Elba

From Monte Argentario we sailed towards North. We sailed by the town of Castiglione della pescaia with a nice castle.

The wind was suppose to turn to NW by the evening, at least according to weather forecasts, but it didn't, so we sailed on by the Punta Ala...

... and anchored on the N side in a wide wooded bay. And hoped wind wouldn't turn in the middle of the night.

Next day we took some fuel in Ala Marina and then sailed to anchorage under Forte Rochetta. The wind turned in the morning, but the sea was still a bit wavy from the South wind, so while the anchorage is very pretty, the night wasn't very calm. But we still slept ok.

Next day we sailed on to Elba. As I was studying it on a map in in a Pilot book (a book with information for sailors, mine is from Rod Heikell, it is called Italian Waters Pilot and it's a great book), I already liked it - it has bays! On all sides!! So one can tuck in into the bay where there is best protection from waves and wind. And it's small enough so you can pack your bags and sail to the other side in couple of hours, if needed.

The first evening we anchored in Golfo Stella on the S side of the island, the wind was from NW and we were perfectly put away for the night. The bay is wide, with white beach and clear turquoise water and sandy bottom for good anchoring. Of course there were many boats anchored there, after all it is August.

Next day we spent swimming, lazying and had a nice BBQ. In the evening we moved to E side of the bay, the wind was turning again, this time to SE.

Luckily, wind didn't get too strong in the night and we were able to sleep well until the morning. After breakfast we sailed West and rounded half of the island. Elba looked very wild and rocky...

...with many lighthouses.

We sailed by the town of Marciana Marina.

In the afternoon we anchored in Golfo di Procchio near small island Isola Paolina, which got it's name after Napoleon's sister, who was often bathing there. Supposedly. The South wind was blowing strong by now and we had to reanchor two times before Captain was satisfied. The bay looked so nice that I even got out my mask and fins and camera and despite the danger of speeding Italian motorboats went snorkelling. Unfortunately, under water world was rather dull and colourless - these are by far the best photos I managed to make:

In the evening we rowed onto the beach and then went into town. It was quite a walk, but we were rewarded with a delicious pizza and even better ice cream. Italians really know how to make ice cream! The walk back was even more exciting, it was already dark and we were walking on a busy road without a pavement. Luckily with enough torches to make ourselves visible, and I must say I was surprised that Italian drivers were so polite and careful.

In the night wind kept on blowing hard and in the morning we noticed that every now and then our anchor moves a little bit. So we lift it and sailed to the adjacent bay, Golfo della Biodola and anchored there. The ground was sand so our anchor set better and there was a bit more protection from wind there. For the rest of the day we were swimming and lazying. The strong South wind was forecast to last for one more day, so we had to stay on Nort side of the island.

Captain regrets we didn't take sail and the mast for our dinghy with us. But with such strong wind, a towel will do.

Whole day was rather cloudy and in the evening there were black clouds above us, but without rain.

Next day we sailed through Golfo di Viticcio...

... around the Capo d'Enfola...

... to the Portoferraio, the main town of the island. It looked very nice from the boat, even in cloudy weather.

In the afternoon we dinghied ashore and went into town. From close on it didn't look as pretty as from the boat, but it was a good long walk, although in heath, but we got delicious ice cream again and lots of provisions from one of the big supermarkets. We even got to see the Napoleon's house, but he wasn't home.

We tried moving to a nicer part of the bay in the late afternoon, but soon the waves started to roll in - the wind has already turned to NW, so we moved back in front of the town, where we were better protected, although exposed to all the wash from numerous ferries and motor boats.

Next morning we sailed on towards East. Portoferraio looked even better in sun.

We made our first stop in Senno d'Ortano on the East coast. There were hundreds of boats already there, so we anchored in 17m of water, Italian way - almost bumper to bumper with other boats. It was a stop for a late breakfast and a swim, and then we sailed on. In the afternoon we reached the town Porto Azzuro and anchored in a well protected bay in front of it. We were surprised how clear the water was.

In the evening we dinghied to the shore and had a nice dinner in the town. Town is very pretty and pleasant, and also here they have a delicious ice cream.

Next morning we left the anchorage. This fortress near the town was a prison for long years, all the political prisoners and also mafiosi were locked up here. At that time fortress was still called Longone, but once the prison was no longer in use, they changed the name of the town to Porto Azzuro to give it a fresh start.

With wind blowing from NW again, before too long we found ourselves again on the South side of the island. This time we passed some interesting rocks and hills to sail to Golfo della Lacona.

It was nice, but I liked the Golfo Stella better. The wind was not strong and in the afternoon even turned to SE.

I tried my luck with snorkelling again, but it was even worse than on the North side. In the evening we were studying the weather again very hard to figure out when the good time for our next move would be - to sail to Corsica.