat just isn’t up to our kilograms on the end of a spinnaker pole, so Matthew had to resort to more mundane activities aboard while Stuart pondered how to fix the spinnaker pole end.
 |
| What shall we do with the naughty sailor…….????? |
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| Before the adults ruined the fun! |
It was hard to work out the current situation with regard to the marine reserves and parks. Although many bays are marked as anchoring prohibited or restricted there are still plenty of boats doing just that, while the marine park RIB patrols the area without complaint. Our all-weather spot just off the marina had great holding, even when exposed to a mile-plus fetch which only caused us to pitch up and down to the anchor – we seemed to be no problem to the officials.
But nor was the swimming spot further round the bay, where we could see giant clams swaying in the current, even before we got into the water. Our anchor chain had laid itself between the clams, so we lifted it carefully by hand, so as not to disrupt their apparently tenuous holding. However the next day no RIB chased off the 10 boats that decided to anchor carelessly amongst the clams. Maybe the clams can re-attach themselves if disturbed by trailing anchor chains - we’re not sure how else they would get to be so big around here (approx 12” diameter). Can anyone enlighten us?
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| Just one of the sublime views from the coastal road to Alghero to Bosa…. |
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| The blessing of the fishing fleet at Bosa |
Stintino, North coast
After Helen and Matt’s departure, and yet another delay due to a gale – we moved on north toward the Bonifacio Straits, first stop Stintino via the gap between the islands between Sardinia and Corsica. No matter how much you read and prepare and plan, nothing can prepare you for the actual size of this rather shallow passage. On the charts it looked like a major gap, a several-hundred metre wide passage through the Fornelli passage. As we approached it downwind (sails full of wind of course for a change) it seemed smaller and smaller. We surfed through on the 0.5m waves of the west coast into complete calm, and a huge sense of relief! It was enough to curl my hair!!
We were rewarded with a sail through a holiday brochure dream photo-shoot – the most turquoise water imaginable. Hundreds and hundreds of Italians crowd onto a short stretch of beach called Spiaggia della Pelosa– all under each others beach umbrellas and sharing sunbeds it seems, to enjoy the occasional splash of the shimmering water. Our camera just doesn’t do it justice, but the colour of the water at least is true-to-life.
That reminds me that I haven’t mentioned Sardinian food yet – probably a good thing, as I wouldn’t have got off the subject for some time…..
Not cheap, but fresh filled pasta, gorgonzola, salami, Sardinian bread, tasty tomatoes, yum yum yum……. and in Stintino we discovered what has to be the worlds most heavenly desert :
Seadas/sebadas, a sort of light pastry turnover, in a bitter honey sauce, filled with cheese (!) orange peel, and scattered with sugar. It is to-die-for……. Worth a holiday to Sardinia just to try it!
We moved on east along the north coast of Sardinia, past the depressing sight of petro-chemical industry at Porto Torres, and swiftly onto the deeply indented bays south of the Bonifacio Straits. We anchored in a very understated town ‘Isola Rossa’, which was beautiful, and empty other than ourselves, as it is open to the predominant westerlies and therefore not popular as a yachtie retreat.
 |
| It is always a bit worrying to be the only boat in the bay – you can’t help yourself from asking yourself why no-one else is here if the Med is so busy? |
I hired a windsurfer, and we both regretted the decision to have sold all of Stuart’s windsurfing kit back in the UK (although we think that it’s stowage on decks would have been a liability on the Atlantic coast). However, now in the Med, we are going to look out for a windsurfing kit, as a lot of summer days are spent in bays avoiding the windy seas, with not a lot to do other than watch people windsurfing or kite-surfing around the bay. We don’t feel comfortable to leave the boat in strong winds to go ashore , as we have seen so many other boats drag their anchors and trip (pull out) those that are properly set. The average charterer seems not have the knowledge or morals to re-anchor an unoccupied boat, once they have pulled their own anchor clear. It’s best to know exactly what is holding your own boat to the bottom, and I’m sure our insurance company would agree!
 |
| Porto Liscia : North Sardinia in August, a bay completely protected from the prevailing wind direction and gales, almost empty at night in high season and free (!) ……who said that the Med was full???? |
It is inconceivable if you have witnessed the beauty of the Maddalena islands, but the US Navy has an atomic submarine base at Isola Santa Stefano, a mile or so off the north Sardinian coast and a short RIB ride from the rich and famous at Costa Smeralda. Even more unbelievably it is reputed that the US wants to treble the size of it’s base here – and it is only one of the islands 24 NATO bases. In 2003 there was a close call between an atomic submarine and a sandbank in the archipelago – I didn’t hear about that in the news – did you? It is impossible to conceive of a situation where an atomic naval base occupies part of such an astoundingly beautiful nature reserve, but apparently this NATO-US agreement, is not subject to the control of the Sardinian government.
We have not yet explored the east coast of Sardinia, and it is unlikely that we will do so this year. But others have told us that there are anchorages galore. You may have to beg, borrow or sneak water into jerrycans to keep you going but, it is not necessary to pay to stay in a marina if you are of a live-aboard mindset. This means that you limit your water consumption and be able to charge your batteries without connection to the national grid, using every opportunity to save water or to obtain it. To be fair, most of us would prefer to pay a fair and modest charge to fill our water tanks or jerrycans and not to feel like outlaws for wanting water. Bear in mind that often there is no room in the marina, even if you do feel like paying 50-200 euros a night in high season, so why not just offer a standard charge for 200 litres of water as they do at Mahon, Menorca and let us obtain it fairly?
Rant over – why would this stop anyone enjoying the spectacular beauty and freedom of the Sardinian islands? On the other hand long may it be as beautiful and free as it is now…
Now we are heading north to Corsica across the legendary Bonifacio Straits:
16 August 2007
