18th Sept to 26th Sept Carrigonne to Cala Ganone

The Maddalena Islands are just off the NW coast of Sardinia, a great first sail for Assim. We  spent 2 nights in the port of Maddalena, which gave us a chance to hire bicycles and explore Maddalena and Caprera, the adjoining island, including the home of Garibaldi, who spent the last years of his life there. Assims week which ended at Olbia and included a lovely night at anchor, was a good one for sailing, Assim helmed Cara Mara very impressively in a force 6 downwind dash.

Unfortunately with no wind forecast for the following week and after a very impressive night of rain and thunder storm, Sarah, Wendy and Dave set off 40 miles motoring down the coast to the small village of Cala Gonone. Sadly progress was arrested just 2 miles short of our destination, when the engine overheated. A fishing boat kindly towed us the final part of our journey. Today we discovered that the drive for the water cooling pump has failed meaning we will be waiting for spare parts here for at least 4-5 days. We are now looking at car hire rather than sailing for the rest of this week.

11.9.16 to 17.9.16, Ajaccio, Corsica to Carrigione, Sardinia

Sarah’s arrival signalled a change to more unsettled weather, so we moved down to Bonifacio on the southern tip of Corsica in preparation for the short crossing of the Straight to Sardinia. Bonifacio is described in the Pilot books as “the most spectacular natural harbour in Corsica or possibly the whole Mediterranean”.  The town sits in a deep narrow fiord of white chalk, the top of which is crowned with medieval walls and a citadel. We stayed for 2 days to enjoy exploring the town.

We enjoyed a breezy upwind sail crossing the Straight to the moorings at Porto Pollo, Sardinia; a quiet place to swim.

Next day, we sailed from our mooring to an anchorage in another inlet for a night at anchor, unusually with few other boats around, all done without use of the engine, Dave was very pleased! Sadly the night was not so peaceful, with heavy rain and a huge electrical storm determined to keep us awake.

The North Coast of Sardinia has two groups of islands which we plan to visit when Assim joins us for the next week. Palau, is the main (small) town where ferries leave for the islands, we planned to stay there in the marina but for the first time in our travels this year, we were told there was no space, as they were full. Strong winds forecast for the weekend meant we decided not to stay in the anchorage but moved on a few miles to the resort village of Carrigione, a 30 minutes taxi ride for Assim to come from Olbia Airport.

Sarah in her sailors hat

Lunch on the beach

We spent the night anchored next to this wonderful French flagged ship, the "Baden Powel"

The girls

The amazing walled town of Bonifacio, Corsica.

4th to 10th Sept. St Florent to Ajaccio, Corsica

Sadly Chris and Pat took the bus from St. Florent to Bastia airport to head home. We wished Chris good luck, as he started his Tarmac graduate scheme on Monday. Our friends Jenny and Simon flew in the following day to join us for a week on the west coast of Corsica.

Corsica's west coast is mountainous, with remote beaches and anchorages

Prickly pears are a common sight. We cant avoid thinking of the Jungle Book

Just another perfect sunset

The imposing fortress overlooking the marina at Calvi, one of the most impressive places on our way south.

Calvi waterfront from the castle. We were moored stern to the quay with bars and restaurants only a few feet away. 

Jenny and Simon enjoying sun sea and sail

Fish coming to breakfast at the boat

The tiny hamlet at Girolata has no access by road, everything is supplied by boat. The bay provides very safe mooring and anchorages and is popular with tourists taking boat trips from Calvi.

The beach at Girolata has to be shared with mothers and children

Ajaccio, birthplace of Napoleon, was our last stop with Jenny and Simon and meeting place with Sarah, who is joining us for 3 weeks as we head south to Sardinia. 

August 25th to Sept 2nd. Nice, Monaco and St Florent, Corsica

We spent 4 days mostly motoring from Marseilles to Nice, the coastline is really pretty and interesting, the best since we were in Brittany last year. On the way we spent 3 quiet nights at anchor and on a mooring, great for an early morning swim.   

As we got close to St Tropez and Cannes we found ourselves surrounded by huge superyachts, sometimes up to 20 were in view at any one time. It was embarrassing that almost every one carried the Red Duster, usually with the emblem of a British colony and tax haven. 

We stayed at a marina close to Nice airport for a few days to meet Wendy. Dave and Chris took the train to Monaco for the day, which Chris had only previously seen on TV during the F1 Monaco Grand Prix. We were surprised that there were relatively few tourists at the main sights such as the Royal Palace.

As expected Monaco harbour was full of superyachts, but also some humbler boats as well.

Our first view of the lovely village of St. Florent, Corsica after on overnight crossing from France

Pat and Wendy in the square in St. Florent,

The round fortress at St. Florent was build by the Genoa n's. It is now used as a gallery showing sculptures and local photography. 

We rented a car to explore some of the mountainous villages in the north of Corsica

The villages hang on the side of steep valleys

The origins of the stone agricultural building found in the mountains date back 5000 years.  

August 2016 Valencia to Nice

Chris, Dave, Pat and Darren assembled in Valencia 10th Aug to sail Cara Mara to Barcelona then on to Nice to meet Wendy on the 27th.
The weather has been hot and pretty windless, but despite lots of motoring we have had a very good time.

Pat, Darren and Dave admitted that they had dreams of sailing through this bridge into the marina in the center of Barcelona. We timed our arrival perfectly for the half hourly opening.    

 

Several years ago Wendy and Dave spent a long weekend in Barcelona at the Cathedral Hotel, just round the corner.

Chris and Dave took the cable car ride from the port to the "Olympic" area. A view of Barcelona's 2 Cathedrals.

Chris outside the fortress on the summit of the hill overlooking Barcelona.

After a 190 mile 36 hour crossing from Spain, we arrived at Marseilles as dawn was breaking. The old port is very large and busy with leisure boats, ferry's and fishing boats Very confusing for a tired crew armed with duff information on how to get a berth; we got tied up by late morning. It was worth it, this area of Marseilles is really worth a visit. 

The mirror canopy at the end of the old port designed by Richard Rogers attracts big crowds and provides and interesting reflection on life. 

Chris and Dave in the mirror

The approach to Marseilles harbor   

We had planned to leave Marseilles on Sunday morning, after Darren had flown home, but 45 MPH winds convinced us to stay another day. A long hot walk from the harbor took us up to this rather magnificent church

We had 3 lovely nights in anchorages between Marseilles and Nice. As we got closer to the Riviera we saw more and more of these monster super yachts. They seem to move in herds, sometimes we could see a dozen or more on the water around us. Amazingly almost every one flew the Red Duster; apart from Cara Mara almost the only UK flagged vessels we have seen on the French coast. The locals must wonder where the Brit's get they're money?

23rd to 29th June Alicante to Valencia

After a few days in Alicante we set off on day sails to Villajoyosa, Calpe, Denia, Gandia to Valencia, where Cara Mara will spend 6 weeks until Dave, Chris, Pat and Darren return 14th Aug. Valencia seems like a good safe place to leave her; for sporting fans the marina was developed for the 2007 America's Cup and in at the centre of the Valencia F1 circuit.

Elizabeth, Mary and Emma all proved to be good at helming the boat, but as a first timer, Elizabeth was the most excited.

We were in Villajoyosa on the night of their annual celebration, where they stay on the beach until mid-night then jump over the first 7 waves of the new day.

Mary, sailing with the cruising shute

Denia Marina turned out to be a party place, the disco went on until dawn, not great for a good nights sleep.

Last night at Valencia

21st 22nd June Alicante

We chose Alicante because it was a convenient place for our friends to fly and join us. A little more research would have told us that this is the week of one of the biggest and noisiest festivals in Spain. There was a significant clue when at 2 in the afternoon, when we were still 5 miles from the harbour entrance, we could hear what sounded like a small war  (fireworks in the afternoon?). Effigies are erected all over the City, and following a week long party they are burned on the 24^th of June (thank goodness we won’t be here). The last 2 nights the parties have gone on until 4.30am and though we are a little distance away we can still tell that they are having a very good time.  

This is replica of a huge 4 deck ship, the largest in the Spanish navy. The original was captured by the British at Trafalgar, but was so badly damaged it sank on the way to Gibraltar.

One of the many effigies due to be burnt on the 24th June. Glad we won't be there it looks as if it's made from polystyrene!

Thousands of people march through the city in traditional dress

All the family dress up for the occasion.

The marina is busy, one of the few where you need to book to be shure of a berth. Yet another Moorish castle on the hill.