40 54.9 N 09 31.5 E

On our route to get to the marina we finally 'crossed tracks' from our passage east in 2009! As we passed the large island of Tavolara  we were able to see the anchorage we had occupied in late June before sailing to mainland Italy and the Amalphi coast.

We left the anchorage at 0830 in order to get to Olbia before the strong winds arrived. However by the time we got to the new marina it was blowing a good force 5 with gust of more!

Our berthing at the marina went less smoothly than we would like as the rib guided us to a down wind berth and then the marinero indicated the port side for the mooring line but in fact it was not the right one,so we had a real struggle to get sorted out! Coincidently after that all the other boats that arrived were given up wind spots!!

Once berthed to our satisfaction Jacky went off to pay and get information about the marina. The office staff were very helpful and we booked a lift with the free shuttle minibus to go to exchange an empty gas bottle for that afternoon. The showers and toilets are excellent with spacious cubicles and plenty of hanging points and stools for clothes etc. There was no laundry on site which was a disappointment also no bars/cafes or trattorias. These are still being built so a bit of a construction site at the back of the marina.

It rained during the night - the boat was covered in sandy speckles when we got up. We were pleased we hadn't washed down!

The marina shuttle took us to a very large Auchan shopping mall on Friday morning (just 8 minutes by car - up hill!)and we did a major shop - stocking up for the next month as who knows what we will find in Corsica when we finally get there!

We were very pleased to meet up with Sam, the guy who organised several bits of boat work for us when we were based in Marina de Ragusa, Sicily. He was working on a large Oyster yacht and saw us come in so called across the jetty and we agreed to get together later. Sam made our new mainsail boom cover in the spring and we hadn't seen him since leaving Ragusa in mid April. He came round for coffee and we had a long catch up chat today.

Tomorrow we plan to get the free shuttle to the city and visit the chandlers as well as having lunch out.  We hope to leave on Sunday morning early, heading for our foray into the Maddalena and Costa Smerelda area. (Millionaires paradise)