8th Aug; Corsica back to Sardinia:
Wow, I had the most fantastic nights sleep! It almost made up for the night spent on the floor at Gatwick Airport hahahah! We all woke up at around 10am and, after a quickish breakfast, Rob and I prepared Hoopla for onward travel. Rob lifted up the anchor and Jack steered us out of the bay at around 12.30. Soon we had the sails out and Hoopla was sailing nicely 🙂 We saw more thunder and lightning behind us on Corsica, soon followed by a HUGE downpour! But we were OK, thank goodness, as it missed us! The wind finally died away and the engine was switched on at 13.45. Capt Rob was very happy with todays sail!
We dropped and set our anchor at 4.15pm, back in Sardinia. Almost immediately, the boys are in the water for a swim. Not me, though, as I’ve not even unpacked my swimsuit yet! Rob and Jack saw that we had to re-position the anchor, as it is not set and it is just laying on the sea grass! Its now re-set lovely in the sand. Well spotted Jack! I saw 2 jellyfish(!) but the boys were OK – they even fed fish from their hands with some bread! Unfortunately, its quite a rolly anchorage and I’m pleased we’re only here for one night!
I’m happy to report that Dranack is making good progress and is in Soller, Mallorca, and Fynbos made it to Tunisia! Well done to both crews!
9th Aug; Baia Di Santa Reparata to Isola Rossa, Sardinia:
Morning all. Well, it’s a bit of a rocky and rolly anchorage, but at least we are back in Sardinia. The plan now is to head along the north coast of Sardinia, in two hops, and then head down the west coast to Cagliari. We had planned to do the east side originally, but it would have been a real route march, due to a lack of suitable anchorages. We need to get to the shelter of Cagliari in the south, before a Tramontana sets in. We hope to meet up again with Fynbos in Cagliari there too, fingers crossed.
Hopefully today, when we do the first of our two hops, the wind will kick in. It is quite busy here, but nothing like the dire warnings we’ve heard about; the “no room at the inn” comments. We lifted up our anchor at 11am and it’s now 1.30, and we are goose-winging it with our Spinnaker and Genoa sails! Lovely! We have a speed of 6.2knts and a Very Happy Skipper!
1.5 hours later, we were back down to the Genoa and our speed reduced to 5.7kn, but no complaints from us!
3.30pm found us approaching what appeared to be a TINY passage through some rocks. The London underground’s “Mind The Gap!” springs to mind hahaha! But we got through without any problems. Phew!
We anchored very nicely at 4pm, even in 15/20knts wind! The said wind is now howling through the rigging, but our anchor is very nicely bedded in the sand, thank goodness! We later saw a lime green lilo get blown off the beach and we watched it roll towards, and then snag on, the nearby rocks. When the winds had died down, Rob took the dinghy and rescued it! Yay!
Whilst preparing dinner, we can hear VERY loud music from the beach, but we can’t help bopping to it hahahha! There is talk of the possibity of meeting up with Fynbos in Cagliari, around the 24th, when we meet Pete. It goes without saying, though, that these plans are subject to the weather conditions. It would be grand if these plans work out; more crossed fingers!
10th Aug; Isola Rossa to Cala Grande, Isola Piana, Sardinia:
10am saw us having breakfast (nom, nom) and at 11am, we were leaving the bay. Rob lifted out our anchor while Jack steered us out of the anchorage. We’re all very happy to have a following wind again today. We’ve had our fair share of head winds that’s for sure hahhaha! 15knts of wind with 6.5knts speed! Whoop whoop! But we have spotted some lobster pots, even at 64mtrs depth! We are having a fantastic sail! The Spinnaker is out 🙂
The autohelm has done a marvelous job today. We dropped our anchor at 17.30, in 1.5mtrs depth. There are just a couple of motor boats and a couple of yachts here, so a nice and empty bay!
Rob and Jack went snorkeling in the beautiful, emerald sea – and then me! In my new bikini! I swam a lot better in it hahaha! The sea is like bath water! So nice, warm and so clear too. Whilst swimming, Jack showed me a starfish! Absolutely amazing!
11th Aug; Isola Piana to Alghero Bay, Sardinia:
We all slept so well last night, that we are having breakfast a bit late this morning – at 9.30am! Whoops. We wanted to be leaving here at 10am but, as it was, it was 10.45 when Jack lifted out our anchor.
We actually sailed out of the bay (happy days!) and shortly after, Rob put up the spinnaker. Hoopla jumped to 7.2knots! Wow! She has settled down now to an average of 5.5knts and we’re VERY happy with that! Plus a lovely calm sea too. This is what we signed up for 🙂 🙂
Shortly after, we had a very nice lunch, courtesy of the Captain at 2pm. Its a very empty sea, as in, we’re the only ones here!! So much for the “rammed August” predictions we kept hearing about. We had another fantastic sail and Rob helmed all the way! Whoop whoop! We finally switched the engine on at 4.15pm, just to see us in to the bay.
Rob and Jack jumped straight into the sea, and apparently its cold hahaha! So I think I’ll pass hahaha!
It’s now 6.45pm and Rob is dropping Jack off in Alghero, as he wanted to go to the skate park. All in all, a very good day 🙂
12th to 17th Aug; Alghero Bay, Sardinia:
Well, we had a 6 lovely days here. It was so very hot, and so it was very handy being in a bay and being able to swim when we liked! Jack’s like a fish and has now mastered the art of climbing UP the anchor chain!
Firstly, I had an important date with a laundrette and Rob had a date with Lidl. On our way in the dinghy to the quay, though, we ran out of fuel – just as we entered the harbour! Awkward! We had to row the rest of the way, trying to avoid the traffic 😀
After our chores, we had a lovely picnic lunch (at 4.30!) in the park LOL. When we returned back to our dinghy, we loaded her up with our clean laundry and shopping bags, and then Rob rowed to the fuel barge. We laughed as we joined the ribs, yachts and power boats hahaha! We were so little! Our little outboard cost the large sum of – wait for it – €2.60! hahhaha! I think that they are more used to charging in the €100’s! Back onboard, and we were all in the sea. Yes, the sea is a lot cooler here! Brr! But it is so welcome in this hot weather. Unfortunately, our airbed has a puncture 🙁 Such a shame. We will keep an eye out for another – one that we can attach to our ladder.
Next morning, we saw the guard boat came out our way (blue lights flashing) and they were checking the few boats that are here (us included) for any anchors or chains that are in the posidonia grasses. As soon as they left, at least 5 more boats turned up! Hahahaha! They should inspect in the early afternoon, when it’s quite busy! We have just (again) checked the weather and we have some strong head winds forecasted for next week or so, plus 30+knts for 19/20th Aug! Gulp! So it looks like we are staying here and Pete will come to us instead (we were hoping to meet him in Cagliari on the 24th). We will then head for Menorca ASAP. This also means that meeting Fynbos in Cagliari is also off the cards 🙁 So disappointing 🙁
Even with all this sun, our battery is struggling to keep up with our needs. Well, struggling with our use of the inverter! Rob has ordered a lead which Pete is bringing with him, and we hope that this will help a lot. We are having to switch the fridge of at night to save power. We could use the generator (as we bought it for just such occasions) but it’s buried deep in our cockpit locker hahhaha!
3am this morning there was an extremely loud clap of thunder! It nearly gave us a heart attack! Hahhaha! But not Jack hahaha! Rob and I watched the light show from our cockpit.
When we woke up the next morning, we discovered that 4 boats, all rafted together, were, I kid you not, right next to our anchor bouy! Luckily we don’t have any immediate travel plans but we also hope that they don’t disturb our anchor! More checking of the weather later, and we see some strong winds are due on Thursday. So, we need to move anchorages. We should go today, really, but we agreed to move tomorrow, when we have done the shopping. Whilst I was cooking dinner tonight, we ran out of gas! Only Rob can swap the bottles over but he was in town, waiting for Jack to return from the skatepark. Rob duly swapped over the gas bottles when they were back on board, at 10.30pm and THEN I could continue with dinner! We finally sat down at 11.30pm hahha!
We finally succumbed and digged the generator out of the locker the next morning. We ran it for a few hours to give the battery a boost. Rob exchanged our empty gas bottles, €50 (€25 each) which wasn’t bad, apparently. The chandlery had ran out too, so Rob had a bit of a mission in the end. While he was gas bottle hunting, I disposed of our candlewick (it was falling to bits) and I replaced it with a duvet cover. I then hoovered Hoopla and cleaned the fans. The wind has picked up, as forecast, but we still had shopping to do. The sea is choppy and Rob did an excellent job of getting us to the quay. I said that the return journey will be interesting as we will be going into the choppy sea. I was right and we got completely soaked! Yuck hahha! I also noted that it seems to be more windy in the afternoon/evenings and said to Rob that we might be better off moving early (as in before breakfast) tomorrow, when it will be calmer. He agreed. Good call, as at 11.30pm, we heard the wind pick up. Rob put down our bimini, while I moved all the loose items from the deck and cockpit to down below (we don’t want to be losing any belongings by being blown over the side). Oh. My. Life! It’s like walking into an oven! The winds are so hot! Really hot! It’s so bizarre! We called for Jack to come up on deck, and he couldn’t believe it! It’s currently 34° in cabin (at midnight) with 20% humidity (!)
Dranack has arrived at their boat yard in the Mar Menor. Whoop whoop. Fynbos are still in Tunisia.
18th Aug; Alghero Bay to Fertilia Marina, Sardinia:
We woke to quite strong winds at 7am (gulp) We have a very small window for us to get to a safer anchorage, as the winds are due to change direction and get stronger. Its only a half hour journey, so we will be OK. BUT we are concerned about the actual sea state in the anchorage, as it has had two days (at least) of winds heading directly into it. This may take a while to settle and it won’t be very nice until it does. So, we are considering going into a marina here in Alghero instead for a couple of days…
At 9am the wind died had down considerably and, as we need to be somewhere by 10/11am, preferably, Rob pulled up our anchor and we entered the Harbour at 10.15am. Rob radioed the first marina and was told that they are full, but he was asked us to call back in one hour. Hmm. The 2nd; no answer, the 3rd (the harbour wall) is full (according to a diver on a rib). The 4th, Fertilia, right over on the other side of the bay, has a space for us! Yay! So, we are now making our way across the bay to them. This is where we stayed when we first arrived in Sardinia and where we first met Fynbos. We now have 20knot winds with 25kn gusts. We are nervous about mooring up in this! The sky is very black, the sea is very choppy and rolly! Gulp! We just entered Fertilia Marina when a strong gust hit us! It pushed us sideways and the bow thrusters could not cope! Uh oh! Jack did an excellent job of fending us off and, with the marineros help, we managed to moor and slime up. We had no choice but to go stern-to. This meant that our dinghy and the davits are over the pontoon and it will be awkward, to say the least, to get on and off Hoopla. But, we are in and we are now safe for the strong winds forecasted later, and for the Mistral due tomorrow.
Now it’s time for breakfast! (It’s 12.30pm) hahaha! Followed by a siesta! Well, it has been a stressful morning!
Later, Jack managed to get onto the pontoon and plug us in, and then Rob moved the dinghy from the davits to the pontoon, so we could fit the pasarrelle. This is good news because we can now go for a beer later! Priorities!
I went through Jack’s schooling (Yr 10!) and I downloaded all of his schedules and programs of study etc! How exciting! But I noticed that we are missing geography…
19th & 20th Aug; Fertilia Marina, Sardinia:
Definitely cooler today – which is really nice! The forecasted strong gusts are now going through and we’re very pleased to be here! We have had short, sharp showers too! Rob worked for most of the today, while I pottered about. I also sorted out Jack’s geography. It was missed off originally but it is now being added to Jack’s IGCSE subjects. He is studying :
- Maths Extended
- English Language
- Biology
- Chemistry
- History
- Physics
- Psychology
- Geography
It’s our last day here today, so we made full use of the water, by hand washing some tshirts and topping up our water tank. We then took a scooter to Alghero (always such good fun). We had a lovely lunch before making our way to the supermarket. We popped in to a car hire place on our way to the bus stop and we have hired a car for next Wed, the 24th, so we can collect Pete from Cagliari Airport. We were going to sail there but the recent head winds have put paid to that! Rob also washed the decks (the rains yesterday had sand in them!) while I prepared dinner.
21st Aug; Fertilia Marina to Alghero Harbour, Sardinia:
We were up at 9am and Rob took up our rubbish (no recycling here), checked us out of the marina (€30 per night, not bad!) and then he popped to the supermarket for some milk and bread. While he was doing that, I cleared up our galley, topped up our water tank and then prepared Hoopla for travel. Its only across the bay, half hour tops, so not much prep needed hahha! A quick coffee break when Rob returned, before we all put the dinghy back on its davits. Jack then unplugged us from the pontoon. I was in charge of the stern lines and Jack the bow slime lines. Rob then eased Hoopla from the pontoon and soon after, released the Genoa – and we had a very pleasant sail over the bay at 5knts 🙂 🙂
We hope to moor up on the harbour wall in Alghero, where it’s free for 5 days! The instructions for this, though, are not current, so we are going to see if a space is available and take it, if so. If not, we will anchor out in the bay and try again tomorrow. We were all a bit nervous – but it went like clockwork! Rob did an excellent job of bringing us in and he controlled Hoopla lovely.
Jack jumped ashore (wearing sliders no less!) and I passed him our lines, which he then threaded through a metal ring in the wall, and passed back to me, to lock off. Rob said that they are extremely clean slime lines here ! The cleanest he has seen so far in the Med! We guess that they are used a lot hahahha! We had all slimed up by 1.15pm and now we can walk into the town, without the need of a dinghy. Such luxury!
22nd to 25th Aug; Alghero Harbour Wall, Sardinia:
Oh what a wonderful five fun filled days (including our arrival on the 21st) we have had here! It’s so much warmer in a marina than at anchor – and we are melting! But, we really enjoyed revisiting the old town and showing Pete the sights and sounds.
Our first full day here, Rob took advantage of having some time and so worked most of the day. I aired and prepared Pete’s bunk and tidied up bows to stern, but I still managed to finish my book! Happy Days! At around 5pm, all 3 of us walked into town – it’s very warm again 🙂 Later, Rob went with Jack to the skatepark.
The 24th has finally arrived(!) and Pete is on his way! We hope that he has a pair of shorts at the top of his bag to change into as soon as he lands LOL! We collected the hire car at 10am and we drove to Lidl to stock up on all the required heavy items! €109 later!!!! Ouch! But Rob managed to park right by Hoopla, which was a bonus. We had a quick lunch before we were back in the car to go and meet Pete in Cagliari. Its a long drive, 3 hours each way! It’s also very mountainous and so some tight hair-pin bends that were interesting… we also noticed that some of the trees look like broccoli 😀
Pete had had a good journey and we all met up at 5.45pm, without any problems. He di, indeed, have shorts at the top of his bag, which he had quickly changed into! We drove to a very nice beach, where Pete had a swim and Rob had a paddle. Too quickly it was 7.30pm, and I suggested that we should start to head back. We decided to find a restaurant en route for tea. Well, we tried two villages that we passed – and all restaurants were either closed or had closed their kitchens! Uh oh! The second motorway services that we tried actually sold hot pastries and had some GF cakes! These, washed down with a decent coffee, made a good enough meal – but not quite the welcome meal we had planned! LOL! A very interesting twisty-turny route (in the dark this time) back to Hoopla, where we arrived at midnight. We had a very welcome cuppa, before turning in at 1.30am. Welcome aboard Pete!
The next morning, we were all rudely woken up by a loud fishing vessel at 7.30, docking right beside us. Ouch! A lazy breakfast followed and then Rob and Pete returned the car (and received a free coffee as they had to wait for the card machine). Rob, Pete and I went into town for a delicious lunch and then we were back onboard for a siesta. That evening, all four of us walked into town. Jack had a pizza, but as we were still quite full from lunch, we ordered a shared ham and cheese platter. We are just about to prepare Hoopla for leaving the harbour wall tomorrow morning. There’s not much to do as we’re only going out into the bay, so just the clearing of the decks and the putting away of the breakables, and then we were done!
26th Aug; Alghero Harbour to Alghero Bay, Sardinia:
After a good nights sleep, we were all up at 9am and enjoying a leisurely breakfast. After which, Rob and Pete returned the bike to our stern (Rob had taken the bike off Hoopla and had used it a few times). I was out on deck, putting out our cushions, when the Marinaeros asked us when are we leaving. I said 20 mins! Vessels are only allowed here for 120 hours (or 5 days). At 10.30am, we slipped the sparkling clean slime lines(!) and we made our way out of the harbour wall.
We decided to go near the harbour entrance, as this would make the dinghy ride into town a wee bit shorter! We dropped anchor at 12.30! Rob and Pete were straight in the sea – but apparently its not as warm as it was hahhaha! Think I’ll pass 😀 That afternoon, Rob and Pete fixed Jack’s hatch (it had become very stiff and difficult to open) and Rob replaced the faulty rocker switch for the loo flush. Later, all three male Agers were in the water again – but not for long hahha!
27th Aug; Alghero Bay, Sardinia:
We plan to leave here tomorrow for Mallorca, so today is our last day in Sardinia. Its going to be a long, long passage; two days and two nights!!! We’re very grateful for Pete’s help!
We have had some excellent sailing in Sardinia and Corsica. Our one disappointment was not being able to go down the east coast of Sardinia, due to the weather. Corsica was very remote, ie no public transport and we always seem to be miles from supermarkets etc. But both islands had their own charm and we enjoyed their experiences.
Rob and Pete had a very nice snorkel after breakfast while I caught up with some hand washing. Living the dream LOL! We popped to the supermarket after lunch, taking the dingy to the shore. Rob and Pete dived into the chandlery first hahaha! It is SO very warm! We have to make sure that we find the shade to walk in!
Back on board, all the boys are in the water while I put the shopping away. Whilst they were swimming, a motor boat came too close to our anchor bouy – and pulled up our anchor! Whhaatt? Rob jumped aboard and re-set it, while Pete & Jack watched in the water. Later, I had a quick swim while Rob prepared dinner (and he also cooked spag bol for tomorrow night’s supper). The sea wasn’t as warm as before the storms, but it was ok. Refreshing is the word! I enjoyed my snorkel, looking at the fishes in the posidonia. We all turned in at around midnight. It was supposed to be an early night but no! Hahha! Our alarms are set for 5.30am (gulp!) as we want to be away for 6am. We’re all looking forward to being back in a land where we understand the language. I never thought I’d say that about my Spanish! LOL!
