We arrived in Bastia on Sat afternoon in plenty of time to do a crew swap. The marina is cramped with a narrow entrance but luckily it went seamlessly. After sorting ourselves out we went into town for a final meal with the Colins and ate at La Taverna – a recommendation by the marina. It is well known as a meat restaurant and didn’t disappoint. It was a meat fest! We didn’t stay out late as the boys needed to be up at 7 to get a taxi to the airport.

After seeing them off at 0800, Liz and I went back to sleep for an hour or so before tackling the never ending list of jobs. This included shopping and washing but unfortunately the supermarket was closed and the laundrette was not on site so we did it by hand in a large bucket. Our new guests, Michael and Graham, arrived around 1700 so after a couple of beers and a chicken salad, we wandered into town. It’s only about 15 mins away to the old port so we followed the crowds. It turns out that the town was celebrating St Jean Baptiste with a huge bonfire in the harbour followed by an excellent fireworks display. We then rounded of the evening with cocktails at a nearby bar. The whole place was buzzing and much livelier than the Sat evening.

There had been strong winds forecast overnight and they duly arrived with gusts up to 30 in the marina so we spent Monday shopping for food and beer and then went back into town to explore a bit more. We climbed up to the old citadel that overlooks the harbour and found a maze of small streets and alleyways crowded with bars and restaurants. A very enjoyable afternoon was spent in the old quarter.

The wind was due to die down around 1800 so that we could get out of the marina and head south for 60nm towards Porto Vecchio. In the end we left nearer 2000 and were able to sail under the genoa alone for the first two hours but the wind died with the sunset. We arrived at Anse de Cannella, 10nm north of Porto Vecchio, at 0600 this morning (Tuesday). We anchored in gorgeous turquoise waters and went to sleep for a few hours. Unfortunately, there seemed to be a swell from passing ships straight into the bay so the boat rolled a lot. We still managed a few hours sleep before a lovely breakfast and swim before moving off towards Porto Vecchio.

Pictures of our new guests enjoying a cocktail, Bastia and Graham swimming in Anse de Cannella.