A Tour of Sardinia – News and Photos

 

Somehow time slips by and we find that it is over two months since we last updated our blog from Carloforte in south west Sardinia. Well – we are still in Sardinia but now in the north.

 

We eventually spent a whole week in Carloforte whilst strong winds gusted around us. However it is an attractive town and we had a thoroughly sociable time both with Steve & Dori from ‘The Henry Morgan’ and with Yvon & Danielle from ‘Fou de Bassan’ which tested our French.

 

From Carloforte it was a very short sail across the bay to Carlasetta. This is basically just a ferry port and a rather sleepy and dusty little town. However a fuel berth had just opened in the marina a couple of weeks previously and this gave us a good opportunity to top up the tank.

 

Sailing east from Carlasetta we had hoped to find an anchorage somewhere near Cape Sperone, however the wind piped up to W6, excellent for sailing but making both of the possible anchorages untenable. This meant yet another marina night in Teulada. This is a substantial marina in the middle of nowhere which seems to have no reason to exist – however it did prove useful to us!

 

 

Finally we found an attractive anchorage in Porto Malfitano. Our last anchorage had been a fortnight earlier near Mahon and we were both feeling in need of a bit of peace and swimming. Fou de Bassan was also at anchor close by so we were able to have drinks again with Yvon & Danielle. Three nights of rest and relaxation!

 

Finally on 19^th July we decided that we should head to Cagliari where we had booked in to marina Sant’Elmo for a few weeks to allow us to return to UK and avoid the Sardinian heat of August. 19^th July was also the 75^th anniversary of Sarah’s parents’ wedding. She was able to exchange text messages with her brother Andrew who was sailing off the coast of Portugal.  How communications have changed over those 75 years – now we happily communicate over distances of 1000 miles and even when offshore!

 

 

We had last been in Cagliari 15 years ago when delivering the Rival 34 Alynxa from Greece to Mallorca. The harbour has developed considerably with many more berths including a new and pricy one in the centre. Previously it had been a long, hot and dusty walk to the town but now a cycle path has opened making shopping and sightseeing much easier.

 

 

It is a long climb up to the cathedral at the top of the town but well worth the effort. The crypt held many carvings of saints holding feathers – apparently a symbol of martyrdom.

 

 

We hired a car for a couple of days and headed north inland into the hills – the view over Gesturi gives some impression of the landscape.

 

 

The Giara di Gesturi is a high basalt plateau with swampy ponds. It is now a nature reserve and home to packs of wild ponies.

 

 

We stayed nearby in a house booked through airBnB for the ridiculously low price of €28. Annachiara was a delightful hostess and we were her first airBnB guests. She guided us around the area to see 1000 year old olive trees and Nuraghi remains. Her brother owns a cantina – producing organic wine – so we bought some extremely good red.

 

 

Near Barumini at Su Nuraxi are the remains of the Nuraghi settlements. Amazingly little seems to be known about these peoples or their lifestyle.

 

 

The impressive stone structures and towers date from around 1500 BC but it seems that by 1000 BC the settlements were in a state of decay.

 

Overall a fascinating time whilst based in Cagliari but by 25^th July we were ready to head back to UK to avoid the hottest days of summer.

 

 

 

 

 

We returned to Ione in Cagliari on 26^th August and spent a couple of days sorting ourselves out. The marina cost for 40 nights was €840 so very comparable with what we had spent in Valencia for a similar period in the two previous years and a lot cheaper than the Balearics or north Sardinia at that time.

 

On motoring out of Cagliari it was clear that the engine was not pushing us along efficiently, however the wind picked up and increased from the west giving us an excellent passage round Capo Carbonara to anchor in Porto Giunco.

 

 

The anchorage at Giunco was attractive despite the beach being absolutely packed with hordes of holidaymakers sitting under their parasols.

 

 

A quick dip with a snorkel quickly revealed that not only was the prop covered with barnacles but likewise the bow thruster and also a degree of slime on the hull. However next morning an hour spent underwater with a knife and a scrubber cleared the problem. Our Sea Breathe equipment proved its worth. This is effectively a captive scuba set – an air pump driven from the boat battery provides air through a 20 metre tube and equalising bladder to a diver’s mouthpiece. Although one is limited to depths of less than 5 metres and distances no further than 15 metres from the boat, this is more than adequate for a bit of hull maintenance.

 

Moving up the east coast of Sardinia we found that we regularly had fresh winds from the eastern sector which meant that there were few attractive or sheltered anchorages forcing us into harbours. Porto Corallo was memorable only for a dry and dusty campsite with a poorly stocked mini market. However Santa Maria de Navarrese, just north of Arbatrax, was delightful. The marina prices there had dropped from €62 per night in August to a reasonable €35 in September.

 

 

A stiff walk to a lookout point above the town gave stunning views over the marina and out to sea.

 

 

 

We spent a happy three days exploring the town and the old church surrounded by 1000 year old olive trees whilst a strong NE blew outside. A place well worth visiting.

 

Thence north again. Initially a very bumpy motorsail to La Caletta for one night and then to at last find a decent anchorage in Porto Brandinghi

 

with views across to Isola Tavolara.

 

With Simon & Aurélie due to meet us on 8^th September in Olbia we moved on to a mooring in the Circulo Nautico near the centre of the town enabling us to do a huge shop for the increased crew numbers. Olbia is not a wildly memorable town, pleasant enough and with good shopping and of course the airport with good links to UK.

 

Cala Sabina was the next anchorage, followed by Ziu Paulu just a couple of miles north of Cannigione.

 

 

However on the way we did look in to Porto Cervo where the Rolex Swan regatta was underway. A small mortgage would have been needed to spend a night there and the extravagance of some of the machinery had to be seen to be believed. The motor boat Dilbar, owned by a Russian oligarch was 370 feet long!

 

 

From Zui Paulu, with a blow forecast, we moved into the marina at Cannigione for a couple of nights. Actually rather than a single marina there are half a dozen companies each running a pontoon or three. The little town itself, although geared for tourism is a pleasant spot and worth a visit as well as being a useful starting point for a tour of the Maddalena islands.

 

 

Our first lunch stop at Cala Villamarina revealed the problem we had getting off the berth in Cannigione – a mass of rope around the prop. Luckily the cutter had done its job and kept the prop turning but with rope still attached. Between them Simon and Tony managed to dive and pull off the offending objects without having to use the Sea Breathe diving gear.

 

 

On Isla Budelli park authority buoys have been laid in the NE corner between north cove and Deadman’s Reef. This is a most beautiful spot with clear-water swimming and views over rocky islets. Inevitably, and particularly at weekends, many boats visit including tripper launches but it remains delightful.

 

We then attempted to visit Cala Spalmatore for the night. However we were greeted at the entrance by a man in a RIB demanding €60 for a night on a buoy! No way – so we retraced our steps to a park authority mooring in Cala Santa Maria.

 

Overall we found that several of the possible anchorages which we investigated in the Maddalenas were untenable for various reasons, some roped off to the 10m mark however on Simon & Aurélie’s final day we did manage to spend some time in Cala Corsara on Isola Spargi.

 

 

This has to be one of the most beautiful anchorages which we have visited. Inevitably there are a number of tripper boats putting tourists ashore but the water is absolutely crystal clear and the cove is surrounded by beautiful rock formations.

 

We could have spent more time there but we needed to get Simon & Aurélie to Olbia and with Palau marina full we headed to Cala Gavetta in La Maddalena. There was also the added incentive of meeting Shani and Dave on Scarlett. We had last seen then two years ago in Soller and it was excellent to be able to catch up again over a drink or so on both boats. We also met their new addition – D’Artagnon – replacing Bonaparte who, like his predecessor, also managed to leave a small offering on our foredeck.

 

After Simon & Aurélie had left – ferry to Palau, taxi to Olbia, plane to Gatwick, train to Winchester – we enjoyed the sights of La Maddalena town but also managed two major trips to the supermarket and three loads of laundry!

 

 

We have now come on to Santa Teresa Gallura where we are sitting out a day or two of bad weather. However there is quite a coming and going, particularly of training boats from the Glénans base in Corsica.

 

The weather at present looks a bit unsettled but our plan is to head west and then probably cross back to Menorca for the winter.

 

Now to find a source of wifi to post this blog!!

 

Best wishes to all

 

Tony & Sarah

Ione – Santa Teresa – 18 September 2014.