Sardinia/Corsica July 2006 – 7 day bareboat charter

Costa esmerelda (the emerald coast) is one of the most famous sailing areas in the world, mainly because of the grand prix yacht racing that takes place there. It good consistent winds, so we decided to a charter there. We chartered a beneteau oceanis 41 from sailitalia, an affiliate of moorings. The boat was in great shape, although a door frame fell off later. We had a crew of 7.

Day 1: Picked up the boat at Cannigione and provisoned it from a local market.

Day 2: The first day we decided to check out the city of la madellena on madellena island. It was nice seaside town very italian obviously. Great italian food. We found a stern-to mooring before getting into the main harbor which was definitely quieter.

Day 3: we set sail for bonifacio. The passage can be pretty rough if the winds pipe up but we had less than 15 knots which was perfect. Bonfacio is the most beautiful port I have ever been to. Sailing through the valley right into the town is so picturesque. The french food was great as well.

Day 4: short sail to lavezzi, which is an uninhabited island. It was nice, would definitely recommend it.

Day 5: we then sailed to the other la madellena islands for a swim and snorkel. The islands are barren and there wasn't much fish, so snorkelling wasn't all that exciting.. We then sailed to porto pozzo for the night. Here is where it got eventful. The italian evening forecast called for light southerly winds which is what we were experiencing. At about 2am in the morning, I woke up to 40 knots of wind in the anchorage coming from the north. The anchor was dragging at 1knot. Luckily there were no boats close, I let out all the chain and the anchor grabbed again. The gale lasted until morning, when it calmed down to 20-30 knots

Day 6: Next day we anchored at the famous pink beach, which is no longer pink. Lots of tourists, don't know if I would recommend it. We then sailed to porto cervo which was a nice downwind sail. Porto Cervo is very nice, but very expensive. Short cab rides were 30 euros. Definitely recommend it though. The marina and yacht club are lovely. Lots of fashionable marine attire shops like SLAM.

Day 7: Next day around lunch time we headed to a nearby anchorage to do some snorkelling before heading back to Cannigione. He is where we encountered Jellyfish. A couple of the crewmembers got stung. Something to watch out for. After that headed back to Cannigione and the end of the 7 day charter.

Highlights
-  bonifacio
-  Porto cervo
-  madalena islands

Lowlights
– italian weather forecasts
– mad scramble to get into marina spots in bonifacio
– jelly fish

Check out the pictures here