19th to 21st June - Capo di Pula to Cagliari (the big fight)

Bali Hai
Neal Stow
Sun 21 Jun 2009 22:46
The final day of this leg was the short 15 mile motor to Cagliari, the
capital of Sardinia. We had made reservations at Marina del Sole which
was highly recommended in the pilot book as a friendly family run marina.
Initial impressions were good as we were met and escorted to a berth.
However, we soon discovered that the place is a complete dump and several
other "livaboard" boats around us very unfriendly. The toilets/showers
are in tented portacabins and not particularly clean, many of the wooden
planks on the pontoon are loose, the marina office is a tip and the marina
itself is a 2km walk from the town. It is cheaper than elsewhere we have
stayed but at €43 a night it is still not particularly cheap.

The afternoon was spent boat cleaning and both Jackie and Ian did an
excellent job which left Bali Hai spotless in anticipation of the critical
eyes of John and Rob (although perhaps a critical "black" eye in John's
case). John and Rob arrived at around 7:30 and despite all the posturing
the "Big Fight" never got going. Ian had just got his hands around John's
throat when the authorities arrived and rounded them and the rest of the
crew up for causing an affray. After a brief visit to the local
magistrate they were all sentenced to a period of hard labour aboard Bali
Hai.

In the evening we headed in to town for something to eat. It was all
pretty disappointing as everything was rather grotty and we ended up being
ripped off in a Cuban restaurant that John plumped for after everyone else
had been too indecisive.

On Saturday we woke to a warm sunny day with a good breeze. It would have
been good sailing weather but instead we headed up to inspect the town.
The guide books were all very complementary about Cagliari and despite our
initial impressions; the old town is actually very pleasant with lots of
character. Il Castello, the white walled medieval town, is set on a hill
and with lots of walking in the afternoon heat (when sensible Cagliarians
are having a siesta) everyone was pretty exhausted by the end of the day.
We decided to eat locally, in a boat converted into a pizzeria followed by
an early night.

Jackie and Ian were leaving Sunday morning. It was a pleasure having them
on board and their ability to sail the boat unaided made life so much
easier.

When they did leave was blowing a Force 8 gale in the marina - so Jackie
can no longer complain that they did not see any good winds during their
trip! Strong winds are also forecast to continue all week and so the
sailing should be quite good - although we may not make it out of Cagliari
when scheduled.