Corsica

Next day, on Monday, we moved to one bay more to the West - to Golfo di Campo. It has a marina and a small town with shops. The anchorage in front of it was packed full.There was NW wind with 25 knots blowing all afternoon and evening and some of the boats had problems with anchoring. Luckily we weren't involved in any accidents. Wind was still blowing strong during the night and on next day. In the morning we dinghied into town and got lots of food, especially fruit and vegetables. In the afternoon we moved to the East part of the bay, that looked a bit less windy and decided to sail to Corsica next day, hoping to still have some of the NW wind. The plan was to get up at 5 in the morning and get there before dark, we planed to sail to Porto Vecchio that was some 80 miles away. So far the plans.

In the evening we prepared everything and went to bed early. But at 2 in the morning the waves started to roll into the anchorage from South and it was too rolly to sleep. Oh my! Where did these waves came from? It was blowing hard from NW now for more than two days! Later on I figured that when strong NW blows from Gulf of Lion and hits Corsica, it comes around the N tip it turns to NW before it hits Elba, but on the S it gets even stronger through strait of Bonifacio between Corsica an Sardinia and then bends upwards along E Corsican coast and sends waves all the way up to Elba. Anyway, since we were already up, we sailed off. Captain took the first watch, he is always a gentleman and lets me sleep. Near Elba the NW wind was still strong and we were sailing, but later wind got weaker and we were motoring or motor-sailing. But although there was almost no wind, waves from the South were still there and were making the ride, and especially sleeping, very uncomfortable.

In the morning I took over and Captain tried to get some sleep. The ride was rather boring, the sea was almost empty, I only met one sailboat and there were couple of larger motorboats and ferries on the horizon. Soon I could see the Corsica Below the clouds.

As we got closer I could see how rugged the landscape was.

We had a blind passenger, probably from Elba.

The day was equally boring and at around 4 in the afternoon we sailed into the bay of Piranellu, it is about 5 miles North of Porto Vecchio. There were rocks at the entrance.

Bay was beautiful, with turquoise warm water. It would look even nicer it there weren't 20 knots of wind from South.

In the evening it got a bit calmer.

As I saw this, I told the Captain I also want an anchor light like this!

We slept long and good.

Next day we sailed bit more South and passed some pretty rocks...

...to anchorage in bay of San Ciprianu. It was even prettier than the one the day before, but there was even more wind. So it didn't even get hot enough so one would be tempted to swim. And there was one more thing against swimming - there were hundreds of motor boats of all sorts speeding through anchorage, with bananas, tubes, water skiers or any other toys attached to them. So even if we did get into water, we stayed strictly couple of meters behind our boat. I have to say, I thought that Italian motor boat drivers are the worst, but they are not as bad as French. French really "take no prisoners". I was surprised I didn't see any accidents in that bay. Luckily they all left in the evening, so the bay got calm and quiet and we slept very good again.

Next day we sailed South again, again along some very pretty scenery...

... to the town Porto Vecchio.

We anchored on the South side in front of the town and dinghied ashore. We left dinghy in the marina and walked uphill to the old part of the town.

There are some nice things to see in the town, but it is not so very pretty as we expected.

The vie of the anchorage where we left Heron.

I guess these were toilets in the old days.

One of the prettiest buildings, and it was right opposite of place with delicious ice cream, especially chestnut.

I thought Captain was showing me the quirky terrace...

... but it was actually this cat he wanted to show to me. Cat was ignoring us as only cats know how to do.

After sight seeing we did some shopping, a bit outside the town so we had a long walk there and back. Later on the boat we decided to return to our previous anchorage, as the water in the bay in front of Porto Vecchio was not very nice and there was constant wash of the passing boats.

We slept very good again. I could get used to this. Next day we moved to our next anchorage. There was not very much wind so we sailed nicely. The coast is really beautiful.

But it felt like on the highway, there was so many motor boats.

We anchored in Porto Nuovo, a bay without restaurants, villas and sports centers. What a change! There was almost no noise at all, and no wash either, even the wind almost died towards evening.

Anchorage has two heads and there must have been some 30 - 40 boats still in the evening.

Water was totally clear, emerald green and one could see every little thing on the bottom even in 10m water. Needless to say, I was in the water several times, last time almost in darkness.

In such a quiet anchorage we again slept very well. In the morning it looked just as beautiful as the day before.

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.

Sleepless nights

I would love to tell you a story about the great time and wild partying long into the night. But that's not how what's happened. There was a different reason for sleepless nights. But let me start at the beginning.

From Capri we sailed to Sorrento on the South side of Gulf of Napoli. There was strong South wind blowing and our ride was wild and fast. Sorrento lies on a plane above the cliff and only few buildings and piers are accessible from water.

We anchored NE from the harbour and there were several boats already there, including some big ones. We didn't have a lot of space and the bottom was getting deeper very fast, but we hoped we would be ok with 30m chain in 9m water. As on other popular places we visited, here the boat traffic was also very strong and there was a lot of wash and Heron was jumping and rolling at her anchor. We were hoping that by the night this will calm down and we'll have a peaceful night. In the afternoon Captain checked the dinghy engine and somehow made it work again.

In the evening we dinghied into the harbour and faced the similar problem as on Capri - where to tie the dinghy. We asked at several piers but everyone said no and then we saw a big Guardia Financia RIB tied to a pier where there would still be pleny of space for our small boat. So we motored there and asked the guys in uniforms. To our surprise they said yes, sure, but warned us to not let dinghy out of sight if we want to keep it. So we chose one of two restaurants in the harbour for dinner (we were surprised that food was good and it wasn't too expensive), and as I was having a second glass of wine while keeping a sharp eye on the dinghy, Captain went into town up on the cliff to buy some grocery.

Back on the boat we made an early night, since the weather was suppose to change in the morning and we were hoping to sail off early and still catch some of the South wind to sail over to the North side of Gulf of Napoli, before the wind turns to NW.

Night was not very calm, there was lots of strong wind gusts and I woke up several times, but nothing dramatic seemed to be happening so I didn't get up to check. Shortly before 4 I heard Captain getting up, so I got up as well and we both got out into the cockpit. And for a short wile were unable to speak. Because we were about half a mile from the shore, sailing slowly with the wind towards N. We were awake in seconds, but still needed a bit to take in the situation and to figure out what to do. We were immensely happy we sneaked out of the anchorage without bumping into any other boat, some of them were multi million yachts, and also that nothing happened to Heron. We decided if we were up already, we might sail to the North side of the bay now, since the wind was already starting to turn to SW.

The strong wind made some really big and steep waves and although Captain took the first shift and sent me back to cabin, it was absolutely impossible to sleep. When I got out some time later, there was already some daylight, the wind got stronger and the waves bigger, mostly they were about 2m high, every now and again there was a 3m one among them. And they were hitting the boat almost from the side and the movement was very uncomfortable. This was one of the least pleasant rides ever.

In the morning we reached the Gulf of Baia and waves were gone. We anchored in front of some factory among many big sailboats. We were by far the smallest one. And we went to sleep.

While we were sleeping a hefty shower washed Heron that was salty up to first cross.

We stayed in the anchorage the whole day, there was a lot of wind, now from NW. We were hoping that wind will get much gentler in the night and that the waves will be more manageable the next day.

There was a fort watching over the anchorage....

... and on the other side of bay a nice looking town.

Next day we decided to sail out of the bay to see how the wind and waves were, and then decide if we sail further NW or return to the bay.

This is the lighthouse at the entrance to the bay.

What we noticed when we got further out was the change in water colour, it turned opaque turquoise. We sailed towards Procida. There is a great fortress complex at the SE corner...

... where the water turned back to blue again.

Behind it is the town of Corricella and it is for sure one of the prettiest towns I saw in Italy. But if we wanted to stay we would have to stay in an expensive marina and we really needed to move on. But I'll surely come back one day.

We turned towards NW, still in funny coloured sea, the ride was very bumpy since the waves were still up to 2m high, but we were making good progress.

Already in the evening we reached town of Gaeta and were pleasantly surprised by how pretty the town was and how calm the anchorage was. Unfortunately it was getting too late to dinghy to the town. So another town to visit on my to-do list.

The photo of cathedral was made the next morning, there wasn't enough light in the evening.

Next morning we sailed around the lighthouse and discovered a big fortress again...

... and a peculiar house or lighthouse built into the cliffs.

The waves were much smaller that day, but there was some wind and the sailing was pleasant. We made it all the way to Anzio. Unfortunately wind got stronger in the afternoon, Heron got salty again and since the bay under Anzio is not very deep, the night was not so peaceful as previous one.

Next morning we sailed off, we saw remains of Nero's harbour...

... and Nero's caves.

We were again able to sail almost all the time, all the way to Santa Marinella, where we hoped to find some shelter for the night. When we got there it looked very calm, so we tucked as far behind the breaker as we dared - the water was less than 2,5m deep. After dinner we decided to make an early night and dinghy into the town to get fresh bread the next morning.

But as soon as it got really dark the waves started rolling into the anchorage and it got very rolly. At about 2 I heard Captain switching on the instruments and got up myself. We decided to sail off to our next stop, Monte Argentario. Captain took the first shift. Some of the time he tried to sail, the rest he motored, but the sea was quite wavy and sailing uncomfortable. At 6 I took over and at about 9 we anchored on the S side near Marina di Pertuso.

It was a calm day, we tried to get some rest ad sleep to make up for the shortest night. In the evening we dinghied into marina and the staff was very friendly, it was no problem to tie our dinghy. We walked around marina a bit and found a nice small shop that had everything we needed, and we ate a nice meal in nearby restaurant. And there was a swallow nest nearby.

We thought we might come back next morning and do some walking and sightseeing, since the scenery was beautiful, if the wind will not turn back to South too soon. But already as we were eating dinner the wind was getting stronger and once we were outside of marina we saw that it was blowing from the South. Half a day too soon. So none of four weather forecasts I'm checking was right! Again!

We realised we need to move because the waves were already rolling into the anchorage and by the morning it would be too wild to stay. So we sailed around Monte Argentario, and I was regretting it was dark and we couldn't see the scenery. Half hour after midnight we anchored on the N side in a wide and calm bay. And we slept good and long.

Next morning was grey, we even got some rain. I tried to make some photos, but they turned out gray as well - the bay looking South...

...and the "main town" Porto Sante Stefano.