Heading South

Blue Sky's Voyage
George & Michael
Wed 16 Aug 2006 12:33
Dear Friends
 
We're now making good (if leisurely !) progress south along the west coast of Corsica and we're now anchored off Campomoro, about half way between Ajaccio and Bonifacio.
 
Special thanks to friends who have owned up to actually reading the blog - we get little feedback but I keep writing in the confident, if foolish, hope that the world hangs on every keystroke....
 
We commissioned the watermaker successfully and it seems to do more or less what its supposed to - the best part of 30 litres an hour and with hardly any noise too. With all the adverse press about watermakers, at least in cruising websites, we were a bit nervous about the whole thing, but it all seems to work fine and the desalinated water tastes good too. Thanks of course to Waypoint-1 in Plymouth who arranged procurement and did the wiring for us.
 
On the way south we went past La Scandola Nature Reserve, home to a number of rare birds. Apparently there are about 127 species in Corsica of which 112 breed on this one island - quite what makes it so popular is unclear, perhaps its inaccessibility. Later at anchor, we saw what might probably have been an Audouin's Gull cruising along the cliffs and an unidentified large bird of prey with a very pale front, though not an Osprey (which we've seen lots of in Scotland).
 
We saw some of the local cormorants (they are everywhere) which also have pale fronts.
 
 
I said to George, "those cormorants look just like penguins", so G took a quick look at them with the binoculars and said, boldly, "they really are penguins". So I just thought I'd share that with you all, though he now insists it was a joke.
 
We spent three nights in Ajaccio, anchored just off the beach whilst we waited for some more frisky weather to do its thing. The anchorage was busy, but we managed to get a good spot only 50m off the beach - so easy to row the tender ashore without bothering about fitting the outboard. Carrefour was duly raided in the traditional manner!
 
The photos of the spectacular coast on the way south were a bit difficult as it was rather hazy. The coast is extremely jagged and backed by rugged mountains - perhaps our return north will have more suitable visibility for photography. Meanwhile here's a sunset we enjoyed a few days ago just north of Ajaccio.
 
 
We're just about to enjoy veal steaks and fresh veg followed by local cheeses and creme brulee. I guess we'll probably go for a morning swim to work it all off again.
 
Best Wishes
 
George and Michael
 
PS. some difficulties with the GPRS connection (it's pretty rural here) so this message comes to you a bit delayed via Inmarsat.