A speedy exit from Corsica ..... July 2010

The ancient Citadel at Calvi

26 - 29 July 2010

Our snug flat anchorage at la Revelatta was such a great spot that we stayed a second night. We dinghied ashore and went for a long walk along one of the many trails out to the headland, swam in the clear waters then sat back and watched all the boats heading in and out of Calvi. The following morning we motored the short distance around, past the spectacular walled citadel and into the anchorage. There is a small, manic, overcrowded marina, outside that is a large area with laid mooring buoys, at 40€ a night we moved on further along the beach to the anchorage area. It's a very long dinghy ride ashore, probably the longest we have ever had, but ok, so it was home for a couple of nights.
We dinghied ashore for the evening, walked up to explore the citadel and were a little disappointed. Previous old towns like this are still the centre of town, with bars and cafes spilling onto the streets, small cute shops and narrow alleys. This was rather a ghost town, with just a handful of buildings occupied as residences and held little charm.

However down at sea level the place was buzzing, there were small lanes parallel to the waterfront oozing with charm and more than making up for the deserted citadel area. Maybe everyone just got tired of having to climb up the hill and relocated to sea level!!! We had an interesting local Corsican dinner ashore including wild boar stew, not exceptional but we have ticked it off the list. We stopped to listen to a solo singer at a small bar but quickly moved on when we wisely asked the price of a beer, 10€ really was just way to ridiculous for a 500ml draught beer, especially when its 60c in the supermarket for 500ml can! Still too early to go home we stopped back down on the waterfront for a nightcap, only 7€ here for a beer, what a bargain - we have paid a new high for a large tap beer.

Calvi waterfront by night

The following day we took the small and very overcrowded narrow gauge railway along the northern coast, stopping at all the beaches enroute, to the small market town of Ile Rousse. This was a cute little place with a bustling morning market, busy town square and packed busy beach. This northern coastline is a campers heaven, the entire coastline was dotted with camping grounds, crystal clear blues seas lapping on white sandy shores. The train ride back was just as busy, everyone with buckets, spades, chilli bins, umbrellas - all enjoying the summer sunshine.

The winds were forecast to fill in overnight from the southwest then build and come around more to the west. We thought most of the anchorages would start to get rolly with a westerly blowing so decided to depart the following morning and maybe head for St Florent 25 miles east which showed the best protection from the west. The morning dawned with no wind but we decided it was time to move on anyway. By the time we had lifted anchor and raised sails we had gusts to 20knots, so with two reefs in the main we bore away and set sail north east, destination undecided.

Northeast Corsica, a different landscape

We had a rather wild sail, across the top of Corsica, dead down wind, with building seas and 25knots of wind. Our planned stop at St Florent did not eventuate, there was too much wind, churning up quite a sea and we felt it wouldn't have enough protection. We had hoped to rendezvous again with Steve and Karen on Threshold who were there, but sadly passed them by. A good decision on our part as they reported the following day several boats had dragged in the anchorage, with some ending up on the beach.
We came around the pointy finger at the top of Corsica within 100 metres of Gone with the Wind, they had left from St Florent and were both surprised to see each other out in these conditions. We both rounded the top and sought shelter at Rade de Santa Maria on the leeward side of the headland, although the water was much flatter we were getting hit by 30knots bullets shooting down the hillside. We managed to anchor out of the swell in shallow water and collapsed in a heap, that had been quite some sail!!

But there was little time to rest, the winds kept building and peaked before midnight at 43 knots, then silence - it died completely giving us a chance for some rest ...... but not for long. A wicked swell rolled in, tipping us from side to side, and if that wasn't bad enough thunderstorms were building and closing in on us, closer with each crack of thunder. The wind swung to the east, only 10 knots but putting us on a leeshore, it was a sandy bottom shallowing slowly so not too much of a concern until the storms closed right in, the wind built, the rain poured down, waves came crashing over Mark on the bow as we lifted anchor - we were out of there in record time. We have never pitched and rolled so much at one time, we had items flying around inside that have never before moved, not a sea state we wish to be in again!!!

Gone with theWind with Calvi Citadel at sunset

It was 5am and dawn was just starting to break, we headed offshore to deeper waters, motoring around the thunder storms and dodging ferries standing off, they too were waiting for better weather before approaching land. We looked at the charts, it was 40 miles to the Italian Tuscan Island of Elba, and that's where we headed. We had seen and done everything we wanted to in Corsica and she just gave us a little push to speed us on our way, au revoir Corsica we have enjoyed our stay.

Cruising info for Calvi and Rade de Santa Maria, Corsica:-
Anchorages -
Calvi 42 33.578N 08 46.638E 7.5m sand, very hard to get closer as no anchoring zone, swimming zones and mooring buoys further in.
Rade de Santa Maria 42 59.701N 09 26.978E 5.5m sand We spent an hour finding the most comfortable spot on this part of the coast for our conditions, normally this should be a lovely spot and looked great walking ashore
Communications - no WIFI, a couple of the cafes ashore gave out 30min connection with a drink. Vodafone Roaming and GYMSIM both had signals
Ashore - Take dinghy into marina, tie up where you can at concrete end (by foothpath), Everything you need ashore, small but adequate supermarket, bakeries, butchers etc all small but good. Fuel dock in marina (comings and goings in marina very very busy)
Formalities - didn't see anyone for our entire stay in Corsica
Sightseeing - The train trip to Ile Rousse hugs the coastline, if you are going to sail along here then it would probably not be worthwhile. If you don't get there early you may have to stand. Departs Calvi 0905, 1105, 1340, 1535, 1810 the return departs Ile Rousse 1005, 1205, 1435, 1710,1910. It's about 50mins each way and 6Euro each, each way.

Pontiac Sunbird racing lobster boat warps our fragile little minds — Autoblog

Pontiac Sunbird racing lobster boat warps our fragile little minds — Autoblog

Finaly after two years, one nice weekend in July

Fish Fry and Queen Island Treasure Hunt

Passenger Yacht Code for Large Superyachts

The superyacht industry has for some time been clamouring for a code that addresses issues for those superyachts seeking to carry more than 12 but not more than 36 passengers.

The British Red Ensign Group (REG) has over the past three years been developing a Code for the technical standards to be applied to what are now being referred to as Passenger Yachts. It has come about in response to industry’s desire to have a single reference document for the construction and operation of large passenger yachts rather than the need to follow many different sets of rules and regulations

That Code has now reached an advanced stage of development and the current draft (i.e. Passenger Yacht Code - Distribution Version 3) (PYC - DV3) is now available on the REG website at (www.redensigngroup.org).

The Code has been developed to address the difficulties in applying some of the international Convention standards (in particular the Safety of Life at Sea [SOLAS] Convention and the Load Line Convention), which were designed for merchant ships, to the present day superyacht.

Regulators are insisting that the Code in no way dilutes current Convention standards but instead provides equivalent standards and arrangements, where appropriate, aimed at addressing in a pragmatic and practical way the challenges imposed by the design operation and usage of today’s large yachts.  The Code will provide standards for both privately operated and commercially operated yachts.

After further industry consultation it is expected that the Code will be published by the REG and lodged, by the UK on behalf of the REG, with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) by November of this year as the "official" REG-wide equivalent for this type of vessel.

By way of comparison, the PYC may be viewed as a natural progression, although philosophically very different, from the well adopted UK "Large Yacht Code" which sets out standards for commercial yachts over 24m, less than 3000gt and carrying not more than 12 passengers – a code that is itself being revised over the next few months.

Prevent Fuel Theft with this Simple Device

I have posted this before. Simple items can help us protect ourselves and our vessels.

From Marine Guard

Prevent Fuel Theft with this Simple Device
This product wins my beauty in simplicity award. With fuel prices soaring to highs never before experienced by most of us, crimes of fuel theft are on the rise. Our boats and RV’s are often easy targets for this type of crime. My own vessel carries 600 gallons of diesel which would be a substantial loss of money if I was to be siphoned by a quiet theft in the night.

In researching products to prevent this, my mind was on electronic devices that could be attached to vessel security systems. I laughed out loud when I found such a simple solution that could be easily used by anyone with a boat, RV, car or any other fuel holding vehicle. (Product is under $37.00 US)

Here is the information about the product on the Ahoy Captain website: www.ahoycaptain.com Ahoy captain is an online retail seller of this product.

Vetus Fuel Safe Anti Siphon "Spider"

Protect your fuel supply and gain peace of mind.
It is a sad fact of life that fuel prices have risen to such a level that siphoning the fuel from your boat is now an attractive proposition for thieves. With many boats holding hundreds of gallons of fuel, this is a lucrative activity.

In its range of practical accessories, VETUS has introduced a simple device to prevent a siphon hose being inserted into the deck filler and down into the tank

The VETUS "Fuel Safe" is supplied in a plastic tube, which is used to insert it quickly and easily into the fuel filler hose. There is no requirement to dismantle anything and the ingenious design ensures that it cannot subsequently be removed.

This synthetic device is suitable for both diesel and gasoline and it fits filling hoses of both 38 mm (1 ½") and 51 mm (2") internal diameter. There is no noticeable reduction in fuel flow when filling the tank.

Think about the value of the fuel in your tank or the inconvenience and danger of running out unexpectedly?

Features

* Simple installation
* No dismantling required
* Suitable for hoses with I.D. of 1-1/2'' (38mm) and 2'' (51mm).
* Made of diesel & gasoline resistant synthetic
* Dimensions: 2-3/16''x2-13/16''

www.MarineGuardSecurity.com

When you visit, drop them a line and let them know you found them through the site here. Thanks.

8 Hours From Theft to Recovery

From Marine Guard

Nav-Tracker Tracks Stolen Boat In The Bahamas
HydraSport Recovered 8 Hours Later
FT. LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA (USA) - A 33-foot HydraSport equipped with the Nav-Tracker 1.0 wireless boat location and GPS tracking system from Paradox Marine, stolen from Treasure Cay in the Bahamas in the early morning hours last Wednesday (July 14), was located by the system and recovered in Bimini by authorities about eight hours later.
“There is no question that without Nav-Tracker, my boat would have never been found,” said Jose Mas, the owner. “I had just installed the system two weeks before and I was amazed at being able to track the boat and follow the thieves. In addition to the technology, the customer service provided by Paradox Marine in tracking my boat real time from theft to recovery was amazing. Everyone at Treasure Cay in the Bahamas was talking about an owner tracking the boat as it was stolen. Hopefully, more boat owners will install the Nav-Tracker to help deter boat thieves,” he added.
Paradox Marine’s Nav-Tracker 2.0 with an infrared beam sensor and a siren was responsible for protecting a second boat the same night - some 15 miles away from Treasure Cay, in the Marsh Harbor area. The owner received an ‘in alarm’ message from their boat as the thieves were trying to steal it. After the siren went off, the would-be thieves took off.
Last year, Paradox Marine received a service medal from the U.S. Coast Guard in recognition of the role Nav-Tracker 2.0 played in the recovery of a Contender stolen in the Bahamas in September, 2008. As many as 27,000 boats are stolen annually and the odds of recovery are only about 1 in 10, according to the International Association of Marine Investigators.
Nav-Tracker 2.0
When a Nav-Tracker 2.0 transmitter is mounted discreetly on a boat and armed, a wireless ‘fence’ with a 500-meter range can be created. If a boat is moved outside of this fence, Nav-Tracker 2.0 uses Inmarsat based GPS satellite technology to monitor a boat’s location and notify up to four people by email and/or text message every 15 minutes with the latitude/longitude, speed, heading and distance to closest city.
The message transmitted from Nav-Tracker on board the HydraSport when it was stolen would have been similar to this:

Message From Nav-Tracker
User: Paradox Marine
Asset: M/Y Island Time
Fleet: ETI
Date/Time: 2006-07-25 15:06:28 (EDT)
Event: Geo-fence breached;
Location: 26.05767,-80.1303.3 (0.75 mi NE of Hollywood, FL 33019)
Speed/heading: 9.2 Knots, 144 deg
Google Earth Map: [KML]

Some insurance companies now offer premium discounts or require GPS tracking devices to be installed on certain types of boats, including high performance boats and boats with triple high-horsepower outboards.

Corsica's Wild West Coast ..... July 2010

Gone with the Wind pulling in front of Eye Candy

21 - 26 July 2010

Unfortunately we couldn't stay anchored in the crystal clear waters at Cala d'Orzu forever, there were some stronger winds forecast offshore which would send in a unwelcome swell. We headed north in flat seas and a light seabreeze, it was race on again. When Eye Candy popped a coloured sail they started to gain on us slightly, skipper trimming constantly to stay ahead, Gone with the Wind came up from behind, overtaking Eye Candy, then us and surging forward, Australia wins again! We did however go off course a couple of times to allow the leaders of fleet of high performance race boats through, seemed the gentlemanly thing to do even if we forfeited our lead position.

Time out for cafe au lait in Ajaccio

We had decided to take shelter in the harbour at Ajaccio, the capital of Corsica. On entering the anchorage area it seemed everyone else on the west coast had seen the weather report and were in there too, it was very cosy but everyone was sensible with their anchoring and it all worked ok. Ajaccio's a busy city with some rather ugly highrise apartment blocks on the foreshore, a noisy road runs along the waterfront and hearing the constant hum of cars and seemingly endless wails of sirens made us appreciate our previous anchorages even more. It is a functional working town however, with a pleasant old town area complete with twisting alleys and crumbling buildings, excellent daily morning market and the best supermarket right at the anchorage we have seen possibly since we started cruising.

After two nights the winds had passed and we hoped the swells had eased with it, it was hard to tell as we were very protected by 2 headlands and a small group of islands. The skies were steely grey and it really didn't look like a nice day to go sailing. We were eager to keep heading north, ever consious that this is not a coastline you want to be on in unfavourable conditions as there are few all round anchorages.

Feasting on king prawns at €9 a kilo, yummy

Rounding the first headland the seas were still quite flat, we set sails and headed for the pass through the islands and out into open water, and then we hit the swell. A big long lazy ocean swell, unlike any we had experienced in the med before, comfortable enough to sail in but it did not bode well for our chosen anchorage for the night.

The swell was crashing up against the shear cliffs and bouncing back out, we were amazed at how close some yachts were inshore, we gave ourselves plenty of sea space and enjoyed the scenery, even in its gloomy state, from afar. Our first anchorage option at Cargese was basically untenable, we would have got seasick at anchor from the roll and the small marina was too shallow for us, so we backtracked into the bay of Sagone, looking at the chart we didn't have too much hope for anything better but it was a bigger bay and our only other immediate option. We passed two small headlands before entering the bay, and after each one the swell abated some, then the final turn into the bay seemed to cut out most of the roll and we had a reasonably comfortable night. We said our goodbyes to Andrew and Clare on Eye Candy, they were waiting for a guest to arrive and probably wouldn't catch up with us again this season. We had been in their company on and off since Sicily at the end of May and will miss having them around.

Cheese, cheese and more cheese

Next morning we left again in similar conditions, large swell, a sky still laden with threatening clouds but no wind. We bypassed the famous Golfes de Porto and Girolata and just imagined how grand they would look, the rich red sheer cliffs reflected into a glassy sea, brilliant blue sky above - maybe next time. We motored for 6 hours to cover the final 38 miles up Corsicas wild west coast and were relieved to turn the corner of the north east point and find flatter water. At La Revellata we found further shelter tucked behind a small island for the night. We were just a mile from ancient Calvi and much appreciated our flat anchorage, the bar was opened and we sat back and admired the vista of the setting sun shining onto the cream stone citadel at Calvi. We have cruised Corsica's west coast, enjoyed it immensely even if we couldn't stay and explore everywhere we had planned, and we have lived to tell another tale.

Cruising info for Ajaccio and Baie de Sagone, Corisca:-
Anchorages -
Ajaccio 41 55.828N 08 44.955E 16m mud. Tight anchorage and very busy, stay clear of where gas white buoys are, boats were in the no anchorging zone and didn't have problems
Baie de Sagone 42 06.665N 08 41.683E 8m sand. Thought we would roll all night but much better protection from the swell that it looked
Golfe de Revelatta 42 34.301N 08 43.665E 8.5m weed, rock with sand patches
Communications - No unlocked WIFI signals. Vodafone Maltese roaming and GYMSIM worked on SFR signal
Ashore - Didn't go ashore in Baie de Sagone. Ajaccio has the best Carrefour, it huge and has everything right at the anchorage (check out the fresh king prawns). Also a Le Clerc next to it. Excellent market in old town in the mornings,. Banks, ATM's everything you need. Fuel station ashore but didn't need diesel
Formalities - none

Mindset post from Surviving in Argentina Blog

The Survival Mindset
from Surviving in Argentina by FerFAL

The Survival Mindset

Ask anyone that is into survival and disaster preparedness what’s the single most important thing and if he knows just the slightest bit about it the answer you will get is mindset. Some will say it as if revealing a treasured secret, some will blurb it out without even processing it in their minds, probably saying it a couple times a week for the last few years.
Now, it is correct, the right mindset is where it all begins and it is indeed the most important part, yet so little is said about it. I’ll be the first one to raise the hand and accept I’m guilty as well. Most often I will talk in my blog about different gear I found or am currently testing or using. Its so much easier to talk about gear, tools, guns. Its not only fun, its interesting for the reader and not as much work for the writer. Tangible objects are obvious, determined, of this or that length, weight and use, while a philosophical concept is hard to define, its like trying too catch mist with a net.
Another common situation is that, right after claiming that mindset is the most important part, people will confidently admit that they themselves have such survival mindset. Yet this is like saying you’re Christian: The Catholic, the Protestant and the self claimed prophet nutcase that serves coolaid with rat poison, they all claim to be Christian yet they couldn’t be more different.

What does it mean to have a survival mindset?

Few things are as hard to define as survival mindset. I mean, I’ve been into survival and preparedness for a long time, thinking and writing about it for years and yet I have a hard time doing it and find it impossible to come up with a clean, short answer.
In my opinion , survival mindset includes but isn’t limited to:

Conviction. You are convinced of the wisdom in preparing and assimilate it as another part of your life.

Determination. To carry it through on the long run. The survival mindset is only legit if its something you’ve acquired and stays with you permanently once you’ve got it. Even if your dedication to preparedness is sometimes interrupted because of a tighter budget or particularly demanding times where your attention is mostly focused elsewhere, real survival mindset can never be uninstalled from your mind.

Humor. Without it you are doomed no matter what. In some cases you see people that lack it completely and just makes their lives miserable, in others you can even see its killing them, and anguish and negative thoughts will kill you if you can’t control them. During extraordinary stressful times its of great importance to have good humor, and its no coincidence that I’m placing humor near the top of the list.

Setting rational priorities. This is a common fail in many people who consider themselves to be survivalists and its an often discussed topic in my blog, the lack of common sense, real world approach to survival. Do you really focus on getting more guns instead of losing some of the weight that is killing you? Their failed logic goes, why worry about losing the extra 100 pounds worth of fat in your body when you can still shoot looters even if you’re fat. It never occur to them that they are a thousand times more likely to die of cardiac failure in their current state than anything else, and I’ve seen people actually get offended when a diet is respectfully suggested. The same applies to having tons of guns and no food. Tons of food and no water (but lots of empty containers with a post-it note that reads “fill me up when SHTF”). Ten thousand dollars worth of machinery but not a single dollar saved.

Self Discipline. To actually carry out through your actions what you claim and know to be important. To follow the path you set and not only do the things that are easy, but also have the will power to do the things that may be more unpleasant for you such as going into diet if you have to, working out, learning skills that you may not enjoy studying but you rationally recognize as important. This also includes financial sacrifices in some cases, saving money you would have otherwise spent in things you just don’t need, even ones that at some level you try to convince yourself as “must haves” for survival.

Differentiating fantasy from reality. This will usually end up with people preparing for the infamous “end of the world”, mistakenly thinking that if you’re ready for the worst case scenario, you’re ready for everything in between. Wrong. These people will have tons of supplies but wont have a sensible plan for when they retire, because everyone knows that money will be worth nothing… when the world ends.

Thirst for knowledge. Survival mindset also means you recognize the possibility of sometimes not having people there to help you, so its understandable that you’d like to accumulate as much skills and knowledge as you can. Time is limited and so are resources, you can’t know it all, but someone that has a survival mindset is ever curious and never wastes an opportunity to learn something new.

Awareness. Of your surroundings. Awareness implies conscious recognition of your immediate environment and the capability to detect potential threats within it as well as tactical advantages and disadvantages. This is again, a part of the survival mindset a lot of people claim to have but in reality they don’t. And I’m not using the term “tactical” loosely either, but referring to it as abstract analysis such as acknowledging the emergency exit sign in the restaurant where you’re having dinner, knowing your shoe soles are certified to provide electric shock resistance, or recognizing a pen or letter opened as a potential weapon when walking into an office. These are bits of knowledge you keep stored in your head and may give you an edge on different emergency situations. This is very different from the more “tacticool” concept of militarizing trinkets and other paraphernalia for no other reason than aesthetic appeal.

Having a plan. You’ve talked with your family regarding what you’d be doing during an emergency in case you get scattered. You all know where you’d get together and where you would go if that location is not an option. When defending yourself, you have a strategy to follow, when hitting you already have a simple yet effective combination of strikes you’ve practiced as default.

Redundancy and backups. Both in essential gear and planning. This will mean having several backups for things such as self defense, heat and cooking, several months worth of food, enough water to get by if the grid goes down. In planning it will mean having plan A, B and probably C as well. It basically means you’re already assuming the likelihood of failing and getting prepared for an alternative.

All constructive comments and suggestions are more than welcomed.

FerFAL

Thought this was a great article, thought provoking and in keeping with the spirit of this blog, preparedness and not obsessing over equipment.

News from Sheer Tenacity

See the latest from Rod and Mary at http://svsheertenacity.blogspot.com/

Straits have the last laugh ..... July 2010

16-21 July

Bonifacio buildings clinging to the cliffs

It was finally time to leave Port Vecchio, we had decided to head south and then around the bottom of Corsica and up the west coast if we got calm enough conditions. We had a easy day and just motored the 12miles to our first anchorage at Porto Rondinara. We had seen post cards of this picturesque horseshoe bay with a beautiful white sandy beach and crystal clear waters and it did not disappoint, it was a lovely spot for the night, we could have stayed longer. However the winds were forecast to stay light so we decided to move on the following day and try and anchor at Bonifacio in the compact free area. Both Eye Candy and Gone with the Wind were in front of us, the winds were building in the straits and we got another free salt water washdown before we entered through the narrow gap between the cliffs into Bonifacio harbour. The small designated anchorage area was reasonably empty but there have been bow lines laid which ran back to the solid cliff wall, so instead of dropping anchor you need to position the boat, hold station, one person dinghy ashore, retrieve first one then the second bow line, get back onboard, attach these to the bow, then take stern lines ashore again by dinghy and attach them to rings or rocks. If this sounds tricky, well it is! Eye Candy were in first and needed help getting the lines. We dropped our dinghy and Mark motored over to help them, while I, my first time alone on Balvenie under way and helming went backwards, forwards, round in circles in the very tight area within the harbour entrance, trying desperately to keep out of harms way!!

Eventually Eye Candy were settled but the wind had increased more and was now coming in beam on, we decided it would be too difficult to try and get Balvenie tied up without a bow thruster, even with Eye Candy's help, so we abandoned Plan A. Plan B was to anchor in either of the 2 anchorages just west of Bonifacio but Gone with the Wind had checked them out while we were helping Eye Candy and reported that neither were tenable with the building wind, Plan C was to carry on 30 miles up the northwest coast, beating into the building sea - that was quickly dismissed and Plan D was formulated, we turned around and headed back in the direction we had come from.

Ready for the gun outside Bonifacio

We rolled out the headsail and sailed downwind back through the straits, turned north into much calmer water and looked to anchor. The first anchorage was getting bullets of over 30 knots so on we went. 6 hours after leaving Porto Rondinara we anchored just 3 miles south of it at Plage de Balistra, in flat water but the wind still howled over 25 knots and there we stayed for 2 nights sitting it out. We managed shore leave the following day for a short time and walked along the lovely long white sand beach, this was a remote area with one small shacky bar ashore, a few campervans parked, some hardy experienced windsurfers and little else except for a few nudists at the end of the beach.

The wind eased so we decided to give the Bonifacio Straits another try, leaving early before the seabreeze kicked in we motored through the straits in flat water, what a difference a couple of days and no wind can make. A yacht race was taking place outside Bonifacio and if I didn't know better I might have thought we were actually competing in it, once a racer - always a racer! As the wind filled in we were able to sail northwest, only tacking 10 times (no we weren't racing, this was just for fun!!), and we covered the 42 miles to Campomoro without the Bonifacio Straits beating us up again.

West coast from Campomoro's watchtower

The anchorage was busy, we were surprised as this west coast is much more open to the elements, and when the swell rolls in it has come all the way from the Spanish coast but the French sailors are a hardy bunch and there were plenty of yachts of all shapes and sizes on their annual sailing holiday. It was a great anchorage, deep in places but well sheltered, flat water, a pleasant village ashore, a great watch tower perched out on the headland and some well signposted coastal walks. We spent most of the following day there then did a short hop across the bay to Porto Pollo. The bay is full of official visitor mooring balls so we hooked onto one, no one came for payment and there was nowhere visible ashore to pay so we happily excepted it as being free. It was another laid back small town with a couple of camping grounds and a holiday feel to it. We had dinner ashore then next morning tried to organise a car/taxi/motorbike - anything really - to visit the megalithic monuments at Filitosa. They are from 4000BC and are related to the stone statues at Stonehenge and are supposed to be excellent, we will never know as it impossible to arrange any sort of transport to visit the site, oh well we haven't missed much else and we did try.

The clear blue waters of Cala d'Orzu

Weather conditions were still settled so we took the opportunity to keep heading north, and had a leisurely sail all of 8 miles to paradise. We had spotted a bay on the chart and read it in the guide book, it sounded ok but nothing special but when we pulled into Cala d'Orzu and could see our anchor buried in the white sand 8 metres below we felt like we had returned to the Pacific. There were even a couple of shacky bars ashore with driftwood decking, fishing nets hung for decoration, all very cool. It was totally open to the west but we had ideal conditions and relaxed there for 2 nights, it truly was one of the most beautiful, unspoilt, quiet spots we have had in the med.

Cruising info for Porto Rondinara, Plage de Balistra, Campomoro, Porto Pollo and Cala d'Orzu:-
Anchorages -
Porto Rondinara 41 28.167N 09 16.266E 7.5m sand some weed. Watch out for the charted but unmarked rock in the middle of the bay, one yacht went right on it, not a good look or sound! (Eye Candy got it all on video)
Plage de Balistra 41 26.023N 09 13.645E 6.5m sand and weed. Good to sit out a blow from the west
Campomoro 41 38.255N 08 48.788E 13m sand and weed. Quite deep look for shallow pockets
Porto Pollo 41 42.541N 08 48.053E 16m but on new blue mooring buoy, about 40 buoys, free it seemed (20 July so peak season), no lines on buoy so either find a friend to help, back up or jump overboard
Cala d'Orzu 41 44.146N 08 42.215E 8.5m sand, we were inside the yellow buoys as was everyone else. The white floating thing that looks like a big cup and saucer is a rubbish bin!
Communications - No unlocked WIFI signals anywhere. Maltese Vodafone roaming and SFR signal on our GYMSIM both ok
Ashore - Campomoro had small grocery shop, mobile butcher and bakery. Porto Pollo a good supermarket that you could land dinghy on beach in front of. Don't remember seeing ATM anywhere. The others just had small beach bars
Formalities - Gone with the Wind were boarded by French Customs in Plage de Balistra who asked to see ships papers and passports. They went through there cruising guide and showed them the best places to stop! We were anchored about 50metres away and did not get a visit