Oboe slipped into Arbatax marina on 21 June with Gill at the helm; with me, swallowing my skipper’s pride, setting warps and fenders in the dark, reversing onto an unknown dock at midnight.  We had planned to stop a little further north but the harbour proved shallow and full of local boats, which coupled with the austere feel of the place, convinced us to head back out to sea and complete our intended passage all in one go.  So, safely docked, stern to the pontoon, having dealt with the slimy, encrusted laid mooring lines one more time, we drank tea and slept.  Our first passage as a sailing couple was over and a great success it was too, all 14 hours of it, much of it under full sail.

Arbatax is an industrial town with poor public transport and only one taxi driver, who is never available anyway!  It is half way between Cagliari in the south and Olbia in the north, which makes it just about the most difficult place to get in and out of by land!  But, it is cheap and that’s important, as the next few weeks will see us leave Oboe alone, shut down, as we head back to England for a holiday from the holiday! 

Bags packed, 0400hrs alarm call, research done as to how to take a series of 3 buses for the princely sum of 11 Euros each (taxi equivalent 245 Euros by the way!), we roll our bags along the dock to be confronted by a padlocked marina gate.  Bags thrown over, bodies thrown over, we climb a fence, cross a railway line to avoid an extra 1km walk to the level-crossing and sit in the near-dark, not a soul in sight and wait anxiously for the blue bus, with little faith in it arriving at all. But, 10 minutes late, with despair setting in, we climb aboard and join the workers of Sardinia as they gather themselves together for a day at the office or school or college.  Five hours later we are deposited at Olbia airport having visited every village between there and Arbatax, listened with no understanding to the next installment of the gossip exchanged by the villagers on the bus as its cargo of passengers changed every 3 or 4 stops or so.

Gatwick seemed well-organised by comparison as we sped towards the M23 and our respective families.

I spent a week – yes you guessed it – sailing!  A long-standing arrangement to sail with two old friends and colleagues from a dim and distant past life.  Suffice it to say a fantastic few days was spent crossing the channel from Dartmouth, on Guernsey, Sark and Herm, where reminiscences were the order of the day.  I cannot say a big enough thank you to Sue, John H and family for the use of a full sized bed and the joys of home cooking, nor can I say a big enough thank you to John S and Jack for making the week possible (paying for it!)

Dartmouth friends Janie and James were also as welcoming as ever, as I sponged a meal and a few drinks before heading back to Gatwick to meet up with the crew (Gill!) for the sequel – “Return to Arbatax”!

Now, 14 hours sail south to Cagliari, having endured a night at anchor in an unprotected bay, rolling viciously in  the unannounced Mistral winds, we face a backlog of boat maintenance, much of it in the depths of the engine room, in 30+ degrees of humid heat before our next guests arrive.  No sympathy sought – it’s a hard life, but somebody’s got to do it …

Follow our progress here:

http://blog.mailasail.com/oboe, where you can see our daily progress on Google Earth.  Email us at: oboe {CHANGE TO AT} mailasail {DOT} com any time you like.  Phone us on +881 631 669 194 and we’ll pick up via Iridium satellite.

Fair winds to you all.

Nigel

Gill

Guy