18th to 19th June Bonifacio to Porto Vecchio & the Port Solenzara
Sealion
Richard Martin
Sat 19 Jun 2010 20:57
We left early Friday
morning from Bonifacio as strong winds were forecast for the next
few days, through the straits between Corsica & Sardinia.
The first hour was
calm as we weaved our way through the rocky island inner passage, to the East
side of Corsica (Thank heavens for chart plotters and GPS). We stopped/anchored
for an early lunch in the beautiful bay Rondinara. We had hoped to swim and sun
bath and maybe anchor for the night etc, but a fairly strong wind set in, so we
thought it best to move on to Porto Vecchio. We ran with just the Genoa, with
winds of 20knots gusting 26/27knots. A great sail saw us arriving early and
allowing us to once again climb the hillside to the pretty village above the
harbour . Unfortunately I forgot my camera so no pictures.
Today (and until
next Tuesday - with a Mistral from the Gulf de Lion blowing over to Corsica)
strong winds are forecast for the West side of the Island and the
North/South ends. As we are now on the East side we expected gentle winds to
take us up North - Well once again off we went with winds soon averaging 22
knots and gusting 30knots - luckily it was again from our rear quarter so we
were able to roar along. As we neared the Port of Solenza the wind finally did
as per the forecast for the East of the Island and went light. Heavy clouds
have threatened rain all day but other than a few spots, much of the day
was sunny.
Tomorrow we hope to
push on North but whether we will really be sheltered from the strong westerly
winds, here on the East coast, remains to be seen - it has been much stronger
than forecast the last two days.