40 35.4 N 08 10.3E

9^th  June

We left marina Aquatica around 1500 and sailed across the bay to Porto Conte another large bay with several

small Cala’s marked on it as being suitable for anchoring in. We decided on Tramariglio in the NW corner of the bay as it seemed the most sheltered and soon found a suitable spot to drop the hook. There were two small charter boats ahead of us and a short pontoon where several local fishing and small motor  boats were berthed. Had a lovely swim – water temperature 22.7! The wind stayed in the NW so we were well protected all night. AS the bay is quite deep we had virtually no swell either which made for a quiet night. The following morning we set off for the Fornells passage and the north coast of Sardinia. We were actually able to sail for some of the journey and it was interesting to be able to pass very close to the high rocky cliffs which abound this coastline.

As we approached the narrow passage we furled the jib and soon picked up the transit for our route through the rocks and isolated islands – the water colour here was azure and we could see the bottom really clearly – minimum depth we saw was 4.5 metres.

41 03.6 N 08 17.4 E

Asinara  10^th – 11^th June

Once through the passage we headed north to the bay called Cala Reale where we had been told there were mooring buoys.

These are inside a protected area and there are restrictions on motoring so we duly killed the engine and sailed up to the buoy – although Rob managed to get the mooring strop first time I couldn’t slow the boat down quickly enough so he nearly lost his arm holding on. We decided with the wind now gusting a good 18 knots we should drop the sail and motor onto the buoy which we did!

We were in a lovely bay – no one else there but several old buildings some very grand but all seemed uninhabited. The village is called Lazarreto. The pilot book informs us that this island was turned into a penal colony in the 18^th century and was then a Quarantine island – we could see the remains of the large Hospital and some very ornate 19^th century buildings which looked in good repair. Apparently this place was then made into a POW camp during WW1 and thence a prison until 1997 when the island was declared a Marine Reserve.

We had just settled down to a pre-dinner drink when we were disturbed by the loud braying of the ‘famous’ white donkeys! 4 of them were on the beach near to us, this was soon followed by the ‘lowing’ of several cattle which had also decided it was time for an evening stroll down to the quay and along the shore line. We had a lovely quiet night and in the morning I had another swim off the boat – the water was beautifully clear and there were loads of fish. We took the dinghy ashore late morning and walked around the area – we discovered a small cafe/bar being opened up and some men working on a new pontoon on the old stone breakwater.

It seems that there is a co-operative tasked with reviving some of the buildings and attracting tourists but it was really the beginning of the season so nothing much was going on. There were more workmen fencing off the grounds around what looked like the ‘governor’s house’ and others setting out tables etc near the bar. There was meant to be a bus but no-one new when it would be running so we just took a walk round. On our return the wind had got up quite considerably and we were not sure if we would make it back to the boat which was a good 400 meters form the quay dead up wind with a quite choppy sea. Fortunately the two guys who had been to collect our fee for mooring were also along side in their large rib so they gave us a lift back and we towed the dinghy. The wind continued to increase so we had a bumpy night and decided to head for another anchorage next day.

The radio announced a gale warning for our area so anchoring was postponed and went to the port of Stintino some 7 miles to the

south east - on the mainland.