Porto Ferraio, Elba Island
Fiat Bambios are still very popular in Italy
Exploring Portoferraio (Elba)
Alley joins in "Happy hour"
Ooops, one too many.......
The storm arrives with rain, hail, thunder & lightening
We took a bus trip around Elba Island
Mountain village on Elba Island
Porto Vecchio old town on top of the hill (Corsica)
Lunch on board at Porto Vecchio
Pete & Tony take a break while the girls check out the shops at Porto Vecchio
Chris cools off with a swim while we sail under spinnaker to Cavallo Island (Corsica)
Arriving at Bonifacio
Tony & Chris heading into Bonifacio for dinner
View of Bonifacio harbour from the old town
Tony & Chris heading into Bonifacio for dinner
View of Bonifacio harbour from the old town
Cemetry on the point of Bonifacio peninsular
Bonifacio, the line going across the cliff is the "King of Aragon's Stairway"
Walkway along the bottom for the cliff (Bonifacio)
We found a cave at the end of the cliff & stopped for lunch (Bonifacio)
Bonifacio old town
We had a "Pirate Party" to celebrate Pete's Birthday before Chris & Tony left
Palau, Sardinia
Chris & Tony arrived on 12/8 & we spent a few days on Elba exploring Portoferraio, where we were anchored. We also took a bus trip around the island & stopped off in a lovely mountain village called Maraciana. Unfortunately they brought some NZ weather with them as we had a tremendous thunderstorm early one evening, luckily we were on the boat at the time The rain was so heavy you could only see about 100m radius & we even had hail. It was a good test for Chris & Tony’s seamanship as our anchor dragged & we had to reset it in the middle of the storm, there were also a number of other boats dragging anchors & at one stage it was like playing dodgems trying to avoid them as they came drifting past us. The storm cleared in time for the evening’s firework display which was quite spectacular.
We set off from Elba on 16/8 for Corsica. We started with a good breeze in the right direction, however it was short lived & we ended up having to motor sail most of the way. It was a 16 hour voyage & we arrived in Porto Vecchio at 2.30am on 17/8, so Chris & Tony had a taste of night sailing & we saw an eclipse of the moon. We spent a day in Porto Vecchio checking out the old walled town which is now rather touristy & filled with shops & restaurants. On 18/8 we continued our journey along the southern coast to Ile de Cavallo. We had a great sail down under spinnaker with a swim along the way.
Cavallo is a private island frequented by the rich & famous. We anchored in a bay where there we several lovely holiday houses which were serviced by the island staff who drove around in golf carts & most of the guests arrived by helicopter (oh to be rich!!!). After 2 days R&R on Cavallo it was time to move on to Bonifacio. What an amazing place, although I had seen photos of Bonifacio peninsular with the old walled town built on top, I was still blown away with how spectacular it was. The houses actually overhang the white cliffs that have been eroded away by the sea. There are several caves along the surrounding coast line which were big enough for the tripper boats to disappear into. We spent a day walking around the old town which is typical Mediterranean medieval style with narrow cobbled lanes. We had an early morning start & got to see the town before all the tourists appeared for the day. Along the outside wall that faces the sea there is a step staircase that has been carved on a 45 deg angle across the flat cliff face. It’s called “The King of Aragon’s Stairway”. According to history, in 1420 the King of Aragon wanted to take over Bonifacio & his soldiers tried to invade the town via this passage which they dug in a single night.(check out the photos). We managed to find an anchorage in one of the 2 inlets as you enter the harbour & tied stern to on the rocks. We had to have a couple of attempts anchoring, the first time another boat came passed & picked up our anchor on theirs, the second time our anchor didn’t hold so we had to put out a second anchor – all good fun!!! It’s not a particularly big harbour, but can accommodate a large number of boats of all sizes, with many super yachts lining the town quay. However there was only room for a few mega yachts so most had to anchor in nearby bays outside the harbour. Apparently most of the super yachts have charters on board; the majority of them are rich Russians who pay from 200-600,000euro per week, depending on the size of the boat etc. Each day there is a steady stream of boats leaving the harbour to be replaced by another lot of boats of all sizes & mixed in with these are the day tripper boasts & ferries – like Queen Street on a Friday night!!!
We still had Ally the cat on board as Trish & Morris decided to extend their stay in Rome & visit Florence. They were making their way up the western coast of Corsica to meet us so we decided to meet them at Campomorro, 30nm North West of Bonifacio. We set sail in a moderate breeze which built up to 28knts, the seas also built up to 4 meters & we had to tack all the way. This meant our 4 hour trip turned into an 8 hour slog. However we arrived in time to organize a “Pirate Party” to celebrate Pete’s 50th Birthday. Trish & Morris joined us along with their crew Popeye, Olive, Ted, Polly Parrot & of course Ally. We had a great night, & the Cygnus crew were very well behaved, in fact they sat in the corner all night & Ally just slept the night away (must have been the taxing voyage). We had a slow start the following morning, but our return trip back to Bonifacio only took 4 hours, the wind had died down but there was still a 4-5 meter swell & our trip. Trish & Morris followed us to Bonifacio & anchored next door.
25/8 it was time to say goodbye to our crew, Chris & Tony. We took the ferry over to Santa Teresa, Sardinia with them & hired a car for the day. We drove a little way along the coast to Palau, this is a very clean modern town, with colourful buildings & quite different to most of the Mediterranean towns we’ve visited. The coastline is great for boating with lots of islands & bays to shelter in, unlike the mainland of Italy, & also very popular for wind surfing. We had hoped to come over to Sardinia in Saliander, however there is a tax charged between June & September for boats over 12 meters. Some boats are lucky enough to get away without getting charged, but if we were caught we would have been up for 500-1,000 Euro (NZD1-2,000) so we decided not to risk it. From Palau we drove inland to a mountain village called Tempio, the old town is made from gray granite. Luckily we arrived in siesta time when there wasn’t much traffic, because there wasn’t a lot of room to maneuver around the narrow lanes in the car. After a late lunch at Tempio it was time to make tracks for Olbia where Chris & Tony were catching their ferry back to Livorno on mainland Italy. There are a lot of cork tree plantations on Corsica & Sardinian & we passed through some on the way to Olbia. We also had an uninvited guest along the way; a wasp flew in the window & bit me on the neck & hand!!!! Just as well I’m not allergic to them. After dropping Tony & Chris off in Olbia, it was a quick trip back to St Teresa in time to catch our ferry back to Corsica. Tony & Chris have still got a full itinerary for the next 10 days until their return to NZ; I think they’ll need another holiday to recover.
Tuesday 26th August 2008 – Pete’s 50th Birthday!!!! Time for a relaxing day, Pete spent the morning phoning family while I caught up on some emails etc. Late afternoon we went ashore to the beach for a game of petanque with Trish & Morris – the Birthday boy won of course. Then into town for a lovely dinner, followed by Birthday cake & Lemoncello back on Saliander.
We’re spending a couple more days in Bonifacio catching up on chores etc before heading off to Menorca on 29/8
Walkway along the bottom for the cliff (Bonifacio)
We found a cave at the end of the cliff & stopped for lunch (Bonifacio)
Bonifacio old town
Chris does well to helm in 4 metre swell on the way to Campomorro
We had a "Pirate Party" to celebrate Pete's Birthday before Chris & Tony left
Pirate Trish & Pirate Morris came to the party
Popeye & Olive joined in the Birthday celebrations
Alley wasn't really in the mood for a party!!!
Alley wasn't really in the mood for a party!!!
Pete & Tony looking out for the enemy in 2nd WW gun turret at entrance to Bonifacio Harbour
Pete & Tony practice their diving (Bonifacio)
Pete tried absailing without a rope, Tony comes to the rescue (Bonifacio)
Pete tried absailing without a rope, Tony comes to the rescue (Bonifacio)
Porto Pollo, Sardinia - a popular windsurfing spot
Palau, Sardinia
Northern Sardinian coast
Pete did well to negotiate the narrow one way streets in Tempio (Sardinia)
Back in Bonifacio 26th August -The "Birthday Boy" wins petanque
Happy Birthday Pete
Chris & Tony arrived on 12/8 & we spent a few days on Elba exploring Portoferraio, where we were anchored. We also took a bus trip around the island & stopped off in a lovely mountain village called Maraciana. Unfortunately they brought some NZ weather with them as we had a tremendous thunderstorm early one evening, luckily we were on the boat at the time The rain was so heavy you could only see about 100m radius & we even had hail. It was a good test for Chris & Tony’s seamanship as our anchor dragged & we had to reset it in the middle of the storm, there were also a number of other boats dragging anchors & at one stage it was like playing dodgems trying to avoid them as they came drifting past us. The storm cleared in time for the evening’s firework display which was quite spectacular.
We set off from Elba on 16/8 for Corsica. We started with a good breeze in the right direction, however it was short lived & we ended up having to motor sail most of the way. It was a 16 hour voyage & we arrived in Porto Vecchio at 2.30am on 17/8, so Chris & Tony had a taste of night sailing & we saw an eclipse of the moon. We spent a day in Porto Vecchio checking out the old walled town which is now rather touristy & filled with shops & restaurants. On 18/8 we continued our journey along the southern coast to Ile de Cavallo. We had a great sail down under spinnaker with a swim along the way.
Cavallo is a private island frequented by the rich & famous. We anchored in a bay where there we several lovely holiday houses which were serviced by the island staff who drove around in golf carts & most of the guests arrived by helicopter (oh to be rich!!!). After 2 days R&R on Cavallo it was time to move on to Bonifacio. What an amazing place, although I had seen photos of Bonifacio peninsular with the old walled town built on top, I was still blown away with how spectacular it was. The houses actually overhang the white cliffs that have been eroded away by the sea. There are several caves along the surrounding coast line which were big enough for the tripper boats to disappear into. We spent a day walking around the old town which is typical Mediterranean medieval style with narrow cobbled lanes. We had an early morning start & got to see the town before all the tourists appeared for the day. Along the outside wall that faces the sea there is a step staircase that has been carved on a 45 deg angle across the flat cliff face. It’s called “The King of Aragon’s Stairway”. According to history, in 1420 the King of Aragon wanted to take over Bonifacio & his soldiers tried to invade the town via this passage which they dug in a single night.(check out the photos). We managed to find an anchorage in one of the 2 inlets as you enter the harbour & tied stern to on the rocks. We had to have a couple of attempts anchoring, the first time another boat came passed & picked up our anchor on theirs, the second time our anchor didn’t hold so we had to put out a second anchor – all good fun!!! It’s not a particularly big harbour, but can accommodate a large number of boats of all sizes, with many super yachts lining the town quay. However there was only room for a few mega yachts so most had to anchor in nearby bays outside the harbour. Apparently most of the super yachts have charters on board; the majority of them are rich Russians who pay from 200-600,000euro per week, depending on the size of the boat etc. Each day there is a steady stream of boats leaving the harbour to be replaced by another lot of boats of all sizes & mixed in with these are the day tripper boasts & ferries – like Queen Street on a Friday night!!!
We still had Ally the cat on board as Trish & Morris decided to extend their stay in Rome & visit Florence. They were making their way up the western coast of Corsica to meet us so we decided to meet them at Campomorro, 30nm North West of Bonifacio. We set sail in a moderate breeze which built up to 28knts, the seas also built up to 4 meters & we had to tack all the way. This meant our 4 hour trip turned into an 8 hour slog. However we arrived in time to organize a “Pirate Party” to celebrate Pete’s 50th Birthday. Trish & Morris joined us along with their crew Popeye, Olive, Ted, Polly Parrot & of course Ally. We had a great night, & the Cygnus crew were very well behaved, in fact they sat in the corner all night & Ally just slept the night away (must have been the taxing voyage). We had a slow start the following morning, but our return trip back to Bonifacio only took 4 hours, the wind had died down but there was still a 4-5 meter swell & our trip. Trish & Morris followed us to Bonifacio & anchored next door.
25/8 it was time to say goodbye to our crew, Chris & Tony. We took the ferry over to Santa Teresa, Sardinia with them & hired a car for the day. We drove a little way along the coast to Palau, this is a very clean modern town, with colourful buildings & quite different to most of the Mediterranean towns we’ve visited. The coastline is great for boating with lots of islands & bays to shelter in, unlike the mainland of Italy, & also very popular for wind surfing. We had hoped to come over to Sardinia in Saliander, however there is a tax charged between June & September for boats over 12 meters. Some boats are lucky enough to get away without getting charged, but if we were caught we would have been up for 500-1,000 Euro (NZD1-2,000) so we decided not to risk it. From Palau we drove inland to a mountain village called Tempio, the old town is made from gray granite. Luckily we arrived in siesta time when there wasn’t much traffic, because there wasn’t a lot of room to maneuver around the narrow lanes in the car. After a late lunch at Tempio it was time to make tracks for Olbia where Chris & Tony were catching their ferry back to Livorno on mainland Italy. There are a lot of cork tree plantations on Corsica & Sardinian & we passed through some on the way to Olbia. We also had an uninvited guest along the way; a wasp flew in the window & bit me on the neck & hand!!!! Just as well I’m not allergic to them. After dropping Tony & Chris off in Olbia, it was a quick trip back to St Teresa in time to catch our ferry back to Corsica. Tony & Chris have still got a full itinerary for the next 10 days until their return to NZ; I think they’ll need another holiday to recover.
Tuesday 26th August 2008 – Pete’s 50th Birthday!!!! Time for a relaxing day, Pete spent the morning phoning family while I caught up on some emails etc. Late afternoon we went ashore to the beach for a game of petanque with Trish & Morris – the Birthday boy won of course. Then into town for a lovely dinner, followed by Birthday cake & Lemoncello back on Saliander.
We’re spending a couple more days in Bonifacio catching up on chores etc before heading off to Menorca on 29/8
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