Trip Report #7-2000: Southern Corsica and
Sardinia
Filed from Maddalena Island, Sardinia
41 12.65N 009 24.17E
August 4, 2000
Photo: THE HARBOR AT BONIFACIO
Buongiorno!
After a very nice trip to be with family over the Fourth of July,
we returned to the Charles-Ormano marina in Ajaccio, Corsica, to await
the arrival of our good friends, Garry and Lorraine, from Albion, N.Y.
Photo: GARRY & LORRAINE OAKLEY
IN CORTE, CORSICA
The marina is very convenient to all necessary services and to
the old town in Ajaccio. We left the boat med-moored
for
the two weeks we were in the US. On our return, the boat was covered
with Sahara mud, evidence that there had been some bad weather, with wind
and rain, while we were gone. Another boat owner, moored near us,
told us that he had adjusted our lines for us, because the bow of the boat
was bumping into the dock. Before we left, Tom had carefully set
the lines so that this should not have happened, and it was somewhat puzzling
that the lines would have loosened. On further investigation, we
discovered that our stern line to the mooring buoy had been cut and retied.
Apparently, it had been run over by a boat because the ends were ragged
and had blue bottom paint on them. We noticed many boats having great
difficulty maneuvering in the harbor, often getting tangled in lines to
the mooring buoys, once the 20+ knot on-shore thermal day breeze piped
up, as it does in Ajaccio every day at about noon. We were happy
that someone had retied it, hopeful that his engine and propeller hadn’t
suffered, and grateful to our marina neighbor. There were only a
few scrapes on the bow of the boat.
Marinas in the summer time are fairly expensive, and this one, the
less expensive of the two marinas in Ajaccio, cost about $300 US per week,
the most we had to pay for a berth in Corsica. It is, however, very
convenient to the International Airport, 15 minutes away by taxi (about
$30 at 6am), or a half-hour bus ride (about $1.50, but only available after
8am and you’d better be traveling with very little baggage). There
is also a self-service automatic laundry in the marina, costing 40 francs
(~ $5.70) per 15 lb load and 5 francs(~$.70) per 10 minutes of drying.
A Continent and a Super U supermarket are within a short walk from the
dinghy landing in the anchorage. The anchorage, with fairly good
holding, is adjacent to the marina, but very rolly in a west or southwest
wind.
Garry & Lorraine arrived in time to experience a Mistral -
the north wind that blows hard, sometimes - bringing clouds and rain with
it. We have heard that mistrals usually blow in time periods of 3,
6 or 9 days, and it seems to be true. This one had winds of Force
7-8, with gusts to Force 9-10 and it lasted 3 days, with leftover lumpy
seas for an additional day. A boat came in and moored next to us,
a catamaran, enroute from Portugal to Livorno, that had sustained significant
damage in the Mistral conditions. Lorraine, who has problems with
sailing away from the dock in the best of conditions, was somewhat spooked
by the whole thing; and we, therefore, spent the rest of their visit in
port. We did land-based things and had a wonderful time. We even took a rickety-clackety
train up into the mountains, a beautiful trip, to the old university town
of Corte, the seat of the separatist movement in Corsica. We ate
lunch at a restaurant off the beaten path and had a very tasty, subtly
seasoned hearty Corsican vegetable soup. It gave us enough energy
to climb up the mountain to the old Citadel and walk through the old town.
Photos: LUNCH ON
THE BOAT AND TOM, PEG, LORRAINE AND GARRY IN CORTE
Lorraine and I also enjoyed frequent trips to the outdoor market, in
the square in front of a monument to Napolean Bonaparte, who was born in
Ajaccio, and along the waterfront. Here we bought fresh fish (delicious
flounder) and gambas (gigantic shrimp) and beautiful fresh vegetables and
fruit. We were regular patrons of the olive vendor, who had at least
20 varieties of olives displayed in wooden buckets. Each bucket had
an old wooden ladle with a hole at the bottom to drain the liquid.
We would point to a bucket of olives and the vendor would dip in and offer
us a taste before we bought. Lorraine and I tasted a lot of olives
(we also bought a lot!) and judging by the mounds of pits on the ground,
so did every other customer.
In addition to the usual booths where people were selling beads, jewelry,
pareos (scarves to wrap around the body in various ways to cover a swimsuit
or to wear with a halter or short top) and various souvenirs, there were
interesting baskets and, on a few days, there were Corsican antiques on
display and for sale.
On the day of their departure, we got up before dawn to see our
friends off. We had made an arrangement with a taxi driver, at the
taxi stand in the Place de Charles de Gaulle the day before, to be on the
dock at 6 am to take Garry & Lorraine to the airport. He did
not speak English, and our French is minimal, but we showed him on a map
where to be and wrote out the time and he was there waiting on the dock
right on time! We had such a good time with G&L, we were sorry
to see them go.
We left Ajaccio the next day and sailed our way out of the Golfe
d’Ajaccio, stopping in the Cala d’Orza, a great anchorage with good holding
and a beach restaurant and live music at night until 3 am. We were
anchored far enough out, however, that it did not keep us awake any longer
than we wanted to be. We spent the afternoon scrubbing the harbor
scum off the waterline and the barnacles off the propellor and shaft.
We continued sailing our way down the West Coast of Corsica and stopping
in beautiful anchorages until we arrived at Bonifacio – what a jewel!
We loved Bonifacio. The harbor is well protected and in a beautiful
setting, with huge, white, wind- and surf-scoured cliffs around it.
There is an old citadel
at the eastern side of the harbor and we climbed up to it on several
days and walked on well-marked trails along the cliffs and over to the
lighthouse.
The marina here is well organized, and with water and electricity,
costs about $40 US per night in the high season.
One can also anchor, with a line to the shore, in one of two calanques
off the main harbor. Both of these areas have a small beach and are
just a short dinghy ride into town.
There is a small charge for anchoring.
We left Bonifacio and spent a few days in the Lavezzi Islands
off the southern coast of Corsica. This archipelago is a national
reserve and is notable for the unusual, large rock formations that make
up the islands, and for the beautiful water. There were many French
and Italian boats anchored there, but we never really felt crowded – there
are so many good places to anchor.
This whole area appears to be teeming with sailors and boats.
The sailors we see are vacationing Europeans, about 80% of whom are sailing
the French production boats of various sizes, with a fin keel, a fast looking
design, hardly any wood, usually white and with a sugar-scoop stern
that is great for swimming and bathing from and for boarding when moored
stern to the dock. The charter boat operations here also use these
boats and they really are perfect for cruising in these waters, roomy and
attractive below and easily sailed. We have been impressed so far
with the competent boat handling that we’ve seen in these boats on the
part of charterers as well as owners. We have also seen a lot of
private boat charters, skippered by the owner. And we have seen many
character boat charters, “head boats”, galleons and schooners, that look
very pretty under sail (I’m glad I don’t have to do the varnishing!).
And every other anchorage and harbor we’ve been in has at least one sailing
school with lots of small boats sailing out in all weather, learning to
sail, cruise and practicing safety and racing techniques. The only
thing we have not liked are the noisy personal watercraft machines and
the motor boats that pass us too close, throwing an enormous wake.
While we were anchored off Lavezzi Island, a large wooden yacht from
Maddalena harbor anchored nearby and the owner passed us several times
as he ferried his passengers in to the shore. After he got them all
ashore, he stopped at our boat and spent quite a bit of time with us asking
questions about our boat and our crossing of the Atlantic. His hope
is to someday cruise in his own boat, the very boat he was using to take
tourists on day trips around the islands. After he got his passengers
back on board, he sent his first mate over to our boat with a bottle of
chilled white Italian wine for us. They all waved an enthusiastic
good-bye to us as they headed back to Sardinia. And all of the Italian
sailors we have met have been like this! They are great ambassadors
for Sardinia and Italy.
We are now in Sardinia, in the Maddalena Archipelago, on the northern
coast.
Photo: RUINS, NORTHERN COAST OF SARDINIA, NEAR MADDALENA
We just continue to marvel at the crystal clear water here in the Mediterranean.
We had heard about a lot of pollution, but we only see it in the harbors.
Once out of the harbors, one can see clear to the bottom and it is delightful
for swimming, just the perfect temperature.
Next stop: Gaeta, Italy to meet son Rob and his future wife, Alex.
Photo: HIGH SPEED FERRY BETWEEN PONZA AND GAETA
Arrivederci,
Peg & Tom
